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In California, drivers are required to carry insurance on their vehicles. Drivers must have evidence of financial responsibility available to show to a police officer if asked, or if involved in an accident. Drivers are required to carry $15,000 in coverage for injury or death to one person, $30,000 in coverage for injury or death to more than one person, and $5,000 for damage to property.

Unfortunately, not everyone in California chooses to obey the law and purchase insurance. It’s estimated that 15 percent of the drivers on California’s roads do not have insurance. Many drivers choose to purchase uninsured motorist coverage. That insurance is designed to pay for a loss you incur that is caused by a driver without adequate liability insurance. It could cover medical expenses, property damage, loss of income, or other expenses. The coverage is typically extended to all members of your family who live in your household.

If you are involved in an accident with a driver who does not have insurance, and the accident was the other driver’s fault, if you have uninsured motorist coverage, you can make a claim against your insurance company. In unusual circumstances, the driver may have enough assets to cover your damages. There may be other parties at fault too who can be held legally responsible.

Call me, California personal injury attorney Conal Doyle of Doyle Law at 310-385-0567, if you have been involved in an accident with a driver who did not have car insurance. I can help advise you of your legal options. Call today to schedule your free consultation.

Airbags have been a huge safety innovation for automobiles. Airbags can also cause serious injuries. Recently, automobile manufacturers recalled millions of vehicles that were equipped with Takata airbags, which were prone to explode and send shrapnel flying through the vehicle.

Even when airbags perform correctly, they can harm passengers, particularly smaller ones. Although these injuries are rare, they can be serious, and in some cases can be more serious than any injuries that would have occurred in an accident had the airbags not deployed.

Airbags deploy when a crash occurs because an electronic signal tells them to deploy. A chemical reaction occurs that inflates the bags with gas at very high speeds. In some cases, the bags can deploy in accidents that occur at low speeds. The rapid deployment of the airbags can cause serious injuries if a passenger or driver is hit hard enough by it.

It’s common for burns to occur in an airbag deployment. The burns could be chemical burns (caused by contact with the chemical that is released) or abrasion (caused when an individual hits the airbag) burns. Other burns can be caused by the high temperatures reached by the gases.

If you have suffered injuries from an airbag, call me, California personal injury attorney Conal Doyle of Doyle Law at 310-385-0567. You may be entitled to compensation from the other driver involved in the accident, the vehicle manufacturer, or another party. Call today to learn more.

It’s illegal under both federal and state law to discriminate against a woman in the workplace because of her pregnancy. Under the federal Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family and Medical Leave Act, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act, women are provided with certain legal protections during their pregnancies.

By law, an employer cannot refuse to hire or demote or fire a woman because she is currently pregnant or is planning to become pregnant. Some common examples of pregnancy discrimination include refusing to hire women of childbearing age out of fear they may become pregnant and quit their jobs, refusing to hire women because they are pregnant, firing a woman for bogus reasons after she becomes pregnant, or passing a woman over for a promotion because she is pregnant or may become pregnant.

In addition, most working women are entitled to maternity leave. If you are eligible under federal and state laws, employers must offer you 12 weeks of unpaid leave following the birth or adoption of a child. Women may choose to replace those unpaid weeks with paid leave that they have accrued, such as sick leave or vacation leave. Women must continue to receive employment benefits, such as health insurance, although they must pay the premiums. Once a pregnant woman returns to work, she must be restored to her original job or an equivalent job.

It can in some cases be difficult to prove that you were discriminated against because you were pregnant. Employers frequently make up a bogus excuse for why they chose to take certain actions against pregnant employees. If you believe you were wrongfully fired because you are or were pregnant, call me, Conal Doyle, Los Angeles employment discrimination attorney at 310-385-0567. I will provide you with a free consultation on your case. Call to learn more.

For most new parents, the birth of a child is an exciting event which they have looked forward to for months. Sadly, often obstetricians fail to exercise a high level of care during childbirth. This may result in injuries or death to the mother, the child, or both.

There are many types of malpractice an obstetrician can commit during labor or delivery. The obstetrician may fail to recognize complications during the delivery. He or she may not have performed proper tests during the pregnancy or delivery. For example, he or she may have failed to give the mother a Group B strep test, which could help the doctor to prevent deadly infections in the infant. The obstetrician may also have failed to carefully monitor the delivery, which could have dangerous implications if complications arise.

Obstetricians may improperly use medical devices during delivery. This may include the use of vacuums or forceps. If a C-section is performed, surgical instruments can in some cases cause damage to the mother or the child.

When a high level of care is used during labor and delivery, the vast majority of deliveries result in healthy infants. However, if a proper standard of care is not used, tragedy can result. If you believe that you have been the victim of an obstetrician’s malpractice in southern California, call me, Conal Doyle, medical malpractice attorney, at 310-385-0567. I will provide you with a free consultation on your case. Call to learn more.