Personal Injury Resources for Seattle and surrounding areas in Washington State
Library Categories:
Car Accidents & Truck Collisions:
- Washington Automobile Accident Attorneys - Seattle Car Collision Lawyers
Description: Have you been injured in a Seattle car accident? Davis Law Group's Washington car accident lawyers are committed to helping automobile accident vicitms get fair compensation for their injuries. - Seattle Car Accident Lawyer
Description: Car accident victims must learn "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Seattle Accident Case". Visit our website to get your FREE copy of this 90+ page book. - Redmond Car Accident Laywers
Description: Redmond car accident victims need to read "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Redmond Car Accident Case". - Bellevue Car Accident Attorney
Description: Bellevue Car Accident Lawyers - Read "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Bellevue Car Accident Case". - King County Car Accident Laywers
Description: Get answers to your questions. Get your free copy of "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck Your King County Car Accident Case." - Car Accident Lawyers in Washington State
Description: Get answers to your questions. Get "The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Wreck You Washington Car Accident Case." - Sampling Design Used in the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey [PDF]
Description: The purpose of the National Motor Vehicle Crash Causation Survey (NMVCCS) was to collect information on the vehicles, the roadways, and the environmental conditions as well as the human behavioral factors that are likely to contribute to crash occurrence. The data was collected on crashes involving light vehicles, during the period January 2005 to December 2007. - Child Restraint Use in 2007 [PDF]
Description: Hispanic children under 13 years old have lower restraint use rates (use of child safety seats, booster seats, and seat belts) than non-Hispanic children. This result is from the National Survey of the Use of Booster Seats (NSUBS), the only probability-based nationwide child restraint survey that observes restraint use and collects race and ethnicity. The NSUBS is conducted by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. - Child Restraint Use in 2007—Overall Results [PDF]
Description: The restraint use for all children from birth to 7 years old increased to 89 percent in 2007 compared to 84 percent in 2006, and this increase is statistically significant. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability-based observed data on child restraint use in the United States. NOPUS is conducted annually by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. - Seat Belt Use in 2007—Demographic Results [PDF]
Description: In 2007, seat belt use in the United States increased among occupants 70 and older. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability-based observed data on seat belt use in the United States. NOPUS is conducted annually by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. - Motor Vehicle Traffic Crashes As a Leading Cause of Death in the United States, 2005 [PDF]
Description: In 2005, motor vehicle traffic crashes were the leading cause of death for every age 3 through 6 and 8 through 34. Because of the young lives consumed, motor vehicle traffic crashes ranked third overall in terms of the years of life lost, i.e., the number of remaining years that the person is expected to live had they not died, behind only cancer and diseases of the heart. The table (overleaf) shows the 10 leading causes of death by age group in 2005. The age groups reflect categories of interest to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in terms of Child-Restraint Programs (Toddlers, Infants, and Young Children), Novice Drivers (Youth and Young Adults), Other Adults, and the Elderly. - Statistical Analysis of Alcohol-Related Driving Trends, 1982-2005 [PDF]
Description: Overall, the percent of drivers involved in fatal crashes who had consumed alcohol and had blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or above prior to the crash steadily decreased from 1982 to 1997 and then leveled off (more or less). In an attempt to explain the 1982-1997 reduction and the 1997-2005 level trend, this report presents a statistical analysis of factors that influenced the historical alcohol-related driving trends from 1982 to 2005. - Trends in Non-Fatal Traffic Injuries 1996 – 2005 [PDF]
