Legal Insights: A California Law Blog...

By Law Offices | Felicia Yates & Associates Speed Enforced by CHP Aircraft (and Ground Units) If you have traveled up and down California's freeway and highway system - especially the more rural or desolate sections - you have undoubtedly seen the signs "Speed Enforced by Aircraft" or "Speed Patrolled by Aircraft." I can remember these being posted along many of the highways I was traveling upon, back when I was growing up - I would envision a plane (or helicopter) swooping down out of the sky (and possibly landing on the highway) in pursuit of traffic defendants. New technology has made air patrols less prominent these days - they are now used more often in the pursuit of fleeing felons, DUIs, missing person searches, and generally tracking down suspects running from law enforcement. However, they are still being utilized, especially out on desert highways (I-15 between Barstow, CA and Primm, Nevada (aka State Line), and the I-40 between Barstow, CA and Nee...

By Law Offices | Felicia Yates & Associates This is Part Three in a series of blog articles on California Personal Injury (PI) law.    Section 3342(a) of the California Civil Code states as follows: "(a) The owner of any dog is liable for the damages suffered by any person who is bitten by the dog while in a public place or lawfully in a private place, including the property of the owner of the dog, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner’s knowledge of such viciousness.  A person is lawfully upon the private property of such owner within the meaning of this section when he is on such property in the performance of any duty imposed upon him by the laws of this state or by the laws or postal regulations of the United States, or when he is on such property upon the invitation, express or implied, of the owner."   In order to pursue a lawsuit for monetary damages under California's dog bite statute, the two key points to establis...

By Law Offices | Felicia Yates & Associates   The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) estimates that over 5 million commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) operate on our nation's highways each year. The CSA 2010 is the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 - it is the FMCSA's safety compliance and enforcement program. It's primary objective is to improve safety and prevent commercial motor vehicle (CMV) crashes, injuries, and fatalities.   Under the Safety Measurement System (SMS), there are an abundance of violations in a CMV that would result in a carrier and/or driver being assigned "Severity Points." The violation severity weights are assigned on a 1 to 10 scale, where 1 represents the lowest crash risk, and 10 represents the highest crash risk.      The August 2021 SMS Methodology, explains how motor carriers’ safety performance and compliance status in the SMS causes them to be targeted for intervention. Appendix A of...

By Law Offices | Felicia Yates & Associates   We are often asked what type of DUI costs, fees, and expenses a California defendant may be facing if he or she is charged , and if convicted of a first-time misdemeanor DUI offense.  The best advice I can give anyone as a DUI lawyer is as follows: If you are contemplating driving a motor vehicle after having consumed any measurable amount of alcohol or drugs - Don’t do it!  Call for an Uber, Lyft, or traditional taxi ride, designate a driver ahead of time, or simply spend the night at the place you happen to find yourself that evening.   Having said all that, if you find yourself in the unfortunate position of facing a first-time DUI charge, I am going to breakdown the average prospective costs of being cited / arrested for same.  A first-offense misdemeanor DUI for an adult, age 21 or older, with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher, are as follows:   If you are charged only… $3...

By Law Offices | Felicia Yates & Associates This is Part Two in a series of blog articles on California Personal Injury (PI) law. The California Tort Claims Act (CTCA) outlines the steps an injured party - and their attorney - must follow, in order to successfully bring a PI claim against any public or governmental entity in the State of California. The CTCA requires that you give notice to a government entity within a set period of time, or you may waive your right to pursue money damages. In CTCA claims involving personal injury, personal property damage, or wrongful death, proper notice of a claim must be filed with that government entity within six (6) months of the date of your injury or accident . There are some exceptions to the above time limitation for filing your tort claim with the respective government entity. Your chances of successfully filing a late claim will be greatly increased, with the assistance of a competent personal injury attorney. Here are the only v...

By Law Offices | Felicia Yates & Associates   This is Part One in a series of blog articles on California Personal Injury (PI) law.     The body of law in California, known as Tort law, sets forth the criteria that a victim needs to follow in order to hold an entity or an individual(s) civilly liable for injuries resulting from the careless, reckless or intentional acts – or omissions (the failure to act) by an entity or individual(s).   An assault is an example of an intentional tort, an auto accident is an example of a negligent tort, and a defective product is an example of a strict liability tort.   1)  Statute of Limitations   The Statute of Limitations (SOL) is the body of law that places time limits on how long a person has to file a lawsuit in a court of law. The general rule in California is that most PI lawsuits have to be filed at a state courthouse within a two (2) year period from the date that you suffered harm – or ...