Washington Injury Attorney Blog

As cities such as Bellevue increasingly encourage residents to bicycle, we thought we'd take this opportunity to point out some Bellevue City Codes and laws which pertain specifically to biking in Bellevue.

Bellevue Bicycle Laws

Riding on the Sidewalk

Bellevue City Code 11.60.061 Riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is permitted in Bellevue however the bicyclist should exercise caution and should not ride faster than is reasonable and proper.

Right-of-way on side walk -- Overtaking and passing.

Bellevue City Code 11.60.062 Bicyclists who are riding on a sidewalk should yield to pedestrians and also signal to pedestrians by voice or some other audible signal that he/she is going to overtake and pass the pedestrian.

Bicycle Helmets

Bellevue City Code 11.60.090 Bicycle helmets are required in Bellevue on public roads, bicycle paths, sidewalks, right-of-ways or any facility under the jurisdiction.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people with serious personal injuries due to bicycle accidents, motorcycle accidents, pedestrian accidents and car accidents.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident due to another person's negligence, you should contact The Farber Law Group today. We represent people on a contingent fee basis; that means you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.

Spring is finally here in the Pacific Northwest and children are beginning to ride their bicycles to school, to baseball practice and around their neighborhoods. We advise parents to make sure their child's bicycle helmet can be found and still fits.

We also want to make parents and children aware of the most common bicycle vs. car accidents which can cause serious injury to children.

Most Common Accidents

Driving out of the driveway

8% of all bike vs. car accidents occur when a child pulls out of the driveway and is hit by a car. This type of accident usually occurs in children under the age of 10. To prevent this accident:

• Make sure your trees and shrubs are trimmed so views are not obstructed.
• Pull your parked cars into the garage or away from the street so they do not block views.
• Teach your child to look left, then right and then left again before pulling into the street.
• Teach your child to slow down and think before they take their bike out for a spin.

Running a stop sign

10% of all bike vs. car accidents involves the bicyclist running a stop sign. The average age of a child in this type of accident is 11. To prevent this accident:

• Stress the importance of coming to a full stop where your child's feet touch the ground behind the crosswalk like.
• Teach your child to stop at all stop signs.
• Teach your child to look left, right and left again for cars.

Failing to Look before making a Left Turn

In 10% of all bicycle accidents, the bicyclist failed to look behind them before making a left turn and ended up being hit by a car going straight ahead. To prevent this accident:

• Teach your child to walk their bicycle across busy intersections.
• Teach your child to look back before making a left turn.
• Teach your child to yield to traffic.
• Teach your child to signal before turning left.
• Teach your child if they don't know what to do, go to the sidewalk and proceed across the street by walking their bicycle across in the crosswalk.

Crashing on the sidewalk

One common accident is caused by a driver pulling out of a driveway and failing to notice bicyclists and pedestrians on a sidewalk. The driver is so intent on entering the roadway and making sure there is an opening in traffic to make a right or a left turn that he/she fails to see a bicyclist or pedestrian crossing in front of them on the sidwalk. To prevent this accident, pedestrians and bicyclists should:

• Make eye contact with a driver before crossing a driveway
• Yield to all driveway traffic.
• Cross driveways with care.

See our Bicycle Resources for more information. Look for bicycle safety workshops in your neighborhood sponsored by your local fire station, school or scout troop.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in bicycle accidents and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Washington Labor & Industry has reduced the fine that the Tacoma Goodwill Industries has to pay after a developmentally disabled worker was killed in an accident while working for Goodwill about one year ago reports The Tacoma News Tribune.

Nick Miller was killed April 15, 2008 when he was crushed by a hydraulic tipper on Goodwill's loading dock. The L&I investigation found that managers at Goodwill were confused about Miller's duties. Some managers report that Miller was not authorized to use the tipper while records show he had been trained to do so.

L & I initially fined the Goodwill $50,000 for violations of its accident prevention program. Goodwill appealed this fine and it was reduced to $13,300 for three violations. Goodwill also put in place some safety measures including installing lock-out devices on tipper machines.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are an experienced personal injury law firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue and we can assist you in your wrongful death claim if your loved one is killed due to the negligence of another

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com for a free and confidential case evaluation.

You might want to watch this KIROTV.com video showing that many Seattle bicyclists break laws when riding their bicycles in downtown Seattle. View the video.

