Seattle Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A 59-year-old Snohomish woman was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with head and leg injuries after she was injured in a car accident n Monroe.

According to the Herald Net.com of Everett, the woman was traveling eastbound on Country Crescent Boulevard SE when she went down a 1-5foot embankment and hit a tree.

The woman told police that her brakes had failed.

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.

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 Washington State Patrol, in a media release, reports that troopers have issued 670 citations to motorists for using hand-held cell phones or for texting between the dates of June 10 and July 1. In addition, the report says that they have issued more than 500 warnings to violators.

State Patrol Chief John Batiste says because there is more compliance with the law, the violators are easier to spot.

Violation of the law, RCW 46.61.668, results in a $124 fine.

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.

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 believe your car accident was caused by someones negligent use of a cell phone read, What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?

Did you think that only teenagers were irresponsible enough to text message on their cell phones while driving? Think not! According to a Pew Research study, adult drivers are text messaging while driving too.

Compare the following statistics for teenage drivers and adult drivers:

Teens and Cell Phones

• 75% of American teenagers own cellphones and 66% of these teens text message.
• 82% of teens between 16 and 17 have a cell phone.
• 34% of teens who text message admit to texting while driving.
• 48% of teens say they have been a passenger in a car whose driver was texting.

Adults and Cell Phones

• 82% of adults have cell phones.
• 47% of adult cell phone users report texting while driving.
• 27% of all adults report texting while driving.
• 49% of adults report they have been a passenger in a car whoe driver was texting.
• 44% of adult report they have used a cell phone in a car in a manner that puts themselves or others at danger.
• 17% of adults report bumping into something while driving when using a cell phone.

Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of car accidents resulting in property damage, serious injury and death. In Washington State, using a hand-held cell phone is also against the law.

If you believe your car accident was caused by the other driver's negligent use of a cell phone, you may have grounds to file civil case which will hold the negligent driver responsible for your damages including medical costs, property damages, loss of wages and pain and suffering.

Contact The Farber Law Group, a personal injury law firm with more than 30 years experience representing accident victims and their families.

Source:
Pew Research Center
Adults and Cell Phone Distraction
Published by Marry Madden, Senior Research Specialist
Lee Rainie, Director
Published June 18, 2010

Two women were injured early this morning when they were involved in a hit-and-run car accident on State Route 520 in Bellevue.

The car accident occurred around 2:40 am in the westbound lanes of SR 520, east of Interstate 405 according to Seattle's King5.com.

It appears that the car accident victims suffered head and leg injuries.

The WSP is investigating the accident but they do not have a description of the vehicle that left the scene.

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 car accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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.

Scott Caudel of Seattle, Washington, was sentenced to 10 months of work release after he pleaded guilty to reckless driving and reckless endangerment in the pedestrian accident death of Grant Meyers, 91.

The Seattle Times reports that Caudel was distracted by his cell phone GPS when he struck Meyers, who was blind. Meyers was crossing the intersection of 5th Avenue Northeast and Northeast 97th Street on June 10 of 2009 when he was hit by Caudel's pickup truck. Meyers died two days after the pedestrian accident.

In addition to Caudel's work release sentence, he is prohibited from using a cell phone while driving for two years.

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 pedestrian accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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.

Almost everyone knows that as of today, using a handheld cell phone while driving or texting while driving is a primary offense. Police officers can and will stop you for that infraction even without another probable cause such as speeding, a broken taillight or running a red light. The fine for this infraction is $124.

Teen Drivers

A lot of people don't know that the cell phone law is stricter for drivers age 18 and under. Teenage drivers are prohibited from using a cell phone while driving even with a hands-free device. If the teen is caught using a cell phone while driving, in addition to a $124 ticket, a letter is sent to the teen's parents or guardians to inform them of the infraction. If the teen has two or more violations of this law, they can lose their license.

The enhanced cell phone laws is a crack down on distracted driving which is known to increase a driver's likelihood of a car accident.

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 due to the negligence of another and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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.

Read What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?

