Los Angeles Personal Injury Law Blog

When people get sick from an unsafe product, they know they're unwell by how they feel. However, when a beloved pet becomes ill from a dangerous product, it might not be immediately clear what the problem is. A new case involving salmonella from dog and cat food, however, is affecting both humans and their animal companions.

The pets were affected by consuming the food, which was made by the Diamond pet food company. But the pets' owners got sick as well from handling the food. It's not clear what caused the food to be infected, but the Centers for Disease Control says people in 13 states so far have been reported as suffering from salmonella poisoning.

Several months after the death of a man in a bizarre accident, the man's widow is finally seeing a semblance of justice. The accident happened in December in Fillmore, California, when an off-duty sheriff's deputy from Los Angeles County apparently blacked out from a seizure behind the wheel of his SUV. The vehicle crashed into a Starbucks, killing a 30-year-old Iraq War veteran who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Long before the fatal car crash, the California DMV had suspended the man's license due to a seizure he had suffered at work. However, the agency had reinstated the man's license just prior to the fatal Ventura County accident. The man's license was only recently suspended again; he had been permitted to drive in the months following the fatal accident.

The start of baseball season every year marks a new beginning. The grass on the field never looks more pristine; every team starts out with dreams of reaching the World Series. For the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, however, the start of baseball season is tinged with memories of a teammate and friend who was killed by a drunk driver at this time three years ago.

Nick Adenhart had just started his fourth career major league game on April 8, 2009. It was a solid performance for the 22-year-old; Adenhart pitched six scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics. However, a few hours after the game, Adenhart and three friends were in a car in Fullerton, California, when they were hit by a drunk driver. The pitcher and two of his friends died in the fatal car crash.

Many people in California take for granted the safe and abundant food supply they enjoy every day. The state is one of the world's most prolific agriculture producers, and the high quality of its products is known around the country and around the world. So when unsafe products are put on the market, the potential for adverse effects is high.

This situation arose late last week when the state issued a recall notice for some products made with raw milk that were produced by Claravale Farms in San Benito County, California. A state veterinarian reported that some raw cream that had been produced at the dairy contained potentially harmful bacteria known as campylobacter.