Monday, August 23, 2010 at 10:29 a.m.

Federal workplace safety officials have fined SeaWorld $75,000 following an investigation into the death of a trainer at the company’s Orlando park six months ago.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a “willful” citation to SeaWorld for exposing its employees to “struck-by” and drowning hazards when interacting with killer whales. The agency defines a willful violation as “one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.”

OSHA officials said their investigation showed SeaWorld trainers had a long history of “unexpected and potentially dangerous incidents” involving killer whales, or orcas.  “Despite this record, management failed to make meaningful changes to improve the safety of the work environment for its employees,” the agency said in a statement.

SeaWorld has 15 days to contest the citations before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.  The company said in a blog post that it will challenge what it calls unfounded allegations.

Tilikum, a 12,000-pound male orca, killed veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau, 40, in front of about two dozen spectators on Feb. 24, fueling a national debate about keeping the giant carnivores in captivity.

OSHA’s investigation said video footage shows the killer whale repeatedly striking and thrashing the trainer, and pulling her under water as she tried to escape. The autopsy report described the cause of death as drowning and traumatic injuries.

After Brancheau’s death, a theory emerged that Tilikum may have seen the trainer’s ponytail as a toy and pulled her into the tank. When the incident started, Brancheau was on a submerged shelf, patting and hugging the whale after a noon show.

The February fatality wasn’t the first that involved Tilikum. He was one of three orcas blamed for killing a trainer who fell into their pool 19 years ago in British Columbia.

Tilikum also was involved in a 1999 death, when the body of a man who had sneaked by SeaWorld Orlando security was found draped over him. The man either jumped, fell or was pulled into the frigid water and died of hypothermia, although he also was bruised and scratched by Tilikum.

Killer whales have a history of aggressive behavior in captivity going back at least to 1971. That’s when a SeaWorld San Diego secretary riding the original Shamu for a publicity stunt suffered lacerations and puncture wounds when she was tossed into the water and seized by her legs.

Four years ago, SeaWorld San Diego trainer Ken Peters was bitten on the foot by Kasatka, a 5,000-pound female killer whale. Kasatka took Peters to the bottom of the tank twice during a performance, fracturing his left foot.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health, known as CalOSHA, issued an 18-page report after that incident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact the experienced lawyers of the Gomez Law Firm today.

July 31, 2010 – SAN DIEGO — A 2-year-old boy was mauled to death by his family’s dog late Saturday morning inside a Tierrasanta home, police said.

The incident happened at 11:33 a.m. at a house on Lofberg Street in a military housing area just east of Interstate 15, said San Diego Police Department Sgt. Ray Battrick.

The boy, Aaron Carlson, was attacked in an upstairs bedroom in front of some or all of his three siblings: a 3-year-old brother and 5- and 7-year-old sisters, said police Lt. Rick O’Hanlon.

Their mother was laying on the downstairs couch of the two-story duplex when the oldest child alerted her to what happened, the lieutenant added. The father is a serviceman deployed overseas.

The victim was taken to Rady Children’s Hospital but couldn’t be saved, Battrick said.

“No criminal charges are pending,” O’Hanlan said. “It appeared the dog caused the injuries to the child. What provoked the animal to do this is unknown at this point.”

He said it was his understanding that there was no previous problem with the dog, a 1.5-year-old shepherd mix that the family has owned for about six months.

Authorities are investigating the incident, and the dog has been secured and will be taken away by animal control officers. Military security officers have restricted access to streets leading to the family’s home.

“At this point, it appears to be a horrible tragedy,” O’Hanlon said.

July 29, 2010 – OCEANSIDE — A 56-year-old nursery worker killed in an industrial accident was identified as Manuel Figueroa Moreno, the Medical Examiner’s Office said Thursday.

Moreno was working at Evergreen Nursery on Oceanside Boulevard near Rancho del Oro Drive Tuesday about 9 a.m. when a supervisor found him with the right side of his torso and arm wedged into a conveyor belt machine on a composting machine.

Moreno had stopped breathing and died at the scene.

Sunday, July 25, 2010 — In November 2008, a professional driver for Pizza Hut suddenly drove her car into oncoming traffic in Clairmont, hitting the vehicle driven by Olena Novak head-on.

As a result of the crash, a mother and daughter, Olena Novak, at the time 87, and Shari Novak, at the time 62, suffered severe injuries.  Olena suffered a broken neck and Shari suffered permanent brain damage and can no longer feed herself, communicate or provide for her own daily care.

Attorneys for the Novaks filed a personal-injury lawsuit last year against the driver and her employer, California-based Pizza Hut Inc. The 18-year-old driver, who suffered minor injuries, was eventually dropped from the suit.

Pizza Hut says the crash occurred because the driver had a seizure, which caused her to blackout momentarily while driving. They say her medical condition was not diagnosed until after the collision. Though never diagnosed with a seizure disorder, the driver had an extensive history of “blackout” and “starting spells.”

On Tuesday July 27, 2010 a San Diego Superior Court jury will be asked to decide whether Pizza Hut is responsible for the Novaks’ injuries — as the plaintiffs’ attorneys contend — for failing to realize that the teen was an unfit driver when they hired her.

“Pizza Hut has the responsibility of putting safe drivers on the road, on our roads,” said John Gomez, lawyer for Shari Novak, during closing arguments last week.

He said the Novaks are entitled to unspecified damages, including lost wages, past and future medical expenses, and pain and suffering damages.

