Seattle Personal Injury Blog

Yesterday, the trial for an Everett man began in the Snohomish County Superior Court.  The 35 year-old man stands trial on charges of vehicular homicide and fatality hit-and-run after the December 19th accident that took the life of a 26 year-old man.  According to the WSP report, when the man was pulled over by a State Trooper, he exclaimed, “What the (expletive) did I hit?”  He was found to be under the influence of alcohol at the time, with a blood alcohol level of two and a half times the legal limit.

However, jurors will have to decide whether alcohol played a role in this accident.  The defendant’s attorneys argue that the 26 year-old man was dressed in dark clothing and standing in the middle of the road on a dark, rainy night.  They claim that the defendant would have struck him regardless of his blood alcohol level.  They also hold firmly that their client had no idea they had struck a person in the road.  An attorney with the Snohomish County Public Defender’s Association claims that the 26 year-old man had just stolen belongings from a house where he was staying, and that he too had drugs and alcohol in his system at the time of the pedestrian accident.

As a personal injury lawyer in Seattle, I know it’s very common for drunk drivers to be charged with vehicular homicide when their actions lead to the death of an innocent individual, but it’s too early to tell how this case will pan out.

Yesterday, I mentioned that about 85 drivers were handed tickets for speeding along Interstate-90 in a matter of just two hours.  Well, the Washington State Patrol just trumped that number when they announced the total amount of citations handed out during August as part of a special emphasis patrol.  Officers patrolled the Richland-Pasco area along Interstate-182, looking for negligent drivers.  All in all, they nabbed 751 drivers throughout the month.

In particular, officers were on the lookout for the kind of driving behavior that leads to fatal car accidents, such as speeding and impaired driving,  According to WSP Lt. Armstrong in this article, “Historically, this has proved to be violations of excessive speed, impaired drivers, and occupant restraint violations.  However, we recognize the importance of educating and taking enforcement on drivers that follow too close, use inappropriate lanes, make erratic lane changes and engage in aggressive driving behaviors that cause other drivers to take evasive action.”

On the 11-mile stretch of I-182, state troopers cited drivers mostly for speeding but there were four arrests made for impaired driving.  After three fatal car accidents in a two-month period last year, the “Problem Oriented Public Safety” project was prompted in order to fund the emphasis patrols.  As a Seattle personal injury lawyer, it’s always encouraging to see law enforcement officials cracking down on negligent drivers.  I hope that as a result, people will gradually start to slow down and keep their eyes on the road without distractions.

With school officially back in session, it’s incredibly important to fully understand the rules of the road involving school buses.  Do you know what the laws are if you come upon a school bus along either a 2 or 4-lane road?  As a personal injury lawyer in Seattle, I’d like to remind you of these laws.  Afterall, if you fail yo properly yield to a school bus, you will be cited with a $400 dollar ticket that doesn’t not have the option of being reduced.

If you’re on a two lane highway, you must stop for a school bus that is flashing it’s red lights, regardless of which lane you’re in.  If you’re on a highway with more than two lanes, you are only required to stop if you’re traveling in the same direction as the bus, even if that’s in a turn lane.
If you see the amber lights flashing, that’s an indicator that the bus is getting ready to stop, so you need to slow as well and take caution.  Even if you’re on a 4-lane highway traveling in the opposite direction, you should still slow down and keep your eyes peeled for kids crossing the road if there is a school bus around. Once a pedestrian is in the crosswalk, you have to wait for them to completely exit for you can proceed.  Keep in mind that the majority of personal injuries from a school bus take place outside the bus, so take caution.  Here is a great video I found from the Washington State Patrol that outlines these traffic laws.

A medical emergency may have been to blame for a car accident along Interstate 205 that could have been much worse.  The accident, which occurred around noon on Sunday, may have been triggered by a seizure.  The 29 year-old male driver from Portland was traveling northbound on the freeway when he lost control of his ’98 Chevrolet van.  He veered over onto the shoulder and then swerved back into the lanes of traffic.

