Safe Roads California – Gomez v Xerox Demonstrates the Need for Action

Los Angeles, California – United States - SafeRoadsCalifornia.com is a project of the Gomez family, in memory of Elvira Gomez, and the Roberts Law Firm, the Orange County personal injury attorneys that represented the family against Xerox. Gomez v Xerox highlighted a need for direct action to inform and protect the public against the sort of negligent entrustment that resulted in the death of Elvira Gomez, dedicated wife and beloved mother. Eduardo Delgado, the Xerox fleet driver that hit Gomez with his company vehicle as she was crossing the street after leaving church, was driving under the influence of alcohol. That accident resulted in Delgado’s third DUI while working for Xerox.

“Our goal is to prevent other families in our community and the State of California from suffering the same loss that we have by having our mother’s death serves as an opportunity to change the way corporations do business in California. We want all employers doing business in California to know about the EPN program, and how easy and cost effective it is to monitor its employees who drive,” explained the Gomez family. The EPN, or Employee Pull Notice, program is a program through the California Department of Motor Vehicles that facilitates company monitoring of the driving records of those driving company vehicles.

California’s DMV deliberately designed this program to be a cost-effective means for companies to take responsibility for their fleet drivers, protecting the public from problematic or irresponsible drivers. The Gomez family and Roberts Law Firm hope to achieve legislative protection for the public, by making the use of the EPN program mandatory by law for companies with 10 or more drivers. If Xerox had done so, the Gomez family may not have suffered the horrendous loss that they did. It costs a mere $5.00 to register an employee and a single dollar when a report is received on that employee.

"Xerox has confirmed that it never checked Delgado’s motor vehicle records during his 22 years of employment," said the Gomez family’s Orange County wrongful death attorney, Jeff Roberts, of Roberts Law Firm. "Nine years elapsed between the time Delgado got his first DUI and when he used his Xerox van to strike Elvira Gomez. In that time Xerox never took any disciplinary action against Delgado, never suspended his privileges to drive Xerox vehicles, nor did Xerox provide safe driver counseling to Delgado as described in their employee driver manual.” Clearly, a legislative solution is necessary, and SafeRoadsCalifornia.com makes it easy for the public to contact lawmakers on this matter.

SafeRoadsCalifornia.com represents the real purpose of Gomez v Xerox for the Gomez family. It is their effort to make change that will help to prevent others from having to experience the tragedy of losing a family member due to negligent entrustment. Xerox demonstrated that legislation is required to ensure that companies will use the simple, low-cost DMV program that will help protect the public. In addition to raising public awareness about this vital issue, SafeRoadsCalifornia.com makes it fast and easy to contact lawmakers in support of making the EPN program mandatory for companies with 10 or more drivers.

For more information, please visit the website at http://www.robertslawfirm.net

The Roberts Law Firm is dedicated to helping people who have been seriously injured in an automobile collision or other catastrophic accident. The initial consultation with a personal injury attorney at our Newport Beach office is absolutely free, and if you hire The Roberts Law Firm to handle your case, we will collect payment for our services only if we successfully recover compensation for your injury. Our lawyers focus on providing each client with individual attention while developing the most effective legal strategy possible on his or her behalf.

5000 Birch Street, Suite 9600 West Tower
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Phone: (949) 719-6885
Fax: (949) 719-6881
www.robertslawfirm.net

This release was published on openPR.