Washington Injury Law Blog

A U.S. Supreme Court decision this week has ended decades of campaign finance law.  The court ruled that corporations may spent as much money as they want on federal political elections.  Although, they can’t donate directly to candidates they can run their own ads against or for any candidate.  Let the flood begin!

The conservative block of the court in 5-4 ruling said that corporations have the same free speech rights as individuals.  President Obama called the ruling “a major victory for big oil, Wall Street banks, health-insurance companies and other powerful interests that marshal their power every day in Washington to drown out the voices of everyday Americans.”  The ruling is being viewed as a big win for Republicans and big money corporations.  Money will pour into presidential now from large companies.  Every commercial on TV during a federal election is probably going to be a political ad.  I’m going to love my DVR so much during the next Presidential election.

We can expect companies to endorse certain candidates based upon support for certain issues important to company profits.  While opponents may feel a chilling effect against taking a strong stand on an issue, like National Park oil drilling.  The candidate can expect a flood of TV ads against him/her from the oil companies. 

Here in Washington state we won’t see much change in state elections.  Washington already does not have any limits on how much corporations can spend to support Washington state candidates.  Companies cannot give money directly to a candidate but can run independent ads of their own in support or opposition of a particular political candidate.  

What I see here is a continuation of the U.S. Supreme Court’s shift towards more conservative rulings.  The additions of Justices Roberts and Justice Alito are swinging the court from a more liberal trend to a more conservative trend.  This has happened throughout the history of the court.  The pendulum swings back and forth from liberal to conservative and back again.  In my opinion we will continue to see decisions in favor of corporations at the expensive of individuals for many years to come. 

Max Meyers, Esq.

Washington state law requires you to use a hands free device with your cellphone when driving and prohibits texting while driving.  The problem with these laws has been that a violation was classified as a secondary offense.  Secondary offense means that a policeman can only pull you over if you commit some other traffic infraction that is a primary offense, like speeding and improper lane change.

Washington State Sen. Tracey Eide of Federal Way has proposed changing the cellphone and texting laws to make violations a primary offense.  That means you could be pulled over when that cellphone is to your ear or even in your hand.  The basic fine would be $124, but that would increase if you caused a car accident that injures someone. 

Sen. Eide has a friend who was t-boned and injured in a car accident with a teenage driver who was talking on a cellphone.  Research has shown that driving while talking on a cell makes you as likely to cause a car accident as someone who is driving drunk with a BAC of 0.08 and 23 times more likely to crash if you’re texting. 

My reaction to this is FINALLY!!  The cellphone and texting laws as they currently stand are a joke.  Nobody obeys them because there’s no real threat of being stopped by the police.  I still encounter idiots on cell phones every day I drive on Washington roadways, and I’ll admit at times I’m one of those idiots.  Why, because I have no fear of a traffic ticket, which could raise my car insurance rates and cost me some cash.  

I hope the proposed law passes.  All you have to do is look at the seat-belt law history to see this change will force people to change their behavior.  Washington currently has the second highest seat-belt usage rate in the country at 96.5%.  That wasn’t the case when the seat-belt law violation was a secondary offense.  The seat-belt law was changed to make failing to click it an automatic ticket.  Now look at us, dedicated seat-belt users.      

Drive safe,

Max Meyers, Esq.

Seattle’s Aurora Avenue apparently has a new pest trolling the streets.  The economy is bad, but I had no idea things had gone this far!

I was at a birthday party for my my sister-in-law Cristi last night and heard a great Christmas story.  My other sister-in-law Sherry works in a breast cancer doctor’s office, with some amazing docs by the way.  She has a work acquaintance that comes into the office from time to time, we’ll call him Edward, although that’s not his real name.

Edward is an older gentleman who shoots the breeze with Sherry whenever he stops by.  Edward is getting up their in years and as one would expect takes some prescriptions.  Well he recently needed a new prescription.  He called his pharmacy and got the prescription filled.  After work Edward went to the pharmacy, as is common this time of year there was a line of people.

