LAWYERS Resources

Pomona Wrongful Death Claim Seeks Damages Police Brutality Damages

2011-11-04T00:00:00-04:00

October 31, 2011, Posted by Howard Law, PC.

The family of Andres Avila, 26, has filed a Los Angeles County wrongful death case against the Pomona Police Department, Avila was fatally shot by police last month. They are alleging excessive use of police force and racial profiling.

According to Avila's relatives, the altercation with police began a few months ago on July 4 during a family party. They claim that police went into the residence without specific case and started chasing him. They then allegedly beat him. The family says they have cell phone footage of Avila being Tased and assaulted that night. He would go on to file a personnel complaint against the cops that were involved.

On October 16, police allegedly called Avila and his girlfriend and that is when family say the shooting happened. Avila was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police Brutality
Authorities will hopefully investigate any allegations of police brutality. That said, even if no case is filed against officers allegedly involved this doesn't necessarily mean that you still cannot file a Los Angeles County excessive use of force case and win.

Cops are never supposed to use excessive force when doing their job. That's how people can get hurt or fatally shot. Even when apprehending, questioning, or pursuing someone they are not supposed to use more force than necessary.

Unfortunately, there are police officers that use excessive force to abuse, assault, and harm people. This is known as police brutality and may include physical assault, sexual assault, verbal abuse, intimidation, false arrests, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, rape, and false arrests.

Racial Profiling
One of the accusations the family of Avila is making is that he was the victim of racial profiling, which involves the targeting of people of color by law enforcement officials. Like all acts of police brutality, racial profiling is a violation of one's civil rights.

Most people are too scared to report incidents of Los Angeles police brutality for fear of retaliation. They also don't realize that they've been caused undue harm or that they may have grounds for Pomona personal injury recovery.

Our Anaheim personal injury lawyers frequently report on allegations, claims, and lawsuits by people in Orange County, Los Angeles County, Riverside County, and San Bernardino County on our California Injury Lawyers Blog. Be sure to follow our reports, such as this story, for updates.

For the families who have lost someone because of excessive use of police force, know too that you may have reason for a Los Angeles wrongful death case.

Excessive use of force is an abuse of police power. Police officers and their departments should be held liable for misconduct that causes injury or death.

Probe under way into fatal Pomona police shooting, ABC Local, October 16, 2011

Pomona Police Hit with Wrongful-Death Claim, MyFoxLA, November 1, 2011

$10M California Medical Malpractice Settlement Awarded to Family of Toddler Who Underwent Amputations Following 5 Hour ER Delay

2011-11-04T00:00:00-04:00

October 29, 2011, Posted by Howard Law, PC.

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The family of Malyia Jeffers has settled their California medical malpractice case with a local hospital. Malyia, then 2, had to have her left hand, part of her right hand, and feet amputated after waiting several hours to be seen at the emergency room at Methodist Hospital of Sacramento. The case has been settled for $10 million.

Per court documents, last November Malyia's parents took her to the hospital because she was suffering from weakness, skin discoloration, and a fever. They waited five hours in the waiting room even though they kept begging that hospital workers see their daughter. Meantime, the bruising on Malyia's body got worse, impacting her arms, legs, and face. In their California ER malpractice complaint, Leah Yang and Ryan Jeffers accused the hospital of inadequate staffing and negligent operation and supervision of the ER.

Malyia was eventually flown to Stanford University's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital where doctors diagnosed her with Streptococcus A bacteria, which by then had entered her organs and blood. She also spent over three months at the Stanford hospital.

The majority of the settlement, with the hospital and parent company Catholic Healthcare West, will go towards providing for Malyia's current and future needs. In addition to ongoing therapy, she also has customized prosthetics, costly meds, special clothing, and will have to use wheelchairs for life.

ER Malpractice
Unfortunately, the hectic pace of an ER can lend itself to medical mistakes. Late hours, not enough staff, lots of people coming in and out, doctors rushing from one patient to another, and emergency situations can create a lot of chaos and distraction and errors can be easily made and overlooked.

Common ER mistakes include:
• Failure to diagnose
• Wrong diagnosis
• Medication mistakes
• Surgical errors
• Inaccurate lab tests
• Not enough testing
• Unsanitary conditions
• Anesthesia mistakes
• Chart errors
• Delayed diagnosis
• Delayed treatment
• Discharging someone prematurely
• Insufficient patient history

As with any Orange County, California medical malpractice case, you want to work with a personal injury law firm that understands the nature and complexities of this type of civil suit and can prove liability.

Nurses, OB/GYNS, surgeons, doctors, and anesthesiologists are some of the medical professionals that can make ER mistakes. Hospitals and medical staff know that the emergency room is a place where medical errors can happen if one isn't careful enough or there aren't proper procedures in place to prevent them from happening. There may be more than one party who should be held liable.

Medical mistakes can result in catastrophic consequences for patients. Often, these can lead to costly additional treatment, procedures, and care. There is no reason why you shouldn't be allowed to obtain the maximum recovery possible for the harm that you or your loved one has suffered.

Girl Gets $10M Settlement After ER Delay, ABC News/AP, October 28, 2011

Lawsuit alleges ER negligence in treating toddler's infection, Sacbee, February 15, 2011