Description: An analysis of three major databases of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that from 1996 through 2005, the annual number of “incapacitating” injuries due to motor vehicle crashes decreased by 25 to 28 percent. Incapacitating is a category of injury severity that represents the most severe non-fatal injuries. An incapacitating injury is a nonfatal injury that prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or normally continuing the activities the person was capable of performing before the injury occurred. - Fatalities to Occupants of 15-Passenger Vans, 1997-2006 [PDF]
Description: The objective of this research note is to report the fatalities to occupants of 15-passenger vans in the 10-year period from 1997 to 2006. Of particular interest are fatalities that occurred to occupants in 15-passenger vans that rolled over. Prior research (Garrott et al.1, Subramanian2) has shown that heavily loaded 15-passenger vans have a higher rate of rollover than lightly loaded vans. Loading 15-passenger vans to gross vehicle weight (GVW) also moves the center of gravity rearward and upward thereby affecting the stability and handling of the van. The research also points out speed and curved road geometry as factors affecting rollover outcome. Belt use rates among occupants in 15-passenger vans involved in fatal crashes are significantly lower compared to oth-er passenger vehicles. Another research note (Thiriez et al.3) also stressed the importance of properly main-taining the tires in such vans. NHTSA has issued three previous consumer advisories (NHTSA4 5 6) on the roll-over propensity of 15-passenger vans. - Seat Belt Use in 2007 – Use Rates in the States And Territories [PDF]
Description: In 2007, seat belt use in the United States ranged from 63.8 percent in New Hampshire to 97.6 percent in Hawaii. These seat belt use rates are reported to the National Highway Traf-fic Safety Administration by States and Territories in response to grant requirements under 23 U.S.C. §§ 402, 406. - The National Survey of the Use of Car Seats [PDF]
Description: The National Survey of the Use of Car Seats - Backover and Non-Crash EventsSpecial Crash Investigations [PDF]
Description: Protecting Children in and Around Cars - Driver Electronic Device Use in 2007 [PDF]
Description: Hand-held cell phone use by drivers was up again to 6 percent in 2007 compared to 5 percent in 2006, and this increase in use occurred in many driver categories, including male drivers, female drivers, drivers age 25 to 69, drivers of all races, and drivers in all vehicle types. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability-based observed data on driver electronic device use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted annually by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. - COUNTS FOR FRONTAL AIR BAG RELATED FATALITIES AND SERIOUSLY INJURED PERSONS [PDF]
Description: Status of air bag related fatality and serious injury cases during the period 1/01/08 - 7/01/08. - Tow Truck Companies In Seattle
Description: Find a Seattle tow truck company near your car accident. - Washington State Law: RCW 46.61.667 Using a wireless communications device while driving. (Effective July 1, 2008.)
Description: Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, a person operating a moving motor vehicle while holding a wireless communications device to his or her ear is guilty of a traffic infraction. - Rain Can Be Fatal For Motorists After Dry Weather
Description: Going out for a drive in the rain? A study by a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, provides new data on how risky that road trip might be. - STUDY: Car Crashes Due To Bad Weather
Description: Researchers and statisticians found that 24% of all crashes occur during adverse weather conditions, including ice, snow, and rain. The research showed that most drivers do not account for adverse conditions created by rainy weather. They suggest slowing down and increasing the distance between traveling cars as a way to decrease the number of accidents in bad weather. - SUV lifted off victim of rollover accident
Description: A man who was thrown from a Ford Explorer that crashed on Interstate 405 was saved after by-standers and a State policeman lifted the vehicle off him. - NEWS: Man Killed In Downtown Seattle Car Accident
Description: A man was killed when his SUV raced through a red light and smashed into another car in downtown Seattle. - Child Dies In Car Back-up Accident
Description: A 14-month old Hannah Bryant died Tuesday afternoon after a family member drove over the child while leaving her Kingston-area home. Investigators believe the child had wandered behind the family car and was out of view of the driver when the incident occurred. The driver then backed over the child. - Has the difference in accident patterns between male and female drivers changed between 1984 and 2000?