The van collided with a 1998 Toyota Camry driven by a 30 year-old woman from Vancouver.  That wasn’t enough to get the van to come a a stop though.  The van swerved across all lanes of I-205 and up the side of an embankment.  The steep incline caused the van to rollover onto it’s side.  The driver was transported to Southwest Washington Medical Center with back injuries.  The driver of the Toyota Camry was not injured, luckily.

The driver of the van was charged for driving with a suspended license and second-degree negligent driving according to this news report.  As a Seattle personal injury lawyer, I was amazed to hear that more people were not injured as a result of the van driver losing control, especially since it took place on the freeway wwere numerous cars are traveling 60mph or faster.

A tragic story of a fatal car accident on Friday evening has impacted the entire community of Whidbey Island.  According to this article, three people were killed as the result of a negligent, and possibly impaired, driver.  As a 33 year-old man drove his pregnant wife home to a family home Whidbey Island, their trip was cut short.  His wife made a statement that the first thing she would want her new born baby to know is that in her husband’s final moments, he did the only thing he could do to save their lives.

As they watched a Chevy Blazer head in the direction of their Subaru, clearly out of control, the Subaru driver slammed on the brakes and turned hard to the right.  This caused the Chevy to impact the driver’s side first, ultimately saving the life of his pregnant passenger.  The Chevy drove up and over the top of the Subaru, crushing the roof.  Reportedly, the driver of the Chevy was trying to take her sweater off and had asked her passenger to control the steering wheel.

When State Troopers arrived at the scene they found three people dead, the driver of the Subaru and two passengers from the Chevrolet.  Apparently none of the SUV occupants were wearing seat belts at the time of the accident and they were recognized by law enforcement agents as known drug offenders.  “There is quite a drug history there…and we found some evidence of that at the scene so that leads us to believe there were drugs in their systems,” stated Sergeant Longoria.

As a Seattle personal injury attorney, it is very likely that the driver, and perhaps the passenger who took the wheel of the Chevy, will face charges of vehicular homicide, especially if drugs were found in their systems at the time of the accident.  My condolences go out to the victim’s family during this difficult time.

On September 4th, a Saturday, state troopers were on the lookout for speeders along Interstate-90 and Interstate-405.  Traditionally, state troopers camp out on the side of I-90 and near Ellensburg to nab drivers headed to the Columbia River Amphitheater for the Dave Matthew’s Band concert.  In a matter of only 2 hours, officers handed out tickets to 85 drivers who were caught speeding along the corridor.

State troopers set out early Saturday morning to enforce the 60mph speed limit along the interstate.  One driver was stopped twice along the stretch of I-90, once by a Kittitas County trooper and then again by a King County troopers.  That driver was reportedly returning from the concert according to this news report.

Thanks to a grant, the Traffic Safety Commission was able to launch a new safety campaign dubbed, “Slow Down or Pay Up” in an effort to completely eliminate car accident fatalities and injuries by the year 2030.  As a personal injury lawyer in Seattle, I hope that we’re able to reach that goal.  With new vehicle technology in place to prevent accidents along with safety campaigns such as this, it’s not too far fetched to think that it is an attainable goal.

Police are still on the lookout for a man who led them on a wild, high speed chase through Gig Harbor in today’s early morning hours.  A State Trooper originally spotted the suspect at 2 in the morning as he drove erratically along SR 16 near Southeast Mullinex Road.  The trooper immediately attempted to pull the suspect over since he posed a threat to other drivers on the highway.

The suspect refused to pull over and instead exited the highway, blew through a stop sign, and re-entered SR 16.  He then exceeded speeds of 95 miles and hour as he attempted to speed away from the trooper.  According to this news report, the suspect then exited at Wollochet Drive where he ultimately crashed into the brush.  At this point he began to flee on foot.  Though law enforcement officials and police dogs scoured the area, they came up empty handed.  They believe he may have called someone to pick them up in a car.

The Saturn car that the suspect was driving had been reported stolen to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department and a police report had been filed.  At this point, the police don’t have a physical description of the suspect to follow up on but the car has been impounded as they comb it for evidence.  As a Seattle personal injury lawyer, I’m always relieved to hear that no personal injuries or accidents occurred in the high speed pursuit.

