- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 5:00 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA 21-year-old Oregon woman died at the scene of an early morning car crash Saturday in the 3800 block of Seabeck Highway near Calamity Lane Northwest. Vanessa Taylor, of Milwaukie, Ore., was riding in the passenger seat of a 1989 BMW 325 just after 2 a.m. when the driver, 21-year-old Joshua Demers of Silverdale, failed to make the curve near Camp Wesley Harris and drove off the edge of the road,...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 4:48 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA 19-year-old woman who was struck by a car outside Edmonds Community College remains hospitalized in Seattle on Saturday. Anna Vinokurova of Lynnwood has been upgraded from critical to serious condition at Harborview Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.Ms. Vinokurova has claims both under the driver's PIP (personal injury protection) policy and also a personal injury claim that can be...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 4:19 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Grayland woman who was driving when her car crashed into a power pole last year, killing her son, had methamphetamine in her system at the time, according to charging documents filed in Grays Harbor Superior Court. Julie Ann Fenwick, 47, made her first appearance in court at Montesano Monday after being charged with vehicular homicide for the July 29, 2005, accident that killed her...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 4:11 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsOn October 25, 2006 two women were seriously injured. They were both pedestrians. One was 19 and the other was 43 years old. Both were treated at Harborview in Seattle.The accidents were blamed on bad weather. But drivers need to adjust their driving when the weather makes visibility difficult. The pedestrians can make both personal injury claims against the drivers under their liability...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 3:37 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsAn Oak Harbor man died Friday as the result of a car accident south of Oak Harbor on Highway 20. When he was about a mile south of Oak Harbor, he veered to the left and crossed the center line into oncoming traffic, according to the State Patrol. While in the southbound lane, he collided with a 2005 Pontiac GTO driven by 63-year-old Silverdale resident Laurine Armstrong. In accidents like...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 3:13 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsAn accident involving a dump truck and a pickup closed Highway 2 in both directions between Everett and SnohomishA 51-year-old Snohomish man, Gregory Solberg, who had been driving the pickup, was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries. The dump truck was headed eastbound on Highway 2 when it struck the pickup, which was attempting to enter Highway 2...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 1:41 PM |
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MiscellaneousHistorically, courts have held that a cruise line is not liable for the malpractice of the ship's doctor or nurses. Passenger tickets will often purport that doctors and nurses are independent contractors for which the ship disclaims liability.But a couple of recent Florida cases have changed the tide holding that the cruise line is liable. Judges have explained "where a ship's physician is in...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 10:48 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)The company that manufactured a magnetic toy blamed in the death of a 22-month-old Redmond boy settled lawsuits Wednesday with his parents and 13 other families for $13.5 million.A personal injury or products liability claim should be considered any time a child is injured or dies. Of course some accidents just happen. But for those incidents that could have been avoided, compensation should...
- Michael Myers | October 29, 2006 10:48 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)The company that manufactured a magnetic toy blamed in the death of a 22-month-old Redmond boy settled lawsuits Wednesday with his parents and 13 other families for $13.5 million.A personal injury or products liability claim should be considered any time a child is injured or dies. Of course some accidents just happen. But for those incidents that could have been avoided, compensation should...
- Michael Myers | October 24, 2006 10:53 AM |
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MiscellaneousA Seattle man and a Washington State Patrol trooper were injured Monday when the trooper's patrol car rear-ended the man's vehicle on an I-5 on-ramp. Leonard Whitfield's Mazda Miata was hit by the patrol car. Whitfield was listed in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center on Monday afternoon. Whitfield's Miata was crushed when the patrol car pushed it into the back of a pickup...
- Michael Myers | October 24, 2006 9:07 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA parking attendant and a female customer suffered severe leg injuries when a car rolled backwards down a ramp at a downtown Seattle parking garage, pinning them against a wall. The driver of the car was trying to exit the garage at 6th Avenue near Olive Way when the vehicle began rolling backwards down the steep ramp. Both were taken by medic unit to Harborview Medical Center. Firefighters...
- Michael Myers | October 23, 2006 12:53 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTraffic deaths in Washington state increased sharply in 2005, part of a broader national trend that saw road fatalities nationwide reach their highest level since 1990. In Washington state last year, 647 people died in vehicle crashes, a substantial increase from the 567 deaths recorded the prior year. The biggest reason was an increase in alcohol-related deaths, according to research analyst...
