In California especially, we protect the rights of the disabled so that they, too, are free and equal. As pedestrian accident lawyers in San Francisco and Paso Robles, California, we advocate for all pedestrian rights. Recently, principal and founder Shaana Rahman published the following in Plaintiff Magazine:
The Unruh Act broadly provides that all persons within California are “free and equal” and “are entitled to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever.” (Civ. Code, § 51(b).) The California Disabled Persons Act (DPA) additionally provides that individuals with disabilities “shall be entitled to full and equal access, as other members of the general public,” to places to which the general public is invited. (Civ. Code, § 54.1(a)(1).) Both Acts broadly prohibit discrimination without qualification and require equal treatment in all public accommodations. (Civ. Code, §§ 51 & 54.)
Access to the disabled is non-discriminatory. Wheelchair access, persons with vision impairments, those with crutches or walking assistive devices, service animals… The legislation from the Supreme Court, the DPA, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Unruh Act all lead to the same goal: “the commendable goal of total integration of handicapped persons into the mainstream of society.” (In re Marriage of Carney (1979) 24 Cal.3d 725, 738, 740.) Preventing pedestrian accidents for the disabled becomes a topic of free and equal access provided that doing so would not “fundamentally alter” the nature of the accommodation per the ADA.
Full and equal access includes the sidewalk. Uneven sidewalks can be an inconvenience to a young, healthy parent pushing a jogging stroller, but are impermissible to many wheelchairs. In San Francisco and Paso Robles, the streets and sidewalks are old due to the age of the cities, resulting in gaps, cracks, and deviations in the sidewalks greater than 1”, which can be hazardous to anyone and potentially result in a pedestrian accident. If you see a dangerous sidewalk, report it. If you are a property owner, it may be under your duty of care to repair it. Remember, the general public is entitled to equal access and many cities have ordinances placing the burden of repair for the sidewalk on the property owner. Courts have already been looking to adjacent property owners to warn and protect the public to prevent pedestrian accidents.
Courts have held a landowner who exercises possession or control over an adjacent sidewalk has a duty to warn or protect pedestrians and others who foreseeably may be in the area from dangerous conditions on the sidewalk. (See, Alpert v. Villa Romano Homeowners Ass’n (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 1320, 1335-1337.) In Alpert v. Villa Romano Homeowners Assoc. (2000) 81 Cal.App.4th 1320, the court held that a landowner owed a duty of care to pedestrians using a sidewalk on adjoining property, where the defendant knew the sidewalk was hazardous due to roots from trees located on the defendant’s property. In doing so, the court analyzed the impact of Civil Code 1714(a), Streets and Highways Code 5610, and other authorities in determining liability. In essence, Section 5610 of the Streets and Highways Code established the rule that the owner of the property adjoining the sidewalk has a duty to maintain it. (Ibid.)
Now is a great time to go outside before the rain comes and take a look at the sidewalks around you. Are they reasonably free of defects to avoid pedestrian accidents? Do they allow free and equal access to disabled pedestrians? Are they on or adjacent to yours property? If you have concerns about liability should a pedestrian accident occur, give us a call. The lawyers at Rahman Law PC have handled many pedestrian accident cases and can help you understand the ordinances in your area.
This podcast was recorded in December of 2017 with Martin Krieg from the national nonprofit National Bicycle Greenway and Shaana Rahman of Rahman Law PC.
It is part of the Mountain Movers Podcast Series. The series focuses on people who are taking giant steps for the betterment of cyclists and the planet itself. Mr. Krieg recorded from Indianapolis. Shaana Rahman of Rahman Law PC discusses her life riding bicycles, working as a bicycle accident attorney, advocating for bicyclist safety, riding in San Francisco, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. Click below to visit the National Bicycle Greenway website with the original podcast, or listen here:
Martin: Welcome the national bicycle greenways mountain mover podcast series. Here you will get up close and personal with people who are taking giant steps for the betterment of cyclists and for the planet itself.
Martin: With gratitude to Shaana Rahman of Rahman law in San Francisco California for waiting for me to get set up here in Indianapolis. I was finally able to record our long-scheduled podcast. As such I can finally show you the rich genuine kind person I’ve had the chance to work with for these last couple of years. At long last I’m able to show you a woman who mixes professionalism with warmth in our important service to cyclists who have been compromised by motorists.
Martin: Hey how are you doing today Shaana?
Shaana: I’m doing great Martin, how are you?
Martin: I’m doing great thanks for asking and now we’re just going to jump right into because there’s so much about Shaana Rahman that I need for the guy that bicycles [01:08 inaudible] to be able to understand. So Shaana before we get into bikes in law, where’d you grow up at?
Shaana: I grew up in Long Island, New York.
Martin: Is there a city out there that you grew up in?
Shaana: Massapequa, Nassau County.
Martin: Massapequa, huh okay. Did you ride a bike there much?
Shaana: I did, I had my first about my first red Schwinn when I was a kid with some babysitting money I think. It wasn’t my first bike, the first bike I bought myself.
Martin: Really! Was it like a Schwinn varsity or something like that?
Shaana: It was a baby bike. So it wasn’t even a ten-speed. The Varsity was the second one. But it was like a thick Schwinn with no hand brakes.
Martin: So, it is a coaster brake? You step on the pedal.
Shaana: Yeah.
Martin: Really?
Shaana: It was bright red.
Martin: Where’d you get the money for it? You say you bought it. Did you have a paper route?
Shaana: Yes.
Martin: Oh you did?