Description: STUDY: The aim was to see whether the difference in accident patterns between males and females has remained constant or whether it has changed over a 16-year period. - VIDEO: 3D Medical Animation: Cervical Spine & Disc Anatomy
Description: Nucleus Medical Art's 3D medical animation shows the anatomy of a typical cervical (neck) spine and intervertebral disc. Details include orientation of the cervical spine, movements of the spinal vertebrae,
and movement of intervertebral discs. A cross-section of the intervertebral disk and spinal cord highlight the nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, spinal cord, dura mater, spinal root, and spinal nerve. - VIDEO: 3D Medical Animation: Anterior Cervical Fusion
Description: 3D medical animation showing an anterior cervical fusion surgical procedure with C4-5 discectomy, placement of fibular strut allograft and fusion hardware. - STATISTICS: Fatal Car Accidents In Seattle vs Tacoma
Description: Based on Allstate data for 197 U.S. cities with more than 100,000 people, Seattle ranks 150th. Drivers here are 20 percent more likely to have an accident than those in other areas -- and file accident claims on average once every 8.3 years. In Tacoma, ranked 157th, residents are 22 percent more likely to have an accident, and file accident claims every 8.2 years. - JAMA ARTICLES: Whiplash & Related Injuries
Description: Below is a list of interesting articles that have appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and which are focused on whiplash and related injuries. - ARTICLE: Mechanoporation Induced by Diffuse Traumatic Brain Injury: An Irreversible or Reversible Response to Injury?
Description: Diffuse traumatic brain injury (DTBI) is associated with neuronal plasmalemmal disruption, leading to either necrosis or reactive change without cell death. This study examined whether enduring membrane perturbation consistently occurs, leading to cell death, or if there is the potential for transient perturbation followed by resealing/recovery. We also examined the relationship of these events to calpain-mediated spectrin proteolysis (CMSP). To assess plasmalemmal disruption, rats (n = 21) received intracerebroventricular infusion 2 h before DTBI of a normally excluded 10 kDa fluorophore-labeled dextran. To reveal plasmalemmal resealing or enduring disruption, rats were infused with another labeled dextran 2 h (n = 10) or 6 h (n = 11) after injury. Immunohistochemistry for the 150 kDa spectrin breakdown product evaluated the concomitant role of CMSP. Neocortical neurons were followed with confocal and electron microscopy. After DTBI at 4 and 8 h, 55% of all tracer-flooded neurons contained both dextrans, demonstrating enduring plasmalemmal leakage, with many demonstrating necrosis. At 4 h, 12.0% and at 8 h, 15.7% of the dual tracer-flooded neurons showed CMSP, yet, these demonstrated less advanced cellular change. At 4 h, 39.0% and at 8 h, 24.4% of all tracer-flooded neurons revealed only preinjury dextran uptake, consistent with membrane resealing, whereas 7.6 and 11.1%, respectively, showed CMSP. At 4 h, 35% and at 8 h, 33% of neurons demonstrated CMSP without dextran flooding. At 4 h, 5.5% and at 8 h, 20.9% of tracer-flooded neurons revealed only postinjury dextran uptake, consistent with delayed membrane perturbation, with 55.0 and 35.4%, respectively, showing CMSP. These studies illustrate that DTBI evokes evolving plasmalemmal changes that highlight mechanical and potential secondary events in membrane poration.
Key words: diffuse traumatic brain injury; neuron; dextrans; membrane disruption; membrane resealing; calpain - PRODUCT: Car Accident Collision Kit for Washington Drivers
Description: DocuDent USA has produced a collision kit. The kit contains a disposable camera to photograph the scene (don’t forget to shoot any tire tracks; that could come in handy if a case went to court), a few bandages, a place for documentation, an accident report form, an LED flashlight with a built-in tape measure, a pen and a whistle. All organized in a handy case. - Speed-trap cameras approved by Senate to Reduce Car Accidents in Seattle
Description: Speeding drivers in Seattle could soon be caught on camera.
