Seattle Car Accident Lawyer Blog

If you've been in a Seattle motor vehicle accident, you may be suffering from a condition called whiplash. Whiplash is not a made-up injury, it's real, it's painful and it can be debilitating. Because it can leave a sufferer with a chronic condition, it is important that a person seek the counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney because often insurance companies discount the pain and suffering of a whiplash victim.

Whiplash can cause a wide-range of symptoms including neck pain, neck stiffness, blurred vision, chronic headaches, back pain, numbness or pain in the legs and arms, jaw pain, vertigo and dizziness.

Whiplash injuries affect the spinal cord and they require treatment, in fact, if left untreated, symptoms can become worse.

If your auto accident was caused by the negligence of another driver, it is considered a personal injury. At The Farber Law Group, we represent car accident victims in the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma area with injuries including whiplash, paralysis, brain stem injuries, broken necks and other types of injuries involving the spinal cord.

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The Spokesman-Review reports that Teri M. Scheele, 29, of Spokane was arrested on charges of Vehicular Homicide after she drove the wrong way on Interstate 90 causing an accident which killed Kenneth J. Hardin, 27, of Post Falls.

According to the report, the Spokane Valley fatal car accident occurred around 3am in the eastbound lanes of I-90 near Barker. Scheele was driving west in the eastbound when she hit the car driven by Hardin head-on.

Hardin was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane where he died of his injuries.

Vehicular Homicide can be charged if a person is killed in a car accident and a driver was driving under the influence of alcohol, driving recklessly or driving with reckless disregard to the safety of others.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed with their wrongful death cases.

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The Seattle Bike Blog reports Mark Chamberlin, a prominent Seattle actor who was known for roles with Seattle Rep, Taproot, ACT Theater along with roles on Broadway, film and TV, has died of injuries he sustained in a bicycle accident over the weekend.

Details of Chamberlin's bicycle accident have not yet been detailed but the Seattle theater-loving public mourns his loss.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in bicycle accidents and the family of those killed.

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A driver was killed, his passenger was injured and another driver was injured in a Seattle car accident when a pickup truck rear-ended a Toyota Corolla that was disabled in a traffic lane on Interstate 5 near Boeing Field.

Seattle's King5.com reports that the motor vehicle accident occurred in the northbound lanes near the Michigan Street exit.

The Toyota's driver, a 33-year-old Seattle man, was killed and his 27-year-old female passenger suffered unspecified injuries.

The driver of the pickup truck was also injured in the accident. His two passengers, a male and a female, reportedly left the accident scene.

The Washington State patrol said that neither alcohol or drugs were factors in the car accident but they are investigating why the driver of the pickup truck was unable to avoid the collision.

This type of car accident is so tragic because they are so often fatal. It is really important that all motorists try their best to move their vehicle out of active traffic lanes and onto a shoulder if their car becomes disabled. The reason is that distracted drivers or drunk drivers often plow into disabled vehicles.

The following safety tips should help you if your vehicle becomes disabled:

• Pull to the right side of the highway, if possible.
  
• Turn on your Hazard lights.
  
• Call 9-1-1 for assistance.
  
• Be wary if another motorist stops to help you especially if you are alone.
  
• If you get out of your car, stand a distance from it and never stand behind it to avoid being pinned between your vehicle and another vehicle if it gets hit.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in Seattle motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed. With your help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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The Seattle Times reports that a Bellevue man totaled his classic 1968 Chevrolet Corvette in a single-car accident on Interstate 90 near West Lake Sammamish around 5:20pm on Sunday evening.

According to the report, the Bellevue man was speeding and lost control of his vehicle and hit a concrete barrier which caused the car to flip.

The man was seriously injured in the accident and was taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center.

The State Patrol arrested the driver for on suspicion of drunken driving. In Washington state the legal limit for driving under the influence is 0.08%.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent victims of drunken drivers and their families.

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There was a horrific bus accident in New York over the weekend in which 14 passengers were killed and another 18 passengers injured. Every one of the 32 passengers on the bus were either killed or injured in the bus accident in which the bus was cut in half.

The bus driver, Ophadel E. Williams, 41, of Brooklyn told police that he was involved in a hit-and-run accident with a semi-truck before the accident.

Witnesses, however, report that the bus driver was speeding at the time of the accident and no one has confirmed a hit-and-run incident.

The National Transportation Safety Board along with local police authorities will investigate the accident before a determination of cause is made.

