California Injury Attorney Blog

Adverse Events In California Health Facilities Must be Reported Within Five Days After They Are Detected Says Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck

Wed, 09 May 2012 06:15:00 -0800

California Health & Safety Code 1279.1 requires reporting of adverse events, to the California Department of Health, no later than five (5) days after the event was detected, or if that event is an ongoing urgent or emergent threat to the welfare, health, or safety of patients, personnel, or visitors, not later than 24 hours after the adverse event has been detected. An adverse event does include:
(1)(D) Retention of a foreign object in a patient after surgery or other procedure, excluding objects intentionally implanted as part of a planned intervention and objects present prior to surgery that are intentionally retained.

AORN Recommendation II: Sharps and other miscellaneous items should be counted on all procedures.
1. Sharps and miscellaneous items (eg, vessel clip bars, vessel loops, umbilical and hernia tapes, vascular inserts, cautery scratch pads, trocar sealing caps) should be counted
• before the procedure to establish a baseline,
• before closure of a cavity within a cavity,
• before wound closure begins,
• at skin closure or end of procedure, and
• at the time of permanent relief of the scrub person and/or circulating nurse (although direct visualization of all items may not be possible).

2. Initial sharps counts should be performed and recorded on all procedures. Performing counts constitutes a primary and proactive injury-prevention strategy. Counting sharps and miscellaneous items is not only important in preventing foreign body retention; the continuous accounting for these items can lessen injuries to those scrubbed in the sterile field.

3. Sharps and miscellaneous items should be counted audibly and viewed concurrently by two individuals, one of whom should be a registered nurse circulator. Concurrent verification of counts by two individuals lessens the risk for count discrepancies.

4. Sharps counts should be conducted in the same sequence each time as defined by the facility. This assists in achieving accuracy, efficiency, and continuity among perioperative team members. Studies in human error have shown that all errors involve some kind of deviation from routine practice.

5. Members of the surgical team should account for sharps or other miscellaneous items that may have been broken or become separated within the confines of the surgical site in their entirety. Breakage and/or separation of parts can occur during open as well as minimally invasive surgical procedures. Verification that all broken parts are present or accounted for helps prevent unintentional retention of a foreign body within the patient.

Catastrophic Personal Injury Victims Are Undercompensated says Peck Law Group Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck

Mon, 07 May 2012 07:30:00 -0800

When a person suffers a spinal cord injury, the person may face a life of disability and dependency. An active person can suddenly become an invalid, with injuries that cannot be treated by even the most advanced medical treatments. While there is always hope of a future medical advance which will cure spinal cord injuries, at present medical science is limited. A parent whose child suffers a brain or spinal cord injury may suddenly find that the child requires full-time care. A brain injury may cause a personality change, causing a spouse, parent or child to suddenly seem like a different person.

One of the true tragedies of life is that many people are catastrophically injured, but cannot recover adequately for their injuries. Legislatures throughout the country have imposed caps on "non-economic" damages, such as pain and suffering. California has a cap of $ 250,000.00 as against Health Care Providers only says California Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck.

The worst and most dangerous drivers often carry the lowest possible amount of insurance that the law allows, or carry no insurance at all. Few people would voluntarily allow themselves to suffer even a simple fracture of a bone, even for tens of thousands of dollars. The amount of suffering that results from living a lifetime with disfiguring scars, or with a spinal cord or brain injury, is inconceivable. Our society really should do more to take care of its own -- to make sure that people who suffer catastrophic injuries do not effectively lose their right to a reasonably normal life, just because an insurance company successfully lobbied for damages caps on personal injury or malpractice actions.

Trucking Accidents By Overworked Drivers Are a Violation of Federal Law

Fri, 04 May 2012 06:30:00 -0800

Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations is the leading source of federal trucking industry governance. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) are among the federal agencies that regulate the trucking industry. Every state also has a state level Department of Transportation which also enforces the state's trucking laws. States regulate the height, width, length or weight of any truck, semitrailer truck or trailer under maximum limits prescribed by law. Interstate and intrastate trucking companies must be in compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, Federal Hazardous Materials Regulations, as well as any state regulations.