Some tips for bicyclists to avoid a bicycling accident:

• It is legal to ride your bicycle on the side walk in King County, including Seattle and Bellevue.
  
• Bicyclists must obey the same traffic laws as cars.
  
• Bicyclists must stop at red lights.
  
• Bicyclists must signal lane changes and should not weave in out and of traffic.

Seattle police officers warn that bicyclists need to be paying attention as many drivers are distracted.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are personal injury attorneys with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. If you are hurt in a bicycle accident due to a negligent driver, contact us and we will work to help you recover compensation for your damages.

See our Bicycling Resources for bicycling in King County and Washington State.

Coinciding with the first cruise ship to dock at Seattle's new cruise ship terminal, the Coast Guard issued a warning to pleasure boaters:

Keep your distance from any Large Passenger Vessels (LPVs), regardless of whether the ship is underway or at anchor.

The Coast Guard defines Large Passenger Vessel as cruise ships and passenger/auto ferries carrying paying passengers.

The Coast Guard will enforce a 500 yard safety zone radius around all LPVs.

If you are a pleasure boat operator, be it a motor boat or a sailboat, you should heed the Coast Guard's security and safety zones.

Check out the Coast Guard's web-site for more information.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are your boating and cruise ship accident attorney in Western Washington including Bremerton, Bellingham, Seattle, Olympia, and Tacoma.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Seattle's King5.com reports that a female pedestrian was hit by the light rail train this afternoon at Martin Luther King Junior Way South and South Othello Street in Seattle.

According to the report, the woman was not badly hurt in the pedestrian accident.

The light rail train is currently in testing and regular service begins on July 20th. This is the second accident involving the train during the testing period.

Sound Transit has the following safety tips pedestrians and drivers alike:

• Trains are fast, run in both directions and are very quiet.
  
• Do not try to judge a trains distance or speed
  
• Look both ways when crossing tracks
  
• Obey traffic signals and crossing gates
  
• Listen for train whistles and bells
  
• Never walk, bike, skateboard, or play around the tracks.
  
• Only cross tracks in designated crossing areas.
  
• Never get too close to tracks
  
• Trains have the right-of-way.

This information is brought to you by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. If you or a loved one has injured in a pedestrian accident, do not hesitate to contact us to discuss your case.

The Washington State Patrol reports that a trailer hauling drywall became detached from the truck that was pulling it, flipped onto its side and lost a load of drywall all over the Interstate 405 in Bellevue, just north of State Route 520.

The trailer accident occurred around 1:40 pm. More than 200 sheets of drywall were spilled. Luckily there were no injuries or damages to vehicles, only a nightmare to commuters because the highway had to be closed for 90 minutes.

The WSP Commercial Vehicle Division determined that the trailer had not been properly attached to the truck that was pulling it.

The WSP has cited the truck driver for failing to secure a load. Unsecured loads cause upwards of 400 accidents in Washington State every year. Some result in severe injury or even death. Vehicle Code RCW 46.61.655 is the statute which imposes a second degree misdemeanor for a driver who fails to secure a load.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a Washington law firm with experience and knowledge in handling auto accident cases. With our help, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries or damages caused by a lost load or the negligence of another driver.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Steven Gall, a Medford, Oregon, man who suffered traumatic brain injuries after being hit in the head by a discus at a Rotary relay has filed a suit against the Medford Rotary Club for failing to safeguard spectator's safety.

Gall was photographing the event in April of 2007, when a 3.3 pound discus hit him in the head above his eye. He suffered brain lacerations and skull fractures and has a cognitive impairment due to his injuries. He has trouble reading and working.

In the lawsuit against the Rotary Club, Gall is asking $2.7 million in compensation including $2.5 noneconomic damages, $65,000 for medical expenses, $3,500 loss of income and $125,000 or more loss in income in the future. Non economic damages damages allow a person to recover monies for mental anguish and physical caused by the injury accident.

The lawsuit claims that the Rotary Club was negligent in the setup of the spectator area and knew that a discus was likely to go into the spectator area as one had earlier in the day.

Gall settled with the Medford School District for a sum of $125,000 about six weeks ago.

Information for this article is from The Seattle Times.

