Washington Injury Attorney Blog

Divers have apparently recovered the body of Clay Weden, 28 of Bellingham, from Lake Padden in Bellingham on Saturday afternoon. Weden had been canoeing with a companion, Cole B. Smith, 28, when their canoe overturned on Friday reports The Seattle Times.

Smith was rescued by a police officer and an off-duty Bellingham firefighter but they were not able to find Weden until rescue divers found his body the following day.

The lake temperatures was about 40 degrees at the time of the boating accident. It appears that neither boater was wearing life jackets though there were two jackets in the canoe.

Approximately 20-30 people die in boating accidents every year in Washington State.

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 boating accidents and the family of those killed.

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

A Seattle Fire Department boat rescued two kayakers -- whose boats had capsized -- from Puget Sound on Friday morning. The pair were trying to paddle from Bainbridge Island to Seattle reports The Seattle Times. The two men in their 20s had been in the water for about an hour when they were rescued.

According to the report one man was able to use his cell phone to call 911. The Coast Guard and the Fire Department started a search after the call and found the men about two miles off shore.

One of the boaters was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment of hypothermia, the other man was able to walk ashore. Hyopthermia is a condition where the body's temperature drops below what is required for the body to function.

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 boating accidents and the families of those who have died.

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

The National Transportation Safety Board has made recommendations to the Federal Aviation Agency, the U.S. Coast Guard and other governmental agencies regarding operator fatigue and a sleep disorder called sleep apnea. The NTSB presented "Fatigue and Sleep Disorders in Transportation Accidents" at the Washington D.C. Sleep Society and their data reveals that fatigue and sleep apnea has been a factor in thousands of transportation accidents since 1967 including railroad, marine, intermodal, highway, and aviation.

The NTSB recommends that pilots and other operators or motor vehicles be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea if they have other risk factors for that disorder.

Sleep apnea is a disorder in which a person has pauses in their breathing during a sleep cycle. Each episode is termed apnea, and it means "failure to breath." When people have the condition, their breathing is obstructed during the night which affects their body, causing daytime sleepiness and fatigue.

THE NTSB gave examples of when sleep apnea was a factor in a bus accident, a train accident, a cruise ship accident and a case when two pilots fell asleep during a flight.

See the Seattle Times for a full report by the Associated Press on the condition.

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 motor vehicle accidents.

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

The Coast Guard along with the Tillamook County sheriff's office rescued six boaters after their small boat capsized at the entrance to Nehalem Bay along the Oregon Coast. Five of the six boaters were treated for minor injuries after the boating accident.

The Seattle Times reported that three of the boaters made it to shore while the others were rescued from the south jetty. According to the Coast Guard, only two of the six boaters were wearing life jackets.

The Coast Guard reports that in 2007, of 476 drowning deaths due to boating accidents, 427 of the drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket. The importance of life jackets can not be stressed enough. While all of these boaters survived this boating accident, one never knows when an accident will occur and everyone should be prepared by wearing a life vest.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blgo, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in boating accidents and the families of those killed.

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

One person was injured in a boating accident near Commencement Bay at the mouth of the Puyallup River when two boats collided after 4pm on Monday afternoon reports KOMO News.com.

According to the report, two small boats, a 19-foot boat and a smaller aluminum boat were involved in the boating accident.

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 boating accidents and the families of those killed.

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

A teenage boy, Justin Dunn, age 13, is being treated for leg and head injuries after a boating accident near Don Morse Park on Lake Chelan.

According to a report in The Wenatchee World, Justin and his brother were both operating personal watercraft when Justin was run over by his brother. He was taken to Lake Chelan Community Hospital for treatment.

According to Washington code RCW 79A.60, a person under the age of 14 is prohibited from operating a personal watercraft and may be fined up to $1,000 for doing so.

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 boating accidents and the families of those killed.

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

The Coast Guard rescued the two crew-members of a Washington-based fishing vessel after fire broke out in the boat's engine room.