The state Senate approved legislation Saturday that would allow the city to nab heavy-footed drivers with snapshots similar to those now used to ticket red-light-runners. - Weather Conditions and Car Accidents
Description: When the weather turns bad, the chances of an auto accident can increase substantially. This article discusses some of the more common ways in which weather affects driving safety. - Get The Facts About Car Accidents and Drunk Driving Fatalities
Description: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that alcohol was involved in 39 percent of fatal crashes and in 7 percent of all crashes in 2005. - In the Blind Spot: Backup Car Accidents
Description: Backup collisions are when a driver puts the automobile in reverse and runs into an object, person, or other car. All cars are equipped with rear view mirrors which are adequate for detecting vehicles behind a car, but they are often inadequate when it comes to detecting small children or objects that are low to the ground and fall in the car's blind spot. Large trucks have much larger blind spots that can hide entire vehicles and large adults. - STUDY: Pain lasts long after traumatic injury
Description: A surprising number of people -- more than 60 percent -- still suffer significant pain a year after a traumatic injury in a car crash or other cause, showing the need for better pain treatment, researchers said. - U.S. Fatalities by Type: Non-traffic auto accidents involving kids 15 years or younger [PDF]
Description: U.S. Fatalities by Type: Non-traffic auto accidents involving kids 15 years or younger - Washington State Law: Do Not Leave Minor Children Unattended In a Motor Vehicle
Description: Leaving Children unattended in standing vehicle with motor running-Penalty.
It is unlawful for any person, while operating or in charge of a vehicle, to park or willfully allow such vehicle to stand upon a public highway or in a public place with its motor running, leaving a minor child or children under the age of sixteen years unattended in the vehicle. - Advocates: Add Safety Measures to Highway Bill
Description: NPR, All Things Considered, July 22, 2005 · As Congress puts finishing touches on the federal highway bill, safety advocates want more attention paid to preventive measures such as additional air bags, stronger roofs and door locks, and cameras that might reduce drivers' blind spots. - The danger of blind spots: The area behind your vehicle can be a killing zone
Description: Every year, children are injured and killed because drivers (in some cases, parents) don't see them while backing up. According to KIDS AND CARS (www.kidsandcars.org), a nonprofit group that works to improve child safety around cars, at least 50 children are backed over every week in the U.S. Forty-eight are treated in hospital emergency rooms and at least 2 children die. There were 474 fatal backover accidents between 2001 and 2006, which represents almost half of all non-traffic fatalities that involved children. - STUDY: Crashes vs. Congestion - What's the Cost to Society? (AAA) [PDF]
Description: When American motorists talk about transportation problems, they generally key in on traffic. Snarled highways, epic commutes, and gridlocked business and commercial districts mar our suburban existence, weighing heavily upon our elected leaders, our policymakers, and our families. Yet there’s a more costly problem to be addressed on America’s roads: motor vehicle crashes. In 2006, traffic crashes killed 42,642 people in the United States – about 117 deaths per day, and nearly 5 every hour. Most Americans would be surprised to learn the societal costs associated with motor vehicle crashes significantly exceed the costs of congestion. AAA commissioned this study to examine the costs of crashes to society. The study, along with recommendations for improvements, is designed to raise awareness of the importance
of transportation investments, and provide policy-makers, departments of transportation, and the public with information on the magnitude of the safety problem. - TV: Anatomy of a Crash (Discovery Channel)
Description: Investigate real accidents and take an inside look at what happens at the moment of impact; discover the most common injury in a car accident and how it can be avoided. - DVD: Anatomy of a Car Crash
Description: William Haddon Jr. set the first federal safety standards for motor vehicles in the 1960s. His legacy continues today as specialists around the globe try to prevent car crashes and related injuries. - ARTICLE: Fewer Teenagers Behind the Wheel of a Car
Description: Car accidents account for one-third of all deaths of 16- to 18-year-olds, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. - ARTICLE: The Wrong-way Driving Accident Epidemic In Washington State
Description: There seems to be a sudden increase in wrong-way driving accidents occurring in the metro Seattle area. We decided to look into the matter to find out just how big of a problem wrong-way driving is in Washington State. What we discovered was somewhat surprising. - REPORT: Cell Phone Driving Laws
Description: Several states restrict cell phone use while driving automobiles. Many states have identified cell phone use by novice drivers as an emerging highway safety problem, the cause of many car accident and have thus restricted the practice. - NEWS: Driving while distracted: Safety campaign cites dangers
