Washington Injury Law Blog

A car rear-ended a bicyclist who was riding on the shoulder of the road near Bellingham, Washington on Saturday, January 20th resulting in a very serious Washington bicycle accident. The bicycle rider suffered catastrophic injuries that caused his death. My sincere condolences go out to his family.

The bicycle rider unfortunately was not carrying any ID, so the State must rely on an autopsy to hopefully identify the name of the bicycle rider. The bike rider’s family may not know for days that their loved one has died in a terrible bicycle accident. I can’t imagine a worse nightmare for my family. Whenever I go for a ride on my bicycle I always carry my driver’s license, health insurance card, and my cell phone. If I was in a serious bicycle accident leaving me unconscious and unable to talk the police and hospital will be able to find out who I am. My cell phone has all the phone numbers needed to find my wife and family immediately. The last thing you want is to be alone in a hospital knowing your family is out there looking for you.

By carrying ID I provide a way for the police and hospital to contact my wife and family in case of an emergency like a serious Washington bicycle accident. By carrying my health insurance card I provide for a way for me to receive immediate medical care at the nearest hospital.  Doctors will tell you that the faster I receive medical care after a traumatic injury the better my chances of recovery. The hospital will not hesitate to provide whatever treatment I may need because they know or can check on my insurance coverage.

As a Kirkland bicycle accident lawyer I see the aftermath of car v. bicycle accidents. Bicyclist have no protection from a car weighing 2,000 lbs. As you can imagine broken bones, head injuries and even death can and do occur. That’s why it’s important to carry ID and a cell phone, so emergency workers can provide the best careright away and immediately contact your family following a Washington bicycle accident.

After the death of a bicyclist in a car v. bicycle accident the surviving spouse and children will likely have a wrongful death claim against the car. It’s important in such cases to consult with an experienced Washington injury attorney prior to speaking with the car’s insurance company or signing anything from the car’s insurance. It’s an ugly truth, but I often see car insurance companies valuing profits over people. Getting some helpful information early from an experienced injury attorney will help protect your family from more harm.

When you head out for that bike ride don’t forget your ID, health insurance card and cell phone . . . just in case!

On Friday evening a car entered I-405 going the wrong direction causing a severe Bellevue car accident that resulted in the death of two men and serious injury to a 21 year-old women. The car accident happened in the downtown Bellevue corridor of I-405 where a 1996 Honda Civic entered I-405 going the wrong way at 60 mph. The Civic slammed into a 2008 Ford Escape driven by a 21 year-old Bellevue woman.

The Bellevue woman was transported to Overlake Medical Cednter where she is in serious condition. The two men in the Civic died on scene. Police have not yet determined whether alcohol was involved in the car accident.

Tragedies like this remind me of the importance to always tell your loved one that you love them every day. Serious injury car accidents also remind me of the importance to carry the highest amount of Underinsured Motorist insurance as you can afford. When your seriously injured in a car accident like this one the medical bills can add up to tens of thousands of dollars after a surgical procedure and a few days in the hospital.

Protect yourself and your family by asking your insurance agent how much more it will cost to purchase $500,000 in Underinsured Motorist insurance. You’ll be suprised it’s not much more and provides the protection your family needs!

Attorney Jonathan Stein author of the California Personal Injury and Insurance Blog has an interesting recent post about Allstate. It appears that Allstate thinks a Missouri judge and the Missouri Supreme Court do not know what the law is. This seems to be Allstate’s position in a bad faith case in Missouri. The bad faith case arises from a rear-end car accident that an Allstate customer caused and Allstate refused to pay the claims its customer owed for years. 

According to Joe Lambe of the Kansis City Star Allstate was ordered in September to turn over documents that plaintiff’s attorneys allege may show that in the 1990’s Allstate set up a claims payment systems that short changed clients while earning Allstate huge profits. The MO judge set the fine for Allstae’s refusal to produce the documents at $25,000 per day. In November the MO Supreme Court agreed with the judge, yet Allstate continues to refuse to produce the documents.

This is where it gets good. Allstate’s attorney told the MO judge that Allstate had a principled difference they’re “not able to resolve until somebody says what the law is.” Everyone generally knows it’s the courts who tell us what the laws is. The courts decide what the law is and we follow what it says, it’s that simple.  Allstate’s attorney then told the judge Allstate would not turn over the 12,500 documents without protective order sealing the records from public view. You have to wonder what is Allstate fighting so hard to hide?

The judge in response told Allstate he had told them what the law was. But Allstate seems to have decided the judge was wrong, the Mo Supreme Court is wrong, and the law doesn’t apply to them. Apparently, Allstate lives by some other set of laws that only apply to them. 

As Jonathan Stein said in his post Allstate is fighting awfully hard to keep these documents secret and I’ll bet that if made public they would strike a might blow to Allstate and its image of “good hands.” We’ll have to see how this turns out.

According to a news report in the Seattle Post Intelligencer the family of Bryce Lewis filed a lawsuit against the dump truck company and driver that was involved in a dump truck versus bicycle accident that took the life of Bryce Lewis in September 2007.  The lawsuit alleges that Bryce who was traveling in the bike path on Eastlake Ave. E. in Seattle when the dump truck turned right onto a side street in front of Bryce causing the bicycle accident. Bryce, only 19 years old, was killed instantly. My prayers and condolences go out to his family and friends.

A tragedy like this is becoming more and more common as the Seattle and surrounding area populations continue to grow by leaps and bounds.  The Seattle area is one of the most bicycle friendly places in the entire U.S. There are miles and miles of bike trials and bike lanes for the public to use. Many people ride bicycles to and from work or for recreation on a daily basis.  Not so long ago I was a very active bicyclist and spent many days riding up and down the Burke-Gilman Trial.  Unfortunately, many motorist are not in the habit of looking for bicyclist or even motorcyclist on a regular basis. 

Bicycles are entitled to the same rights as a car or other vehicle when traveling on a roadway or bike path. Other vehicles must yield to a bicycles right of way, just as a bicyclist must yield right of way to other vehicles.  Bicycles and vehicles must obey the various traffic control devices found through the roadways. Riding defensively and assuming that other vehicles have not seen me has served me well whenever I’m riding my bicycle or my motorcycle. Wearing brightly colored clothing is also a good idea, especially during the grey winters we have in the Seattle where everything seems to meld together on the dark cloudy days. Sometimes these things are not enough and accidents happen. 

So Ride safe, share the road, and keep your eyes peeled for the unexpected!