Shaana: Yeah, my brother and I did. I would help him, we’d split it. We were industrious kids because we grew up kinda poor. We’d do our jobs and make money.
Martin: Yeah wow it’s like I can’t tell you how many bikes and things I bought it with a paper on money. You know kids don’t have that luxury anymore. So, I guess probably I’m going to skip maybe a few years you were a kid in Long Island, there was a lot of riding around there? Do you ride much?
Shaana: Every day, yeah. It was a time when you’d just get on your bike, at like, you know 6/7/8, and our parents didn’t care, and we’d ride in a group. We’d go all through the neighborhood. You know, back then no helmets, no nothing – but big wide streets, and it was safe, and it was the thing that our parents would let us do.
Martin: Did you ever go on long rides in long island?
Shaana: Yeah, we used to do our long ride during summer. We used to ride out to jones beach.
Martin: Wow! Did ever make it up to port Jefferson?
Shaana: We couldn’t ride that far.
Martin: How long is long island anyway? Just curious about hundred miles.
Shaana: Probably at least a hundred miles.
Martin: Yeah that’d be right okay and so like you were riding your bike all the way through as a kid did you ride in high school too?
Shaana: Yeah. Yeah in high school. When I was in New York in high school, I used to ride my bike in, get to the bus take it to high school. That was my joined varsity.
Martin: That was in New York City then?
Shaana: No still in Long Island.
Martin: Okay in Long Island still okay. So, you used to ride your bike to school or ride your bike to school. Really? How cool is that? What was the name of your high school just for fun?
Shaana: Massapequa high school
Martin: Ah so okay. How about college? Where did you go to college at?
Shaana: I only moved out to California and I went to college at Santa Clara.
Martin: Yeah, your whole family moved out there?
Shaana: Yep.
Martin: And what did you lived in Santa Clara?
Shaana: We moved out to Santa Cruz and then [05:15 inaudible]
Martin: You are kidding me. So, you are in Santa Cruz in the early 90s possibly too?
Shaana: I moved out there [05:29 inaudible]
Martin: [05:28 inaudible] earth quake you were gone. So, you weren’t there that long?
Shaana: Yeah, I was there about 3 or 4 years. Then I [05:38 inaudible] first year college I lived in [05:45 inaudible] over the hill. Highway 17 was basically closed.
Martin: Yeah, I rode my bike on that one. It was very, very surreal experience. It was crazy crazy. Wow so you’re a Santa Cruz kid kind of sort. Wow! Wow! That’s amazing. You went to Santa Clara, went to school of the Jesuits.
Shaana: I did. They had the best bar. No one knows it. The Jesuits resident had the most elaborate, most impressive bar [06:23 inaudible]
Martin: You are kidding me, on campus?
Shaana: On campus. [06:27 inaudible]
Martin: So, what do you mean? It was like a bar that the drinking for alcohol?
Shaana: It was like a parlor room. Like a [06:46 inaudible] parlor room with [06:50 inaudible]
Martin: Anybody can use it huh?
Shaana: Not exactly. You have to be invited by the Jesuits.
Martin: So, it wasn’t just any student at Santa Clara could go to the Jesuits bar. You have to be invited by the priests, gotcha. Wow! And then you went from a catholic Santa Clara, catholic school to a catholic law school correct?
Shaana: I did. [07:25 inaudible]
Martin: Okay wow so you went from Santa Cruz to Santa Clara to San Francisco all the way up to peninsula and ended up stuck in San Francisco and we spoke the other day you were doing personal injury law. So, you start doing personal injury law for the longshoremen back pretty much when they ran San Francisco. You were saying that you came on board with them when they were starting to shut the ports down, is that correct? Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
Shaana: That’s right. Put myself [08:03 inaudible] longshoremen and when they got hurt at work. So, it’s more like workers comp former longshoremen and it was at a time [08:16 inaudible] of longshoremen. It was when they were starting to close the ports. So those jobs were getting a little bit scarcer. So, these were almost all men, but some women, these folks really really really wanted to work and so even when they were hurt, really bad things, bad things would happen at longshoremen. You know they would get in a hole and covered with product and they’d have pallets on them, they would have [08:47 inaudible] ripped off.
Martin: Tell us about the path you took before you started fighting for the rights of cyclists. When did you become a bike commuter, how did that all kind of evolved?
Shaana: It’s hard to say you know when I was, so I grew up riding a bike obviously and then when I lived in Santa Clara through college, it was great bike riding in Santa Clara you know to and from school and around. Because big flat wide streets and back then not a lot of traffic there and then you know after I had moved up to San Francisco, I didn’t ride for a while. Because it was kind of terrifying to me so and I didn’t have a lot of time. Because I was in law school and starting my first law job. So, I was working probably 60,70,80, 90 hours a week you know and then when I got my first plaintiffs job working for a firm representing injured people, I started doing a lot of bicycle and motorcycle cases. So, representing the rights of cyclists and motorcyclists and that’s when I started getting back into getting back on the bike in San Francisco.
Martin: Okay great and were you member of the SFBC back then?
Shaana: I became a member of the SFBC when I opened my firm about ten years ago.
Martin: Okay that would have been 2004 or so.
Shaana: 2007 yeah.
Martin: Okay great. Were you active with the SFBC?
Shaana: I have been active with them for the last ten years. I’ve had pleasure of sponsoring a number of their programs over the years and attending all their great events and the most recent thing I’ve been doing with them is sponsoring a fairly new program, it’s their Women who Ride program and it’s basically for the social and educational program for women riders. So, they do good rides and they also put on presentations about things that might be relevant to riders.
