According to prosecutors with the city of San Diego, police were unable to find sufficient evidence to charge Lakers player Kobe Bryant with the assault of a 20-year-old man at St. Therese of Carmel Church. Bryant was accused of yanking on the man’s arm at the church in Carmel Valley after witnessing the man take a picture of him on his cellphone.

Bryant denied hurting the man, but police say the man suffered a minor wrist sprain after the incident. A statement from the Communications Director of the San Diego City Attorney’s Office reads, “Based upon our extensive investigation and interview of independent witnesses, we’ve concluded that charges cannot be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

While police may investigate and prosecute crimes like assault, victims can also file civil lawsuits against their attackers and others involved in an assault. To learn more about filing suit if you or someone you love has been the victim of an assault, contact the San Diego assault attorneys of Ritter & Associates by calling 619-296-0123 today.

A two-car accident occurred at the intersection of Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Drive at around 9:30 Tuesday evening. According to San Diego police, a Chevrolet Impala that was stalled at the intersection was rear-ended by a sport utility vehicle.

The 20-year-old driver of the Impala was knocked unconscious in the collision. A passing San Diego police officer noticed that a small fire had broke out on the man’s car and that he was not conscious, and therefore unable to get out of his flaming vehicle. The officer broke the driver’s side window, opened the door, and pulled the man out of the Impala.  The car then went up in flames.

The 20-year-old and the driver of the SUV were both treated for minor injuries at a nearby hospital. The officer was treated for smoke inhalation.

Contact the San Diego auto accident attorneys of Ritter & Associates at 619-296-0123, if you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident caused by another driver, car defect, or road defect.

An appellate court judge in Arkansas recently upheld a district court’s decision to deny an extension of workers’ compensation because photos posted on social networking websites Facebook and MySpace were evidence that the worker was no longer hindered by his injury.

The claimant began receiving workers’ compensation because a refrigerator fell on top of him while he was working for an appliance and furniture retail store. The accident caused him to suffer a hernia, which–3 years later– he claimed continued to cause him “excruciating pain.”

In the man’s trial for an extension on workers’ compensation, his employer’s defense attorneys presented pictures of him partying that they found online, arguing that the pictures made it clear that he had recovered from the work-related injury. The judge ruled in favor of the defendant and denied the extension.

The decision was appealed, but ultimately upheld by Arkansas Court of Appeals judge David Glover.  “We find no abuse of discretion in the allowance of the photographs, [the claimant] contended that he was in excruciating pain, but these pictures show him drinking and partying,” stated Glover.

If you or someone you know has been injured in an on-the-job accident, contact the San Diego workplace injury lawyers of Ritter & Associates at 619-296-0123 to learn more about how an attorney can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

Last week, pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer Inc. recalled two types of oral contraceptives, due to a packing error.  Officials with the company reported that women taking their Lo/Ovral-28 and Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol birth control pills could have received the incorrect dosage, putting them at greater risk of accidental pregnancy.

The drugs are intended to prevent pregnancy when taken in the correct order and at the same time everyday.  The recalled birth control pills were distributed and sold in 28-day packages and were supposed to contain 21 days of hormone pills and 7 days of sugar pills.

However, a packaging error caused some of these birth control packs to possess the incorrect amounts of the different types of pills.  Women taking an incorrect dose are more likely to become pregnant.

Consumers of these recalled birth controls are advised to speak with their physician and begin using a different type of contraceptive as soon as possible.  Besides unintended pregnancy, the pills pose no immediate health threat.

To speak with an attorney about any harm a drug or other consumer product have caused you or a loved one, contact the San Diego faulty consumer products lawyers of Ritter & Associates by calling 619-296-0123 today.

Eleven people died as a result of several car accidents along Interstate 75 just south of Gainesville, Florida this weekend. The accidents took place early Sunday morning, around 3:45 a.m., when a wildfire caused thick smoke to engulf the highway.

That smoke was also coupled with intense morning fog. The highway had previously been closed due to the inability to see properly, but was reopened right before the accidents started. Survivors of the crashes are claiming that their visibility was at zero percent when people began to collide into one another.

According to reports, two large semi-trucks completely stopped their vehicles on both sides of the highway when additional motor vehicles struck them from behind. Sequentially, the backside of those vehicles were hit, and a total of 19 cars were involved in the accidents.