According to a report on Seattle's KOMO News.com, the pair were about 10 miles from the coast of Long Beach when they reported that their vessel, The Portlock, was on fire.

The Coast Guard sent The Cutter Active, a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and a 47-foot motor lifeboat to the rescue. The crew were rescued from their life raft and were not injured.

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

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

Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg was seriously injured in a boating accident near Bigfork, Montana on Thursday night. Rehberg reportedly underwent a three hour surgery to repair a broken ankle and fractures in left eye orbit. He also suffered a "mild, closed head injury."

Dustin Frost, age 27, Rehberg's state director, suffered a life-threatening brain injury in the boating accident. Doctors reportedly have him highly sedated and are monitoring his condition closely.

Kristin Smith, Rehberg's deputy chief of staff, suffered injuries to her face including cuts and bruises. She also fractured her nose, wrist, foot and ribs according to the report in the Flathead Beacon. Smith is expected to leave the hospital in a few days.

Also injured in the boating accident were Kalispell Republican state Sen Greg Barkus, the driver of the boat, and his wife Kathleen. Though details of their conditions have not been released, both were said to be in stable condition.

The boating accident occurred when the power boat the group was riding in hit some rocks and ran aground near Wayfarer's State Park. The group was leaving a social dinner at a Lakeside dock and were headed toMarina Kay resort in Bigfork after dark when the accident occurred.

Rehberg's blood alcohol content level was already released it it was 0.05, below the legal limit.Although it was stated that Rehberg had not been operating the boat at any time. Barkus' BAC has not yet been released.

The cause of the accident is currently being investigated by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks along with reconstruction specialists from the Montana Highway Patrol. The FWP is looking into whether drugs, alcohol, speed or mechanical malfunction speed played a role in the accident.

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 boating accidents and the family of those killed.

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

Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg was seriously injured in a boating accident near Bigfork, Montana on Thursday night. Rehberg reportedly underwent a three hour surgery to repair a broken ankle and fractures in left eye socket. He also suffered a "mild, closed head injury."

Dustin Frost, age 27, Rehberg's state director, suffered a life-threatening brain injury in the boating accident. Doctors reportedly have him highly sedated and are monitoring his condition closely.

Kristin Smith, Rehberg's deputy chief of staff, suffered injuries to her face including cuts and bruises. She also fractured her nose, wrist, foot and ribs according to the report in the Flathead Beacon. Smith is expected to leave the hospital in a few days.

Also injured in the boating accident were Kalispell Republican state Sen Greg Barkus, the driver of the boat, and his wife Kathleen. Though details of their conditions have not been released, both were said to be in stable condition.

The boating accident occurred when the power boat the group was riding in hit some rocks and ran aground near Wayfarer's State Park. The group was leaving a social dinner at a Lakeside dock and were headed to Marina Kay resort in Bigfork after dark when the accident occurred.

Rehberg's blood alcohol content level was 0.05%, below the legal limit. It was stated that Rehberg had not been operating the boat at any time. Barkus' BAC has not yet been released.

The cause of the accident is currently being investigated by the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks along with reconstruction specialists from the Montana Highway Patrol. The FWP is looking into whether drugs, alcohol, speed or mechanical malfunction speed played a role in the accident.

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 boating accidents and the family of those killed.

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

The U.S. Coast Guard just released their boating accident statistics report for 2008. The bad news is that boating accident fatalities increased in 2008. During 2008, the Coast Guard registered 709 boating accident deaths and 3,331 injuries. The boating accident fatality rate increased from 5.3 to 5.6 deaths per every 100,000 registered recreational boat. Boating under the influence contributed to 17% of the fatalities.

The leading causes of boating accidents are:

• operator inattention
  
• careless or reckless operation
  
• no proper lookout
  
• operator inexperience
  
• passenger or skier behavior.

The Coast Guard says that boating education programs are shown to lower accident deaths. In 90% of boating accident deaths, the boat operator had not received boating education. In 2005, In 2005, Washington State passedRCW 79A.60.640 to require boat operators of motorboats of 15 horsepower or greater to take a boater education course. The course can be taken in a classroom or online. See our Boating Resources.

