Robert Burns, lawyers in San Diego, CA, California

Federal Volunteer Protection Act -- Overview

The Volunteer Protection Act (VPA) is a federal law that was designed to promote volunteerism by granting civil immunity to volunteers under certain circumstances. The VPA was signed into law by President Clinton in 1997.More...

More Tort Law Versus Criminal Law

Apart from legislation granting a right to sue for a specific harm, personal injury law generally consists of tort law and the civil procedure for enforcing it. This article discusses some of the distinctions between tort law and criminal law, beyond criminal law's focus on the criminal and tort law's focus on the financial harm suffered by the victim.More...

Rights and Duties of Pedestrians

A pedestrian generally has a right-of-way in a crosswalk. A motor vehicle driver is required to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, even if the driver has a green light. If a pedestrian control signal is working and is in the "walk" position, the pedestrian has the right-of-way. If the pedestrian control signal is not working, a motor vehicle driver is required to yield the right-of-way when the pedestrian is on the driver's side of the road or if the pedestrian would be in danger.More...

Res Ipsa Loquitur

In a personal injury action, a plaintiff usually must prove that a defendant was negligent and that the defendant's negligence caused the plaintiff's injuries. However, in some cases, there is no direct evidence of negligence. For example, spectators are watching a basketball game in a high school gymnasium.More...

Tort Law versus Criminal Law