Washington Injury Law Blog

This is a new one for me as a urban based Car Accident Lawyer here in Kirkland, Washington.  A report out of the Yakima Herald details how a local farmer, Ramon Camacho, was driving his tractor while pulling a sprayer last night at about 9:30 p.m. on Clark Road in Yakima, Washington.  When a car suddenly smashed into the rear-end of the tractor seriously injuring the farmer driving the tractor.

The farmer was airlift to Harborview Medical Center trauma unit in Seattle for treatment of his critical injuries.  The car that rear-ended the tractor was a 2004 Ford Focus driven by Joy Douglus of Zillah, Washington, who was not injured in the crash.  The Ford Focus was destroyed in the accident and Ms. Douglas was arrested under investigation of vehicle assault and drunk driving.

The farmer Mr. Camacho is currently in the intesive care unit at Harborview.  My prayers will be with him for a full recovery from his injuries.

Max Meyers, Esq.

A drunk driving and vehicle assault investigation has revealed that Noble had a blood alcohol-content (BAC) of 0.22% after driving drunk and causing a very serious car accident that injured Leslie Workman and Lyndsey Jones on January 18th. Workman and Jones are lucky to be alive, however they did suffer broken bones in the car accident.  Noble’s political career is now in question as felony charges for vehicular assault may to be filed by the Washington Attorney General’s office.

The car accident happened around 2 am on I-5 in the Auburn  / Federal Way area.  Witnesses say Noble prior to the accident was weaving in his lane before pulling a U-turn of the freeway, then driving southbound on the northbound lanes of Interstate 5.  Noble told the Washington State Patrol officer at the scene of the accident that he did not know how much he had to drink, but had too much.  Noble  admitted fighting with his wife prior to driving.

Noble spent weeks in Harborview hospital recovering from internal injuries that required surgery before he was release in mid-February.

As a Kirkland Personal Injury Lawyer I regularly represent people who have been injured in car accidents caused by drunk drivers. Every year approximately 18,000 people are killed in alcohol related vehicle accidents. If you or someone you know has been seriously injured in a car accident please contact an experienced Washington personal injury attorney as soon as possible. The sooner an investigation is performed the better.

Max Meyers, Esq.

Sources:

Seattle PI

Seattle Times 2/25/09

Seattle Times 2/26/09

As your personal budget tightens during this recession don’t cancel your uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your car insurance. Many of my Seattle car accident clients can tell you the devastation that results when a person hits you and they have no car insurance to cover your injuries. A recent report stated that 1 in 6 Washington drivers do not have car insurance. Scary!

That means if you’re in a car accident there is a 17% chance the person who hit you  will not have car insurance to pay your medical bills, lost wages or anything for having to go through all the pain and inconvenience. Your only line of defense against these drivers in uninsured motorist car insurance.

I highly recommend all Washington car drivers carry at least $300,000 in uninsured motorist coverage. I personally carry $1,000,000 in UM coverage. Driving a car is the most dangerous activity in my family’s daily life. The safety and protection of my family and our financial health is a high priority. That’s why I carry such high UM policy limits.

One serious car accident can result in tens of thousand of dollars in medical bills and render you unable to work for long periods of time or not at all. Think about it, how much would you lose if you could never work again? Big number I bet. That’s why having high UM policy limits is so important.

Protect yourself and your family and carry the highest amount of uninsured motorist coverage you can. Call you insurance agent and ask how much it will cost. You’ll be surprised how little your premium will increase each month. Or better yet send me an email request for my report The Guide To Buying Car Insurance In Washington. Write in the “Can we answer a question” box that you want the car insurance buying report. My report will explain UM coverage and more in detail.

Warmest regards,

Max Meyers, Esq.

Source:

King 5 News, Number of uninsured drivers on the rise – 01.28.09

The seat everyone avoids turns out is the safest seat in the car. The uncomfortable backseat hump otherwise known as the back middle seat has been shown by University of Buffalo researchers to be 16% safer than any other seats in a car. Who knew? Overall, riding in the back is 59% to 86% safer than riding in the front, and riding on the hump is 25% safer than riding in rear window seats. Wow!!

Those of you with kids, this just reinforces the idea that children should ride in the backseat. Especially in cars with front passenger airbags. Airbags can be very dangerous for small people, be it children or small adults. Do you know what your car manual recommends for front seat passenger in regards to the airbag. Newer cars often have a sensor in the front passenger seat that turns off the airbag if the passenger is not a certain weight. Older cars may not have this sensor, so you might want check this before you have small children ride in the front seat.

 Safe travels,

 Max Meyers, Esq.

According to federal transportation officials 2008 is on pace to be the safest year for car accident related deaths so far on record.  Car accident related deaths are down 10% in 2008 from last year.  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates there’s been 31,110 traffic related deaths this year on U.S. roadways, compared with 34,502 during the same time last year.  It’s an improvement, but still a big and scary number.

The good news is that driving on U.S. roadways has never been more safe. Let’s hope the trend continues and we see continued reduction in car accident related fatalities in the future. 

Speeders and aggressive drivers need to watch out this week. Washington State Patrol motorcycle officers are out in force looking for anyone speeding or driving aggressively. Consider yourself warned!

Given that speeding and aggressive driving can cause serious injury car accidents I am all for it. Although, I have been know to have a lead foot from time to time, it’s still a good thing. Statistics show that driving your car is one of the most dangerous activities we do on a day to day basis. If one of these speeders or aggressive drivers hits you, don’t forget to give me a call. I’ll give you the straight talk and let you know if you need a Washington Injury Attorney for your car accident or not.

Drive safe!

 Max Meyers, Esq.