Description: The Network of Employers for Traffic Safety, a coalition of government and corporate members interested in reducing traffic accidents, estimates that one-quarter to one-half of the roughly 6 million crashes each year are caused by distracted drivers. - ARTICLE: Car Crashes in Seattle and The Elderly of Washington State
Description: While the conventional wisdom is that older drivers represent a substantial threat to other drivers, the truth of the matter may be that they represent a bigger threat to themselves. A new study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found drivers over the age of 65 are almost twice (1.78 times) as likely to die in car crashes as drivers age 55 to 64. - NEWS: Top 10 safety features to help avoid accidents and injuries in the future
Description: The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has implemented a standard making electronic stability control (ESC) equipment mandatory in all vehicles, estimating that the universal adoption of this technology by 2011 will save 10,000 lives a year. - NEWS: 7-car collision causes I-5 backups
Description: Troopers say it's another example of how dangerous it can be when drivers don't properly secure their loads. - ARTICLE: Allstate injury claim documents examined
Description: Allstate Insurance Co. rigged a computer program to produce artificially low values for injury claims, sent fraudulent information to state regulators to avoid scrutiny, and accepted lawsuits over its claims handling as a cost of doing business, an attorney for a Richmond woman argued yesterday in the first day of a $1.425 billion civil trial. - NEWS: Speed trap camera could be coming to a dangerous intersection near you
Description: Washington State lawmakers add speed cameras to dangerous intersections to help avoid car accidents and pedestrian collisions. - NEWS: Traffic Safety Groups Urge More Speed Trap Cameras To Help Reduce Car Accidents & Pedestrian Collisions
Description: The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has completed a study that indicates speed cameras are working to slow down motorists. - Car Accident Concussions
Description: Rosanne Naunheim, M.D. of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis discusses the damage created when having a concussion and a simple one page test that can be used for a quick diagnosis. - MEDICAL: Learn about whiplash
Description: Definition, description, causes, risk factors, symptoms, and treatment of whiplash injuries which are common to auto accident victims. - ARTICLE: Most people belive they are good drivers
Description: That's the picture that emerges from the most recent Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Report on Motoring in which a survey shows 78 per cent of motorists rate their own driving highly whilst few think others are very good behind the wheel. - NEWS: Global Road Safety Crisis - U.N August 2007
Description: Road traffic crashes are still near the top as a cause of human injuries and deaths - almost 1.2 million killed and millions injured. - REPORT: SUVs and pickups not good in U.S. 2006 crash stats
Description: The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report on traffic fatalities and estimates of injuries for 2006 shows some interesting trends. - ARTICLE: Seattle Car Crashes And Senior Drivers
Description: A new study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found drivers over the age of 65 are almost twice (1.78 times) as likely to die in car crashes as drivers age 55 to 64. - ARTICLES: Car Accidents And Eating While Driving
Description: They may not think it's safe, but most drivers responding to a new poll admit to keeping one eye and one hand on a meal while driving. Eating a meal turned out to be the most-common distracting activity drivers undertake. In fact, 65 percent of drivers stated they eat while driving, according to a PEMCO Insurance poll on driver distraction. - ARTICLE: Computing While Driving: A Car Accident Waiting To Happen
Description: According to an article in the New York Times, the switch from flying to driving is being pushed by business drivers who install wireless laptops and portable desks so they can get work done along the way. One computer-network engineer outfitted his car with mobile file storage, a portable desk, wireless laptop, and printer. - STUDY: Fatal Motor Vehicle Accidents of Child Passengers from Birth Through 4 Years of Age in Washington State
Description: During the decade beginning Jan 1, 1970 and ending Dec 31, 1979, approximately 39,500 child passengers aged 0 to 4 years were in motor vehicle accidents reported and investigated in the State of Washington; 148 (0.4%) of the children were killed outright or subsequently died. Of the 39,500 children, approximately 6,300, or 16%, were wearing some type of safety restraint and only two, or 1:3,150, were killed. On the other hand, 33,200 were not wearing restraints and 146, or 1:227, were killed. If these ratios are extrapolated, one might conclude that if all the children had been wearing restraints, there would have been 93% fewer deaths. A d etailed analysis was performed on 39 fatalities for the years 1977, 1978, and 1979. Fatal accidents involving young children in Washington State usually occurred under ordinary circumstances on dry roads at low speeds during daylight hours and were unrelated to alcohol usage. - STUDY: Children's Behavior During Automobile Rides: Do Car Seats Make a Difference?
Description: The behavior of children riding in automobiles with their mothers was assessed by having an observer accompany them on repeated 15-minute automobile rides. Children riding in car seats exhibited very high levels of appropriate or safe behavior, whereas children not riding in car seats exhibited very low levels of appropriate behavior. When car seats were introduced to those children who previously had not used them, the level of appropriate behavior improved dramatically. - REPORT: Teaching Car Passenger Safety to Preschool Children
Description: An educational curriculum entitled "Bucklebear" was designed to increase safety seat and seat belt use in young children enrolled in preschool programs (day care centers and nursery schools). - REPORT: Seat Belts in the Prevention of Automobile Injuries
Description: Report of the committee on accident prevention. - STUDY: Airbag-Induced Eye Injuries In Car Accidents
Description: he National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's National Accident Sampling System for the years 1984-1994 was accessed to identify automobile accidents that included airbag deployment and injury to the ocular region. - STUDY: Air bag injuries and occupant protection
Description: Analysis of the investigations of crashes involving automobiles equipped with air bags verifies the estimations of the lifesaving and injury reduction benefits of this supplemental restraint system. - STUDY: Upper Extremity Injuries Related to Airbag Deployments
Description: Details on airbag injuries to the upper extremity are relatively unknown to clinicians. The injuries presented here should provide a clear understanding of the mechanisms of forearm, hand, and wrist injuries that may be seen by emergency room physicians. - STUDY: Lower Extremity Injuries in Drivers of Airbag-Equipped Automobiles: Clinical and Crash Reconstruction Correlations
Description: To determine the relationship between airbags and lower extremity injuries, 10 drivers admitted to a level-I trauma center with substantial lower extremity trauma incurred in crashes involving airbag-equipped vehicles were studied in depth with regard to their injuries, the circumstances of the crashes, and the medical charges for the acute management of those injuries. - STUDY: Automobile crash simulation with the first pregnant crash test dummy.
- STUDY: WHIPS--Volvo's Whiplash Protection Study
Description: Whiplash associated disorders (WAD) resulting from rear end car impacts are an increasing problem. WAD are usually not life threatening, but are one of the most important injury categories with regard to long-term consequences. This paper is a review of Volvo's Whiplash Protection Study (WHIPS), which is the result of more than ten years of concentrated research efforts in the area of neck injuries in car collisions, with the focus on rear end car impacts. - STUDY: Acute Treatment of Whiplash Neck Sprain Injuries: A Randomized Trial of Treatment During the First 14 Days After a Car Accident.
Description: To study the long-term consequences of whiplash neck sprain injuries in patients treated with two different regimes during the first 14 days after the car accident. - STUDY: Pain after whiplash: a prospective controlled inception cohort study
Description: Initial pain was reported by 47% of accident victims; 10% had neck pain alone, 18% had neck pain together with headache, and 19% had headache alone. The median duration of the initial neck pain was 3 days and maximal duration 17 days. The median duration of headache was 4.5 hours and the maximum duration was 20 days. After 1 year, there were no significant differences between the accident victims and the control group concerning frequency and intensity of these symptoms. - STUDY: Simulation of Whiplash Trauma Using Whole Cervical Spine Specimens
Description: Whiplash trauma has been simulated in biomechanical experiments using volunteers, whole body cadavers, animals, anthropometric dummies, and mathematic models. - STUDY: Early mobilization of acute whiplash injuries.
Description: Acute whiplash injuries are a common cause of soft tissue trauma for which the standard treatment is rest and initial immobilisation with a soft cervical collar. - STUDY: Mechanism of whiplash injury.
Description: To propose a different hypothesis of whiplash injury mechanism based on a series of experimental studies summarized in this communication. - STUDY: Do "whiplash injuries" occur in low-speed rear impacts?
Description: A study was conducted to find out whether in a rear-impact motor vehicle accident, velocity changes in the impact vehicle of between 10 and 15 km/h can cause so-called "whiplash injuries". - STUDY: Presenting symptoms and signs after whiplash injury
Description: Objective: To assess the relationship between accident mechanisms and initial findings after whiplash injury. - STUDY: Outcome of 'whiplash' neck injury.
Description: Psychological factors have been alleged to be important in the course and outcome of 'whiplash' neck injury but there is little quantitative evidence. - ARTICLE: Things to learn about Hiring an Expert Vehicle Rollover Lawyer
Description: SUV fatalities have already risen to an alarming rate of 11 percent in 2003 to 4,451 people. This is threatening to the public since many families use this type of vehicle. SUVs have accounted for 25 percent of vehicle sales in 2004 reaching over 22 million. - ARTICLE: What Is The Most Important Car Safety Feature When It Comes To Reducing The Chances Of Whiplash?
Description: When used correctly, the back of the headrest should be as close to the back of the head as possible and either level with or above the top of the head. The few seconds it takes to adjust a head rest could save the driver weeks or months of discomfort, pain and inconvenience. In fact, the report suggests that taking this precaution could prevent over 125,000 whiplash injuries per year. - ARTICLE: How to Manage an Automobile Accident Claim with Your Attorney
Description: It is an unfortunate experience being involved in a road catastrophe especially if you were injured due to somebody’s negligence or misdemeanor. However, the actual filing of an automobile accident claim may be more difficult if you do not fully understand your rights and privileges as an injured victim. Thus, this article aims to explain briefly the things that you should know if you wish to bring a lawsuit in court. - ARTICLE: You've been involved in an accident and you have been injured. Now What?
Description: Here's an easy-to-follow guide to help answer some of those questions and assist you in getting through this difficult time. - ARTICLE: Important Matters Affecting Auto Collision Liability
Description: Automobile collisions usually result in cases filed in court but they actually differ when it comes in the determination of liability. Commonly, even small personal injury claim cases may take a long time to resolve due to various issues that are needed to discuss first. - ARTICLE: Airbags Can Save Lives in Washington State Car Accidents
Description: During the 1950s, the airbag was developed in order to increase safety and lessen the harmful outcome of automobile accident injuries. Since the creation of the airbag, there have been many studies that suggest fatality rates are reduced by nearly half in those that have vehicles with built-in airbags. - ARTICLE: Personal Injury Insurance Claim
Description: In America personal injury protection is now a required form of insurance cover in many states although the amount does vary depending where you are in the USA. - ARTICLE: Understanding the Features of Your Car Insurance
Description: Most of the people tend to believe that in the process of buying a car, choosing its insurance coverage is as simple as finding the right car. The fact is that car insurance can actually be pretty complicated. - ARTICLE: Practical Tips for Victims of Serious Accidents
Description: If you have been severely injured in whatever type of accident, it is but significant that you know what course of action to take at the very start. Doing this, you could avoid encountering more serious implications during the days following your accident or worse, avoid being unable to file an accident injury claim against those at fault and liable for your injuries and recover damages. - ARTICLE: To claim or not to claim
Description: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), a total of 42,642 deaths and 2.575 million injuries resulted from car crashes in 2006. - ARTICLE: Parking Lot Accident - Fault, Negligence and Other Issues
Description: Most parking lots in America are considered private property, and most of the accidents are low speed impacts. This means that "usually" there will not be people making bodily injury claims, at least not at the scene. The combination of the two allows the police decline your call for help. It is very likely that the police will not respond to document the damages. - ARTICLE: Do not wait long – Hire a Seattle Personal Injury Trial Attorney Right Away!