Martin: Wow! So how do you feel about riding in San Francisco now? Have you gotten over your fear?
Shaana: I have gotten over my fear. It took some time, but I would force myself to you know eight, nine, years ago ride up and down Market Street and that’s the way back then to get over your fear. Now it is actually almost pleasurable, not totally but there’s been some great improvement. But it took a lot. But SFBC was really helpful there. Because it gives gave me a community of people who could share stories and know tell you what the best route is, or you know gives you that kind of help I think. So, city riding was very different from what I’ve been used to. It’s not big wide-open streets with very few cars. It’s the very opposite of that. So, it was really learning how to navigate urban riding.
Martin: As well as the railroad tracks.
Shaana: Right, 90 degrees.
Martin: I’ve seen so many people go down on those things you know. Its hysterical and funny and even sometimes I’ve seen seasoned cyclists go down. Because they’ve let their guard down, they’ve kind of you got to hit perfectly 90 degrees what you say. Okay now in terms of your service Shaana, it’s free. But of course, that’s if you choose to take on someone’s case. How does one get that ball rolling? You do a couple of interviews. One on the phone, one face-to-face. Tell us about those.
Shaana: Sure, I’ll clarify a little bit. My service is not actually free. There is no upfront cost. I’m a contingency fee lawyer. Like all personal injury lawyers, we take a percentage of recovery. So how people get to me, people come to me. Most of my cases are referred through former clients, friends and also, I get a lot of cases referred to me from defense attorneys. The folks I argue against in cases. So that’s how I get my cases and people come to me and they call, or they send an email through our website and then some people are we then call people back who have seemed like they might have a viable case and there’s a phone process where we take a little bit of information. If they come in through the website, the website has a number of standard questions that help us better evaluate. So that’s an easier process and then if either through the website intake process over the phone intake process, it looks like it might be a case that I can take on. I have folks come in and we meet in person.
Martin: Okay so what kinds of factors come into play in you are determining whether a case is worth representing?
Shaana: There are a lot of different factors. Probably the biggest one is I want to make sure if the case meets all the criteria. You know there was a collision or there was an injury and there are certain parameters met. I want to make sure that my involvement is going to add value to that client right and so for the bike community, I get a lot of calls from cyclists who were in some sort of collision. But thankfully either were not injured or just had property damage damaged their bikes and they call really because they don’t know what their rights are or what should happen and so for those folks I will just take them through the process and if it’s a very minor injury, I’ll take them through the process of how to do it themselves. Because that’s not the case where I would add value for that. Yeah so, it’s something, not every case you don’t need a lawyer for every case. Because there’s insurance on the other side, you can sometimes work it out with the insurance company although the insurance companies do not play fair. If you at least are armed with sort of the basic information about how these things work, it can help you just resolve your issue on your own.
Martin: Okay you were saying also that you kind of look at the client then see if they are able to, express themselves appropriately and if it’s something to do with like if they’re just trying to do this out of an ego type spite thing, talk about that just a little bit.
Shaana: So, you always want, because the personal injury in the civil lawsuit system is it’s pretty narrow and what I can do. So essentially what we could do is get monetary recoveries for people who are injured right and that’s money and so if someone comes to me and they want something other than that, you know they want to be vindicated or they want to be right or that motivation is difficult. Because it’s not the thing that the system allows me to do for them. So, I look at that, I also I always meet with clients. Because I think it’s real important I spent a lot of time with my clients and I want to make sure we gel right that I like them, and they like me and because it’s an important relationship like any other relationship, you’re in a position where you both are sharing sensitive and important information you need to trust each other. So, I think that the client meeting is really important to that process to sort of assess how someone is going to be whether or not they can withstand the kind of rigors of litigation if that’s necessary. Because having a lawsuit and having a claim, no it’s not a fun process for people. You know myself and my staff we try to make it as painless as possible. But there’s still an element of having to participate and reliving the horrible thing that happened to you right and so there are some people who I feel at going through that process is actually going to be worse for them.
Martin: Okay I got it. Okay so once you choose to take on a case, pretty big mechanism gets set into place. It becomes far more than Shaana Rahman. Tell us about your staff.
Shaana: Sure, I have three wonderful women who work with me. I have Christina Guido, she’s my director of client services and she is sort of she’s me when I can’t be available. In terms of being able to be responsive to the clients, she gets information from them, gives them information about what’s going to happen next or give some documents to review and kind of also handles the initial process between potential clients and what’s become new clients and Christina is a fabulous woman. She is, I’ll give you a little bit of her background – well I’ll tell you one personal thing about her. She’s a phenomenal gospel and choir singer in her personal life. So, she is a very interesting woman. Then I have Jaylen, who is my case manager and so Jaylen runs, she runs also the office functionality and make sure we have the things we need to do our jobs. But also keeps track of the status of cases, make sure they’re moving along and coordinates scheduling with the opposing parties and so basically it keeps us on track and then I also have Anja who’s a paralegal. But also, a lawyer by training. Who graduated from Boalt and she works with me on the nitty-gritty legal issues sometimes and gets documents together and we work on preparing discovery, the litigation aspects of the case once cases filed.
Martin: Wow! Impressive-o. So, you are going beyond that you told me a kind of young-ish clientele. The people come before you tend to be younger folks, millennials as it were possible and they’re more comfortable with a paperless legal trail. Can you provide paper documents to those who need them?