This blog is provided by Washington Injury Attorney, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people with serious personal injuries due to a person's negligence or wrongful act. With your help, you may recover compensation for your damages including loss of wages, medical costs and for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group today at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that the parents of a Microsoft attorney who was killed when a construction crane collapsed and fell on his apartment building have settled a wrongful death lawsuit against the general contractor and the engineering firm for the project utilizing the crane.

Parents of Matt Ammon, who was 31 when he was killed, Larry Ammon and Kathy Gaberson's lawsuit cited negligence after the 2006 crane accident in downtown Bellevue.

Terms of the settlement were not made public because the terms of the settlement have not been finalized.

The lawsuit was filed against the general contractor, Lease Crutcher Lewis, and the engineering firm that designed the crane installation, Magnusson Klemencic Associates.

Earlier, the Washington Department of Labor & Industries fined Lease Crutcher Lewis and Magnusson Klemencic Associates for workplace safety violations after finding that a design flaw in the crane's base caused the metal to waken and the crane to collapse.

This information is brought to you by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. In Washington State, a "wrongful death" is the death of a person caused by the negligence or the wrongful act of another. Wrongful death cases can arise from car or boating accidents or medical negligence, criminal attacks, construction accidents or even criminal attacks.

If you have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another person, you should contact a personal injury law firm with experience representing wrongful death suits. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience and have successfully obtained large settlements for many deserving claimants.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Washington Traffic Safety Commission along with the Washington State Highway Patrol have issued a reminder to parents that any child under the age of 13 should be buckled up in the rear or backseat of a motor vehicle, and should never ride in the front seat.

WSP Chief John R Batiste said, "Getting kids complete out of the front seat is equally important." This is due to the fact that many vehicles have airbags which could seriously injure a child if it were deployed.

Motor vehicle accident statistics show that children are 25% safer riding in a back seat even if there is not a front seat airbag.

Of the children killed in car accidents, 40% were not properly restrained by either a seat belt or a booster seat.

The WSP will continue to operate emphasis patrols to remind people to wear seat belts. Washington State has the third highest compliance rate in the Nation for seat belt use at 95.5%.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We see the aftermath of car accidents all too frequently. We join the Washington State Patrol in saying, "Buckle up!"

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a car accident, contact The Farber Law Group. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Seattle Times reports that 12 people, were injured at the Puyallup Fairground when a children' ride overturned on its side. According to the report five children and one adult were taken to local hospitals for treatment of injuries. Eight other people, including mostly children, were treated for cuts and bruises at the accident site. On child who was taken to hospital was said to have a leg injury.

The accident happened around 6:40 pm on Friday night on a ride called The Lolly Swing. The people who were most injured were the ones who hit the ground when the ride toppled.

Accident victims were taken to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma and Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup.

The Washington State Labor & Industries had inspected the ride on Wednesday said a fair spokeswoman. The cause of the accident is being investigated.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured due to defective and dangerous products or due to someones negligence. With our help, you may recover compensation for your injuries.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087- or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A motorist was injured on Wednesday evening after being involved in a motor vehicle accident with Sound Transit train in South Seattle. The motorist was taken to the hospital for treatment. No one on the train was injured.

According to a report on KomoNews.com, the motorist made an illegal left-hand turn in front of the train.

A KOMO News reporter said that even though the intersection is marked "No Turns", drivers made left turns anyway.

Sound Transit has been running a safety campaign warning motorists and pedestrians that, "Trains mover faster than they appear and cannot stop as quickly as a car. "

It seems like Seattle motorists need to get used to sharing the roads with the light rail. Click here to read a Safety Brochure.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent car accident victims who have been seriously injured due to the negligence of another motorist. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

To speak to an experienced personal injury attorney, contact The Farber Law Group. Phone us at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

King County has awarded a Seattle man and his wife $3.5 million in compensation for a traumatic brain injury the man suffered in a bicycle accident on a county road near Redmond.

Lawyers for the injured cyclist, Jeffrey Totten, and his wife, Danielle Leavell, said the county was negligent because it designated Novelty Hill Road as a bike route but the road was not maintained in a "safe condition" reports The Seattle Times.

Totten was severely injured in September of 2006 when his bicycle hit a depression in the road. He was in a coma for seven months after the accident and will required round-the-clock nursing care for the rest of his life according to his lawyers.

Traumatic brain injuries can vary a great deal from person-to-person. The majority of patients recover within a year, but other patients take years to overcome their impairment and others never recover.