While commercial truck accidents have been decreasing in recent years, the number of bus accidents rose between 2004 form 9,182 in 2004 to 14,292 in 2008 according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

According to The New York Daily News, Williams was driving for World Wide Travel which has had five safety violations between December 2009 and October 2010. If it is determined that Williams was speeding at the time of the accident, he could face criminal charges. In the cases of charter bus accidents, the victims and their families can name the company in a bus accident claim.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent bus accident victims and their families with their civil and wrongful death claims.

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Dolores Bussbarger, 78, of Olympia, was inured in a wrong-way car accident on Interstate 5 near Tumwater on Saturday afternoon around 4:30am.

The Olympian did not report where Bussabarger entered the highway but said that she drove her Chevrolet Impala the wrong-way on Interstate 5 until she collided with a 2008 Toyota pickup driven by a 22-year-old Olympia woman near Tumwater. The driver of the pickup truck was treated at the accident scene.

Bussaberger was taken to Providence St. Peter Hospital and the report said she would probably be charged with negligent driving. The article said that drugs or alcohol were not involved in the car accident.

Wrong way drivers are an enormous danger on the highways. Head-on collisions at high speeds also result in death or serious injuries. Wrong-way drivers usually fall into the following categories:

• Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Elderly drivers who easily get confused
• Intentional acts such as suicide or drivers trying to elude police
• Inattention
• Mental illness
• Inexperience
• Drivers who rely too much on GPS devices or are confused by their directions

If you see a wrong-way driver, we recommend:

• Moving to the shoulder and stopping
  
• Flashing your high beans
  
• Calling 9-1-1
  
• Sounding your horn

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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The Washington state legislature has before it two House Bills before which would help in the creation of "complete streets." Complete streets is urban planning/engineering so that all the users of a street -- pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists -- can navigate safely.

Complete streets usually include sidewalks, bicycle lanes, wide shoulders, well-designed crosswalks, medians, bus lanes, pedestrian signals, and traffic calming techniques including street trees, planter strips and staggered parking.

The Seattle Bike Blog has a couple of before and after photos of a complete streets project at 15th Ave S and S Lander St. The difference is dramatic and makes the street much more safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.

The two House Bills are:

HB1070 - which eases design standards which allows municipalities more leeway in designing road projects.
HB 1071 - which creates a complete streets grant program

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in Seattle and Bellevue pedestrian and bicycle accidents and the family of those killed.

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The Wenatchee World reports that Gunnar Karl Doggett, 16, of Twisp, is charged with Vehicular Homicide in the Winthrop-area car accident that killed Seattle music director George Shangrow.

Shangrow was killed on July 31 as he drove to the Methow Valley Music Festival where he was to lecture. Shangrow was headed east when Doggett crossed the centerline and hit his vehicle head-on. Shangrow apparently had tried to avoid the accident by breaking and moving right. Doggett, however, did not appear to brake.

Police believe that Doggett was distracted at the time of the accident because he was on his cell phone. Police found Doggett's cell phone open and believe it was in use when the car accident occurred.

Vehicular Homicide, RCW 46.61.520, can be charged if a person is killed in a motor vehicle accident and the driver was driving without regard for the safety of others.

Washington state vehicle code RCW 46.61.667 prohibits using a cellphone while driving. The law was enacted in June 2010. Teenagers are strictly prohibited from using cellphones while driving even if they are hands-free.

Distracted driving is a serious problem on our roadways. Distracted driving can include using a cell phone, reading a map, changing a radio station, eating or any other activity where one takes their eyes and focus off of the road even for a split second.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent people who have been seriously injured in motor vehicle accidents and the family of those killed with their wrongful death lawsuits.

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Washington state Senate Bill 5000, which mandates impounding the car or truck of drivers who have been arrested for driving under the influence, just passed the senate by unanimous vote. The bill states that vehicles of suspected DUI drivers be impounded for a 12-hour period after the driver's arrest.

The bill was sponsored by Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island. Haugen said:

"This addresses a serious threat to public safety. Under our existing laws, it's possible for someone to be cited for drunken driving, return to their car while still intoxicated, and resume driving. It happens, and it's a danger to other drivers."

The bill does allow for another title holder on the vehicle to pick up the vehicle before the 12 impound hold ends.

See the full bill here.

Drunken driving is a serious threat to law abiding citizens. Every year, approximately 315 people are killed in Washington state due to drunken drivers and many more are injured. In Washington state the legal standard for blood alcohol content is 0.08 percent.

This information is provided by Seattle Car Accident Lawyer blog, a service of The Farber Law Group. We represent the victims of drunken drivers and their family. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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