Los Angeles Injury Attorney Blog

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY -- An urgent care physician, Ramon Fawzi Fakhoury, 35, of Norco, is accused of sexually assaulting his patients during examinations at Loma Linda University Medical Center, San Bernardino County Sun reports. A 32-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, went to the east urgent care campus in July to seek treatment for chest pain. Two days later, the woman contacted the hospital staff, stating Fakhoury sexually assaulted her during the exam. The investigation of the woman's complaint prompted the hospital staff to notice a similar incident regarding a 68-year-old woman who also complained Fakhoury sexually assaulted her during the examination. Both complaints were reported in a 24-hour period in July.

Following the allegations, the Sheriff's detectives investigated the claims and the San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office filed charges against Fakhoury, which includes forcible acts of sexual penetration, sexual battery, and assault with intent to commit felony and crimes against an elderly adult. On August 30th, Fakhoury turned himself in at the West Valley Detention Center, where he was arrested on the charges filed against him.

Sexual Assault Liability

Sexual violence can be traumatic and life changing to any individuals involved. When victims are forced into unwanted sexual acts from a person who is under employment of a supervising entity, that entity can be held financially responsible for that person's criminal actions. Therefore, while the investigation is ongoing, victims or their families are well-advised to contact a skilled California crime victim lawyer. A knowledgeable attorney who has the expertise in sexual assault cases, can advise victims of their legal rights and best course of action to recover the maximum compensation for future medical needs, emotional and physical injury, and other damages relating to this devastating incident.

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MORENO VALLEY - A patient in an ambulance died Wednesday following a horrendous Riverside County car vs. ambulance crash that left five people injured, including two American Medical Response paramedics and two Cal Fire firefighters. The accident was reported shortly before 10:45 p.m., at the intersection of Ironwood Avenue and Pigeon Pass Road in Moreno Valley. The victim, a 47-year-old Moreno Valley woman, died at the scene of the crash. Along with the four responders, the driver of the car was also injured. The Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner identified the ambulance patient victim as Ann B. Layton.

This accident raises a number of questions, as the news reports in the Press-Enterprise provide only limited details of what happened. It is not clear if the ambulance had sirens activated, or how fast the vehicles were going when they collided. The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

Medical Transport Provider Wrongful Death Liability

Medical transport companies are considered "common carriers" - because they advertise their services to the general public and accept payment for their transportation services. Under the California Civil Code, "a carrier of persons for reward must use the utmost care and diligence for their safe carriage, must provide everything necessary for that purpose, and must exercise to that end a reasonable degree of skill."

Regardless of whether this accident was the fault of the ambulance driver, or the driver of the other vehicle, the family members of the victim may have legal rights to compensation for the loss of their loved one in this horrific crash.

After an accident such as this one, the family members of the victims may benefit from speaking to a lawyer who has represented victims of medical transport accidents and their families. Common carrier accidents have very unique legal issues, and it is important to understand the victim's family's legal rights and options. It is always advisable to talk to a Riverside personal injury lawyer before providing a statement to an insurance adjustor or accepting any insurance settlement offer. The family may be entitled to financial compensation for funeral and burial expenses, lost earnings and benefits, and loss of love, care, and companionship.

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Timothy Howard, 48, a former middle school administrator from Valencia, went to his doctor in October 2007 with intermittent blindness in his right eye. His primary doctor referred him to an ophthalmologist, who found no abnormalities. For several weeks, Howard continued having vision symptoms, as well as headaches and pain in his neck. On thanksgiving evening two years ago, Howard experienced complete vision lost in his left eye. Howard went to Urgent Care, where a doctor diagnosed him with an ocular migraine, but agreed to run a CT scan. While waiting for the results of the scan, Howard suffered a stroke. Doctors at the emergency room diagnosed a carotid tear (dissection) as the cause of the stroke. Last week arbitrators ruled that Kaiser Permanente will pay Howard $5 million for the misdiagnosis.

According to a suit filed by Howard, Kaiser physicians did not properly diagnose the cause of Howard's episodic blindness, headaches and other symptoms. Instead of diagnosing Howard's tear in the carotid artery, physicians said Howard had a migraine. After Howard's stroke two years ago, an infection related to his treatment resulted in both of Howard's legs being amputated. Howard has no use of his left arm and has left-sided weakness. He has not been able to return to work since the stroke and is wheelchair bound.

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Hospital officials at Glendale Adventist Medical Center said this week that 10 patients received three to four times normal radiation exposure during brain CT scans at the hospital. The hospital claims to have notified all 10 patients who were overexposed. One patient suffered hair loss as a result, a hospital spokesman told the Glendale News.

Since it was discovered in October that about 260 patients were exposed to 8x radiation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, California Department of Public Health officials began auditing CT procedures at hospitals. A General Electric technician has since helped reprogram the CT scanner at the Glendale hospital. The scanner at Glendale Adventist was a less powerful model than the one used at Cedars-Sinai, and only exposed patients to 3-4 times the normal radiation.

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