- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 12:57 PM |
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Motorcycle Accidents19 year old Chantelle Still was killed in a motorcycle accident on I-405 in Kirkland recently. Ms. Still was a passenger on the motorcycle. The driver lost control of the motorcycle at a high speed in a construction zone. Both the driver and Ms. Still were thrown from the motorcycle.In situations like this accident, Washington's wrongful death statutes allow the victim's family to pursue a...
- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 11:15 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA 16 year old Tacoma girl died last week after a vehicle she was a passenger in left the road, hit a tree and rolled over.Troopers say the 17-year-old Tacoma girl who was driving a 2006 Honda Civic on State Route 7 yesterday evening lost control of her vehicle and it left the roadway, hitting a tree and rolling.The passenger ... 16-year-old Ashley Magnusson of Tacoma ... died today at Tacoma...
- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 11:10 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsAn accident between a car and a diesel tanker truck caused a "traffic nightmare" last week in I-5 in Federal Way. DOT spokeswoman Greg Phipps said the 14-mile traffic backup was created by a collision between a diesel and a car at 2:53 p.m..Phipps said 60 gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto the roadway from the fuel tank of the tanker.For more information on this subject, please refer to our...
- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 10:56 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsInsurance adjusters often analyze an injury claim based on the amount of property damage to the car involved. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration disagrees. On it's official Questions & Answers page, the NHTSA explains two important points: (1) bumpers are not safety features designed to protect passengers; and (2) there is no way to determine how fast a car was traveling...
- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 10:49 AM |
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Automobile AccidentsA 47 year-old man suffered serious personal injuries after an accident at the intersection of John Street and Melrose Avenue on Seattle's Capitol Hill last week. The man apparently lost control of the scooter when the brakes failed. The 47-year-old man was westbound on East John, heading downhill, when the brakes on his scooter apparently failed. Unable to stop, the man sped downhill past...
- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 10:11 AM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)The 2002 rape and eventual killing of a cruise ship patron has led Australian officials to recommend criminal charges. Dianne Brimble died after a fellow cruise patron slipped her "Fantasy", a date rape drug. P & O Cruises, associated with Carnival Cruise Line, apologized to the woman's family.Our responsibility is to create an environment onboard our ships where we do all we can to make sure...
- Mark McLean | July 31, 2007 9:57 AM |
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Medical MalpracticeA Clark County jury last week awarded $4.5 million to the family of late artist Craig Pozzi. According to the jury, Mr. Pozzi's doctors had misdiagnosed his condition for years. They diagnosed his symptoms as anxiety attacks when in fact the episodes were small seizures occurring as a result of the large brain tumor. Doctors testified during the two-week trial that if Pozzi's tumor had been...
- Mark McLean | July 26, 2007 12:16 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA multi-car crash blocked all lanes of Southbound State Route (SR) 599 yesterday. All lanes of southbound state Route 599 were blocked by a collision at the Metro bus barn in Tukwila Wednesday afternoon, according to Department of Transportation officials.The Washington State Patrol, King County Sheriff's Department, fire, rescue and a DOT Incident Response Team responded at the scene.Traffic...
- Mark McLean | July 26, 2007 12:03 PM |
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MiscellaneousCastleberry Foods recently recalled cans of its hot dog chili sauce after the toxic Botulism poison was found in the sauce and caused four hospitalizations. Botulism is similar to Botox in the face--causing a muscle-paralyzing disease that comes from the extremely toxic Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium commonly found in soil.The toxin often originates from under-processed and under-heated...
- Mark McLean | July 25, 2007 5:07 PM |
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MiscellaneousStudies have shown that Seattle's bicycle helmet laws have reduced injuries, especially inuries to children.According to Beterem and the road safety organization Or Yarok, hospitalization due to cycling accidents in New York, New Jersey, Canada, Seatle and California were down by dozens of percentage points - especially among children - after helmet laws were passed.Bicycles are a great form of...
