Thursday, September 18, 2008

FOX 11 News Interviews Jerome Ringler about Metrolink Crash



Train Accident Attorneys

Chatsworth Train Crash Attorney Jerome Ringler

Special Message for Victims of Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster

On September 12, 2008, an unprecedented tragedy occurred in Chatsworth, California when Metrolink Train #111 struck a Union Pacific freight train which was traveling on the same tracks. Our hearts go out to the victims. But this tragedy should not have happened. It happened because of human error on the part of Metrolink employees. Unfortunately, as the lawyers of RKA know well, human error by railroad engineers is not at all unique as a cause of commuter rail disasters.

Jerome L. Ringler has greater experience in representing victims of commuter rail and freight train disasters than any other lawyer in the State of California, if not the country. He has served as lead counsel in every one of the largest commuter rail disasters which have occurred in Southern California in the past 10 years.

In the Placentia Commuter Rail Disaster of 2003, Mr. Ringler was appointed by the Court as lead counsel for all of the Plaintiffs. He was requested by all of the lawyers representing individuals injured or killed in that incident to try the first case. That case resulted in the largest verdict for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ever rendered by a jury in the United States. That verdict, which was for $9 million, is detailed below in the multimedia section.

In the Burbank Commuter Rail Disaster, which also occurred in 2003, Mr. Ringler was again appointed by the Court to serve as lead counsel. In that capacity he was given the responsibility to try the entire liability (i.e., fault) case for all of the victims. In other words, every one of the dozens of lawyers who represented individual victims in that disaster trusted Mr. Ringler to try the liability phase for them, knowing that their clients would only recover if Mr. Ringler was successful. He was. In fact, Mr. Ringler not only obtained a favorable verdict for all of the plaintiffs, he obtained a $12 million verdict for his own client as well. This verdict was the largest in the State of California for a person with the type of injuries Mr. Ringler's client had suffered. This verdict is detailed below in the multimedia section.

Mr. Ringler is currently lead counsel for all plaintiffs in the Glendale Metrolink Derailment Disaster of 2005. This incident was, before September 12, 2008, the largest Metrolink disaster in history. Interestingly, in that case (which involves 11 deaths and dozens of serious injuries), Mr. Ringler has, against all odds, developed testimony proving that, even though a mentally-ill person placed a jeep across the tracks that the Metrolink train was traveling upon, human error on the part of the Metrolink engineer prevented him from stopping the train before hitting the jeep, which caused the train to derail. In other words, while the jeep certainly never should have been on the tracks, the Metrolink engineer would have been able to stop the train before ever striking the jeep had he only been paying proper attention. That case is scheduled to go to trial on June 8, 2009, with Mr. Ringler as lead counsel.

The verdicts detailed on this page all relate to railroad litigation. However, Mr. Ringler has achieved enormous, record-breaking monetary awards across California in a variety of complex areas. Those accomplishments are detailed elsewhere in this website. To see them, click here.

If you or a loved one has suffered injury or death as a result of the horrific Chatsworth Metrolink Disaster, we are available to discuss your rights with you confidentially and at no charge.

Please feel free to contact us at your convenience. Ask for Mr. Ringler,or any of his partners, at (213) 473-1900.

Train Accident Attorneys

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Ethics investigator: Governor's tax break OK

A Nevada Ethics Commission investigator concluded Wednesday that there's no evidence to support a claim by a state Democratic Party official that Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons pressured a local assessor to get an unwarranted property tax break.


Investigator Michel Vavra filed the report in advance of a Sept. 11 Ethics Commission hearing on the complaint over the $39.71 tax bill on 40 acres of land in scenic Lamoille, in Elko County, that Gibbons bought for $575,000 a year ago.


"The evidence does not support the allegations that Gibbons used his position in government to obtain unwarranted privileges," Vavra wrote, adding that the property met all the requirements under state law for the low agricultural use assessment.


Vavra also said there's no evidence that Gibbons or John Marvel, a lawyer and Nevada Tax Commission member hired by the governor to pursue the tax break, pressured the Elko County assessor, adding, "Like any citizen, Gibbons has the right to apply and to receive an agricultural use assessment, if his land qualifies."


Joe Aguirre, who just retired as the county assessor, had said the tax bill without the agricultural assessment would be about $5,000. But Vavra noted that Aguirre's office also had stated the annual bill would have been just under $1,900—and the state Taxation Department had an even lower figure of $711.

Lawyer: OJ Simpson ready for trial in Las Vegas

O.J. Simpson's lawyer on Tuesday declared the former football star all set for jury selection to begin next week in his trial on allegations of robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint almost a year ago.

"Ready for trial, judge," Simpson lawyer Gabriel Grasso said during the last scheduled pretrial hearing.

But Robert Lucherini, lawyer for Simpson's only remaining co-defendant, Clarence "C.J." Stewart, made yet another pitch to sever or postpone the trial, a request Clark County District Judge Jackie Glass denied. He told the judge he would ask the Nevada Supreme Court to reconsider its denial of his request for a separate or delayed trial.

Glass said a pool of 500 would-be jurors was reduced to about 250 after defense lawyers and prosecutors spent several hours behind closed doors Aug. 25 reviewing answers provided on 26-page questionnaires.

"We did excuse most of the people, if not all of the people, who expressed extreme opinions about the parties, in an effort to have a very efficient jury selection process," Glass said.

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Roth Law Group Launches New Website

Chicago small business law firm Roth Law Group, Karl Roth’s law firm specializing in small business formation & litigation as well as general counsel for local and out-of-state clients, announced the launch of its new web site today, www.rothlawgroup.com.

The website was designed by Los Angeles law firm web designers Law Promo.The new Web site provides a comprehensive overview of the services provided by Chicago small business lawfirm the Roth Law Group. Roth Law has been practicing law in Cook County for years, their expertise spans from Small Business Formation and Contract Law to General Counsel to Represention for Out-of-State clients. The new website showcases the Roth Law Group's extensive case history and invaluable expertise.http://www.rothlawgroup.com