Source:  10/21/08 Seattle PI

As a Washington Car Accident Attorney I can’t tell how many times I’ve cringed seeing someone driving a car with a dog on their lap. A woman is blaming her 4-month old puppy for stepping on the steering wheel and causing her to hit an off-duty policeman who was directing construction zone traffic in Seattle. Being distracted by a cell phone is one thing, but having a living, breathing animal that can act unpredictably on your lap while driving in my mind is crazy!

Don’t get me wrong I love dogs. When I proposed to my wife Shelly, I gave her an English Bulldog puppy with the engagement ring attached to his collar. I love my dog endlessly, but I’d never let him ride in my lap while driving or in the front passenger seat unsecured for that matter. Here’s a picture of Harvey – in my opinion the best dog in the world!

The policeman was sent rolling over the woman’s car hood and off again, when the car then drove over the officer’s legs. Ouch! I have a client who had his foot run over by a car, which you might think wouldn’t cause major injuries but it can and did. My client of course had a broken bone or two, but after those healed he also had serious nerve damage that has left several toes and the ball of his foot with permanent numbness and pain. His walking motion was also changed by the foot injury and has caused a secondary injury to his hip. You can imagine what kind of serious injuries can result from having both legs run over by a 4,000+ pound car.

My advice to the injured policeman is to speak with an experienced Washington Injury Attorney before saying one word to the woman’s insurance company. Getting some useful information and learning what your legal rights are before talking to the insurance company is always the best first step. That does not necessarily mean you have to hire an attorney. I regularly talk to Seattle car accident victims that do and some that don’t need my services, but all of them need to have their rights explained to them before talking with the insurance companies. Another great source of this information is my book The Guide To Washington Injury Cases, which can be ordered for free by Washington residents on my law firm’s website www.scottmcdonaldlaw.com or by clicking here.

Drive safe and keep your puppy in the back seat!

Max Meyers, Esq.

Related news story in Seattle PI

Pain is the natural side effect from any type of personal injury recovery, including car accidents and major trauma injuries. Unfortunately for many of those accident victims, the pain never goes away. This is something that accident survivors have always known but now a major pain study by the University of Washington has come to the same conclusion. The study which was published in the journal, Archives of Surgery was conducted by Dr. Frederick Rivara, MD. According to the study almost 63% of all trauma patients still experience moderate to severe pain one year after the accident.

The study included 3047 patients ages 18-84. They all had experienced acute trauma from an accident. The researchers followed the people for over one year and discovered most of the pain was reported in the joints and extremities (44%), back (26%) head (11%) and neck (7%). Moreover, 59% of those patients with injury-related pain had three or more painful areas one year after injury.

Other findings worth noting in this March 2008 study were that pain levels at the 3 month marker were indicators on how long pain severity would continue. Basically, if you had severe pain after three months of a single trauma, most likely you would be experiencing at least moderate pain in one year’s time. The study findings encourage doctors to treat the pain as well as the injury. One important conclusion reached by the study is that “Earlier and more intensive interventions to treat pain in trauma patients in needed.”

Information for early pain management options should be available to patients so that they can choose the best treatment according to their injury and lifestyle. Where can a person go to get unbiased information? First, always keep a good line of communication open with your doctor and then start with the following resources:

A general overview of evaluating Health Information on the Internet can be found at, http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/evalhealthinfo.html.

A comprehensive non-profit organization called the American Pain Foundation has several resource guides for managing and understanding your pain. Here are a few helpful links:

Pain Resource Guide,

Discussion Guide for you and your doctor,

Pain Treatment Options,

Options for Managing pain,

Target Chronic Pain guide.

Pain can rob you of your family time, work productivity and quality of life. Pain is a major part of any injury claim. That’s why it is important to choose an experienced Washington Injury Accident Attorney if you have been in a car accident of other accident caused by the negligence of another person.

The tax man is coming! April 15th is fast approaching, meaning it is time to pay Uncle Sam his due. As a Kirkland Washington personal injury attorney I rarely wade into tax law issues. However, for all my Washington personal injury clients, there is one very important tax regulation that applies to personal injury lawsuit verdicts or settlement money.

If you are the injured victim or family member that recovers money as the result of a personal injury lawsuit or claim – then the money received is not taxed. Under Federal Treasury Regulation § 104(a)(2) Gross Income (potentially taxable income) does not include money (unless punitive damages – which aren’t available under Washington laws) received as the result of personal injury lawsuit /claim settlement, judgment, or verdict.

If you settled your car accident or other Washington injury accident case in the last tax year you will not have to pay taxes on it. You will probably have to report that you received a personal injury settlement or verdict, but no taxes will be charged against it. So when your accountant or tax software asks you about the amount received don’t worry, you won’t pay more taxes by telling the IRS about your injury settlement/verdict money. 

The tax code section reads specifically: “Section 104(a)(2) excludes from gross income the amount of any damages received (whether by suit or agreement) on account of personal injuries or sickness. The term “damages received (whether by suit or agreement)” means an amount received (other than workmen’s compensation) through prosecution of a legal suit or action based upon tort or tort type rights, or through a settlement agreement entered into in lieu of such prosecution.”

Ben Sansone of the Missouri Injury Law Blog had recent post on the same subject. If you live in Missouri you should definitely check out his blog, it is excellent.

The driver of a car was killed after crashing into an Elk on 276th Avenue in Maple Valley, Washington.  According to King County Sheriffs the car was speeding at 2:30 a.m. today when it hit the Elk. The crash caused the car to then collide with two power poles, sheering them off.  

With the arrival of Spring today, remember that the wild animals in your neighborhood will be more active now. In my neighborhood in Kirkland there’s a family of 3-4 deer running around all spring and summer. You never know where or when you might come across a large animal in the road.

Driver carefully and watch for animals in the roadway.

Source: Seattle Times