No matter what type of accident has resulted in injury and/or property damages, the chief goal in a personal injury claim is to prove liability. In vehicular accidents, it's generally important to demonstrate that the driver was negligent because he/she failed to exercise reasonable care. The key difference with trucking accident claims though is in the ability to recover damages from insurance companies due to the trucking company's, employer's and/or contractor's potential liability.

Many of the state and federal trucking regulations set limits on work hours for truck drivers and on how long a driver can continue driving with no rest. If it is determined that the truck driver violated these safety rules, it could show negligence and the carrier who employs him may be found liable for the accident under a doctrine of "respondeat superior". This is a common law doctrine that makes an employer responsible for the actions of an employee, agent, or subordinate, when the actions take place within the scope of their assigned duties. If the truck driver is an independent contractor, it may be necessary to find liability against the employer on other legal theories. However, under current federal law, any company owning a trucking permit is responsible for all accidents involving a truck that has its placard or name displayed on the vehicle, regardless of what the truck lease states with the owner/operator or whether the driver is an employee or an independent contractor.

Trucking Accidents Cause Serious and Catastrophic Personal Injury

Thu, 03 May 2012 06:15:00 -0800

Truck accident statistics show that every year 18-wheeler truck accidents injure over 150,000 people and kill over 5,000. As many drivers have observed, California has its fair share of 18 wheelers. We have successfully represented injured persons in Los Angeles, the Bay Area and throughout the State of California who were injured as a result of serious and catastrophic trucking accidents says Peck Law Group Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck.

18 wheeler semi accidents should not be handled the same way as a normal car wreck. There are many regulations that apply to trucks and trucking companies which do not apply to the average driver. It is critical that 18 wheeler car wrecks are handled by an Peck Law Group Lawyer who has an in depth understanding and experience in handling these matters. In most instances, the trucking companies hire top notch truck accident attorneys who can easily out maneuver a lawyer who is not familiar with the specific truck accident law in this area and does not have experience in how to handle truck accident law.

Slip and Fall Accidents Cause Serious and Catastrophic Injury says California Personal Injury Attorney Steven Peck

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 06:15:00 -0800

Slip and fall accidents cause serious and sometimes catastrophic injury says California Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck.

According to the laws in most states, premises liability law places a duty upon property owners to maintain their property in a reasonably safe manner and to guard against unsafe conditions that could cause an accident. .

Most slip and fall cases involve injuries resulting from unmarked/uneven stairs or step-offs, slippery floors, and unstable stair railings. Common injuries associated with slip and fall cases include broken bones and necks, severe bruising, concussions, all causing serious personal injury.

Premises liability law usually requires that an injured individual prove that a property owner disregarded an unsafe condition, was negligent in repairing a dangerous situation, and/or failed to warn of foreseeable dangers. As with any personal injury action, documents and information relating to the scene of the accident may help an injured individual prove his or her case. Thus, contacting a Peck Law Group personal injury lawyer quickly may allow you to recover information about the unsafe condition before changes are made.

Serious and Catastrophic Truck Injury Cases Need Prompt Investigation

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 06:15:00 -0800

The Peck Law Group lawyers know that a thorough and prompt investigation is essential to a good settlement or jury verdict in a truck accident case. Under California law, our client, the plaintiff, has the burden of proving how and why the accident happened. To the contrary, the negligent person who caused the accident can remain silent having no obligation to put on evidence of any kind at trial about who caused the accident.

This may not seem fair, but it is a fact our lawyers and clients must live with every day. Consequently, in a serious and catastrophic injury trucking case, where the stakes may be high because injuries and other damages are serious, our The Peck Law Group understand it is critical that an investigation begin immediately. Otherwise, evidence crucial to the outcome of our client's case may be lost forever.

The Insurance Company Investigation
Remember, you've got competition. Early accident investigation is important in most cases, but in crashes involving large trucks it can be decisive and insurance companies know this. It is standard practice for a trucking company's insurer to act within minutes or hours after a bad accident to secure evidence that may help its truck driver avoid accountability for his negligence.

Sometimes an insurance company acts so quickly its investigators arrive at the scene while the police are still there. Their purpose is to find all evidence that might exonerate their truck driver. They won't bother to document evidence that may help your case!

