The Fisker Karma, a $100,000 hybrid, has been recalled twice for a possible fire hazard posed by its lithium-ion battery.  When Fisker recalled the car the second time, back in June, it played down the risk.  Fisker reported to the press:

To date, Fisker has not received any verified complaints, warranty claims or any other reports related to this condition, but Fisker is taking this action out of an abundance of caution,Fisker Karma

Not sure Fisker’s claim that it hadn’t received any reports of actual Karma fires was entirely true. Fisker was told in May that one of its cars caught fire and burned down its owner’s garage in Texas.  In fact, that owner ended up suing Fisker.

Well, today, another Fisker Karma caught fire in a parking lot in Woodside California.  (See photo at right.) Fortunately, the parking lot was only a hundred yards or so from the fire department.  

Looks as though Fisker still hasn’t got this problem fixed. In the meantime, Karma owners would be well advised to park their cars on the street.

Today’s gas leak at the intersection of Glenview and Earl Avenue served as a frightful reminder to the Crestmoor residents of the September 2010 San Bruno explosion.  For many residents the sight of fire engines and the call to evacuate will rekindle flashbacks and distressing dreams of the event.  There’s no doubt that this gas leak will exacerbate many San Bruno residents’ Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). 

Even PG&E’s psychological experts agree that many Bruno residents now suffer from PTSD.  Psychiatrists rely upon the DSM IV for the diagnostic features of PTSD.  Those who suffer from PTSD may have personally experienced the explosion and suffered from the threat of death or physical injury to self or the threat of death or injury to a family member or other close associate.  

The PTSD  victim’s response involves intense fear, helplessness, horror, and agitated behavioror.  The symptoms include persistent re-experiencing of the traumatic event; often referred to as flashbacks.  The victim also may show a persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma such as fire engines or loud noises that sound like the roar of the uncontrolled gas fire. Other symptoms include a general numbing resulting in feelings of detachment or estrangement; and an inability to feel emotions such as intimacy or tenderness.   

Another common symptom of PTSD is a sense of a foreshortened future:  not expecting to have a career, marriage, children or even a normal life span.

Although today’s gas leak is a sad reminder of the tragedy nearly two years ago, it also confirms the intensity of emotional distress the residents have suffered.  Not all residents know that their symptoms amount to PTSD.  But victims should not delay contacting an attorney.  The two year anniversary of the event – September 9, 2012 is also the deadline for filing a claim for any damages (physical, emotional, or property related) against PG&E.

Freight carriers have an obligation to the public to not create unnecessary dangers on the roads.  They can’t dodge those responsibiities by hiring an independant driver who has no assets or insurance and then, when there is an accident, claim it was the driver’s fault and not theirs.

Under the law, the freight carrier’s safety obligations are "non-delegable."  That means the carrier can’t pass the obligations off to a driver.  A freight carrier can thus be held vicariously liable for the negligence of the truck driver, even though the truck driver isn’t one of its emplyess.

 Three requirements must be satisfied to show a nondelegable duty in a trucking case:

  1. A carrier must be involved;
  2. The carrier must be providing transportation or service by a commercial motor vehicle weighing at least 10,001 pounds;
  3. The activity that lead to the accident must involve possible danger such as motor vehicles on public highways.

Requirements 2 and 3 are factual questions that are usually easy to meet.

So, who is a carrier? A carrier is a person or company providing motor vehicle transportation for compensation. The transportation includes services related to the movement of property, including arranging for the transport , as well as, receipt, and delivery. "Carrier" often includes a freight broker who puts shippers in touch with truck operators and who may also have some responsibility for the load.
 

PG&E says that its first priority is safety.  PG&E says its next priority is compensating the victims of the San Bruno fire. 

But are those really PG&E’s priorities?

PG&E has just launched a multimedia advertising campaign designed to make itself look good.  According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the campaign will cost $10 million.

It might appear that, with the trial approaching, PG&E’s first priority is repairing its public image.  Otherwise, why wouldn’t PG&E spend the $10 million on badly needed safety upgrades instead?  Or on compensating those victims who, to this day, have received nothing from PG&E for the explosion PG&E admits it caused?

PG&E told the Chronicle that it is running the PR campaign because customers want it.

[Customers] want to hear what we are doing, about the work we are doing every day about safety and reliability . . .[they want to know about] what we are doing to make our pipelines safe and reliable."

Maybe PG&E could have just tucked a flyer in with next month’s utility bill.  That might have cost a little less than $10 million.

 

Though PG&E previously admitted liability for the explosion and stated that it was "committed" to fully compensating its victims, PG&E has asked the court to throw certain of plaintiffs’ claims out of court. In particular, PG&E has asked the court to throw out all the plaintiffs’ claim for punitive damages, and to throw out certain plaintiffs’ claims for emotional distress. The court will hear will hear PG&E’s arguments on September 4.

Trial will now begin October 9. On that date, the judge will decide what evidence should be excluded from trial. Jury selection will begin on the next day, October 10, and is likely to take a least a week. Opening statements will begin as soon as a jury has been selected.
 

The Houck sisters were killed when the steering in the PT Cruiser they were driving failed.  The car crossed the center median and hit a big rig traveling in the opposite direction.   

Two years ago, we wrote about the jury’s $15 million verdict against Enterprise Rent-A-Car in connection with the girls’ deaths.  As it turns out, the girls had rented the vehicle from Enterprise. What they didn’t know was that the Cruiser had been recalled because of problems with the steering. Instead of getting the vehicle fixed, Enterprise rented it to them anyway. Enterprise’s Northern California manager testified that it was company-wide policy to rent out recalled vehicles if recalled vehicles are the only ones left on the lot.