The Seattle Times reports that Kenneth Laymon, 45, was using his cell phone to send and receive calls right before the accident in Alabama on March 26 that killed Laymon and 10 members of a Mennonite sect that were traveling together to attend a wedding.

According to the report, Laymon was also driving more than 70 mph when he lost control of his tractor-trailer rig, crossed the center line and hit a van carrying the 10 people he killed.

Studies show that when a driver looks at a cell phone or map while driving, they are taking their eyes off of the forward roadway for 4-5 seconds. When driving at speeds of 70mph or more, the vehicle can travel a considerable distance in those 4-5 seconds, thus greatly increasing the chances of an accident like this. It is critically important that motorists keep their eyes on the forward roadway for everyone's safety.

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 and the family of those killed. We will work hard to obtain compensation for your damages including medical costs and for pain and suffering.

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.

Silvio Oberon has been awarded a $1.45 motor vehicle accident settlement for serious spinal cord injuries he received when he was rear ended by a city of Palo Alto utility worker. Oberon had originally asked for $5million in his lawsuit.

The motor vehicle accident was caused by driver inattention; Oberon's vehicle, was rear-ended when Ruben Salas, who worked for the city, reached for a cell phone.

Oberon's injuries cause him to suffer severe pain due to peripheral neuropathy which is a painful nerve condition. He was fitted with an electronic stimulator which was implanted to help control his back pain.

Spinal Cord Injuries can have devastating consequence including paraplegia, quadriplegia, loss of bowel and bladder control, loss of sexual functioning and muscle atrophy.

Spinal cord injuries can be caused by car accidents, falls, gunshots, diving and sporting accident.

If you have received a spinal cord injury due to the negligence of another, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages including for pain and suffering.

The Farber Law Group does not charge you any attorneys' fees, until and unless they recover money for you. They then receive a percentage only of what they help you recover. The Farber Law Group has been successful in winning millions of dollars of compensation for people who have sustained serious injury. Call or contact us online today to discuss your case.

See our Spinal Cord Injury Resources

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.

Oprah Winfrey has launched a campaign to get drivers to declare their motor vehicles as "No Phone Zones" and give up texting and cell phone usage while driving.

Some safety advocates estimate that 6,000 motor vehicle fatalities and 500,000 traffic accidents are caused by distracted driving each year including using cell phones.
Oprah said:

"It's like Russian roulette every time you pick up your phone in the car." 

Oprah is trying to bring distracted driving to the forefront of people's minds and is asking people to sign a pledge not to talk on the phone or text while driving. Oprah's No Phone Zone web-site already has 233,074 signatures from people pledging to a)not text while driving; b)not text and only use handsfree calling while driving; c)no talking or texting while driving.

Click here for Oprah's No Phone Zone pledge.

If you have been seriously injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by distracted driving, you should contact a personal injury attorney who will fight for you to be compensated for your damages. At The Farber Law Group, we have more than 30 years representing car 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.

Patrick Franklin, 40, of Bellevue, was critically injured in a highway shoulder accident on Sunday. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with life-threatening injuries.

According to the report by King5.com, Franklin had run out of gas and had pulled his pickup truck off of the Interstate 5 and onto the shoulder in SeaTac and was filling the tank when a 24-year-old Auburn man drifted off of the roadway and hit him with his minivan.

The Washington State Patrol have charged the Auburn man with Vehicular Assault, believing him to be under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident. They also think he may have been distracted due to the use of a cell phone.

There have been several devastating highway shoulder accidents in the Seattle-metro area during the past week or so. Annually, there are about 2,000 fatal highway shoulder accidents. If at all possible, motorists should try to maneuver their car completely off of the highway even if it means ruining a tire or rim in the case of a flat tire.

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 car accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages, including pain and suffering.

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.

Washington Governor, Chris Gregoire, signed Senate Bill 6345 into law today. The law states that talking on a hand held cell phone while driving or reading, writing and sending text messages while driving is a primary offense.

The new cell phone law takes effect on June 10 and it allows police officers to issue $124 tickets to drivers if they see them talking on a hand held cell phone or text messaging.