The County worked with Totten's lawyers and a mediator and came to a settlement last week without a jury trial.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent victims with serious injuries and the families of those killed due to negligence. We have more than 30 years experience in the greater Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metropolitan area and have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

Seattle's TV News station, King5.com, reports that two teenagers , a boy and a girl, were struck and killed by an Amtrak train around 7:10pm on Tuesday night in Woodland, Washington.

The pair were apparently standing on the northbound tracks waiting for a southbound freight train to pass before they crossed the tracks. They probably did not hear the sound of the approaching Amtrak train though the engineer put on the brakes and blew the whistle.

Officials have not released the teens names but a Portland news station says they were Katie Blacklaw and Eddie Densin, freshmen at Woodland High School.

Woodland, Washington is approximately 20 miles north of Vancouver and 85 miles south of Olympia

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury attorney law firm with more than 30 years experience in the Pacific Northwest and in Washington State representing accident victims and their families.

To contact The Farber Law Group, call 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue has been recognized in the top 5% of all hospitals in the United States by HealthGrades with the 2009 HealthGrades® Patient Safety Excellence Award. The award recognizes Overlake as a hospital that "save lives, save money and prevent errors at a higher rate than other U.S. hospitals."

Overlake was one of 242 hospitals -- in the top 5% -- recognized for patient safety.

HealthGrades, a leading healthcare ratings organization, analyzed more than 40 million hospitalization records over three years in the study of hospital quality.

Patients who are treated at America's top hospitals are 43% less likely to experience a "patient safety event," in other words, a medical error or mistake.

Healthgrades identified Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs) which provide information on medical problems and in-hospital complications that occur after surgeries, childbirth or other medical procedures. PSIs give hospitals information on areas in which they may need to improve to provide better patient care.

Patient Safety Indicators can include:

• Complications of anesthesia
• Death in low mortality DRGs (this is when a patient dies when they are being treated for relatively simple problems or illness)
• Decubitus ulcer (bed sores)
• Failure to rescue
• Foreign body left in during procedure
• Iatrogenic pneumothorax (lung puncture)
• Infections due to medical care
• Postoperative hip fracture
• Postoperative hemorrhage or hematoma (bleeding after surgery
• Postoperative physiologic and metabolic derangements 
• Postoperative respiratory failure
• Postoperative pulmonary embolism or deep vein thrombosis
• Postoperative sepsis (infection that gets into the blood stream and overwhelms the body)
• Postoperative wound dehiscence in abdominopelvic surgical patients (a surgical wound opens)
• Accidental puncture and laceration
• Transfusion reaction
• Birth trauma
• Obstetric trauma

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. A personal injury law firm located in Bellevue, we represent people who have been seriously injured by medical malpractice and the families of those who have died.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com for a free case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that falls are the leading cause of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) in older adults. TBI are caused by a force to head such as a bump or a blow and can injure the brain and effect how it works. Senior citizens ages 75 and older have difficulty recovering from traumatic brain injuries and they often result in lengthy hospitalizations and death.

Symptoms of TBI include:

• Headache
  
• Slowness in thinking, speaking, and reaction
  
• Lack of energy
  
• Changes to sleep patterns
  
• Blurred vision
  
• Ringing in the ears
  
• Mood changes
  
• Sensitivity to lights and sounds

Severe symptoms include:

• A worsening headache
  
• Vomiting or nausea
  
• Seizures
  
• Inability to rouse from sleep
  
• Unresponsive or non-reactive pupils
  
• Slurred speech
  
• Numbness or weakness of the extremities
  
• Increased confusion or agitation

Seniors on blood thinners such as Coumadin should be examined by a health professional any and every time they have a head injury.

Fall Prevention

When choosing a nursing home for your loved one, make sure that the home works on preventing falls. Some of the things you should look for include:

• Exercise programs
  
• Floors and rugs that are installed as to not create a tripping hazard
  
• Shelves and storage in rooms are conveniently placed
  
• Grab bars in toilet areas and in tubs and showers
  
• Non-stick mats in bathtubs and shower floors
  
• Proper lighting
  
• Handrails along staircases and halls
  
• Residents are wearing non-slip shoes

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent nursing home residents and their families in cases of abuse or neglect. A personal injury law firm with more than 30 years experience in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metro area, we work for families to insure patients rights are protected.