Washington state has a higher boating accident fatalities then many states, in part because of our cooler water temperatures. In two thirds of all boating accident deaths, the victim drowned and 90% of those were not wearing a life jacket. The Coast Guard recommends that all boaters to wear a personal flotation device. See our Boating Safety Tips.

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

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

A seven-year-old girl, whose feet were nearly severed in a freak Lake Washington boating accident , has a rosy prognosis after the trauma surgeons at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle reattached the girls two feet.

This good news story was told on Seattle's King5.com and reported by Tricia Manning-Smith.

The boating accident occurred when the little girl, whose first name is Lily, was in her family's boat after inter tubing on Lake Washington several weeks ago. Lily's feet got entangled with coiled nylon rope and she was knocked unconscious and thrown overboard. Her father, a former Navy lifeguard, rescued her but realized that her feet were nearly amputated.

Thanks to Harborview Medical Center and their trauma surgeons led by Dr. Nicholas Vedder, a reconstructive plastic surgeon, Lily's feet were re-attached in a very delicate surgery which reconnected blood vessels less than 2mm in size.

Two weeks later, Dr. Vedder expects Lily to gain full mobility and lead a normal life.

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 boating accidents and their families. With your help, you may recover compensation for injuries caused by the negligence of another.

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

An Edmonds man is missing and presumed drowned in a boating accident on the Columbia River near Chelan on Saturday afternoon reports The Seattle Times.

The man, Steve Fausto, age 24, was boating with a group of about 10 friends from the Stevens Pass Ski team when he went missing from the boat. He apparently fell overboard without anyone noticing. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the boating accident. He had been drinking some time before the accident.

Fausto was a graduate of Kamiak High School in Mukilteo.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We are boating accident lawyers with offices in Seattle and Bellevue. Contact us if you are a loved one has been seriously injured in a boating accident due to the negligence of another.

The Washington State Patrol (WSP) has organized the 2009 Boating Under Influence (BUI) emphasis for Seattle's Seafair which kicks off July 29. Like driving a car, Boating Under the Influence laws state that a Boater is intoxicated if their blood alcohol content is 0.08% or above.

During Seafair, the WSP partners with the Mercer Island Police Department's marine unit, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and the King County Prosecutors Office to apprehend boaters who are under the influence to insure the safety of others.

The Seafair BUI emphasis has been very successful and has resulted in 418 Boating Under The Influence Arrests since its inception. The emphasis patrols made 83 BUI arrests last year and 21 Minor in Possession of alcohol arrests.

The WSP says with the emphasis patrol, there are fewer boating accidents on Lake Washington during Seafair. Last year, there was only one boating injury accident during the entire Seafair week.

Annually, there are approximately 20-30 boating fatalities in Washington State and around 4,000 injury boating accidents.

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 boating accidents because of the negligence of another boater. Boating accidents are often caused by speeding, alcohol or drug use, and improperly maintained or defecting boating equipment.

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

Seattle's KOMO News reports that a fishing boat caught fire and three fisherman were rescued, but not without escaping injury, by a passing boat. All three men were treated by East Jefferson Fire-Rescue after the boating accident. One man's burn injuries were so severe that he was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment.

According to a report in the Peninsula Daily News, the boat caught on fire after a propane tank exploded. The boat, the Kemo Sabay, is owned by Scott Kimmel who runs New Day Fisheries Inc. of Port Townsend.

After the fire broke out, the fisherman ran to the bow of the vessel and waved down a passing boat.

After the rescue, the Coast Guard attempted to extinguish the blaze on the boat and save the vessel but it sank.

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

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

If you or a loved one has serious burns, see our Burn Victim Resources.

An unidentified Lakewood, Washington woman has drowned in a tragic boating accident while rafting the North Fork of the Payette River with members of her family reports Seattle's King5.com Local News.