- Michael Myers | October 23, 2006 12:45 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTen years ago, the AARP surveyed more than half a million members about their weight, height and medical histories. The point was to study the relationship between body mass index, or BMI, and the risk of early death. The results of the study were published in the New England Journal of Medicine. At the time the surveys were mailed out, physician Tim Byers says that the concern about...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 3:33 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsNancy Bardsley, 51, was injured after her 2004 Honda motorcycle struck the back of a car on the 44th Avenue West onramp to Interstate 5. Washington State Patrol trooper Kirk Rudeen said she was apparently doing a head check as she prepared to merge onto the highway and didn't notice that traffic had slowed in front of her. Ms. Bardsley was airlifted from the scene but the helicopter had to be...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 2:11 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Kent police sergeant was injured in a one-car rollover accident. The sergeant, an 11-year veteran of the force, was pursuing a 1994 Honda northbound on Interstate 5 when he deliberately bumped the suspect vehicle in an attempt to make the driver spin and stall. Instead, the officer spun out of control and rolled numerous times. The officer suffered a head wound and was taken to Harborview...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 2:11 PM |
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MiscellaneousA 12-year-old Pierce County girl was severely injured when her leg was entangled in a boat propeller after she fell while water-skiing in Horsehead Bay, in Carr Inlet. The girl had been skiing behind one boat and was run over by a second boat. Rescuers from the Gig Harbor Fire Department held the girl's head above water for about an hour while divers worked frantically to remove the propeller...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 2:05 PM |
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MiscellaneousChandler Balkman is a 16 year old from Issaquah, Washington who would have started his junior year at Issaquah High School; he is also a recent amputee. On August 3, Chandler and his father decided to go swimming in the lake after his lacrosse game. Chandler's sister was driving the family boat on Lake Sammamish, did not see him swimming in the lake and accidentally ran over him. The...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 6:21 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsOf all the classes students take, driver's ed may be the only one designed to keep them alive. Yet the typical course isn't winning raves from accident and safety experts. The National Transportation Safety Board found in 2005 that the standard course hasn't changed much in 50 years, was designed arbitrarily, and isn't preparing teens for the road. Nearly 6,000 teens were killed and 303,000...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 5:29 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA 21-year-old Everett man arrested after a fatal chain-reaction crash on Interstate 5 on Friday, August 18, could be the first person to be charged under the state's year-old "Maria's Law," which makes failure to secure a load a criminal act when someone is injured or killed. The law is named for Maria Federici, a Renton woman blinded and permanently disfigured when a piece of particle board...
- Michael Myers | October 22, 2006 5:27 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)Whenever Alan Stepakoff sees the large scar on the back of his son's right leg, he's reminded of the horror seven years ago that forever shattered his family's sense of security. Joshua, then 6, was one of five people shot when a gunman stormed into a day care at a Jewish community center in Granada Hills, California. Joshua was shot twice. The families of the injured children feel that the...
- Michael Myers | October 20, 2006 11:55 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsKing County prosecutors have charged an Everett man and his grandfather with failure to secure a load that caused a fatal accident on Interstate 5 at Shoreline. The prosecutor's office says this is the first time Maria's Law has been used in Washington. It's named for Maria Federici, who was blinded in 2004 by an object that crashed through her windshield. Traffic citations--and, in fact, the...
- Michael Myers | October 20, 2006 11:55 AM |
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Nursing Home & Elder AbuseWe see and hear about horrific abuse targeting the elderly, ranging from scams to neglect. One local case came to light in 2005, and it was a stomach turning investigation. A 75-year old Kirkland woman died after living in filthy conditions. Her daughter was convicted of neglect. Washington law provides substantial protection for vulnerable adults. These adults include--but are not limited...
- Michael Myers | October 20, 2006 11:54 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsIn September a van struck and injured two girls outside Bellevue High School. The two were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. There are special rules of the road that relate to pedestrians. For instance, there are "white cane laws" that give special protections to blind persons. There are also special rules related to school zones. Pedestrians who are hit by by motorist are...