Shaana: Of course. You know my clientele has just changed over the years. So, there’s a mix. But yeah so, we try to, we’ve adopted some technology in the last couple of years to be more efficient internally and also make the process easier for clients and that is largely a paperless system. But I always adapt my processes to my clients. So, if I have clients who don’t use emails. So, we don’t use email, just call and that’s fine and I have clients who only be contacted by text messages. It is easy that too and then I have clients you want old-fashioned you know they want documents in the mail and I’m happy this and you know happy to send them whatever it is. Because at the end of the day you want them to feel comfortable. So, whatever that’s going to make them comfortable, whatever is going to make them engaged in their process in their case I want to do.
Martin: Okay you got a web portal you were talking about, your clients that are comfortable with tech, they could stay in real time by… It’s a kind of niche web portal. You had a lot of a success. Tell us about the web portal.
Shaana: Sure, that was [22:13 inaudible] technology or software I guess that has been kind of important I think changing a lot of efficiency and client communication. The portal is essentially clients get a login and a password and it’s also the cloud-based program and also a phone app if you want that and you log in to basically to your case file and so there we could message each other and have [22:44 inaudible] messages, but I can upload documents for them to see or hearings that are going to be set and they can upload documents they want me to see and we can communicate that way. First of all, tremendously more secure than email and because a lot of the information we’re sharing, medical records you know paycheck stubs, things that are personally identifiable information. So sensitive, the portal gives us that extra security measure and also for ease of use, you know we’re just in one place and so we can have basically a conversation that is that we can both refer back to versus email, email becomes very difficult. Because there’s a tremendous back-and-forth and it sits there. In the portals the messages don’t sit there, you’re alerted. So, you know it’s a client who’s important like for me my inbox is not just was not just client, it was you know a thousand other people who are not on it and so it became hard you know so the clients are the most important. So, to call them from all these people sending the email was difficult. Missed me, this gives me my priority folks my clients in one place and clients whether to, I guess they don’t have to scan it, they don’t have to email a bunch of things one at a time, they can just upload documents and its pretty sequence.
Martin: Wow are other law firms using this portal?
Shaana: Yeah, they must be, product [24:20 inaudible] lawyer. So otherwise they’d be out of business.
Martin: But is our popular I’ve never heard of this before. Is it a popular system?
Shaana: I don’t know and none of my colleagues are using it, so I don’t know. I think folks are a little bit reluctant from the lawyers stand point you use it because it’s different. People are very comfortable with email.
Martin: Right so it is kind of cutting edge pretty much. Would that be correct to say?
Shaana: But it’s been around for a long time. You know a lot of lawyers are stuck in thinking about how we owe and done things. Which have been very paper driven, paper intensive and so you have to kind of reassess and kind of evaluate your processes.
Martin: Okay now you also have an office in Paso Robles. Why?
Shaana: A few years ago, I decided because I lived in San Francisco for 25 years, I decided that I was going to buy a farm, small farm down in Paso Robles and have another office down there. Because it’s a nice respite from the city and also great biking community down here and it was just something that I wanted to do. I wanted to have, I guess an alternative to urban life.
Martin: So, are you living on a farm?
Shaana: And I split my time between the two places and yeah I have a small place and a piece of land.
Martin: Wow how cool that. So, we are talking to a farming lawyer huh. How far is that from San Francisco?
Shaana: About 200 miles.
Martin: 200 miles.
[26:43 inaudible]
Martin: Okay so its little bit more treble in terms of time. So, do you find that that while your team does this work in the busyness of San Francisco, then you get a better big-picture view of what your clients need back in the city by going for a drive to your office down south?
Shaana: Well the way that we work now is so different. Because you can work from anywhere and because my practice has always required a certain amount of travel. You know I’ve done cases all throughout California right so northern and southern California up north. So it allows me to have the office in that midway point it, gives me more flexibility in the kind of places in the location of cases I can take and having good people who work with me, manage, the day-to-day and keep things running of course it allows me to do you know do the legal work and do the thing that I’m good at.
Martin: Oh, so you expand your reach?
Shaana: Well I didn’t really expand my reach except that I now have a midway point to do that from. So, it’s been encouraging me more to take cases you know from the end of the peninsula down to LA down to Santa Barbara that I might not otherwise have taken because of the distance.
Martin: So, are you doing anything in SoCal at all?
Shaana: Yes, yeah, I got a couple cases down there going now and mostly San Francisco, Paso Robles, and San Luis Obispo County.
Martin: Jiminy Christmas. So, you’ve also, you told me the other day that most of your work is in San Francisco, Oakland, and Marin county. Is that not correct?
Shaana: That has been historically what it’s been until I moved- I opened… well my younger years it was a wider swath. So, the last few times I focused on those areas because those are the cases that I was, those are the circles of cases I was getting and then expanding down to San Luis Obispo, that’s opened up the scope of areas, like cases of what I do.
Martin: So, are you doing anything in San Luis? A college town.
Shaana: Yes, my office here is fully functional.
Martin: When I said San Luis I meant San Luis Obispo County. Paso Robles is a city in San Luis, SLO County, isn’t it?
Shaana: Yes.
Martin: Okay and then there’s the actual city of San Luis Obispo and what college is that? Do you do work there as well?
Shaana: Yes.
Martin: Oh you do, great, awesome. With regard to San Francisco, Oakland, and Marin County, tell us about the bike organizations you support there besides the SFBC.
Shaana: I’ve supported Bike East Bay for a number of years and I’ve also the Marin County Bike Coalition who I’ve had a pretty special long-standing relationship with. Marin County especially I’ve done a lot of different sponsorships with them over the years. Obviously Bike to Work Day we get to be on the Bridge, on the Golden Gate Bridge on Bike to Work Day with the great folks from MCBC at 5:30 in the morning when it starts it’s freakin’ cold on the Bridge that’s the highlight of the year. Totally fun. Which was awesome on my birthday for that last year.