Contact The Farber law Group today for a free and confidential case evaluation.

The Seattle Times reports that Washington legislators have passed a bill requiring that MRSA-infection screenings be performed at all Washington hospitals to protect patients from the potentially dangerous and fatal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria.

The bill has passed the Washington Senate and now awaits Governor Gregoire's signature. If the Governor signs it, Washington will be one of five states which mandates MRSA testing. States which have already passed a similar bill are California, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The bill -- ESHB 1123 -- passed the House by a 97-0 vote and was also approved by a unanimous vote of the Senate. It requires that hospitals have a MRSA screening policy in place by January 1, 2010. Hospitals will have to notify infected patients and educate them on treatment and disease prevention.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 18,000 die every year because of the infection.

The Seattle Times had an award winning series on the MRSA epidemic in Washington hospitals. Their article was the impetus for this bill to be introduced into law.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have suffered serious illness and the families of those who have died due to medical and hospital malpractice including hospital-acquired infections.

Contact The Farber Law Group for a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A Virginia jury has awarded the husband of a registered nurse who died of breast cancer at the age of 57 a $7.5 million medical malpractice award because the woman's physician failed to diagnose and treat the woman after she presented with a lump in her breast.

The wrongful death award went to the husband of Eleanor Browder who died last April according to the Fredericksburg.com. In making a judgment against Browder's family practitioner, Dr. Donna J. Gamache, the jury found the physician and a nurse practitioner negligent in coordinating their efforts and not ordering tests to determine if the breast lump was cancerous.

Browder's lump grew from the size of a peach pit to the size of a lemon before it was diagnosed as cancerous and Browder had a double mastectomy. Browder had radiation and chemotherapy but eventually succumbed to the disease after a period of remission.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury law firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. We have more than 30 years experience in represent medical malpractice victims and their families. In Washington State, the families of a person who had died due to someones negligence can file a wrongful death suit on behalf of their deceased loved one.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

Car theft is down by 25% in Washington state and in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma metropolitan area. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) recommends a layered approach in thwarting would-be car thieves. The NICB is a non-profit organization which dedicates itself to preventing vehicle theft and is supported by casualty and property insurance and self-insured organizations.

For your information, The Farber Law Group provides the NICB Car Theft Prevention Tips here.

Common Sense

• Don't leave your keys in the ignition
  
• Lock your doors and close your windows
  
• Park in well-lit area

Warning Devices

Warning devices which are visible and audible can let car thieves know that your auto is protected. Common devices include:

• Audible alarms
  
• Steering column collars
  
• Steering wheel/brake pedal lock
  
• Brake locks
  
• Wheel locks
  
• Tire locks/tire deflators
  
• Theft deterrent decals
  
• Identification markers in or on vehicle
  
• VIN etching
  
• Micro dot marking

Immobilizing Devices

Immobilizing Device are devices which prevent thieves from bypassing your ignition and hot-wiring the vehicle.  Some electronic devices have computer chips in ignition keys. Other devices inhibit the flow of electricity or fuel to the engine until a hidden switch or button is activated.  Popular third layer devices include:

• Smart keys
  
• Fuse cut-offs
  
• Kill switches
  
• Starter, ignition, and fuel pump disablers
  
• Wireless ignition authentication

Tracking Device

The final layer of protection is a tracking device which emits a signal to police or a monitoring station when the vehicle is stolen. Tracking devices are very effective in helping authorities recover stolen vehicles.  Some systems employ “telematics” which combine GPS and wireless technologies to allow remote monitoring of a vehicle.  If the vehicle is moved the system will alert the owner and the vehicle can be tracked via computer.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. Our personal injury attorney firm represents car accident victims and their families. Contact us for a free and confidential case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A 63-year-old man's death in a Burnham nursing home has been ruled a homicide reports the Chicago Sun-Times. The cause of death was determined by the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.

The report says that Thomas Donovan, who died on April 1st at a Burnham nursing home located on 14500 S. Manistee Avenue died from "multiple injuries suffered during an assault." Other factors in his death were hypertension and diabetes.

Police are investigating Donovan's murder.

A murder in a nursing home facility seems pretty extreme. We will be following this investigation to determine if the patient died at the hands of a nursing home employee or another resident.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured and the families of those killed due to nursing home abuse and neglect.