- Michael Myers | October 19, 2006 9:36 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsJust over a year ago an Airlift Northwest helicopter plunged into Puget Sound near Edmonds. The crash killed the pilot and two flight nurses. A month after the first crash and Airlift Northwest helicopter crashed while taking off from the roof of Olympia's Providence St. Peter Hospital. Since then, company officials say they have begun implementing a plan aimed at improving the safety of the...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 4:51 PM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)There is almost always someone to sue when a person dies from something other than natural causes. The wife of a popular tennis coach shot to death by a Seattle teen with apparent mental problems has filed a wrongful death suit against the suspect's parents. The parents of Samson Berhe "did nothing" when their 17-year-old son was on the streets with a shotgun and ammunition on June 25, 2005,...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 3:37 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsState Supreme Court Justice Tom Chambers crashed his motorcycle but failed to report the accident, even though the woman riding with him was injured badly enough to need treatment at an emergency room. Chambers, 62, confirmed the accident to The Seattle Times but said he didn't know he was required to report it to the police. He said he figured he did what was required by taking the woman to...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 3:36 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA metal shelving unit fell from a vehicle onto northbound Interstate 5 causing a five-car collision that killed one person. The crash occurred on August 18th at approximately 11:15 a.m. on I-5 at near Northeast 175th Street in Shoreline, said State Patrol Trooper Kelly Spangler. Though officials were asking for the public's help in locating the vehicle that lost its load, Spangler said the...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 12:08 PM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)Before her divorce was final, Deborah Martin sued her husband, Ernest John Lofgren, for beating her and causing her to suffer a broken cheekbone, broken nose and dislocated jaw, as well as severe dental injuries. Fairfax County jurors decided Lofgren needed to do more than just a short jail stint. They ordered him to pay Martin $550,000, in part for the extensive bills to repair her face --...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 11:44 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Pierce County woman accused of crashing a sport-utility vehicle into a Seattle police cruiser and killing rookie Officer Joselito "Lito" Barber on Sunday appeared to be intoxicated and had drugs stashed inside her body, according to court papers released Thursday.Even though the officer's family will receive benefits from the Department of Labor and Industries and various insurers, they also...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 11:43 AM |
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MiscellaneousA federal jury found recently that the giant drug manufacturer Merck failed to warn doctors about the medical risks of Vioxx, its once-popular prescription painkiller. The jury ruled that the company must pay a retired F.B.I. agent who suffered a heart attack while taking the drug at least $50 million in damages.Even though drugs and medical devices may receive FDA approval, they are frequently...
- Michael Myers | October 18, 2006 11:41 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe fourth victim of a helicopter crash that killed three Payette National Forest firefighters and their pilot was identified as thirty-four-year-old Lillian M. Patten of Olympia, Wash., who was part of the forests' Krassel Helitack operation. The three firefighters were flying to a remote guard station when the helicopter went down. Michael Gene Lewis of Cascade, Idaho, Monica Lee Zajanc of...
- Michael Myers | October 17, 2006 4:07 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsTwo men died and three others were injured in a one-car rollover crash on U.S. Highway 195 south of Pullman in September. The five were occupants of a sport-utility vehicle. The driver apparently lost control about four miles south of Pullman about 2:20 a.m.The patrol identified the dead as Fredi Perez-Araujo, 24, and Ramon F. Soto-Soto, 25, both of Clarkston. Luis O. Dominguez, 32, of...
- Michael Myers | October 17, 2006 2:49 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsIn September an Everett teen died in Mill Creek when the car he was driving went into a ditch and then flew into a tree. The south Everett teen was pronounced dead at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.Teenage drivers face a higher risk of fatal crashes, Washington Traffic Safety Commission spokeswoman Jonna VanDyk said. She said research shows that while teens make up only 7 percent of...
- Michael Myers | October 14, 2006 8:55 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Seattle teenager died after his family's Cadillac was struck by a dump truck on Interstate 5 in Federal Way. The accident happened on the northbound side of the freeway near the off-ramp to state Route 18. A 21-year-old woman was driving the Cadillac when she stopped on the side of the freeway just south of the onramp to 18. She next tried to merge back onto I-5. The Cadillac was then hit...
- Michael Myers | October 14, 2006 8:43 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsMore bikers are getting killed on the road. "This trend is very troubling," said NTSB member Debbie Hersman, who chaired a two-day forum on motorcycle safety that began Tuesday. "The number of fatalities is outpacing the increase in ridership."Motorcycle accidents involved dramatically different considerations that run of the mill motor vehicle accidents. Riding is different than driving. ...
- Michael Myers | October 14, 2006 8:27 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Nooksack Valley High School student was in critical condition and could be paralyzed after undergoing spinal surgery to repair damage from a recent Highway 9 crash. Jennifer L. Boss, 16, of Everson had a fractured skull and concussion, a collapsed lung and severe spinal cord injuries, according to two of her close friends. They said doctors removed her appendix and spleen and stopped the...