Of course, an innocent person injured through the negligence of a trucker cannot field a team of investigators as quickly as a trucking company can. However, by engaging an Peck Law Group lawyer to investigate your case as quickly as possible, you may be able to preserve crucial evidence that will help you win your case.

Eyewitness Accounts
Sometimes the most important testimony regarding causation in a truck accident case comes from independent eyewitnesses who saw the accident take place and recognize it was the defendant's fault. This type of evidence, especially when it comes from someone who is not acquainted with the plaintiff, usually makes a positive impression on jurors and is very important.

Finding these witnesses early-on and documenting their recollection of the accident while it is still fresh in their minds, is imperative. Nothing is more discouraging for an attorney than to track down a witness a year or two after an accident only to have that witness tell him the accident happened so long ago he really doesn't remember much about it.

Police Investigation
You want your Peck Law Group lawyer or a member of his staff to interview the law enforcement officers who investigated your case as soon as possible. It is rare for a police officer, sheriff, or state trooper to see an accident happen. However, the evidence they gather at an accident scene may play a critical role in the success of your case and reinforce eyewitness accounts. Where no independent eyewitnesses exist, a police investigation may provide most of the first hand evidence a jury will rely on to determine how your accident happened and who was at fault.

Law enforcement officers usually respond to serious truck accidents within minutes. They photograph the scene and the damaged vehicles. They measure skid marks and tire tracks. They examine vehicle debris and scan the area for radiator and brake fluid. When they investigate accidents involving death or severe injuries, they may also ask a special crash team to perform an accident reconstruction. Your lawyer wants to secure all this information early in your case so he can engage experts to help piece together what happened during your accident.

Although police officers ordinarily write up their findings in formal investigation reports, sometimes they don't include everything they know or remember. By interviewing these officers promptly, your lawyer can document what they remember but didn't write down. Like other eyewitnesses, a police officer's independent memory of an accident is likely to fade with time.

Many officers keep personal notebooks in their squad cars and make handwritten notes identifying eyewitnesses and quoting their exact words. They may not copy these notes, word for word, in their official accident reports. Worse, they sometimes throw away their personal notebook when it is full, when they change employers, or when they move. For all these reasons, a personal interview with an investigating officer in the early days of your case can reward you and your Peck Law Group lawyer with useful information that may not be available at a later time.

Trucking / Tractor Trailer Accidents Cause Serious Personal Injury

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 06:15:00 -0800

Tractor trailers are less maneuverable, start more slowly and take longer to stop than other vehicles. They are particularly susceptible to adverse road conditions. The average semi truck with trailer can range from 12,100 pounds to 80,000 pounds. The federal government even allows more and more trucks to operate at an overload capacity of over 80,000 pounds! That means a large commercial truck like an 18-wheeler weighs about 25 times the average automobile - up to 40 times more than some small cars. If a tractor trailer strikes a semi truck in the rear, it does not stop or slow appreciably. When you factor in the size of the truck with the speed and weight, you can see why the possibility of other vehicles becoming part of an accident is great. In fact, tractor trailer accidents account for an eighth of all traffic fatalities.

Another important factor in tractor-trailer accidents is the truck driver. In more than 80 percent of tractor trailer traffic accidents, the non-commercial driver is not at fault. Furthermore, most of the deaths or injuries in such accidents happen to the non-commercial driver. There are many reasons truck drivers become the cause of accidents. One of the critical reasons is fatigue. Semi truck drivers are nearly always at work behind the wheel and most of the drivers work long shifts. Truck drivers are supposed to be limited to 12 hour shifts. Truck drivers are required to keep records to log their hours of service. But, the nature of the trucking industry is that more miles means more money, but it also means more hours. There's always an incentive for truckers to push the envelope. Sometimes this means drivers carry two sets of books. One set of books records the real amount of time they've been on the road - those are the books that they get paid by. The other version records less time, shows everything being done by the rules - those are the books that a driver shows to the Department of Transportation. While there exist penalties for falsifying records, they are not very severe or effective at first. Yet, it only takes a few cases of abuse to make the road more dangerous.

Who Is Responsible When It Comes To Truck Accidents Causing Serious Personal Injury?