Enterprise PT Cruiser

One would think that, after the verdict, Enterprise would have changed its ways. But it hasn’t.

So last year, Senators Boxer and Shumer introduced a simple bill that would prohibit any car rental company from renting vehicles that are under safety recall.

And what did Enterprise do? It opposed the bill, of course. 

Houck’s parents took matters into their own hands.  Backed by a petition signed by 100,000 people, they asked Enterprise to sign a pledge that it would not rent cars that had been recalled until the cars were fixed. 

But Enterprise refused. In fact, so did Avis and Dollar Thrifty. Only Hertz agreed.

Quite an industry.

 

Brain imaging technology advances at a rapid pace. A new process, called "high definitiion fiber tracking," reveals areas of brain injury with more exactness than standard scans such as CT & MRI and even the newer DTI method.

Millions of Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury, or TBI, each year. Most TBIs are concussions or other milder injuries that generally heal on their own; some are more severe and may lead to death or disability. Because TBIs also affect more than 200,000 soldiers who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. defense department supports TBI research studies including that of Dr. Walter Schneider, professor of psychology and neurosurgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Schneider’s study explains the importance of the new technology and how it works.

Why is HDFT Important for Victims of TBI?

With more serious head injuries, standard scans cannot see beyond bleeding or swelling to tell if the brain’s connections are broken in a way it can’t repair on its own. But the researchers say the new technology gives them the ability to see previously invisible wounds. 

How does HDFT work?

Brain cells communicate with each other through a system of nerve fibers that act like a telephone network, making up what’s called the white matter of the brain. White matter runs along cabHigh definition fiber tracking map of a million brain fibers. Credit: Walt Schneider Laboratoryle-like highways called fiber tracts that contain millions of connections. The new scan processes high-powered MRIs through a special computer program to map major fiber tracts, painting them in greens, yellows and purples that designate their functions. Researchers look for breaks in the fibers that could slow or stop those nerve connections from doing their job.

Real Life Example

32-year-old Daniel Stunkard of New Castle, Pa., is one of 50 TBI patients in Schneider’s study. He spent three weeks in a coma after his all-terrain vehicle crashed in late 2010. CT and regular MRI scans showed only some bruising and swelling, unable to predict if he’d wake up and in what shape. DTI was unsuccessful for fiber tracking because it had poor-quality visualizations and some false tracks.

When Stunkard woke up, he couldn’t move his left leg, arm or hand. Doctors started rehabilitation in hopes of stimulating healing, and the HDFT predicted what happened. The scan found partial breaks in nerve fibers that control the leg and arm, and extensive damage to those controlling the hand. In six months, Stunkard was walking. He now has some arm motion. But he still can’t use his hand, his fingers curled tightly into a ball. The doctors say those nerve fibers were too far gone for repair.

This closer look at nerve fibers will provide a valuable diagnostic tool. Dr. Rocco Armonda, a neurosurgeon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center says: "It’s like comparing your fuzzy screen black-and-white TV with a high-definition TV." 

At today’s court hearing, Judge Dylina tentatively selected the cases to be included in the trial that is scheduled to begin against PG&E on July 23:

  • Bullis v. PG&EPG&E Gas Explosion Cases
  • Estate of Franco v. PG&E
  • Ruigomez v. PG&E
  • Low v. PG&E
  • Zapata v. PG&E
  • Healy v. PG&E
  • Chea  v. PG&E
  • Viscarra v. PG&E

The judge will finalize the selections next week.

Beginning next week, the judge will hold a conference with the attorneys every Thursday afternoon. The purpose to the conference is to ensure that each side turns evidence over to the other as appropriate and that trial preparations proceed smoothly.  

The judge also ordered that the victims involved in the cases that have been selected for trial will each be required to participate in a mandatory settlement conference with PG&E before trial begins. Other victims may participate in settlement conferences if they would like, but the judge will not require them to do so before the July trial.

Generally, no.  Sports have inherent risks.  An instructor or coach generally is not responsible for injuries to players if the risk of the injury is inherent to the sport.  Holding a coach responsible for such injuries may have a chilling effect on the sport or activity.  The coach must be allowed to urge the athlete to strive to excel or to reach a new level of performance.  But a coach has a duty not to increase the risk of injury by encouraging or allowing the athlete to participate in the sport when the athlete is physically unfit to participate or by allowing the athlete to use unsafe equipment or instruments.  

For example, an equestrian trainer was held responsible when he forced a student rider to train on a lame horse and the rider was injured during a fall.  Similarly, a baseball coach would be responsible to an injured player if he knowingly supplied faulty equipment such as a batting helmet or catching gear.  In those cases, although the injury may be “accidental”, a coach or trainer may be held responsible because his conduct increases the risk to his athletes.

In the five years leading up to the fire, the CPUC found that PG&E committed more than 400 safety violations.  Each time, instead of fining PG&E, it let it off with a warning.

It was the CPUC’s job to keep the public safe from PG&E.  The CPUC failed to do that job.  The CPUC has never adequately explained why it let PG&E slide for so many years.

Michael Peevey has been at the helm of the CPUC since 2002.  Instead of stepping down, he has now appointed himself to lead the investigation against PG&E.

Is it any wonder that the public has no trust in the regulators?