Contact the Farber Law Group for a free case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

The Washington State Patrol, in a media release, reported that that three separate motorcycle accidents over the weekend has killed two motorcyclists and left one critically injured in Western Washington.

The three motorcycle accidents included:

• A 49-year-old Oregon resident was killed after crossing the center line and hitting an oncoming vehicle in Pacific County.
  
• A 29-year-old University Place resident was killed after losing control on SR-512 and crashing into the freeway median.
  
• A 43-year-old DuPont resident crashed her motorcycle on SR-504 west of Morton. She is in critical condition at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver.

According to Washington State Patrol Chief, John R. Batiste:

“I find these motorcycle collisions to be very sad because they were all caused by the rider.” These crashes, as with most collisions, were entirely preventable.”

So far this year, there have been nine motorcycle fatalities in Washington State. Of the nine fatal accidents, seven were single-vehicle accidents and in all nine accidents, the motorcycle driver was at fault.

The leading causes of motorcycle accidents include:

• Speeding
  
• Alcohol
  
• Driver inattention

In Washington State, motorcycle riders are required to get a motorcycle endorsement which requires them to take a motorcycle knowledge test and a motorcycle riding test. In three of the nine motorcycle accident fatalities so far this year, the driver did not have the required endorsement.

This information ins provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent motorcycle accident victims and their families.

See our Motorcycle Rider Resources.

Contact The Farber Law Group to discuss your case.

The Washington State Patrol, in a media release, reports that Kathleen Shinault, age 59, was killed when the motor home she was riding in left the road and hit a tree, south of Olympia.

Shinault was a passenger and her husband, James Shinault, age 64, was driving on Tilley Road in Thurston County around 3:30 when the accident occurred. The couple is from Olympia.

The WSP is investigating the accident but reported that alcohol or drugs were not a factor in the accident.

This information is provided as service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in car accidents and the families of those killed.

Contact us for a free and confidential case evaluation.

A Lakewood motorcyclist has died and an off-duty Tacoma firefighter may be charged with Vehicular Homicide after a motorvehicle accident in Tacoma on Monday night.

Mark Kaytna, age 43, was riding his motorcycle when he was hit at the intersection of North Sixth Street and Grant Avenue. Kaytna died at St. Joseph Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon reports The Tacoma News Tribune.

A off-duty Tacoma firefighter was booked into Pierce County Jail for suspicion of driving under the influence. In Washington State a blood alcohol content of 0.08% is above the legal limit.

The firefighter may charged with Vehicular Homicide. Vehicular Homicide can be charged if an accident victim dies of injuries and the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, driving recklessly or without regard to the safety of others.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent victims of drunk drivers and their families.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 to discuss your case. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you. If you can not come to us, we will come to you.

The Spokesman Review reports that a Republic School District English teacher, Dan Walling, has been killed in a boating accident Friday on Lake Roosevelt. A vocational education teacher for the district, Ted Torzewski, was injured in the accident and is in critical condition at Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

There are were no other details provided about the accident.

Republic is a small community of under 1,000 in Ferry County, Washington. Lake Roosevelt is located on the Columbia River above Grand Coulee Dam.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent boating accident victims and their families. If you or a loved one has been injured, or a loved one killed, in a boating accident, contact us for a free case consultation.

In the latest go-round of budget manipulation in Olympia, the Senate has proposed a 93.8 million dollar cut to nursing home funding and the house as proposed a 99.9 budget cut. These cuts would most certainly increase patient-to-staff ratio and the fear of many is that, with increased pressure on nursing home workers, there will be an increase in nursing home abuse and neglect.

As a microcosm of the cuts to nursing home, Kapp35 in Yakima aired a report featuring the
Grandview Health Care and Specialty Center which has already lost $20,000 a month and has had to cut back on staffing hours.

"We're looking at whether we have to cut 240 hours a week of care," says Harry Aubert, administrator of Grandview.

As a law firm that represents nursing home abuse and neglect victims in the greater Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue and the greater Northwest, we see that most cases of nursing home abuse and neglect is caused by inadequate staffing, lack of supervisions and lack of staff education. We are concerned that the patients/residents will suffer due to these budget cuts.

