Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer - All Topics

Another Hit and Run Collision Highlights Importance of UIM Coverage

Michael Myers — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:22:24 GMT

Unfortunately we've had a spate of hit and run collisions in the Seattle area. This time it involved a worker just doing his job. The Seattle PI reported:

A maintenance worker was the victim of a hit-and-run in Bellevue's Hidden Valley Park area on Wednesday afternoon. Bellevue police said the victimwas blowing leaves when a car hit him and sent him flying roughly 25 feet.

Even if you don't have UIM coverage, your employer may. In this case the worker was near his work truck. It's possible that--based on his proximity to the truck--his employer's UIM coverage will apply and provide a source of compensation for his damages.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

More Hit and Run Collisions...This Time Bike Versus Pedestrian

Michael Myers — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:59:11 GMT

One of the attorneys in our office rides his bike to work every day. He doesn't own a car. He has some pretty strong opinions about Seattle drives (especially bus drivers).

But drivers aren't the only ones charged with obeying the traffic laws. Bicyclists have to follow them too.

King-5 News recently reported about a six year-old Seattle boy is home who may require reconstructive surgery after being struck by a hit and run bicyclist.

Noni Echo-Hawk-Lopez is a reserved boy to begin with, his parents said, but now he's not even allowed to talk because of a fractured and swollen jaw.

Doctors at Harborview Medical Center "had to completely wire his jaw shut," said his mother, Abigail Echo-Hawk.

Fortunately in this case the bicyclist was detained by witnesses before he could get away.

I'm unaware of any insurance companies that sell liability policies for bicyclists (the same way liability policies are sold for motor vehicles). But there are two valuable sources of insurance coverage if you're injured by a bicyclist: renters and homeowners insurance. Both cover negligent acts by an insured and it may well be that the rider who injured Noni lives in a home, condo or apartment where there is coverage.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Kitsap Naval Base Injury Highlights Safety Issues

Michael Myers — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:27:59 GMT

Almost all construction site injuries are preventable. The Washington Department of Labor and Industries has promulgated an extensive and detailed set of rules regarding construction site safety. Contractors who follow these rules have few if any injured workers. Those who don't have significantly more on the job injuries.

KOMO News reported this morning that:

[A] 24-year-old contractor for Tutor-Saliba was working with a team moving concrete pylons when she somehow got trapped by one of them, injuring her legs, said a shipyard spokesperson.

The general contractor on a construction site is responsible for making sure that its workers are safe and that the workers of its subcontractors are safe. While the workers compensation statute limits claims that workers can bring directly against their employers, employees of subcontractors have the right to sue general contractors for failing to follow safety guidelines and provide a safe workplace.

There are numerous regulations in the Washington Administrative Code designed to prevent crush injuries. It is unclear whether they were followed at the Kitsap Naval Base.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Woman Injured In Hit-and-Run; State Patrol Seeks Info

Chrissie Cole — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:25:00 GMT

A Kent woman, 22, was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident and now State Patrol is look for people that may have witnessed the accident.

Officers responded to a car vs. pedestrian report at 5:00 a.m. on Highway 515. When they arrived, the victim was found in the middle of the northbound lanes. They believe she was crossing the five-lane highway when she was struck, possibly several times, State Patrol said.

She suffered serious injuries and was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Detectives are asking any witnesses who have knowledge of the incident or who may have hit some debris near the 22400 block of Highway 515 around 5 a.m. to call Detective Stacy Moate at 425-401-7746.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole

Cruise Ships--The H2 of the Sea

Michael Myers — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 13:08:11 GMT

There's a close relationship between boats and the environment. Marketing materials--particularly for cruise ships--show vessels in pristine blue waters with fish whales and dolphins in close proximity.

The New York Times ran an article this weekend regarding the damage cruise ships do to our oceans and coasts.

Cruise ships emit nearly twice as much carbon dioxide as airplanes. They pollute far more--per passenger, per mile--than airplanes.

According to environmentalists, carbon dioxide emissions are just a drop in the ocean when it comes to eco problems on luxury liners. Most ships run on so-called bunker fuel, the cheapest and dirtiest fuel oil, which not only powers the vessel, but also all the amenities on board: restaurants, swimming pools and nightclubs among them.