Until June, the Washington patrol will work to educate drivers about the new law.

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 car accidents 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.

Read What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?

The Department of Transportation is getting tough with professional drivers who text message while driving, prohibiting all truck and bus drivers from sending text messages -- texting -- while driving a commercial vehicle.

The penalty for texting includes civil or criminal penalties and fines up to $2,750 says the DOT.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Research shows that drivers who text message take their eyes off of the road from between 4-6 seconds while texting. If the driver is moving at speeds of 55 miles an hour, they will have driven the length of a football field before their eyes look at the road.

A Vancouver, Washington man was just sentenced to 5 years in prison for Vehicular Homicide after a fatal car accident attributed to the fact that he was texting while driving. Antonio Cellestine hit and killed a bicyclist, Gordon Patterson, who was riding his bicycle at the time. Cell phone records show that Cellestine had been texting prior and during the accident.

The message is getting out to all drivers: no texting while driving!

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 in car accidents and pedestrian 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.

We just came across some software that parents can purchase on a subscription basis which blocks text messaging while driving. Parents can install the software -- txtBlocker -- and set it to establish areas where their teens are not allowed to use cell phones and it blocks the sending and receiving of text messages while driving to prevent car accidents.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, distracted driving is a factor in up to 80% of all car accidents. One statistic says that almost 50% of teenage drivers admit to text messaging while driving. This past week in Bellingham, a pedestrian was hit and killed and the teenage driver admitted that he was text messaging at the time of the accident.

The txtBlocker software also lets parents know where their teens were driving and, with Speed Alerts, lets parents know if their teen was traveling at an excessive speed.

Texting while driving has become a serious health and safety issue and many believe it is akin to drinking and driving in its danger.

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 car accidents and the families of those killed. Read What if My accident was caused by someone using a cell phone? if your believe your accident was caused by some one's negligent use of a cell phone.

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 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) testified before a US House subcommittee on November 4th regarding distracted driving and cell phone. In the IIHS testimony, data was provided that shows that cell phone usage by drivers puts the driver at increased risk for a car accident and impaired driving performance. The IIHS testified that different studies reach different conclusions about what the actual statistics are, but a recent study that was "well-controlled" and had a "large number of crash-involved drivers" found that that the risk of an accident was four times higher when the driver was talking on either a hand-held or hands-free cell phone.

The IIHS reports that their data shows that the fact of using a cell phone, regardless of whether it is hands-free or hand-held, poses the same accident risk.

See the IIHS web-site for a full text of testimony, Driven to Distraction: Technological Devices and Vehicle Safety.

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 car accidents and the family of those killed. If you believe your car accident was caused by someone using a cellphone, read, "What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?"

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.

Oregon is joining Washington and California in banning all drivers from using hand held cell phones while driving. Other Western states including Montana, Idaho and Nevada do not have a ban in place yet according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The Oregon cell phone ban will go into effect on January 1st, 2010 and drivers who are caught will receive a $90 fine. Drivers, however, will be able to use a hands free device while driving and some certain drivers, like law enforcement officers working for public safety, will be exempt. Unlike Washington's ban, Oregon's hand held ban will be a primary offense.

Oregon has had a cell phone ban in place for teenagers since 2007 but it was listed as a secondary offense. In 2010, the restrictions for teenagers will increase, prohibiting teens from using a hands free cell phone.

All drivers in Oregon are prohibited from text messaging while driving.

If you believe your car accident was caused by someone using a cell phone, read, "What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?"

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 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.

October 5-9, 2009 is the "Drive Safely Work Week," a network of employers for traffic safety sponsored event which encourages employees to drive safely. Board member companies include Abbott, AmeriFleet Transportation, Anheuser-Busch, Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, General Motor Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Monsanto, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and UPS.

The main message of the campaign is that, regardless of the job, "getting home safely is the most important thing anyone will do today."