Martin: Wow.
Shaana: MCBS does a lot of great educational things, too. And so I was fortunate. They do a bicycle citation sort-of forgiveness training. If you will. If you’re on a bicycle in Marin County and get cited for an infraction you can go to this education class like an hour or two hours and get it written off. SO I was able to sponsor their program for a number of years.
Martin: Great! How awesome is that. You were saying there were a number of different programs you were active with right now with the Marin County folks. There is the citation one. There is something else you were talking about. Something to do with women? No?
Shaana: That was the SFBC that we talked about, yeah.
Martin: Awesome, wow. That’s so cool. We’ve covered a lot of ground now. Is there anything I’ve missed?
Shaana: No, thank you Martin for taking this time.
Martin: I’m happy to show the important service for those of us on bikes should we have a need for it, God forbid, that you’re out there. I’m very fired up to show the listenership out that there that Shaana Rahman is who she is and why I’ve always liked working with her and why I think she is an amazing peep. And so that’s it. See ya later Shaana, thank you for your time.
San Francisco was founded in 1776 and El Paso de Robles first established a post office in 1867, so both of the cities we operate offices in have a history to them and that brings with it old streets and often neglected, dangerous sidewalks (even neglected, dangerous roadways) in areas. In fact, looking for examples of images to use as broken sidewalks through the Internet made us realize how much easier it would be to go outside and snap a few photos to get better examples. In San Francisco, VisionZero is bringing attention to the “3 Es” of pedestrian safety: engineering, enforcement, and education. Engineering will of course take time and we must all keep that in mind, but education and enforcement are things we can all take part of each and every day to reduce pedestrian accidents.
We are all pedestrians each and every day, even if we only walk to and from our cars. Some people also ride bicycles or walk longer distances for health or to commute via public transportation. So taking notice of a dangerous sidewalk or roadway and reporting it can begin a process to prevent a future accident for anyone, even yourself if it’s on a route you travel frequently. Talking with a pedestrian accident lawyer is nearly always after an injury has occurred.
In San Francisco there is a mobile SF311 app to use for reporting road-related repairs as well as an online form for potholes and street/road defects. San Francisco uses separate forms for each item. In San Francisco, there is also a lot of information about getting your adjacent property sidewalk repaired here: http://sfpublicworks.org/sirp.
However, not all sidewalks belong to the City or County government. As pedestrian accident lawyers, we often must look at all addresses surrounding an accident or injury. California Streets and Highway Code section 5610 clearly states that a property owner specifically has a duty to maintain any sidewalk that fronts his or her property in a safe manner. Many cities have also adopted municipal ordinances consistent with California Streets and Highway Code section 5610, placing the burden of repair of sidewalks on the property owner. (E.g., Berk. Mun. Ord. § 16.04.010; San Luis Obispo Municipal Code § 12.16.020; Gonzales v. City of San Jose (2004) 125 Cal.App.4th 1127, 1137 [local ordinance expressly made landowners liable to members of public injured from unsafe conditions on abutting sidewalks].) In these situations, reporting the dangerous sidewalk is still the thoughtful thing to do. We have seen instances where the public entity has sent multiple notices to the property owner. There are also zoning and coding departments that you may call or write to if you know the address of the property owner and wish to escalate the matter to ensure notices are sent.
If you are beginning to review the sidewalks you encounter on a daily basis in your mind, think about the difference in elevation between the defects, breaks, or cracks. When reviewing cases as pedestrian accident attorneys, we’ve seen cases where differences of less than one inch have been considered “trivial” by the judge. Knowing that both San Francisco and Paso Robles are both kept very busy with road maintenance and repairs, you may find reporting defects in the sidewalk of less than a one-inch rise in elevation get placed at the bottom of the repair list. Your repair request may also be in a less-walked area and therefore a lower priority. In San Francisco, the Sidewalk Inspection and Repair Program (SIRP) inspects and repairs sidewalks throughout the City on a 25 year cycle prioritizing by a number of factors including pedestrian usage. Small defects can still be dangerous if unmarked and cause additional concerns for disabled pedestrians which we will address later, but if you look at the 12” defects in the sidewalks in Los Angeles, you’ll understand why some repairs might be first or last on the list.
Education and enforcement are two steps on the path to better pedestrian safety and the goal of eliminating traffic deaths within 10 years. Remember you play a big part in this!
You don’t have to look very far on the Internet to find a case in California where a driver was distracted by their cell phone, usually texting, and hit a bicyclist or pedestrian and either killed them or catastrophically injured them. The California DMV has an FAQ page devoted to the Wireless Communications Device Law and Wireless Telephone Law. A surprising truth: these began in 2009 and 2008, respectively. As bicycle accident attorneys in San Francisco and Paso Robles, these laws are just a few of the things we stay up-to-date on for our clients because, sadly, distracted drivers are a contributor to collisions involving pedestrians and bicyclists.
According to the most recent report by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), distracted driving is increasing rapidly. They estimate 660,000 drivers are using electronic devices while driving per day (nationally) which caused 3,477 deaths in 2015. Are you one of these distracted drivers?