Numerous cars caught fire and were crushed underneath larger vehicles. Emergency personnel were still unable to see clearly when they arrived on the scene, and had to rely on the sounds of people’s voices to locate victims. In total, 11 people lost their lives in the crashes and another 18 people were injured. Police are still investigating the causes of these accidents, as well as the cause of the wildfire.

Yesterday, the #17 ranked San Diego State University men’s basketball team beat Boise State 58-56.

The game was close, but SDSU was ultimately able to come out on top thanks to a free throw shot by Chase Tapley with 7.5 seconds left in the game, putting the team ahead by 2 points.  Boise State had the ball for the remainder of the game, but a three-point attempt in the last second to win the game was unsuccessful.

San Diego’s Tapley scored 14 points, and Jamaal Franklin had 16 points and 8 rebounds.  Last night’s win makes the team’s record 19-3.

The San Diego personal injury attorneys of Ritter & Associates would like congratulate the team on their win and wish them the best of luck in future games.  To read more about last night’s game, see WTSP 10 News.

California Innovations Inc. recently issued a recall of their thermal and insulated lunch boxes.  The recall includes 248,000 of the company’s Expandable Insulated Lunch Box with Freezer Gel Pack and Travelin’ Chef Expandable Thermal Food Carrier.

The lunch boxes were sold at Costco Wholesale Clubs, Walmart, Leon Korol, and Cost U Less stores.  According to California Innovations and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the gel packs in the recalled lunchboxes contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol, which can be toxic if consumed.

If the gel packs become damaged, the chemicals can leak into the box and onto food, creating a poisoning hazard for children and adults using the lunchboxes.  The company has received two reports of dogs biting the gel packs.  Both dogs became ill and one died.

If you or someone you love has been injured or become ill from using a faulty children’s product, contact the San Diego faulty children’s product lawyers of Ritter & Associates by calling 619-296-0123 today.

A graduate of San Diego State University is suing the city of Carlsbad for sexual harassment and gender discrimination after she was forced to resign from her firefighter position without explanation.

The 28-year old was the first female to be admitted into the program in Carlsbad, and was almost done with her probationary period when she was told she had to resign or face termination. She chose to resign in order to still be able to work in another city. There was no explanation given to the woman, and she believes that gender discrimination was the reason why she was told to leave.

During her training, the woman mentioned several accounts of sexual harassment coming from former co-workers, including crude shower comments. She is now employed in Santa Cruz as a paramedic making much less than her potential earnings as a firefighter. She is suing the city of Carlsbad for $2 million to account for lost wages as well as sexual harassment and discrimination.

Tuesday evening, 8 people were injured in a 2-vehicle accident in San Carlos.  The accident occurred at 8:40 p.m. near the intersection of Jackson Drive and Lake Badin Avenue.

A father and his 3 children were traveling in a SUV on Lake Badin, when they turned onto Jackson Drive and were struck by a vehicle traveling northbound on Jackson.  The SUV rolled over after it was hit.  The vehicle that hit the family’s SUV was carrying 5 teenagers, and, after hitting the SUV, swerved into the road’s northbound and southbound lanes before driving into a home’s front yard.

3 members of the family were trapped inside the SUV, and a 1-year old was ejected from the vehicle and trapped underneath it.  A witness to the accident asked people nearby to help lift the SUV and pull the baby out.

Emergency crews helped the other 3 victims out of their vehicle.  The 1-year old and the 2 other children, ages 3- and 7-years old, were all taken to Rady Children’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.  The father’s arm was injured and he may need surgery.

4 of the 5 teenagers in the vehicle that caused the accident suffered moderate injuries.  Investigator are trying to determine the cause of the accident, and whether or not alcohol was a factor.

If you or someone you know was injured in an auto accident, contact the San Diego auto accident lawyers of Ritter & Associates at 619-296-0123 to discuss your situation with one of our experienced and compassionate injury attorneys.

This past Friday, a 21-year old motorcyclist was injured in an accident with a pickup truck in San Diego.  According to police, the accident occurred at 8:40 a.m. at the intersection of Broadway and 4th Ave. near the Civic Center.

The motorcyclist was injured when an eastbound 1979 Chevy pickup truck crashed into him and his motorcycle.  The victim was traveling southbound on 4th Ave. when he was hit.  He suffered multiple injuries, including a broken hip.

The accident is still under investigation.  Police did not say whether or not the driver of the pickup truck will be cited for any traffic violations in the accident.

If you or someone you love has been injured in a motorcycle accident near San Diego, contact the San Diego motorcycle accident attorneys of Ritter & Associates at 619-296-0123 to learn more about your rights.