The Article indicates one-week voyage on a large ship is estimated to produce 210,000 gallons of sewage, a million gallons of gray water (runoff from sinks, baths, showers, laundry and galleys), 25,000 gallons of oily bilge water, 11,550 gallons of sewage sludge and more than 130 gallons of hazardous wastes.

I saw a bumper sticker the other day. It read: Your Hummer Looks Stupid. The cruise lines need to clean up their acts. If they don't I hope the weight of social pressure makes cruising as unacceptable as rolling in a big black H2 through the middle of Fremont.

On a one to one basis, cruise ships are going to pollute more than jet skis or Zodiacs. But the same concerns apply. We should make sure that we're smart about fuel consumption and waste when we're on the water. Boating safety means more than preventing personal injury or drowning. It also means not injuring the environment.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Holland America's Medical Personnel--Health Care Providers or Investigators?

Michael Myers — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:46:00 GMT

I’ve blogged about Holland America’s responsibility for the health care provided on board its ships. This blog is a little bit different.

I think everyone would agree that curative treatment should be a health care providers’ top priority. But review of the records in numerous Holland America cases suggests that health care providers on board Holland American vessels place equal emphasis on documenting facts that give Holland America a leg up on the passenger should the passenger file a claim.

Holland America providers also appear to be the first-line of the carrier’s risk management program. Not only are medical records peppered with comments designed to assist Holland America in subsequent litigation, but they also include assessments of whether the customer’s pain, disappointment of being injured, etc. will turn into an actual claim or lawsuit. For instance, it’s not uncommon to find in either medical records produced by the ship’s doctor or one of its nurses indicating that the patient has not mentioned “claim” or “suit” yet but that follow up with the passenger might be appropriate.

It seems only fair if Holland America is going to treat its medical personnel as independent contractors and disclaim liability for their negligence that they should in fact be true independent contractors and that medical records developed on board the vessel should not be available to Holland America except through discovery.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Slip and Falls: Not Just in the Produce Aisle

Michael Myers — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:51:47 GMT

Slip and fall accidents are among the most common causes of injuries on boats. Decks are made of fiberglass, wood, or steel. All can be slippery. Water, grease, scales and fish oil are just some of the factors that contribute to the equation.

Oftentimes variations of fiberglass, wood, or steel are used on walking surfaces in an apparent effort to make slip and falls less likely. However, appearances can be deceptive.

For instance, a material generically referred to as diamond plate is used in many maritime applications. Diamond plate gives the appearance of providing traction, but it typically does not (though there are certain kinds of diamond plates that do actually provide adequate traction even in marine environments).

Traction is technically referred to as the coefficient of friction. Coefficient of friction should be over .5 to ensure user safety. Measuring the coefficient of friction in a marine environment requires special testing with a device called a Tribometer. Care should be taken to test the coefficient of friction and actual conditions. For instance, to be tested on a fishing vessel should be tested with water and/or fish oil on the walking surface since those are ingredients that will most likely be present when the boat is being used.

Boating safety involves not only keeping the vessel afloat and avoiding collisions with other boats but also ensuring user safety when it comes to issues like slip and falls as well.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Boating Safety and Life Jackets

Michael Myers — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:45:40 GMT

Boating safety is an important topic in the Pacific Northwest. There are more boats per capita here than any other part of the country. And with opening day having come and gone and unexpectedly great weather this June virtually everyone - whether they have a boat or not - wants to be on the water. That's why I’m focusing on boating safety this month.

Boating safety a number of forms. It can be organized by type of vessel (personal watercraft, commercial fishing vessel, pleasure boat, cruise ship, etc.) or organized by type of hazards (drowning, injury by machinery, collision between vessels, etc.).

But I’m not going to be too systematic. Instead I’m going to blog about what’s in the news and happening in our practice.

The first topic this month involves lifejackets. All vessel owners should carry enough lifejackets so that everyone on the boat has one. Not only should they carry lifejackets but they should make sure that they're properly sized for the occupants of the vessel and that everyone knows both where they're located and how to properly put them on.

This is not only a good idea, it's also prescribed by law.