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 06:00:00 -0800

When it comes to truck accidents, there is a web of players who may be responsible for a victim's injuries, including:

•the truck's driver
•the owner of the truck or trailer
•the person or company that leased the truck or trailer from the owner
•the manufacturer of the vehicle, tires, or other parts that may have contributed to the cause or severity of the accident, and
•the shipper or loader of the truck's cargo (in cases involving improper loading).
The trucking, hauling, and leasing companies often argue among themselves over whose insurance will compensate the victim. For example, the truck company might claim that the accident was caused by defective brakes. In turn, the brake company might then point the finger at the leasing company, claiming that it failed to maintain the brakes in good working order.

Can Trucking Companies Avoid Liability?
In the past, trucking companies often tried to avoid liability for trucking accidents by creating distance between themselves and the driver, the vehicle, and the equipment. Here's how they did this says California Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck:

The trucking company obtains the necessary permits to operate the truck. However, the company often does not own the tractor, trailer, or equipment used to haul the goods. Instead it leases (rents) the equipment, tractors, and trailers from the "owner/operator." The trucking company also does not directly employee the drivers. Instead, it hires them as independent contractors from the owner/operator.

The trucking company gives the owner/operator a "placard," which includes the name of the trucking company and its permit numbers. The placard is then affixed to the door of the tractor -- which makes it seem like the truck is owned by the named trucking company and the driver is an employee of the named trucking company.

If the truck is in an accident, and the trucking company is sued, it would argue that:

•the driver was not the trucking company's employee, so the trucking company is not liable for driver error, or
•the trucking company does not own the equipment, so it is not responsible for the operation, maintenance, repair, and inspections of the equipment.
Luckily, federal laws and regulations have put an end to these arguments. Under current federal law, any company owning a trucking permit is responsible for all accidents involving a truck that has its placard or name displayed on the vehicle. It doesn't matter what the lease says with the owner/operator or whether the driver is an employee or independent contractor

Truck Injuries Can Be Devastating says Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:10:00 -0800

If you are the victim of a trucking accident, the questions of who is responsible and what actually caused the accident are often much more complicated than in a simple traffic accident. There are many players involved, from the driver to the owner of the truck, and getting information about what went wrong often requires some industry know-how.

Understanding the common reasons for trucking accidents, and the relationships among the persons and entities connected to the truck, the trailer, and the load, will help you determine whether you have a valid claim and how you will present your case.

Truck Accident Statistics
Over the past two decades, the number of truck accidents has increased by 20%. According to the Federal Motor carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), in 2002, 4,897 individuals died and 130,000 people were injured in crashes that involved a large truck. And even though large trucks are only responsible for 3% of injury-causing motor vehicle accidents, trucking accidents typically cause much greater harm than ordinary traffic accidents due to the large size and heavy weight of most trucks.

Laws Governing Truck Accidents
Federal laws and regulations govern the trucking industry. These laws establish certain standards that trucking companies, owners, and drivers must meet, and often determine who is responsible for a trucking accident. The bulk of federal regulations dealing with the trucking industry can be found in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Agencies that regulate truck driving include the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Every state also has a department of transportation with its own set of trucking regulations.

Driver Fatigue Is a Major Cause of Trucking Accidents says Personal Injury Lawyer Steven Peck

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 07:15:00 -0800

Driver Fatigue leads truck drivers to fall asleep, be inattentive, misjudge gaps, ignore the signs of impending dangers, panic, freeze, and under- or overreact to a situation. Even though fatigue is a common cause of truck accidents, it is also the most preventable.

The Federal Hours of Service Rules Federal regulations (called the "hours of service rules") set forth rules to ensure that truck drivers obtain the necessary rest and restorative sleep in order to drive safely. Under these rules, truck drivers can work a maximum of 14 hours per day, during which time they can only drive for a maximum of 11 hours. The driver must be off-duty for 10 consecutive hours prior to the start of a shift. The driver also cannot drive after being on duty for 60 hours in seven consecutive days or 70 hours in eight consecutive days.

If you are in an accident where you suspect that the driver fell asleep or failed to react properly, you should determine whether there was a violation of the hours of service rules.

Proving an Hours of Service Violation In order to determine, and prove, that a trucking company violated an hours of service rule, get a copy of the truck driver's logs. Federal law requires drivers to record their driving information in structured driver's logs.

If the driver's logs are missing or are obviously inaccurate, there are other ways to discover how many hours the driver logged behind the wheel. Review the "trip tickets" or "bills of lading" for each delivery by the driver made in the few days leading up to the accident. Trip tickets and bills of lading include time stamps and entries by third parties that disclose the time that a load was picked up and when it was delivered. You can use these to calculate the amount of time that a truck driver was on the road.

Likewise, the trucking company can and should be monitoring the actual hours of service of its drivers and should not be able to hide behind the inaccurate logs of its drivers. Trucking companies who allow a driver to repeatedly "mislog" his or her hours of service expose themselves to liability for a lawsuit.

Plaintiffs In Personal Injury Matters Must Prove That the Defendants Actions Caused Their Personal Injury

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 06:20:00 -0800

To many plaintiffs, it often feels like by bringing a lawsuit, they are suddenly put on trial. The defendant's insurance company--whether for a slip and fall, a car crash, or some other personal injury--is usually very adept at shifting attention away from the defendant and onto the plaintiff. This certainly does not seem very fair. Why does the injured party have to account in excruciating detail for every single doctor's or therapist's appointment? Why is it that the injured party has to be interrogated about bills, appointments, and medications? Shouldn't the case be about what the defendant did, about the defendant property owner's unsafe decisions ?

The answer to this question is closely related to the issue of "causation". Basically, if you are seeking recovery for a personal injury under negligence, then you have to prove that the defendant is actually responsible for your injuries and the medical expenses that follow. A plaintiff has to be able to demonstrate that all of those medical bills, therapist appointments and prescriptions can actually be traced back to the accident itself.

In other words is your knee bothering you because you slipped and fell on the defendant's property or because an old sports injury is acting up? Do you have headaches because of a car accident or have you always suffered from migraines? Or maybe it's even more complicated--maybe that sports injury or those migraines were always there, but now they're a lot worse because of the accident.

The trick here is when it comes down to dollars and cents and the amount the defendant is going to pay, the courts want to be certain that the defendant only pays for what he or she caused. So, that explains why those defense attorneys are so tedious--and often relentless--in their questions about medical history and bills. It can seem pretty intrusive to a plaintiff, but at the end of the day, it is about ensuring that both parties are treated fairly.

So, the defendant, through her lawyers, has the right to question whether bills and treatment can be fairly traced back to their own negligent actions, but that right is not without limits. A good attorney will stick up for their client when the questions become unnecessarily intrusive or stop having anything to do with the accident itself. A good, experienced personal injury trial lawyer will prepare a plaintiff for questions that will naturally come from defense counsel..

Los Angeles Hospital Accused of Patient Dumping

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:55:00 -0800

While Jesse Bravo was being treated for schizophrenia at White Memorial Medical Center last year, his wife, Laura, called the hospital daily and visited him several times.

But when hospital officials decided to discharge him, Laura Bravo said, they didn't notify her and instead left him outside a rehabilitation center in South Los Angeles. She said her husband, who is not homeless, never went inside and spent days on the streets before being found.

"Not knowing where he was was very scary," she said. "I just had this feeling that something was wrong."

Public Counsel, a pro-bono law firm in Los Angeles, filed a lawsuit Friday against the hospital on behalf of Jesse Bravo, alleging elder abuse, false imprisonment and hospital negligence. The firm also turned the information over to the Los Angeles city attorney's office, which is reviewing it.

"White Memorial has set a new low for hospital dumping," said Hernan D. Vera, president and chief executive of Public Counsel. "They took someone who was not homeless and made him a homeless man."

White Memorial Medical Center spokeswoman Alicia Gonzalez said she couldn't go into details but said that patient safety is the hospital's "No. 1 priority" and that Bravo was competent and alert and agreed to go to the center.

"We investigated this matter and determined that we followed all policies and procedures appropriately," she said. "We don't believe this was patient-dumping. It was a patient drop-off."