With school back in session now, many  children are on the road walking home or being dropped off by school buses.  One young girl, a fifth grader at Canyon View Elementary was involved in a hit and run pedestrian accident Wednesday afternoon.  Luckily she will make a full recovery but State Troopers are still on the lookout for the negligent driver who struck her.

The young girl did everything she was taught and waited patiently at the crosswalk. According to the girl’s father in this news report, “She waited for the man to come up on the screen like she’s been taught.  She saw the timer (which starts at 15) and started to walk.  She saw the counter–10 was the last number she saw…The number 10 means she still had ample time to get across the sidewalk.”

One witness, waiting to turn at the red light, saw the young girl he hit with such force that it knocked her out of her tennis shoes and sent her flying across the road.  The witness exclaimed, “I don’t ever want to see anything like that again in my life.  He didn’t even slow down. I’m sure he knew he hit her.  There’s no doubt in my mind.”  The witness took off after the pickup truck to try and get a license plate number but was unsuccessful.  The suspect was driving a Ford or Dodge white pickup truck with a white canopy and may have been a middle aged man with a goatee.

As a Bellevue personal injury lawyer, I was astonished to hear that the young girl escaped with only bumps and bruises.  It’s a miracle that she didn’t suffer any broken bones or internal bleeding from the force of the impact.

If you received a hip replacement or resurfacing in recent years, we encourage you to make sure that your parts weren’t included in the recent hip replacement recall issued by DePuy Orthopaedics Inc, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson.    An unreasonably high failure rate in two of their products prompted the voluntary recall, issued on August 24th of 2010.

As opposed to total hip replacements, the more common trend to treat painful arthritis in the hip is a resurfacing procedure in which only the arthritic components of the bone are removed and a cap-like mechanism is then fit on the femur to engage with the hip socket.

However, within a five year period, up to 13% of the recipients of two DePuy products, the ASR XL Acetabular System and the ASR Hip Resurfacing System, necessitated correctional surgery.

There is a great amount of friction between the ball-and-joint style system which results in small fragments of cobalt and chromium ion particulate being released into your body.  The extent of the consequences of these metal ions is not precisely known, though cysts have been found growing on otherwise healthy bone.

The metal ions also inhibit the growth of new bone into the ASR Acetabular cup which is necessary to firmly secure the mechanism.  Without this bone growth, patients experienced loosening of the system which can lead to bone fracture, malalignment, pain, and dislocation and  ultimately requires revisional surgery.

If you are the recipient of a defective DePuy Orthopaedics ASR product, we urge you to consult with an ASR Hip Recall Lawyer. Also make sure that you don’t sign any papers before speaking to your attorney in regard to Johnson & Johnson DePuy Hip Recall Lawsuits.

Remember the tragic story about the two teenage boys who were killed in a car accident just days before they were set to graduate from Decatur High School?  Well, the drunk driver who rear-ended their broken down car on I-5 has received a jail sentence for at least one year according to this news report.  The man, a 51 year-old Kirkland resident, had two previous drunk driving charges for which he was on probation.   In 1998 he was convicted of negligent driving and in 2008 he was convicted of reckless endangerment after found to be driving under the influence.  For his most recent charge, the judge suspended his one-year sentence so long as he didn’t have any other criminal violations.

However, on June 9th, he chose to drive drunk yet again which ultimately took the life of two young men. They had experienced car problems which left them broken down in the center lane of I-5 south near Tukwila.  Before the boys could get out of their vehicle, they were smashed from behind at full-speed.  The driver is now facing two accounts of vehicular homicide for which he could face up to 7 years in jail, since he was found to have a blood alcohol level of .16, twice the legal limit.

Because he violated his previous suspension, the driver faces an additional one year in jail on top of his other charges.  He is currently in jail with a $1 million bail.  As a Seattle car accident attorney, my condolences still go out to the families of the young victims.

Since his previous