Representatives for Pizza Hut say the company did its due diligence when hiring the driver, Nicole Fisk, who had a valid California driver’s license, her own car — a Hyundai Elantra — and insurance.

“Pizza Hut did nothing wrong at the time they hired Nicole,” said James Yukevich, an attorney for the defendant. “The accident had nothing to do with training or supervision,”

Yukevich argued in court that the core issue is whether Fisk could know before the collision, on Clairemont Drive near Ute Drive, that she would be suddenly incapacitated by the onset of an epileptic seizure.

“Nicole, if asked, would have told Pizza Hut that she had no health problems that would affect her ability to be a driver,” he said.

Citing testimony from the case, Yukevich told the jury that Fisk went with her mother to a doctor in January 2007, complaining of “staring spells.” She saw several doctors between January and August 2007, when she reportedly had trouble breathing and at times was unresponsive, but she was not diagnosed with epilepsy.

“Nicole didn’t realize she was blacking out,” Yukevich said.

He said that it wasn’t until after the collision that she learned she was suffering from a “complex seizure disorder.”

Gomez said that Pizza Hut was shifting blame for its negligence to the doctors who treated Fisk and to the state Department of Motor Vehicles, which issued Fisk a driver’s license. He said that the DMV sets a minimum standard for California motorists and that Pizza Hut should have done more to ensure that Fisk, who was hired as a professional driver, was also a safe driver.

Gomez called the assertion that Fisk couldn’t remember her seizure “a little convenient.”

“‘I don’t remember’ doesn’t make it right,” he said.

July 1, 2010 – SAN DIEGO — A suspected drunken driver crashed through a chain-link fence, crossed a field and hit an electrical box early Thursday morning, leaving one passenger with major head injuries, police said.

The woman, who was in her 30s, was driving a Pontiac Firebird west on Paradise Valley Road near South Meadowbrook Drive in Bay Terraces when she drove off the road, police said.

The driver suffered minor injuries and was being held for observation, said police Sgt. Ray Battrick. Charges against her are pending, he said.

A man riding in the car was taken to the hospital with major head injuries and a female passenger suffered minor injuries, police said.

June 22, 2010 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Baby Walkers

Units: About 8,400

Importer: Suntech Enterprises Inc., of Commerce, Calif.

Hazard: The recalled walkers can fit through a standard doorway and fail to have sufficient stair-fall protection to prevent falls down stairs. Babies using these walkers can be seriously injured or killed if they fall down stairs.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: The baby walkers have a plastic frame supported by four wheels and eight brake pads. The walkers were sold in blue, pink, and green with a white activity tray and patterned, vinyl seat. Item number WK110 or WK112 is printed on the side of the packaging.

Sold at: Small juvenile product stores in California, Illinois, New York and Texas from January 2007 through December 2009 for between $25 and $30.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the walkers and return them to the store where purchased for a full refund.

Note: This recall is being conducted voluntarily, however, in May 2010, CPSC issued a new mandatory rule on baby walkers that is effective on December 21, 2010. The walkers will be required to either: 1) be too wide to fit through a standard doorway, or 2) have features, such as a gripping mechanism, to stop the walker at the edge of a step.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective product, contact the Defective Product lawyers of the Gomez Law Firm today.

June 9, 2010 – A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer and four others were taken to the hospital Wednesday after a three-vehicle crash shut down the northbound 405 Freeway, backing up traffic for miles.

The accident occurred about 8:35 a.m. as the officer, a 27-year veteran based at the CHP’s West Los Angeles station, was making a traffic stop on the right shoulder of the highway near the Interstate 10 interchange, said CHP Officer Miguel Luevano.

A passing car veered into the officer, shoving him and his motorcycle forward into the stopped vehicle, Luevano said. The force of the impact caused the stopped vehicle, an SUV, to overturn, he added. The officer was pinned in the tangle of car wreckage until rescuers extricated him, Luevano said.

The officer was taken to the nearby UCLA Medical Center. The three occupants of the SUV and the driver of the car were also transported to the hospital with undisclosed injuries.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The northbound freeway remained closed between Venice Boulevard and I-10, while two lanes of the southbound side are shut down.

A 22-year-old bicyclist was hit and injured Monday night.

The rider was traveling east in the bike lane on Cannon Road near Hemingway Drive about 11:30 p.m. when he was struck by a driver in a pickup, Carlsbad police said.

The man suffered a head wound and a possible broken leg and was hospitalized, police said.

The driver of the truck stopped. There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved, police said.

The driver was not cited, however charges may be filed at a later date, police said.

June 1, 2010 — A 25-year-old woman was killed Tuesday morning and two others were injured when her SUV crossed into oncoming freeway traffic and collided with two vehicles.

Neydi Arely Ramirez, of Chula Vista, was heading north on state Route 125 north of Jamacha Road about 8:40 a.m. when for unknown reasons she lost control of her gold Ford Explorer and crossed the center divide, authorities said.

The SUV rolled over and landed on top of a silver Chrysler PT Cruiser being driven by a 48-year-old woman, California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Pennings said. The SUV then continued to roll and collided with a marked Border Patrol Jeep Wrangler being driven by an on-duty agent, Pennings said.

Ramirez, who was wearing her seat belt, died at the scene, the Medical Examiner’s Office said.

The driver of the PT Cruiser was airlifted and the agent was taken by ambulance to Mercy Hospital, a Heartland fire dispatcher said.

All southbound lanes of state Route 125 were shut down at state Route 94 after the crash and reopened about 11:30 a.m., the CHP said.

Pennings said there was no evidence that drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.