Symptoms of neglect can include pressure/bedsores, malnutrition, errors in medication, physical abuse, dehydration and malnutrition.

This information is Provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. With offices in Seattle and Bellevue, we represent people who have suffered serious injuries and the families of those who have died due to nursing home abuse and neglect.

Contact The Farber Law Group today at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

A Fulton County Georgia State court has awarded a $2.3 million dollar medical malpractice award to a young boy and his mother after the boy was severely injured during a routine circumcision. The boy was awarded $1.8 million in damages and the mother was given $500,000. Because of the botched surgery, the unnamed baby lost 30-40% of the head of his penis.

In the suit, the family claimed that the obstetrician, Dr. Haiba Sonyika severely damaged the boy's penis during a circumcision procedure. To compound the injury, the infant's pediatrician, Dr. Cheryl J. Kendall was called because the baby had excessive bleeding but failed to examine the baby who may have been a candidate for a re-attachment surgery if treated promptly. Instead, the penis tip was placed in a bio hazard bag according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Dr. Sonyika, Dr. Kendall and South Fulton Medical Center were all found liable for negligence.

The injury award will provide the family with enough money for medical treatment and counseling for the boy and his family. There were no punitive damages.

The lawyer for the family pointed out that most parents do not understand and are not informed of the risks of the circumcision procedure.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured by medical, pharmacy and hospital malpractice. With the help of The Farber Law Group, a law firm with more than 30 years experience in the Pacific Northwest, we may recover compensation for your damages.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

Slip, trip and fall is when a person is injured on someone's property. Another name for these cases is "premise liability" and it is the liability that makes a property owner or person who operates a business responsible for injuries by a person on said premises.

When a property owner fails to maintain their property in a safe condition, they can be held legally responsible for injuries a person might suffer. Unsafe and dangerous conditions can include cracked sidewalks, wet and slippery floors, inadequate lighting, stairs or hallways not built to code, floor coverings in disrepair, unsafe shelving and conditions caused by weather like icy entry ways.

Establishing Negligence

To obtain compensation for an injury on someone's premises, one must usually prove that the accident was caused by a "dangerous condition" and that the property owner was aware of this condition. The dangerous condition is one in which the injured party could not have anticipated and it must have presented an unreasonable risk.

To establish negligence, the personal injury attorney must show one of the following:

• The property owner created the dangerous condition
  
• The property owner was aware of the condition and failed to fix it
  
• The dangerous condition was in existence for a time period so that the property owner had opportune time to fix the condition.

An example of negligence would be if a supermarket failed to properly clean up spilled cooking oil in an aisle and also failed to warn shoppers that there was oil on the floor. If a person slipped and broke a hip , the personal injury attorney could argue that the supermarket was negligent in keeping their aisles clean and that an accident was predictable.

A property owner is also negligent if they did not adhere to building codes. For example, building codes specify the rise and run of stairs. However, if a property owner builds the stairs not to code and a person falls on them, then the injured person may have a valid claim against the property owner.

In slip, trip and fall cases on the premises of a business, there may be a number of people who could be held responsible for injuries. The owner of the premises, the business owner or even a maintenance company might be individually or collectively held responsible.

If you or a loved one is injured in a slip, trip and fall accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney who will work to insure your are compensated for your injuries. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years experience in represent people with personal injuries due to slip, trip and fall. These injuries may include broken bones, skull fracture, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord damage.

Contact The Farber Law Group for a free case evaluation. We have offices in Seattle and Bellevue to assist you.

A Blackstone, Massachusetts woman was awarded $6.4 million in a medical malpractice suit stemming from a stroke she had due to her physician failing to diagnose pre-eclampsia during her pregnancy. This is the largest settlement of its kind in Worcester County.

In her lawsuit, Kimberly Monson claimed that Dr. Elizabeth Konig and Dedham Medical Associates were guilty of medical malpractice for failing to diagnose and treat her pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is a condition of pregnancy that develops in some women between the 20th week of gestation and delivery. Symptoms include high blood pressure (hypertension) and significant amounts of protein in the urine. Pre-eclampsia is a potentially fatal condition.

Monson was able to deliver her baby safely but her stroke left her with permanent brain damage and she is so disabled that she is unable to care for her young children. She has permanent vision damage, short-term memory loss, dizziness, poor balance and weakness in her extremities.

