Automobile Accidents

May 4, 2009

Jury awards $5.5 Million in Drunk Driving Accident

A drunk driver seriously injured another motorist in a 2007 head –on collision, and a Skagit County jury has concluded the Washington State Patrol and Whatcom County must pay $5.5 million for not doing enough to stop the drunk driver.

According to the attorney in the case, the verdict, on April 28, is the largest ever in Skagit County. The county’s second largest verdict prior was $2.4 million.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The Skagit County car accident happened on Highway 542, on Jan. 4, 2007. A drunk driver crossed the center line and slammed head-on into a car driven a 22 year old woman. The woman suffered severe injuries to her legs, pelvis and wrists. With already 13 surgeries since, she is expected to need many more.

A lawsuit was filed on behalf of the injured driver in October, 2007.

“We sue drunk drivers – and those who enable them to wreak havoc on our highways. This catch-and-release system of dealing with drunk drivers must stop,” said the attorney.

One interesting twist in the lawsuit was that the Washington State Patrol and Whatcom County were named as defendants.
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April 29, 2009

Yakima Auto Injury Crash

By Kirk Bernard

A Yakima man was involved in a weekend crash that seriously injured a 25-year-old woman. He made his first court appearance Monday in connection the vehicle crash.

The 68-year-old man is being held at the Yakima County jail on $25,000 bail on a requested charge of vehicular assault. His arraignment is in two weeks.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

April 28, 2009

Seattle Light Rail Accidents Result in Injuries

By Kirk Bernard

Friday afternoon in South Seattle, a woman sustained facial injuries when she ran into the side of a light rail train in testing service on tracks along Martin Luther King Jr. Way South at South Othello Street.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Geoff Patrick, Sound Transit spokesman, said the woman, who was on foot, was running in a crosswalk at the intersection when she ran into the side of the moving northbound train. The train had a green light at the intersection. The injured woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center for treatment due to the Seattle pedestrian accident.

April 24, 2009

Tacoma Auto Accident & Wrongful Death Attorneys

By Kirk Bernard

Tacoma is Washington state’s third-largest city, with approximately 202,700 residents. Known as the city of destiny, it was designated as the Northern Pacific Railroad’s western terminus in 1873. Tacoma is the second largest city in the Puget Sound region and the third largest in the state. Located 32 miles south of Seattle, 31 miles north of our state capital, Olympia, and 18 miles south of Sea-Tac International Airport, Tacoma has recently enjoyed a renaissance of sorts as more Washingtonians are calling the city home.

With such close proximity to major cities like Seattle and being a thoroughfare to and from centers of commerce and industry, the dangers on the highways in Tacoma have increased. Tacoma auto accidents change the lives of both the victim and their families. In fact, in the year 2001, over 3 million people were seriously hurt in motor vehicle accidents, and approximately 42 thousand people were killed.

The Bernard Law Group, has years of experience in auto accident and wrongful death cases in Tacoma. Our skilled and experienced team of Tacoma car accident lawyers will examine the facts, evaluate your claim, determine which parties and insurance companies are responsible, and organize all of the details of preparing and presenting your case.

April 14, 2009

Texting Driver Crashes into Idaho Police Officer

By Kirk Bernard

Seattle’s KOMO TV News Station reports in an article that a driver who was texting while driving over 60 miles per hour crashed into the back end of a Boise patrol car on Interstate 84 in Meridian, Idaho.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Though the patrol car was empty at the time of impact, the driver suffered injuries and was taken to a hospital in Meridian for treatment. The 37 year old driver had been drinking, but his blood alcohol was under the legal limit.

April 9, 2009

Seattle Pedestrian Accident Death Results in Vehicular Homicide Charges

By Kirk Bernard

Prosecutors have filed vehicular homicide charges against the driver more than a year after a 73-year-old pedestrian was run down on a Seattle street.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Prosecutors say that the driver, a 40 year old woman, was stoned on marijuana when the pickup truck she was driving hit the 73 year old man at a First Avenue South crosswalk near South Dearborn Street. The victim died minutes after the pedestrian accident in Seattle, which occurred March 30, 2008. The crash was witnessed by two Seattle police officers.

According to court documents, the elderly man was walking slowly with a cane in the four-lane street’s left lane when the pickup sped around the stopped vehicle on the right side and hit him. He was rushed to Harborview Medical Center by aid crews, but died from multiple internal injuries.

“The defendant failed to slow for the stopped traffic, changed lanes and proceeded through the intersection slamming into Mr. Fuller,” Deputy Prosecutor Amy Freedheim said in court documents.
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April 8, 2009

Spanaway Man Killed in Fiery Car Accident

By Kirk Bernard

According to a report from SeattlePI.com, a Spanaway man, 26 year old Ryan D. Allen, died this weekend after crashing his speeding truck on State Route 512 in Puyallup. Witnesses reported that he might have been traveling up to 100 miles per hour when he ran his truck off the road.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The fiery Washington car accident happened about 2am. According to reports, the truck careened across all lanes of traffic, through a guardrail and rolled a couple of times before bursting into flames. The driver was ejected and died. He was not wearing a seat belt.

April 7, 2009

Washington Car Accident Caused by Blackberry Phone Use

By Kirk Bernard

According to a report from the Seattle Times, Brian J. Wilson, Police Chief of Federal Way, was in a minor car accident in his unmarked police car because he was checking his BlackBerry device at the time. The car accident in Washington happened at the intersection of South 324th Street and Pacific Highway South in Federal Way on March 18. Pacific Highway South is part of State Route 99.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The article states that Wilson was stopped at a red light when he checked his BlackBerry. He then let off the brake and hit the car stopped ahead of him, due to driver distraction.

Wilson has issued an apology, and was given a verbal reprimand. However, he will not be ticketed or formally reprimanded. This is due to a city policy which does not hold officers responsible for accidents with less than $700 in damage. Many people believe that the Washington State Law forbidding text messaging while driving should apply to everyone, though there is an exemption for emergency vehicles.
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April 6, 2009

Everett Sheriff’s Deputy Crashes Car Into Apartment

By Kirk Bernard

A Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy swerved and ran his cruiser through a fence and into an apartment building, in an effort to avoid an accident. According to a report from the Everett HeraldNet.com, the accident occurred on 112th Street SW between 2nd Place W and 3rd Avenue, W in Everett.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

A sheriff’s spokeswoman, Rebecca Hover, said that the deputy had been responding to reports of a stolen car and was driving with lights flashing when another car pulled into the intersection.

April 3, 2009

Kent Head-On Car Crash Kills Three People

By Kirk Bernard

Early Sunday near Kent, three people were killed in a Washington car accident after the driver of a Mazda Protege entered northbound state Route 167 in the wrong direction, according to a report. She then crossed three lanes of traffic, and according to Washington State Patrol, hit another car head-on. The driver was a 21 year old Kent woman.

At Bernard Law Group, we handle personal injury lawsuits that are the results of auto accidents in Washington State every day. Call our attorneys at 1-800-418-8282. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The others who died were driving in a Honda Accord. The 69 year old woman and 72 year old man were both from Renton.

The accident happened approximately 1:45 a.m. when the Kent woman drove onto the northbound state Route 167 ramp at South 277th Street. She hit the other car in the HOV lane.
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