In the last several years, law enforcement authorities in Los Angeles have cracked down on hospitals accused of dumping people on the streets. Several high-profile cases led to prosecutions, financial settlements, hospital policy changes and increased vigilance by homeless shelters.

"The message was sent in the city of Los Angeles that this kind of activity would not be tolerated and would closely be watched," said Chief Deputy City Atty. William Carter. There are fewer cases in Los Angeles, Carter said, but he added that dumping continues outside of the city limits.

Jesse Bravo, 50, a former machinist, said he began hearing voices and feeling paranoid about nine years ago. That led to a mental illness diagnosis, a host of medications and several hospital stays, he said.

In January 2011, while his wife was at their home in Upland recuperating from surgery, Bravo went to stay with his mother in East Los Angeles. He started drinking and the paranoia returned. His wife went to his mother's house but said she couldn't calm him down, so she called an ambulance and he spent about two weeks at the hospital.

Jesse Bravo said he remembered being placed in plastic handcuffs and into a van last Feb. 11, even though he asked to be taken to his wife. Witnesses said they saw him get out of the van, attempt to give his medications to a dog and wander away, according to the lawsuit. The next few days were a blur, he said.

Laura Bravo said she panicked when she learned he had been discharged. When she couldn't find him at the center, Bravo said, she filed a missing persons report with police and searched throughout the city.

He was picked up by police a few days later. Now, Laura Bravo said, she never wants to take him to a hospital again. "I'm afraid to let him out of my sight," she said.
By Anna Gorman, Los Angeles Times

Serious Personal Injury May Result in Death and Significant Loss says Catastrophic Injury Lawyer Steven Peck

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 06:15:00 -0800

Serious injury and Catastrophic Injury is defined as "a personal injury which results in death; dismemberment; significant disfigurement; a fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent loss of use of a body organ, member, function or system; permanent consequential limitation of use of a body organ or member; significant limitation of use of a body function or system; or a medically determined injury or impairment of a non-permanent nature which prevents the injured person from performing substantially all of the material acts which constitute such person's usual and customary daily activities for not less than ninety days during the one hundred eighty days immediately following the occurrence of the injury or impairment.

Trucking Personal Injury Accidents Are Highly Prevelant On Our Highways

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 08:10:00 -0800

Nearly 3.5 million truck drivers fill America's roads and serve as an integral part of the nation's economy. Unfortunately, however, because of the prevalence and size of commercial trucks, truck accidents pose a significant risk to other motorists and pedestrians. The most recent data available shows that approximately every 16 minutes a person is killed or injured in a truck accident. Nearly 98 percent of fatalities involve the death of a driver or passenger not in the large truck.

Most Common Causes of Truck Accidents:
•Non-performance: Causes risk when a driver falls asleep, has a heart attack or is otherwise unable to drive due to a physical impairment
•Performance: These errors occur when a driver overreacts or panics and further increases the risk of accident
•Recognition: This occurs when the driver is distracted or otherwise inattentive to the road
•Decision: The driver follows another vehicle too closely, is going too fast for the road conditions or misjudges another vehicle's speed or direction
In approximately 4 percent of crashes involving fatalities, truck driver fatigue was listed as the primary reason for the crash. About .06 percent were caused by the driver's consumption of alcohol.

Preventing Crashes:
Truck accidents are an unfortunate danger on today's roads. If you or a loved one has been in a truck accident, contact a Peck Law Group attorney familiar with truck accident cases early after your accident. There is much-needed investigative work that should be done before the trucking company moves the vehicle. A safety inspection can be done and spoliation of evidence letters must be promptly handled.

$4.35 Million Dollar Settlement for Personal Injury Trip and Fall

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:15:00 -0800

A $4.35 million settlement has been reached in the case of a woman who tripped and fell over a garden hose in a newly-opened Lowe's store, reports the Visalia Times-Delta. The woman, a 71-year-old California resident, was a well-respected children's advocate who served as director for the Tulare County Office of Education Child Care Program. While browsing the flower department at Lowe's, she tripped over the hose, breaking her arm and hitting her head. She then suffered a stroke. She is paralyzed now on one side of her body, and lives in an assisted-care facility. According to the Visalia Times-Delta, the accident took place just 24 days after the Lowe's store opened.