When Edward finally made it to the head of the line and got his new prescription he received some devastating news.  The new prescription was not covered by his insurance and cost $500.  Edward stood there in shock and total frustration.  He did not make much money as a delivery man and there was no way he could pay for such a high prescription bill.  Edward told the pharmacist that there was no way he could afford the needed drugs and apologized for the incovenience and left without them. 

The next morning Edward received a call from the pharmacy asking him to please come down to the pharmacy as his prescription was ready for pick up.  He thought about calling, but the pharmacy was on his way to work so he just stopped by.  Again he told the pharmacist his name and said their must be some mix up, retelling the story of the day before.  The pharmacist said there was no mix up.

The pharmacist explained that yesterday a customer in line behind Edward had overheard his dilemma regarding the high cost of the prescription.  When the man got to the front of the line he told the pharmacist that he wanted to help Edward.  So he paid for Edward’s costly prescription right then and there, and asked the pharmacist to call Edward and let him know that the prescription was now ready for him.  The man made a second request that he be kept anonymous and not tell Edward his name, but simply tell him Merry Christmas!

 A heart warming tale of truly what the spirit of Christmas is all about.  When you see a person in need or less fortunate then you this season, will you take the same selfless step and help your neighbor?  I pray that we all will.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Max

The Wenatchee World reports that Randal Thomas of Leavenworth, WA was killed in a tragic Washington bicycle accident last Sunday.  Randal was riding his bicycle to church when he was hit by a tow truck and killed.  Randal was riding from the City of Leavenworth to Leavenworth Christian Fellowship located at the intersection of Highways 2 and 97. 

The fatal Washington bicycle accident happened about one mile before the intersection of Hwy 2 & 97.  According to the police report Randal was riding southbound on the shoulder of Highway 2.  The tow truck was also southbound on Hwy 2.  Randal attempted to make a left hand turn and was hit by the tow truck. 

The police report appears to blame Randal for the accident, which it often the case when the bicyclist is not able to speak for himself.  There is a bias against bicyclists in many Washington bike accidents.  Without additional witnesses statements we may never know Randal’s side of the story and whether he truly was at fault for causing the collision that killed him.   

I encourage anyone who may have witnessed this tragic accident to contact Leavenworth Sheriff at 509-663-9911.

Seattle Police are looking for the driver of a car who hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk Saturday near Lake City Way Northeast.  The 47 year old injured man suffered life-threatening injuries.

A dark blue four-door sports car when hit the pedestrian then drove away.  Witnesses said the man was speeding when he turned south onto 20th Avenue Northeast and drove into the northbound lanes before hitting the pedestrian.  Witnesses told police the vehicle’s license plate is similar to “855-YUM.”  The car may have damage to the windshield and front bumper on the driver’s side.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call the case detective at 206-684-8936.  Those wishing to remain anonymous are encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477) or send a text to CRIMES (274637). The text message should include “TIP486.”

If a tip leads to an arrest and the filing of charges, callers may qualify for a cash reward of up to $1,000.

In one word, YES!  A crash test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety was recently performed between a 2009 Chevy Malibu and a 1959 Chevy Bel Air.  The video is dramatic, take a look.

The safety features that have developed over the years have made surviving head on collision with little injury much more likely.  Gotta love those engineers!

Related news story

Think getting pulled over for drinking and driving in Washington state was scary before, think again!  You could be subject to an involuntary blood draw if you’re pulled over for a DUI.  The Washington state Supreme Court recently handed down a decision that allows police to force you to give a blood sample following a DUI stop.

The court said that police may obtain a search warrant for a blood alcohol test even if the driver has refused to take a voluntary breath test.  The court found that obtaining a warrant for a driver who decline the breath test does not violate consent law, due-process rights or legal fairness doctrines.  That is unbelievably scary to me!