Think about this for a second – we are all pedestrians every day. We walk to and from our cars at the very least, and walk more in urban areas like San Francisco, which puts you at risk from someone driving while distracted. And if you ride a bicycle like we do (remember, we’re the attorneys who ride, too!), you’re at risk from someone veering off the road, even for a second or only by a couple of feet, but at the wrong second and colliding into you on your bike, right? Each year, San Francisco averages about four fatalities on bicycles each year due to vehicle collisions. Is that text message worth knowing you, a cyclist, hit or even killed another cyclist on the road for? Not likely.
So if you are a pedestrian (which you are) or if you are a cyclist, then why would you ever be part of the problem and risk creating a pedestrian or bicycle accident that might kill someone? Don’t be a distracted driver. We don’t ever want to see an electronic device in your hand while you’re driving (unless you’re dialing 911 because calling an emergency service is currently allowed without a “hands-free” device). And if you do see others driving distracted, it may be hard, but please don’t create an accident by trying to correct them. As bicycle accident attorneys, we want you to be safe!
When we’re out at community events and a passerby grabs a business card off our table, they inevitably say “I hope I never need you.” Our response is always the same: “We hope you never need us.” It might seem weird to hear that personal injury lawyers in San Francisco actually would rather folks NOT be injured, but that’s how we roll. And we try to channel our optimism into practical community advocacy work to help make communities safer for you. The other thing we are known for is giving honest, straight-up advice about whether you really need to hire a personal injury lawyer if you are injured in a collision. If it’s the kind of personal injury accident case you can do on your own, we’ll tell you that and then take the time to walk you through the steps you need to take. That’s gratis. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do. We’re big on that. And in big cities like San Francisco we know it’s hard to find simple, real, honest advice. So here are a few tips to help you decide if hiring a personal injury lawyer is right for you.
Were you injured?
First, let’s define a “personal injury”. Obviously, it means an injury to your person. An injury can be physical, like a broken wrist, fractured ankle or torn ligaments, or psychological, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or anxiety. Often, people who have been involved in a car accident, bicycle accident, motorcycle accident or injured as a pedestrian have both physical and psychological injuries. If you were injured, then move to question 2. If you weren’t injured, but your property was damaged, stay tuned for the next part of our series which will take you through handling property damage claims.
Did someone else cause your injuries?
Were you hit by car, bus, taxi, Uber, or were you injured by someone else’s actions, like a passenger flinging their car door into traffic?
Did you incur damages?
Damages can be both economic like medical bills or lost wages and non-economic like the pain, suffering, anxiety and inconvenience that come with being injured.
If you answered “yes” to all 3 questions above, then the short answer is that you may have a claim against the person who injured you. This is when it can be best to start making phone calls to get free consultations with personal injury lawyers like us in San Francisco or Paso Robles. You may not know what damages to look for: past medical bills, medical bills for medical treatment you may need in the future, lost sick or vacation time from work, future time off from work you may need to heal from your injuries or for more medical treatment, or the type and severity of your injuries. These are all factors to consider when deciding if you need to hire a personal injury lawyer.
For example, if you were rear-ended by another car at low speed, went home were a little sore, saw your family doctor to get checked out and two weeks later you were back to 100%, this is the kind of thing you can do on your own directly with the other driver’s insurance company.
On the other hand, if you were taken by ambulance to the hospital or have more serious or complicated injuries, this is when to consider talking to a professional. Other deciding factors for clients in hiring a personal injury attorney include:
The pain and loss from the injury;
The financial insecurity as the medical bills stack up and income is lost;
The frustration when insurance companies don’t do the right thing; and
Wanting to have someone on their side, making sure the case is handled right from the start.
We hope we’ve given you a few things to think about but if you want our professional opinion on your case, we’re happy to talk to you, free of charge. Just keep in mind there are time limits for filing personal injury lawsuits (statutes of limitation) so it is usually better to seek help earlier rather than later. We like to do the heavy lifting for our clients straight away so this way they can focus on what’s really important–healing.
Every month of our calendar year is full of so many nationally recognized days, weeks, and months that the honorable ones (the Friday before Mother’s Day is National Military Spouse Appreciation Day) get a bit diluted behind the amassment of others (I would like to know how May 3rd became National Lumpy Rug Day – seriously?). However, May is a month near and dear to us here at Rahman Law because May is National Bike Month 2017!
See, we are more than just Paso Robles and San Francisco bicycle accident attorneys here at Rahman Law PC because we ride, too. And we advocate, which is why National Bike Month is exciting for us. Each Year, National Bike Month is a little different because it isn’t only about bicycle safety or bicycle commuting advocacy, it is meant to be about all things bicycle-related for children and adults, commuters and weekend-warriors.
Why National Bike Month is important:
A 2013 survey by SLOCOG in San Luis Obispo County showed only 26% of the population as uninterested in riding a bicycle (it was noted this percentage increased by age demographic), yet do you see the other 74% out there on bikes? No. The next 28% from the survey were interested but uncomfortable with traffic speeds and volume so they need bicycle paths and roads with wide bike lanes. In a place more urban like San Francisco, this group will have a harder time feeling safe. National Bike Month is about awareness for riders of all interest levels to enhance the enjoyment of riding along with the advocacy for change to make it possible for all ability levels to ride safely.
Here are some of the things going on this May in National Bike Month 2017:
There are many more events going on in your area to celebrate National Bike Month 2017; it’s just a matter of getting connected to your local bicycle advocacy and/or riding group. You can join this community on Google+ or look for a group on Facebook or Meetup that is closer to you. Remember to wear your helmet and be safe, then get out there are ride!
Last month marked the one-year anniversary of Thu Phan’s tragic death. She was killed while crossing Market Street at 7th in her wheelchair. A ban on left turns onto Market Street had already been implemented to help mitigate the dangers of the intersection with an exemption covering City vehicles under certain duties.
The family became active in fighting for safety improvements after their catastrophic loss. Thu Phan’s sister reached out to Human Streets, Walk San Francisco, and San Francisco Bay Area Families for Safe Streets. Walk San Francisco reports that since the catastrophic pedestrian accident that took Thu Phan’s life, Walk San Francisco and their Vision Zero Coalition have worked to address the conditions that lead to her death.
As a result of these pedestrian advocacy efforts, San Francisco has now implemented:
Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs): walk signals to provide people crossing with a head start at six intersections along Market, including 7th;
More visible turn restriction signage at Market & 7th;
A City Administrator’s policy memo, which explicitly states that City drivers are not exempt from turn restrictions (a key factor in Thu Phan’s death);
A new, required driver training and education program for all City staff that specifically highlights how to drive safely around seniors and people with disabilities.
This last safety improvement deserves an extra comment. Seniors are five times more at risk of a serious/fatal injury as pedestrians than younger adults according to information gathered by Walk San Francisco.
In 2015, 5,376 people were killed in pedestrian/motor vehicle crashes – nearly 15 people per day (NHTSA)
California is the state with the highest number of pedestrian fatalities (NHTSA)
60% of all San Francisco’s traffic deaths are people walking – 4X the national average (Walk SF)
If you or a loved one is hit by a vehicle, know your rights and speak with a pedestrian accident lawyer in San Francisco or Paso Robles. At Rahman Law PC, we offer personalized attention to every client in a supportive and respectful way. We have offices in San Francisco and Paso Robles, California.
In December, we saw a terrible tragedy close to my San Francisco Office – the Oakland Warehouse Fire. In fact it is being marked as the deadliest building fire in California since 1906 which happened during the San Francisco Earthquake. 36 lives were lost in Oakland during the fire and on Saturday, March 4th the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau confirmed all of 36 deaths as caused by smoke inhalation. It is catastrophic.
The Oakland warehouse was not permitted to be residential yet had been converted partially into living units and people were living there when the fire happened. The SFGate has more information on the warehouse and its conversion if you’re interested in reading about it. If you are a renter injured on a rental property, the law of premises liability outlines the rules and responsibilities that apply to landlords. If you are a renter, let’s look at what you need to know.
In general, a California landowner must use reasonable care in maintaining their property in order to prevent an unreasonable risk of harm. (Rowland v. Christian (1968) 69 CaI.2d 108; Civ. Code § 1714.).
A negligence analysis must be used to evaluate liability – as explained by the Supreme Court in Rowland: “The proper test applied to the liability of the possessor of land [according to section 1714 of the Civil Code] is whether in the management of his property, he has acted as a reasonable man in view of the probability of injury to others.”
Pursuant to Evidence Code § 669(a), a landlord’s failure to exercise due care will be presumed if the landlord violated a statute, ordinance, or regulation of a public entity.
A condition gives rise to the level of “dangerous” if it will expose a user of the premises to an unreasonable risk of harm.
A landlord is afforded a reasonable time to remedy a reported condition.
In the instance of an employee’s negligence, a landlord assumes responsibility for the acts of employees committed within the course and scope of employment.
A landlord has a duty to warn of hidden and concealed dangers before they are met though there is less case of duty to warn if the danger is obvious.
Landlords do not have a duty to insure the safety of their property to others but rather to simply use ordinary care in keeping the premises reasonably safe and to give warnings of latent or concealed perils. (Brown v. San Francisco Ball Club, Inc. (1950) 99 Cal.App.2d 484,486.)
Both photos by Jim Heaphy. Cullen328
The above is only a fraction of what a renter needs to know about premises liability law and the scope of the landlord’s duty, but it’s also quite a lot of information to take in all at once. In general, what the above simplifies into is the reasonableness of what can be expected of a landlord. As a renter you should understand that landlords and owners of other types of buildings are held to standards that are set out in statutes, ordinances, and regulations put in place by public entities of your region to keep you safe – building owners are not exempt from responsibility no matter how big or small. So if you rent the granny-unit behind the home of your landlord, they still have a duty of care to you. But “dangerous” is not something you get to define yourself, nor do you get to demand something be repaired yesterday on your first phone call to report it. It is important to note that once a tenant takes possession of the property, the landlord’s knowledge of a defect and the ability to reenter the premises are facts used to evaluate whether or not the landlord used reasonable care to maintain the premises.
Now there are lots of dangers to a tenant that are “dangerous” by the above definition. Without being an expert on city ordinances, you can probably easily think of five things off the top of your head that would qualify as causing an unreasonable risk of harm around a home. If you or someone you love has been physically injured in a rental property, at someone else’s home, or at a commercial building, take that first step and talk to a premises liability attorney, who knows the law.
We all like to talk about it: how to avoid the most common collisions on your bicycle, adding bicycle lanes, lights on bikes for visibility, law and regulation advocacy to prevent injuries… but all of these conversations come in the wake of something we don’t like to talk about – the catastrophic injury. We know which collisions on a bicycle are the most common because cyclists end up in the hospital for them, and that lights save lives because people on bicycles are killed every year when the driver says they “didn’t see them.” And so, we change the laws and regulations based on statistics of injuries and fatalities. This is a cold, sad truth. What if it happens to you?
Catastrophic Injury
Catastrophic injury covers a spectrum of the unthinkable: wrongful death, dismemberment, paralysis, severe brain damage, spinal cord injury, and the like. These injuries are life changing and life ending. This is why no one likes to talk about them. So rather than go into those details, I’d like to talk to you about what to do if this happens in your life (to you or a loved one).