All vessels must be equipped with U.S. Coast Guard–approved life jackets called personal flotation devices (PFDs). The quantity and type depends on the length of your vessel and the number of people on board and/or being towed. Each PFD must be in good condition, be the proper size for the intended wearer, and very importantly, be readily accessible! Readily accessible means you must be able to put the PFD on in a reasonable amount of time in an emergency (vessel sinking, on fire, etc.). PFDs should not be stowed in plastic bags or in locked or closed compartments, and they should not have other gear stowed on top of them.

Not only can a vessel owner be fined for not carrying the proper number of lifejackets, the vessel owner can also be sued for either personal injury or wrongful death if one of his or her passengers suffers injuries or dies because they didn't have a lifejacket or didn't know where the lifejackets were on the boat. Carrying the proper number of lifejackets and going through a basic orientation procedure with passengers is not only common sense it's the only real way to comply both with boating safety laws and limiting exposure for personal injury or wrongful death lawsuits.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

The Recession and Client Cost Advances

Michael Myers — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 11:09:46 GMT

People are becoming increasingly cost conscious. It is a natural reaction to the recession. This level of cost consciousness has already started to affect the way personal injury cases are handled and the dialog between injured clients and their attorneys.

It's our practice to provide billing statements approximately once per month. However, we have had a number of new clients that request that statements be issued biweekly so that they can keep closer track of costs expended.

In Washington, attorneys are allowed to advance the costs associated with litigation. However, the Rules of Professional Conduct mandate that the client ultimately be responsible for these costs and is obligated to repay the attorney regardless of the outcome in his or her case. This shared responsibility (the attorney on the front end and the attorney and the client on the back end) coupled with the nature of the contingent relationship works to put the client in lockstep with the attorney (unless, of course, the client lacks the ability or intention to repay the costs in the event of an adverse result).

The Washington State Bar Association and Supreme Court of Washington toyed with the idea of changing the Rules of Professional Conduct to allow attorneys to enter into relationships with clients where the client is not obligated to reimburse costs advanced if there is a negative outcome and essentially allow attorneys to make (circumscribed) nonrecourse loans to clients.

This is viewed in Washington as a major step but in other states, such as Louisiana, attorneys are not only allowed to make nonrecourse loans for litigation expenses but also personal expenses.

It's our understanding that in states like Louisiana this results in clients choosing not necessarily the attorneys who are most competent and are capable of handling the cases, but those who offered to loan them money. This obviously creates a perversion and something that we don't want to see in Washington.

Do you think clients should be responsible for costs advanced by attorneys in their cases regardless of outcome? Do you think attorneys should be able to advance expenses to clients that are not necessarily related to prosecution of the case (for instance, by paying for medical treatment as opposed to just medical diagnosis)? This is a complicated issue. We're interested to hear your thoughts.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Subrogation Shouldn't Affect Settlement Decision

Michael Myers — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 15:25:55 GMT

Washington law allows persons who have been hurt to recover their medical expenses even if they didn’t pay for them. But in most cases it wouldn’t be fair to allow injured persons to keep that recovery related to medical expenses if they didn’t pay for them. So the Courts created a doctrine called subrogation.

Subrogation basically means that someone who pays an expense associated with the medical care necessitated by an accident has a right to be reimbursed if the injured person recovers that expense from the person who caused the accident. But the rule is not absolute and there are some situations where the payor (usually an insurer) doesn’t have to be repaid.

Subrogation is an issue that is likely to come up at the conclusion of a case. It shouldn’t affect the decision whether to settle the case or take it to arbitration or trial. I say that because the issue's going going to be there regardless what decision is made.

The decision whether to settle a case depends on one primary factor: will the plaintiff net more money by settling than taking the case to trial? Subrogation has no effect on that decision. The subrogation issue is the same either way. It's just like taxation. The fact that personal injury awards are not taxed should not affect the decision whether to settle the case or take it to trial.

It concerns me when injured people fret about subrogation. It suggest that they fall into that group that values their claims based on how much they owe on their truck or how much it would take to pay off the mortgage. When those issues are discussed I know that clients are focusing on the wrong issues and are not comparing settlement to the likely range of outcomes at trial.

How much weight do you think should be given to the amount the insurer has to be paid back when making the decision whether to settle?

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers