Tacoma Personal Injury Lawyer - Automobile Accidents

Kearney Case Catalyzes Public Outrage About Hit and Run Collisions

Michael Myers — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 08:45:23 GMT

Hit and run collisions seem to increase this time of year. It gets dark earlier and the rain makes it difficult to see pedestrians. It makes sense that the number of accidents increases. But weather and visibility don't explain or justify drivers leaving the scene after hitting a pedestrian, bicyclist or vehicle.

A recent case illustrates the point. KOMO News reported:

Jeff Kearney was hit while walking across a crosswalk on 16th Avenue Southwest in White Center. The vehicle hit Kearney so hard that its side mirror sheered off. But police say the driver slowed for just a moment before speeding off.

Two points.

First, I think that hit and run collisions increase this time of year because (a) people drink more around the holidays and (b) the same factors which increase collisions due to decreased visibility also provide an opportunity for drivers to leave the scene of a collision undetected.

Second, UM/UIM (Uninsured Motorist/Under Insured Motorist) insurance covers hit and run collisions. Even collisions with pedestrians. Buy as much UM/UIM coverage as you can afford. It's not expensive and provides excellent coverage in case a drunk driver runs from the scene of a collision.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

The Intersection Between Rights and Responsibilities - The Left Hand Turn

Michael Myers — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:59:53 GMT

Many motor vehicle accidents start with a left hand turn. Most car versus motorcycle and car versus bicycle accidents find their genesis in left hand turns.

In fact, left hand turns are such a frequent cause of accidents that there is a specific jury instruction devoted them. WPI 70.02.01 governs rights of way involving a vehicle making a left turn. It provides:

[A] driver intending to turn to the left within an intersection shall yield the right of way to any vehicle approaching from the opposite direction that is within the intersection or so close thereto as to constitute an immediate hazard. This right of way, however, is not absolute but relative, and the duty to exercise ordinary care to avoid collisions at intersections rests upon both drivers. The primary duty, however, rests upon the driver turning to the left, which duty must be performed with reasonable regard to the maintenance of a fair margin of safety at all times.

Persistence and Private Trials

Michael Myers — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:02:59 GMT

We recently represented a young man who was struck by a car and broke his leg. The accident happened while he was in a crosswalk.

The at-fault driver's liability carrier initially contested liability and refused to pay its limits. Eventually it capitulated.

Then his own UIM carrier claimed that the case was probably not worth what we recovered from the at-fault driver and it wouldn't pay anything. Eventually it made some nominal offers. Fortunately our client had a great constitution and the offers were declined.

We eventually set the matter for a private trial. We put on approximately five witnesses. The injured client, his girlfriend and his mother all testified about the broken leg and its impact on his life.

An award of $260,000 was entered. The amount was over two and a half times the value originally ascribed by the insurance company. It shows that persistence pays off and that experienced counsel should always be retained even if you're dealing with your own insurance company.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Slick Roads in Bellingham: Tanker Truck Leaks Petroleum from Grandview Drive to Alger

Michael Myers — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:21:01 GMT

At least ten accidents snarled Interstate 5 on Halloween. Troopers suspect that a tanker truck from a local refinery leaking oil on the southbound lanes of the Interstate as it drove through Bellingham.

Troopers were investigating the source of the spill Friday evening by checking with the refineries to determine which had tankers depart around the time of the spill and whether or not those tankers had delivered their loads.

If the driver of the tanker is identified, claims can be made against him and/or his employer. However, if authorities are unable to identify the driver, injured motorists can make claims under the little publicized "phantom vehicle" coverage under the UM (uninsured motorist) portions of their motor vehicle insurance.

However, they must file a police report within a short period of time (usually 72 hours) of the accident. If they don't, the coverage they've paid for year after year will evaporate. It's also important to remember that once UM coverage is implicated, the insurance company that's collected premiums from you for years will become your adversary. In a case that we just won (at a private trail (and recovered almost 100 percent more than the UM/UIM carrier last offered) the client's own insurance company argued that he was responsible for his own injuries even though he was hit while standing in a cross walk.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Tragedy in Thurston County--Marysville Redux for Cable Median Barriers?

Michael Myers — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:12:40 GMT

Sorrow in Thurston County this weekend. As reported in part by the Mason County Daily News:

Two people were killed on Interstate 5 at Milepost 88 in Thurston County today after a passenger vehicle crossed the median into oncoming traffic and struck a semi-truck head-on. Two children were injured as well, one seriously. According to witnesses, it was raining when a brown 1995 Subaru Legend was traveling southbound on Interstate 5 in the right lane when traffic began to slow. The Subaru attempted the brake and lost control, traveling across the left lane and into the median. The Subaru continued through the median underneath the cable barrier and into the northbound lanes. The Subaru then struck a green 2007 Freightliner semi-truck, with trailer, head on. The Freightliner pushed the Subaru back into the median and into the cable barrier a second time. Only the deceased front seat passenger has been positively identified at this time. He is identified as Karl F. Heiss, 43, of Moyie Springs, Idaho. The female driver, also deceased, has not been identified. An unidentified female who was a rear passenger in the Subaru, approximately 10 years old, sustained life-threatening injuries and was airlifted the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. An unidentified male, who was a rear passenger of the Subaru, in a booster seat, approximately 6 years old, sustained injuries and was transported via ambulance to a local hospital then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Cable median barriers have been heated topic in Washington. Motorcyclists fear cable median barriers and label them "cheese cutters". Some accident victims in accidents have alleged the State has been too slow to install the barriers. Others, like family of Mr. Heiss and the other occupants in the Subaru, who have been injured or suffered the loss of a family member when a vehicle has traveled underneath a barrier have asserted that the State either mis-engineered or mis-installed the barriers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Hit and Run Accidents--What You Need to Know

Michael Myers — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:35:39 GMT

Hit and run accidents are covered under your UIM policy. (UIM policy uses the term "phantom driver".) But you have to satisfy sever requirements in order to recover benefits.