- Mark McLean | July 25, 2007 4:44 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsThe driver of an RV involved in a crash in Port Angeles died last week. Lonnie Owens, 51, from Fair Grove, Mo., was taken to Harborview for critical injuries Tuesday after the brakes on his RV failed as he and his family were leaving Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park, fire officials said.The crash resulted from a multiple-car accident concluding with the RV falling down a 25 foot gully. ...
- Mark McLean | July 25, 2007 4:32 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA jet ski accident near Brownsville in Port Orchard Bay killed a newlywed couple last week. Ken Bayne, 47, died Wednesday at Harborview Medical Center from injuries he sustained July 15 in the Jet Ski accident near Brownsville that killed his newlywed wife.Bayne and his wife, Jeanette (McClister) Bayne were riding on a 2007 Kawasaki Jet Ski Sunday afternoon in Port Orchard Bay near Brownsville...
- Mark McLean | July 25, 2007 4:26 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsReckless driving and faulty cable barriers caused a multi-car accident on I-5 in Milton Sunday, leaving one person killed.Police said witnesses told the Washington State Patrol the driver left the road, hit cable barriers, and crashed through a median into oncoming traffic, hitting three vehicles.The driver of the Acura was pronounced dead at the scene. One other driver was transported to the...
- Mark McLean | July 24, 2007 1:13 PM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)The Washington State Department of Health suspended Seattle Psychologist Stuart Greenberg's license to practice after allegations that he videotaped his patients and employees using the bathroom recently. State regulators suspended the license of veteran Seattle psychologist Stuart Greenberg on Thursday over accusations that he videotaped women using his office bathroom.Greenberg faces criminal...
- Mark McLean | July 20, 2007 1:41 PM |
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MiscellaneousWashington's Supreme Court gave consumers a victory this month by ruling that companies may not disclaim class action liability. In a significant victory for consumers, the Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the former Cingular Wireless, now AT&T, cannot enforce a waiver in its contract that prohibits customers from pursuing a class action.The Supreme Court ruled that the waiver...
- Mark McLean | July 20, 2007 9:17 AM |
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MiscellaneousThe Sony Electronics Corporation "removed" a class action lawsuit from California state court to federal district court on Tuesday. The lawsuit concerns defects to Sony's "Trinitron" televisions. Sony refuted the complaint but admitted that the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million. "Removal" is a legal term allowing a defendant to move a case from state court to federal court if it...
- Mark McLean | July 18, 2007 12:28 PM |
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MiscellaneousA seven year old boy was killed in a jet ski accident during a cruise vacation in the Bahamas recently. Interestingly, Royal Caribbean claims that it holds no responsibility since the accident occurred while the boy was on an excursion from the ship.Most excursion tickets from cruise lines contain disclaimers that the cruise line is not liable for injuries that happen ashore. However, in most...
- Mark McLean | July 17, 2007 8:30 AM |
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Automobile Accidents24 year old Gerald Marvin was struck by a drunk driver while competing in the Seattle to Portland ("STP") bicycle race on Saturday. Gerald Marvin, 24, of Seattle suffered serious injuries when the driver of a sport utility vehicle swerved out of his lane on U.S. 30 northwest of Portland. Struck from behind, Marvin slammed into two other cyclists, who suffered minor injuries.Police pulled over a...
- Mark McLean | July 12, 2007 6:06 PM |
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Workplace InjuriesA construction worker was killed in an accident on Highway 20 in LaConner yesterday.The worker was killed in a construction zone near Milepost 53 near LaConner at about 8:15 a.m.Transportation Department spokesman Dustin Terpening said the worker was hit by a street sweeper that was backing up. Washington law provides for worker's compensation, a fault-free system of recovery for people injured...