- Michael Myers | October 14, 2006 8:18 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe Government have indicates that new cars, SUVs and other vehicles will need to have anti-rollover technology by the 2012 model year. Predictions suggest that the change will prevent thousands of roadway deaths a year.In addition to raising the issue of potential product liability claims, rollover accidents can also implicate highway design claims. Before filing a lawsuit based on negligent...
- Michael Myers | October 14, 2006 8:08 PM |
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MiscellaneousA federal judge has denied class-action status in a $100 million negligence lawsuit filed by passengers aboard a cruise ship that was struck by a 70-foot rogue wave last year. In a 20-page decision filed earlier this month, Altonaga said that not all passengers suffered equally in the incident.Even if a number of persons are injured in the same incident aboard a cruise line--like Holland...
- Michael Myers | October 14, 2006 12:09 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsEach month, the jury manager randomly pulls about 1,000 names of Island County residents for jury duty in Island County superior and district courts. While most of those people won't end up serving on a jury, it's a complicated job to keep track of all the individuals, their jury status, jury fees and court schedules. It's also a complicated job to pick a jury in today's "tort reform" climate. ...
- Michael Myers | October 13, 2006 7:47 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsMichael Plunkett, 32, was injured when someone hit his motorcycle and fled the scene on Saturday, August 12, 2006. Plunkett was hit from behind while driving east on Terrace Heights Drive near its intersection with Terrace Park Way. Plunkett fell to the road and his bike landed nearby. He was taken by ambulance to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where he was recovering from head wounds, a...
- Michael Myers | October 13, 2006 7:45 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsEleven cruise ship passengers were injured Tuesday morning when a Gastineau Guiding tour bus rolled in the rain over an embankment near Last Chance Basin.Almost all of the people had crawled out of the bus when ambulances arrived, nine minutes after the call came in at 8:16 a.m., Mohrmann said. One person, however, had to be lifted out with a basket-like device. The bus had flipped on its side...
- Michael Myers | October 13, 2006 7:12 PM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)One of the most horrific incidents in Yakima's recent history has come to a close. Yakima County commissioners agreed Tuesday to settle a lawsuit that grew out of the 1995 mauling death of a wheelchair-bound man by two pit bull dogs. The county agreed to pay $10,000 to the estate of Walter Feser, then 75, who died from injuries he suffered after the two dogs entered his backyard in the 800 block...
- Michael Myers | October 13, 2006 7:11 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Bellevue woman who was seriously injured when a State Patrol trooper rammed her car has filed a civil lawsuit against the state and the Washington State Patrol. Julia Terlinchamp was a Fulbright scholar who graduated from the International School in Bellevue four years before the December 2004 accident that changed her life forever.It's important to remember that before suing a governmental...
- Michael Myers | October 09, 2006 10:06 AM |
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MiscellaneousOn August 1, 2006 the Western District of Washington held that the one year limitations period contained in Holland America's tickets was fair and reasonably communicated to passengers. This ruling affirms what we have long-suspected. While there may be some room for negotiation when it comes to the six-month limitations period for filing a written claim, the one year limitations period for...
- Michael Myers | October 09, 2006 10:05 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsWomen involved in motor vehicle accidents who have breast implants should request mammograms when they visit their medical providers. There is evidence that women involved in car crashes are at higher risk of having their implants rupture or leak following a collission. This type of pro-active assessment and treatment can be recovered in a personal injury action even if there isn't a rupture...
- Michael Myers | October 04, 2006 5:47 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA collision early this morning on S. Machias Road near Snohomish sent three people to the hospital with what officials described as life-threatening injuries. The crash, involving a Honda Civic and Nissan pickup truck, occurred just after 5:05 a.m. south of Three Lakes Road.Without question the passengers have personal injury claims. It may be that one or both drivers also have personal injury...
- Michael Myers | October 04, 2006 1:21 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsFlowers, photos and CDs were placed at makeshift memorials on a rural road east of Lake Stevens for two lives ended too soon. Jeffery Brown, 18, of Bothell and John Muguerza, 44, of Snohomish were killed when they were ejected from a Porsche convertible that struck a tree along the 17100 block of Newberg Road. Investigators think the car's driver lost control, Snohomish County sheriff's deputy...
- Michael Myers | October 04, 2006 1:16 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Seattle man riding in a car that was driven by a suspected drunk driver was sent to the hospital with life-threatening injuries after an early morning collision on Interstate 5 on August 31st. Investigators suspect the 26-year-old driver of the 2003 Mercedes E320 rear-ended a bread truck with enough force to lift the truck off the road. The driver, who lives in Tukwila, lost control of the...