Recent Blog Posts
WHAT IF MY CRASH WAS REALLY TRAUMATIC BUT I WASN’T REALLY INJURED?
Sometimes we chat with people who are involved in motor vehicle collisions where—looking at the photos of the property damage—it is lucky they walked away from the incident alive. Very rarely, but sometimes those people also don’t feel that they suffered any significant physical injury. MEDICAL BILLS AFTER CAR CRASH After a motor vehicle collision of… Read More »
SEAT BELT USE IN WASHINGTON & OREGON
“Seat Belts Save Lives” is not just a public service announcement; it is a reality. A recent publication by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) found a clear correlation between seat belt usage and lower rates of death in automobile collisions. The study looked at overall rates of seatbelt usage by drivers in the United… Read More »
GETTING A NEW AUTO POLICY IN OREGON? YOU MUST BE AWARE OF THIS!
Several years ago, I represented a young man who was paralyzed when his friend’s car went off the road and struck a telephone pole. He faced hundreds of thousands of dollars in past and future medical care, and a significant change to his future life. His case was literally worth millions. UNDERINSURED MOTORISTS To… Read More »
2020 SAW SURGE IN TRAFFIC DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES
Covid has dominated headlines and touched virtually every aspect of life in the United States in 2020. The year was disorienting, anxiety-filled, and defied logic in so many ways. According to a new report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), that trend carried into traffic deaths. NHTSA TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS NHTSA estimates that approximately 38,680… Read More »
PERSONAL INJURY CASE: HOW CAN I STOP THEM FROM DOING IT AGAIN?
At times I get calls from prospective clients who just want to know how to stop it from happening again. They were hurt. Somebody was careless or reckless. “The next time,” they say to me, “They might kill someone.” MOTIVATION TO HIRING COUNSEL FOR THEIR PERSONAL INJURY CASE Occasionally, that consideration ends up being… Read More »
THE RESCUE DOCTRINE IN WASHINGTON & OREGON
It is no doubt universally agreed that our laws should encourage people to act when the need arises as “Good Samaritans”. Coming to the aid of someone at risk, or injured, certainly fits that bill. Let’s say John negligently crashes his car into Jane’s, leaving her in a disabled car dangerously exposed in the… Read More »
WHY ARE INSURANCE COMPANIES SO CHEAP?
Why are Insurance Companies so Cheap? I am often asked this question or some variation of it. Many times by unrepresented people calling our office regarding the offer an insurance company has made to them, or by my own clients when we get the opening offer from the insurance company against which their claim has been… Read More »
CROSSWALK SAFETY IN WASHINGTON & OREGON
This summer and fall, with nicer weather and folks emerging in public from COVID-induced hibernation, pedestrian/crosswalk safety is vitally important. A good summary of many areas of the law can be found in the pattern jury instructions that we lawyers use when in trial. These are often given, verbatim, by the judge to the… Read More »
EVALUATION OF TOBIN VS DEPARTMENT OF LABOR INDUSTRIES
Bill Thayer wrote in 2018 a fairly comprehensive summary of the law in Washington/Oregon regarding when and how much a personal injury claimant would owe out of their settlement or verdict to the worker’s compensation carrier that has paid their time-loss and medical expenses. I follow on that post briefly now to emphasize one… Read More »
DOGS & HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE IN WASHINGTON & OREGON
DOGS AND HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE In February my family welcomed a new puppy, a first for us. Just now, halfway through the year, I got around to calling my insurance agent to ask if my homeowners insurance needed to be updated to take this pooch into account. As we’ve written about before, dog owners are… Read More »