The event puts the focus on driving with intent. Employees are reminded that distracted driving is dangerous:

 Research shows that driving while distracted is the leading factor in most car accidents and near-accidents. In fact, four out of five crashes and more than half near-crashes involve some form of driver inattention.

Increasingly, distracted driving has been on the forefront of motorist's minds because of the ubiquitous use of cell phones. If you believe your car accident was caused be someone's negligent use of a cell phone, you'll want to read our article, "What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?"

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 car accidents and the family of those killed. With our help, you may recover compensation for your damages.

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 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has announced that New York has joined Washington state in banning text messaging by all drivers. The New York law is effective November 1, 2009.

About half of the states still have no cell phone bans while eight states have only partial bans. Click here for a list of cell phone laws by state.

Washington State has banned all drivers from using a hand-held cell phone and text messaging while driving. The states with cell phone bans vary in their approach. Some states only place the ban on drivers younger than 18 and school bus drivers.

Washington state cell phone laws apply to all drivers but the offense is categorized as "secondary." That means that a driver will not be ticketed unless he or she is stopped for another offense like speeding, illegal lane change or running a stop light.

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 car accidents and the families of those killed. With our help, you may receive compensation for your damages including medical costs.

See What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?

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.

Oregon has just passed a law banning the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. The new law, which goes into effect January 1, 2010, pertains to all drivers. Unlike the Washington State cell phone law which made using a hand-held cell phone a secondary offense, Oregon went a step further and made it a primary offense. A secondary offense means that a police officer cannot stop a driver if he or she sees a driver using a hand-held cell phone unless they are pulling them over for a primary offense like running a red light or speeding.

Oregon's Cell phone law is House Bill 2377 and it imposes a $90 fine for a violation. In addition, it prohibits drivers younger than 18 from even using a hands-free cell phone but allows adults to.

Recent car accident data shows a correlation between texting and using cell phones while driving with an increased car accident risk. If you believe your car accident was caused by someone using a cell phone, read What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?

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 car 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 Alert Drivers Act -- "Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act" -- is a bill introduced by Senate Democrats which require all states to ban texting on cell phones or other personal electronic devices by drivers.

The bill applies to anyone operating a car, truck, bus or mass transit system conveyance like light rail. Already, 14 states have a ban in place and 11 states have a modified plan. Washington State recently enacted RCW 46.61.688 "Sending, Reading, or Writing a Text Message While Driving" which makes it a secondary offense to text while driving.

The Senate's bill, if passed, requires states to issue texting bans or lose federal highway funds.

A research report by Virginia Tech Transportation reported that drivers truck drivers who text while driver are 23.2 times as likely to be in an accident than non-distracted drivers. Likewise, a report in Car and Driver magazine revealed that texting while driving is even more dangerous than driving under the influence.

If your injury car accident was caused by another driver's negligent use of a cell phone or other personal electronic device, you should contact a personal injury attorney. With the help of The Farber Law Group, we will work to obtain you compensation for your damages. Read our article, What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?

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.

Virginia Tech Transportation Institute just released the data from their large-scale and naturalistic driving studies which provide data on driver distraction and cell phone usage. Their studies observed drivers for more than 6 million miles of driving.

We recommend you read the study and share it with the members of your family. Basically, the study tells us what we already know: using cell phones while driving distracts the driver -- even a hands-free device -- and increases your chances of being in a car or truck accident. Text messaging or "texting" while driving is even more dangerous than dialing or answering your phone. Truck drivers who text message are 23.2 times more likely to be in a truck accident or near accident while texting.

It seems like a "no brainer" -- any activity that takes your eyes off the road when you are driving 55 miles per hour is going to endanger the lives of everyone in your vehicle and the other drivers on the road and increase your chances of being involved in an accident.

Read the study and then ban your teenagers from ever using their cell phone while driving. And, then avoid using your cell phone while driving and never text message while driving.

If you have been in a car or truck accident and you believe it was caused by the other driver's usage of a cell phone, read our article "What if my accident was caused by someone using a cell phone?"

Contact us if you've been in a car or truck accident that resulted in serious injuries. We will work to insure that your rights are protected.

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.