In a report by The Milford Daily News, a letter by Dr. Ronald J. Foote claiming that Monson's doctor, ""deviated from the accepted standard of medical care and ... failed to provide proper treatment" was included in court documents. Dr. Foote maintained that if Monson received a timely diagnosis and proper treatment she would not have suffered such severe and permanent brain damage.

The final award, with interest to Monson, is $10 million which should help provide for her future medical care and compensates her for pain and suffering.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have serious injuries due to medical malpractice including obstetrics and birth injury malpractice which resulted in injury to either mother or baby.

Contact The Farber Law Group, a Washington medical malpractice law firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. Use our contact form or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.

The Food and Drug Administration and the California Department of Public Health are investigating a possible Salmonella contamination of pistachio nuts sold by Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella Incorporated.
Setton, a California company, is the second-largest producer of pistachios in the U.S.

According to Seattle's local television station, King5.com, the FDA is warning consumers to avoid eating pistachios or foods that contain the nuts until the investigation provides definitive proof as to source of the contamination.

The FDA reports that the contamination is not limited to just one strain of Salmonella.
The Salmonella bacteria is a food borne illness which can sicken people with symptoms of stomach cramps, diarrhea, bloody diarrhea and fever. Usually, symptoms are gone within 7-10 days. However, in the elderly and frail, young children and babies and those with compromised immune symptoms, Salmonella can cause serious illness if it gets into the blood stream including arthritis, endocarditis, arterial infections and even death.

The roasting of nuts should kill Salmonella if it is done properly but the nuts can become contaminated after roasting by mice, rats or birds reports King5.

For more information, see What is FDA Advising Consumers Regarding Pistachios and Pistachio Products.

If you or a loved one has serious illness due to food borne illness, you should contact a personal injury law firm with experience in this area of law. The Farber Law Group has more than 30 years experience in representing victims of food poisoning and food borne illness. With our help, you may be able to obtain compensation for your medical costs and for pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group today.

The fact that you are reading this means that your car accident is behind you. However, you might be researching information for a friend or a family member or even yourself after the fact. Or, you might be looking for information in case you are in an injury accident. You should find this advice helpful. Depending how severe your injuries are, you may or may not be able to follow all of this advice.

What to do

1. Take care of yourself to prevent further injury. Help the other driver, even if the accident is their fault. Do not get into an argument.
   
2. Make sure that everyone is safe and that no further injury will occur. This means that you may need to move vehicles to the side of the road if possible, set up flares or warning devices and turn on hazard lights. Help other motorists get away from their cars in case an unaware driver runs into the accident.
   
3. Call 9-1-1. You will want and need a police report. Let the police know you are injured and to send a medic. Use the words "injury accident" and tell the 9-1-1 operator that medical help is needed. Inform the police of everything you can remember about the accident and how it happened. This will all go into the police report.
   
4. Exchange information with the other drivers including:
   • Name
     
   • Address
     
   • Phone number
     
   • Driver's license numbers
     
   • Make and model of vehicle
     
   • License plate number
     
   • Insurance company name, policy number and contact number
5. Obtain witness information. Write down any admission of fault the other driver might make.
   
6. Use your camera cell phone to take pictures of your vehicle and other vehicles, if possible.
   
7. Take an ambulance to the hospital if it is offered.
   
8. If you are not taken to the hospital, contact your physician and be seen as soon as possible. Often adrenalin kicks in and you may not feel like you need medical attention , but sometimes, as in the case of head trauma, time can be critical.
   
9. Report your accident to your insurance company.
   
10. Contact a personal injury attorney who can make sure your rights are protected. A personal injury attorney, can obtain the police report and interview witnesses and can work with insurance companies so you are fully compensated for your damages.

What not to do

1. Don't get angry or into a fight
   
2. Don't decline medical treatment
   
3. Don't talk to claims adjusters before you know the full extent of your damages
   
4. Don't leave valuables in your vehicle
   
5. Don't admit guilt or fault.
   
6. Don't settle privately with the person who hit you or not file a police report.
   
7. Don't pay a traffic ticket if you were not at fault.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are a personal injury law firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. With more than 30 years experience in representing car accident victims and their families, we will work tirelessly to insure your rights are protected and that you receive the compensation that you deserve for your damages.

Contact The Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087 or e-mail attorney@hgfarber.com.