You have to right to refuse a breath test, which carries an automatic penalty of losing your driver’s license for one year.  But now regardless of your consent refusal police can get a warrant for a blood test, which by the way they don’t have to tell you they are getting the warrant.  If effect your refusal to a breath test is meaningless because the police can get around your refusal by forcing a blood test instead.  Appalling, really appalling!!  DUI laws are now so harsh that you would be crazy to drink and drive in Washington state. 

For practical purposes the police will likely only seek blood test warrantrs in the most serious DUI cases, most likely involving serious injury or fatal car accidents.  You could also see it used on repeated offenders where a felony DUI charge may be pursued.

The City of Medina, home of Bill Gates and other very wealthy individuals, has started a 24 hour video surveillance of its city streets.  Big Brother has arrived in Medina!!  As you drive into Medina your license plate is scanned, compared against a crime database, and sent directly to the Medina police should something of interest pop up.  The city claims it’s only a measure to fight crime.  However, the city then stores all license plates for 60 days, just in case you commit crime a little bit later. 

For example if a stolen car, crime suspect, or person with a warrant outstanding drives into Medina the police can spring into action and capture the person before he/she commits a crime in Medina.  According to Medina Police Chief Jeffrey Chen: “These cameras provide us with intelligence, ” and “It gets us out in front of criminals.  I don’t like to be on a level playing field with criminals.”  I wonder want Chief Chen thinks about the whole presumed innocent thing. 

The Medina City Council does believe this find of video surveillance and storage of information is a problem.  Why should a city keep records of when people come and go when they haven’t done anything wrong?  According to councilman Lucius Biglow crime prevention “outweighs concern over privacy.” 

Here’s my concern.  Why should any government entity track my travel without any suspicion of me doing something wrong.  The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.  Your right to privacy is directly taken from the 4th Amendment.  If all cities start 24 hour video surveillance then I will be tracked from the minute I walk out my front door and everywhere I go until I return home.  Can you imagine the slippery slope that this can pose?

First cities store information for 60 days, then slowly over time more and more days will be stored.  Cities start using the video to prosecute crimes, which is fine.  But guess what, it will also be used in other ways.  I’m a car and motorcycle accident attorney and video of an accident would be very useful in a car, motorcycle or any other vehicle accident case.  The video could be used in all kinds of disputes potentially.  I’m sure you can think any number of ways this video might be useful for a government to access.  Food for thought Homeland Security Agency and Patriot Act.

I don’t believe cities should store the information gathered on vehicles unless a crime, warrant or other legitimate crime related reason appears for the police to go out and stop that vehicle immediately.  Otherwise, the invasion of privacy is too great and is just one more step toward total erosion of your privacy in America and one more step toward Big Brother watching, tracking, and controlling your every movement and behavior.

Max Meyers, Esq.

Here’s the related Seattle Times news story.

A recent video by a British police department is getting a huge amount of media coverage.  The police department put together an old school scare tactic driving video with all the blood and gore to scare teens straight about the dangers of text messaging while driving in an effort to stop texting caused car accidents.  Check it out:

The video is definitely a bit cheesy, but that scary stats about the dangers of teen texting while driving are not.  A recent study has indicated that teens are more dangerous when texting and driving than when drinking and driving.  It’s better to have a drunk teenager driving than a texting teenager, that’s scary!

As a Washington Car Accident Attorney I have seen the number of car accidents being caused by cell phone use sky rocket.  Whether you’re distracted by texting, emailing, or talking on your cell phone it all is dangerous to other drivers on the road around you.  

Here’s a suggestion.  Turn off all audio chimes that let you know you have a new text, email or anything new on your cell phone.  Check your cell for new stuff on your timeline, not every time it chimes at you.  You’ll be surprised at how much less frequently you look at your cell and how much more productive you can be with your time.

Drive safe!

Max Meyers, Esq.