According to the report, a raft carrying the 47-year-old Washington woman and nine other people had been launched less than 10 minutes before the raft tipped, ejecting three people including the woman. Two of those that were ejected, both teenagers, were found.

The rafters floated along down the river a few hundred yards but could not find the woman. About an hour later, a kayaker found the woman pinned under a log. She apparently had been sucked underneath the log and pinned there.

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

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

The Olympian reports that Thomas Talbott, age 50, of Elma died after falling out of his canoe while fishing in Lake Nahwatzel. Lake Nahwatzel is in Shelton.

Witnesses reported that Talbott was fishing around 9:30am where people heard him yell then saw him fall out of the canoe. Local residents took their boats to where Talbott fell but were unable to find him.

A dive team later found Talbott's body. An autopsy is planned to determine the cause of death.

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 boating accidents and the families of those who have died.

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

A 48-year-old woman from the Lake Stevens area is presumed drowned in a boating accident on Lake Stevens on Saturday night. The woman was piloting a 20-foot ski boat with nine people on-board when the boat sank reports The Seattle Times. The nine passengers made it to shore but the boat's pilot did not. The boat was described as a 20-foot skit boat with a wakeboard tower.

The boating accident occurred around 9:30pm on the south end of Lake Stevens. The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office along with the Lake Stevens Police and Fire Departments, Snohomish County Parks, the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office Technical Water Rescue Team, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Coast Guard and private boat owners all searched for the woman.

A report on Seattle/Tacoma's Fox News says that no one in the party was wearing life jackets at the time of the boating accident.

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

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

The Yakima Herald reports that Alison McWeeny, age 20 of Auburn, was injured in a boating accident on the Columbia River near Wanapum State park last Saturday. McWeeny was in a water ski boat with six other people when the boat overturned. McWeeny went under the boat and she suffered serious injuries to her leg.

McWeeny was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. She lost the lower part of her leg and is currently in satisfactory condition.Wanapum State park is near Vantage and about one-half hour drive from Central Washington University in Ellensburg where McWeeny is a student-athelete on the track and field team. McWeeny is fourth in Central's record book for the hammer throw.

This information is provided by Washington Injury Attorney blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. Our law firm represents people with serious personal injuries as a result of boating accidents, motorcycle accidents and car accidents.

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

The Tacoma News Tribune reports that a man who hit a 14-year-old kayaker with his boat on American Lake has been fined $343 for negligent boating. McKinley Randle, age 34, was fined but faces no criminal charges in the boating accident in which David Kenny "D.K." Ross was severely injured.

Police said there was no evidence that Randle was under the influence of alcohol or drugs or speeding at the time of the March 1st boating accident.

D.K. Ross suffered a ruptured spleen, broken ribs and a gash to his head. He has had several surgeries and is now in a nursing home where he will need extensive, long-term care, according to his father, David Hermansen.

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 accidents due to the negligence of another.

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 2009 National Safe Boating Week kicks off on May 16th. This year's theme is Life Jacket Safety. The slogan for the week is, "Wear it!"

According to U.S. Coast Guard boating accident statistics:

• In 2007, 90% of drowning victims in boating accidents were not wearing life jackets.
  
• Nearly 70% boating accident deaths are attributed to drowning.

Boating safety experts encourage every boater to wear a life jacket consistently while boating. Just like seat belts have decreased car accident deaths, life jackets reduce boating accident deaths.

The Executive Director of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), John Johnson, wants to get the message out that life "jackets" are no longer bulky and orange. Old style models are being replaced with attractive styles which are compact, lightweight and attractive. Some styles resemble a pair of suspenders or are inflatable and some even have built in walkie-talkies.

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 boating accidents and the families of those killed. If your boating accident was caused by the negligence of another person or due to poorly designed boating equipment, we can help. We are a personal injury firm with offices in Seattle and Bellevue.

Boating accidents can and do occur on Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, Tapps Lake, Lake Chelan and the water of the Puget Sound.

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