- Mark McLean | July 12, 2007 5:43 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Pennsylvania Insurance Company agreed to pay $20 million dollars to settle a bad faith lawsuit after it refused to settle a valid claim. A drunk driver left Joseph Tuski a quadriplegic after striking his vehicle. Mr. Tuski sued the driver and the tavern that overserved him. The tavern's insurance company knew of the extent of Mr. Tuski's injuries and its the tavern's liability, yet refused...
- Mark McLean | July 11, 2007 4:47 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsJohn Ellis, a 31 year old Bothell resident, was the latest victim in a string of accidents caused by defective loose truck wheels. Ellis was killed when a loose truck wheel's assembly bounced onto an SUV he was driving. Mr. Ellis' wrongful death was the latest in a string of accidents caused by these defective truck wheels.Washington's Products Liability Act contains consumer-friendly laws...
- Mark McLean | July 11, 2007 4:30 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsJeremy Conklin, a 22 year old Selah man, was killed in a boating accident in Lake Hvasu, Arizona over the weekend.According to a Mojave County Sheriff's Office news release, the boat Conklin and five others were in flipped several times while turning to avoid another boat. Nearby boaters plucked the five other passengers from the water. Investigators believe speed, and perhaps alcohol, played a...
- Mark McLean | July 11, 2007 12:22 PM |
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Automobile Accidents8 people suffered personal injuries in a t-bone car accident in White Center last Friday when a Honda Civic swerved into a Volvo. Seven of the eight injured people were taken to the hospital. Six of them had minor injuries to the head, neck and back.The most seriously injured was a passenger who was riding in the back seat of the Volvo at the time. That man, who is in his 20s, has taken to...
- Mark McLean | July 09, 2007 12:52 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA woman driving a ford sedan struck another vehicle head-on near Forks recently, causing serious personal injuries. The man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Reports say a westbound Ford sedan driven by 33-year old Elizabeth Tapia of Forks entered a left hand curve and veered over the center line.Troopers say Tapia's car collided head-on in the eastbound lane with a Chevy...
- Mark McLean | July 09, 2007 12:45 PM |
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Motorcycle AccidentsA 29 year-old Bothell man was killed when his motorcycle was struck by an SUV in the 500 block of the Mukilteo speedway recently. The SUV was making a U-turn at the time of the accident.Under Washington law, the families of victims who are killed as a result of someone else's fault can recover damages under "wrongful death" statutes. These statutes ensure proper compensation for the families...
- Mark McLean | July 09, 2007 12:32 PM |
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MiscellaneousThe Cruise Ship "The Empress of the North" ran aground in Icy Strait near Juneau, Alaska recently. The ship was operated by Majestic America Line out of Seattle. People who sign up for cruise ships usually (and often unwittingly) also sign a contract which includes a "forum selection clause" requiring them to file any claim in a specified place. Seattle is a booming hub of the cruise line...
- Mark McLean | July 06, 2007 7:26 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA Mercer Island Police Officer struck a pedestrian in a crosswalk, leaving him in serious condition.The Mercer Island man struck by a police vehicle driven by a Mercer Island police officer Wednesday night was in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center Thursday.The man was in the crosswalk at Island Crest Way and North Mercer Way on Mercer Island Wednesday night when he was hit by the...
- Mark McLean | July 06, 2007 7:10 PM |
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Property Owner's Liability (Slip & Fall)Without fail, fireworks cause serious personal injuries throughout the country every Fourth of July. Seattle is no exception. Harborview treated 32 injuries as a result of fireworks this year.Often fireworks injuries happen due to the handler's own behavior. Not always. This year, a man was seriously injured when a rocket exploded on a barge on Big Lake in Mount Vernon.Yesterday, a colleague...
- Mark McLean | July 06, 2007 6:58 PM |
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Automobile AccidentsA drunk driver drove his van into a tree in Sequim earlier this week. A passenger in the van suffered serious personal injuries.Two interesting and often over-looked legal issues arise from accidents like these.First, the injured passenger has a valid claim against the driver of the van for causing the accident. In fact, the passenger can recover under the driver's insurance policy as well as...