1. You have to report the accident to police right away. When you make the report be sure to obtain a report or incident number.

2. You have to establish your damages. Your insurance company is in an adversarial position. It will make you prove every element of your damages and may not pay you even if your evidence is solid.

3. You have to make your claim within the applicable statute of limitations. The limitations period can be established by the policy or statute. There is some debate whether the statutory period (if the policy is silent) starts to run when the injury occurs or when the carrier refuses to pay UIM benefits. It is possible in some cases to assert a UIM claim even if the statute of limitations has run against the at-fault driver.

4. You have to determine--if the carrier won't pay you--whether you have a policy that has an arbitration or a "sue us" clause. It's a lot better to have a policy that calls for arbitration. It's faster, less expensive and the results are typically better for the injured person than bench or jury trials.

UIM claims are a lot like other kinds of personal injury lawsuits. Just because the claim is being made against your "own" insurance company don't get lulled into a false sense of security. If your injuries are significant, you're going to need help to maximize the value of your claim. Don't go it alone.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Multiple Policies...Multiple Limits?

Michael Myers — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 14:23:24 GMT

I met recently with a client who had separate policies for each of his vehicles. His insurance agent submitted PIP and UIM claims under only one of the policies. I suggested that UIM and PIP claims be submitted under each of the policies. In terms of UIM and PIP benefits, you do not need to be in a particular vehicle (or even in a vehicle for that matter) to obtain benefits.
The real issues is whether the client's policies' “anti-stacking” language prohibits the recovery of multiple benefits.

“Stacking” of UIM insurance occurs where multiple policies are layered upon each other, giving the insured UIM coverage beyond his or her UIM single policy limits. RCW 48.22.030(6), the UIM "anti-stacking" statute, provides:

The policy may provide that if an injured person has other similar insurance available to him under other policies, the total limits of liability of all coverages shall not exceed the higher of the applicable limits of the respective coverages.

Generally, anti-stacking clauses do not violate public policy. The public policy underlying UIM insurance is to provide a second, floating layer of coverage to protect persons who are injured by underinsured motorists. However, to be enforceable, an anti-stacking provision must be unambiguous. And that's where many insurers can be exposed and compelled to pay multiple benefits to its insured.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Personal Injury Protection--Coverage for Injured Pedestrians

Michael Myers — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:06:25 GMT

A lot of people think that PIP (Personal Injury Protection) only provides benefits if they are involved in an accident while driving their own cars. Fortunately the coverage is much broader and more expansive.
I saw a story in the Seattle Times that illustrates this point:

The State Patrol reports a pedestrian trying to cross Highway 169 in the Renton/Maple Valley area was struck and killed by an SUV.

Trooper Curt Boyle says police received reports earlier Saturday night of a woman walking on the right shoulder of the southbound lane.

Boyle says alcohol was found on the victim's body.

So, without prejudging the facts too much, where was a woman who had been drinking who tried to cut across the highway at night and was hit by a car and killed. Doesn't seem like she/her estate should be entitled to PIP benefits, does it?

Well, her estate is entitled to PIP benefits. And not just from her own carrier, but also from the PIP carrier that provided coverage to the driver of the car that struck her. The dead woman's estate is entitled to medical and funeral expenses from both of them.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers

Post-Collision Car Fire in Thurston County

Ryan Nute — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:40:55 GMT

Sometimes accidents and injuries arise from a combination of factors--not just negligent driving. It's important not to overlook any potential cause in a serious injury accident.

Two people were killed in a car accident in Thurston County early Sundy morning. According to the Washington State Patrol the 1997 Pontiac Grand Am was traveling northbound on SR 101 at about 1:30 a.m. when it veered to the right, left the roadway, hit a tree and was engulfed in fire. It is not known whether or not alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident.

Car fires resulting from an impact can be complicated to explain. Sometimes they result due to the combustible materials present in the engine compartment. But sometimes the fire--or the rate at which it spreads--can result from a product defect or negligent repair.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ryan Nute

Pet Injured in Head on Crash

Michael Myers — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:35:26 GMT

More and more people are driving with pets in their cars. That means more and more pets are being injured in motor vehicle accidents.

A poodle riding in a pickup truck was seriously injured when a driver traveling the opposite direction on State Route 515 crossed the center line and hit the pickup head on. The pickup driver, a 48-year old woman from Kent, and her passenger, a 49-year old man from Kent, were transported to a hospital with neck and back injuries. The poodle was taken to a local veterinary hospital for surgery.

Veterinarian bills and the emotional distress associated with injuries sustained by a pet are compensable. However, this is an emerging area of the law. Insurance companies do not roll over on claims like this. It's important that you engage competent counsel experienced in motor vehicle and pet-related claims.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Michael Myers