Automobile Accidents

• Drunk Driver Causes Auto Accident and Personal Injuries

  Mark McLean | July 06, 2007 6:58 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A 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...

• The Civil Side of Criminal Liability: Drunk Driver Causes Wrongful Death

  Mark McLean | June 29, 2007 4:27 PM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A drunk driver was charged with vehicular homicide this week after he struck and killed a roadside construction worker with a blood-alcohol level of over twice the legal limit. The driver disregarded orange construction cones and struck two Department of Transportation workers, killing one and injuring the other. Under Washington law, violation of a criminal statute is strong evidence of...

• "Spoilation of Evidence" Part II--Judge Levies Sanctions Against U-Haul for "Extreme Negligence" in Conveniently Losing Evidence(2)

  Mark McLean | June 29, 2007 9:48 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A Kern County (California) Judge levied sanctions against U-Haul for "losing" evidence that one of its do-it-yourself moving trucks was defective and caused serious personal injuries to a customer. This is not the first time U-Haul has been sanctioned for similar behavior.The evidence had disappeared.A Kern County Superior Court judge declared in December that he would sanction U-Haul for...

• Warhol Painting Depicting Fatal Car Accident Yields $71 Million

  Mark McLean | June 29, 2007 9:35 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Andy Warhol's "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)" was recently auctioned for $71.7 million dollars. The painting depicts a fatal car crash in Seattle."Green Car Crash," painted in 1963, is part of a series of Warhol works that drew on photographs of fatal accidents. Silkscreened over a green background, the painting uses a news photograph of a grisly crash in Seattle.If a painting depicting...

• Hit-and-Run Driver Causes Car Accident and Personal Injuries

  Mark McLean | June 25, 2007 10:22 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A hit-and-run driver caused a crash which closed Highway 2 in Snohomish last week. A victim of the crashed suffered serious personal injuries. Troopers are looking for a car whose driver they said caused a pickup truck to roll over, closing Highway 2 in both directions at about noon on Wednesday.The driver of a yellow car was tailgating other cars and weaving between lanes before the vehicle...

• Pedestrian Dies After Being Struck by Truck

  Mark McLean | June 25, 2007 9:44 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A 56 year old Bothell woman was killed when she was hit by an out-of-control truck just after getting off a bus in Kenmore. It was about 4 p.m. Tuesday when the out-of-control truck hit a nearby front-loader and then slammed into a group of pedestrians, killing Kathy Cook and injuring seven other people.Witness Brian Stambuk said he was behind the front-loader at the traffic light. When the...

• Teen Suffers Personal Injuries in Car Accident

  Mark McLean | June 25, 2007 9:32 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  A Lake Stevens teenager suffered serious personal injuries when she was struck by a dump truck on Highway 92 in Lake Stevens last week.The woman apparently was making a left turn onto 127th Drive NE when her car was struck broadside by a dump truck and trailer rig about 7:15 a.m., Washington State Patrol Sgt. Harlan Jackson said.The woman, who reportedly was alert and conscious at the scene, was...

• Pedestrians Suffer Personal Injuries on Seattle Waterfront

  Mark McLean | June 25, 2007 9:07 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Two pedestrians suffered personal injuries when they were struck by a pickup truck in an accident along Alaskan Way on Seattle's Downtown Waterfront on Friday. A pickup truck struck two people walking across Alaskan Way on Seattle's waterfront Friday, police said. The two were taken to Harborview Medical Center.A witness told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News the two -- a man and a woman -- were crossing...

• Spoliation of Evidence - the Complicated Way to Say that Destroying Evidence Can Lead to Significant Consequences

  Michael Myers | June 04, 2007 11:45 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Spoliation of evidence is a legal term associated with the destruction of evidence. The destruction of evidence by a party to a lawsuit can result in significant consequences. For instance, if the defendant destroys evidence, the court can actually enter a default judgment against that defendant. If a plaintiff purposefully destroys evidence the suit he or she has filed can be dismissed.An...

• Suprises at Trial

  Michael Myers | May 29, 2007 9:22 AM | 0 CommentsSeattle, WA

  Each day at trial is filled with highs and lows. No matter how well orchestrated the trial, inevitably, there are surprises and set backs. Surprises and setbacks can come as a result of malfunctioning technology, unfortunate rulings from the bench or surprises originating from opposing counsel. Sometimes parties to a lawsuit hold on unrealistic expectations about what a trial should look...