Time Limits. Legal cases have time limits known as statutes of limitations. They are different for their type of case. It prevents someone from suing over a slip-and-fall that happened 80 years ago which would seem unreasonable. So it is incredibly important that you start having conversations with a catastrophic injury attorney early to determine your time limits.
Debt. The medical bills alone can be life changing for families. This is actually another reason why talking to a catastrophic injury attorney early is valuable. We can help you put a hold on those bills so that you are not being asked to pay them right now. The payee will wait until the settlement of your case to be paid and if you’ve seen the tens-of-thousands of dollars in medical bills generated by an automobile’s collision with a bicyclist, you’ll understand what a relief that can be. Insurance only covers so much, from either party.
The Future. A catastrophic injury isn’t about replacing a damaged bicycle and fixing a dented fender. Future lost wages, future increased medical costs, ongoing rehabilitation, loss of enjoyment of life, permanent disability coverage, and mental anguish are just a few of the considerations for the future for your and/or your family in the event of a life changing injury or wrongful death scenario. An experienced catastrophic injury attorney can help you plan, estimate, and navigate these considerations.
We’re here to help! The experienced attorneys at Rahman Law PC are riders, too. We understand rider safety and believe an ounce of prevention is absolutely worth a pound of cure. However, when the unthinkable happens, we’re ready for that, too.
If you’d like more information on preventing some of the more common bicycle collisions, the following five examples from Velosurance can help you avoid the most common collisions when riding your bicycle on the road. We are proud to be a trusted partner in their network of legal and bicycle repair shops (obviously, we’re the legal aid).
There is no doubt the adrenaline is going to be pumping through your system at full speed if you or a loved one is bit by a dog, but knowing what to do when a dog bite happens before the attack might help you find the clarity you need to better protect yourself. There are three phases in the timeline of a dog bite: (1) the scene; (2) the first few hours after; and (3) the following weeks.
Phase 1 – The Scene of the Dog Bite
When the attack happens and someone has been bitten, the victim should come first. If they need emergency assistance, call 911. Secondary to that, get as much information as you can:
Who owns the dog (name, address, phone number)
Witness(es) information (if any – name, phone number)
The veterinarian of the dog (they’ll have important vaccine information)
Is the rabies vaccine current?
It’s worth noting here if you think there was any criminal activity going on when the dog bite happened (i.e. you stumbled into a dog fighting ring), you may not want to be asking questions. Instead, get to safety and call 911.
Phase 2 – The First Few Hours After The Dog Bite
Medical care for the victim is crucial first and foremost. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) almost 1 in every 5 bites becomes infected. Think about how often the average person brushes their dog’s teeth! Medical care is still important even if the bite came from a dog within your own circle of family and friends and you don’t plan to seek legal counsel from a dog bite attorney. In fact, the CDC reports most bites are from dogs that are familiar to us. Because animal bites are prone to infection, it is often worth the trip to a local urgent care facility rather than risk the infection. Bring the information you collected from the owner of the dog with you, especially information regarding the dog’s last rabies vaccine. You may call the dog’s veterinarian if you need to verify the last rabies vaccine date. The urgent care clinic may also want to know about your last Tdap vaccine, so call your primary care doctor if you don’t remember before you go, too. Don’t let not having either of these two items prevent you from going to the urgent care – just know that these are items commonly asked about even if rabies is not suspected. Be sure to get copies of everything from your visit, including the bill, Even if you have not yet decided about seeking damages from the owner, a dog bite attorney will want to see it if you look into your options. You may still be in shock if you’re the victim. It’s ok to write down what you need and dates you’ve called about to take in with you.
Phase 3 – The Weeks Following the Dog Bite
After about a week or two following the attack, the victim will have a better idea of just how much damage (physical, emotional, and financial) has been done and may still be coming. The initial shock should be settling by now but any deeper trauma might persist. This is an excellent time to reach out to a dog bite attorney for a free case evaluation/consultation.
What have the medical costs been to date?
Will there be ongoing medical costs?
Did the victim miss any work?
Has the victim needed therapy or may possibly need therapy?
Was there any property damage (clothing, bicycle, motorcycle, etc.) due to the dog attack?
Is further action needed against the dog (is it vicious/dangerous)? – Remember dog owners are liable under the law; you do not need to prove the dog was vicious to have a case, but if the dog is vicious you may wish to seek further action to protect others in your community.
The attorneys at Rawman Law PC in San Francisco and Paso Robles are here to help you navigate the stressful situation of a dog bite lawsuit. Dog bites vary in their degree of damage but the liability remains on the owner of the dog. We’ve seen damages range from medical costs for a visit to the urgent care clinic and lost wages, to facial reconstruction surgery, to catastrophic loss-of-life claims. Every dog bit incident is unique which means the best way to understand your options is to contact a dog bite attorney like the ones at Rahman Law PC as soon as you need assistance.
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The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. RAHMAN LAW PC is unable to identify which statute of limitation will apply without a thorough review of your potential case. Therefore, the information contained on this website does not constitute legal advice. Statutes of limitation change as new laws are passed. You should consult with a lawyer immediately to fully evaluate your case.
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In December, we saw a terrible tragedy close to my San Francisco Office – the Oakland Warehouse Fire. In fact it is being marked as the deadliest building fire in California since 1906 which happened during the San Francisco Earthquake. 36 lives were lost in Oakland during the fire and on Saturday, March 4th the Alameda County Coroner’s Bureau 