Description: Have you sustained injuries through another's wrongful act or negligence? If you did then it is justifiable for you to file for claims so that the damages on you and your property can be compensated, at least. - ARTICLE: Collect Witness Statements to Strengthen Your Car Accident Injury Claim
Description: The success of your injury claim may end up relying on witness statements. - ARTICLE: Healing From Car Accidents
Description: No matter how much you try to drive carefully and responsibly, you'll never know when accidents can happen. Car accidents are very traumatic and can leave crash survivors in shock or full of guilt, fear, nervousness, or anger. All these emotions are normal reactions to the situation. - NEWS: Allstate gives documents to regulator
Description: McKinsey produced about 13,000 pages of documents for Allstate in the 1990s as it developed methods for the insurer to become more profitable by paying less in claims. - NEWS: Lawmakers putting brakes on dialing while driving
Description: Although the data remains sparse, experts say most phone-related crashes occur during conversation, not while dialing, which would suggest hands-free headsets are not particularly effective. - ARTICLE: The Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Description: A short listing and explanation of the common causes of truck accidents. - ARTICLE: Crashworthiness: A Legal Doctrine
Description: Although there are many outside factors in a car accident, one factor that is often downplayed is the crashworthiness of the car. This refers to the car manufacturer and if the car was made to withstand an accident or not. A car that cannot endure impact from an accident can be the cause of injury to the passengers in the car. - ARTICLE: School Bus Accidents Can Be Prevented by Safety Training and Parking Lot Design
Description: At fault was the school district for failing to provide a parking lot with visibly designated markings; failing to provide appropriate cross walks; and failing to provide a school safety plan for bus arrivals and departures - ARTICLE: Ten Things To Do Following An Automobile Accident
Description: After a car accident. - ARTICLE: What To Do Right After An Automobile Accident
Description: Have you been injured in a road or traffic accident? Whether the injuries you sustained are serious or not, it is still best to know what you should do right after such incidents. - ARTICLE: Washington State's new emphasis to stop drunken driving
Description: Under a program dubbed X-52, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission will funnel $450,000 in federal money to law enforcement agencies around the state to help pay for extra drunk driving patrols. - GUIDE: A consumer's guide to buying auto insurance [PDF]
Description: Your insurance policy is a contract between you and your insurance company. It spells out exactly what the company agrees to do in exchange for the premium that you pay. This auto insurance guide can help you understand your policy. Published by: Washington State Office of the Insurance Commisioner - GUIDE: 2006 Private Passenger Auto Insurance Company Complaints
Description: The insurance company consumer complaint comparison guide provides you with helpful information to assess your insurance company and compare it against other companies. The consumer complaint index measures the number of consumer complaints for one company in relation to other companies in the same market. Published by: Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner - GUIDE: Personal Injury Protection Insurance
Description: The law does not require you to have PIP coverage, but your insurance company must offer it to you. Learn more in this guide published by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner - LAW: Washington State Mandatory Auto Insurance Law [PDF]
Description: The law requires anyone driving a motor vehicle in our state to have an insurance liability policy, a certificate of deposit, or a liability bond to the required limits. This guide explains. Published by the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. - RADIO: Moms Discuss Teen Driving Safety
Description: A recent rash of fatal car accidents involving teen drivers in the Washington, D.C., area has refocused attention on safety for young drivers. NPR, November 27, 2007. - FREE REPORT: How To Determine The Value Of A Personal Injury Case [PDF]
Description: There is no magic formula or process by which someone can predict with certainty the amount of money that a personal injury case may be worth. If there were, then society wouldn’t have a need for insurance adjustors, personal injury lawyers, etc. One could simply apply the “formula” to come up with the value of a case. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Insurance companies and injured persons rarely agree on a figure. This report will give you some idea of the factors involved in determining the value of a case. - FREE REPORT: Injury Case Roadmap - The Legal Process For Personal Injury Cases [PDF]
Description: More and more insurance companies are taking a very aggressive stance in settling accident claims. Certain carriers have a reputation for making unreasonably low settlement offers, even if the injuries are severe. It may (in some cases it is not) be advantageous to file a lawsuit immediately. Once a lawsuit is filed, the court will set certain milestones and deadlines. This report will help you understand this process. - FREE REPORTS: Insurance Industry Settlement Tactics - How To Navigate The Injury Accident Claim War Zone On Your Own [PDF]
Description: Did you know that the day you were injured you entered a war zone with the insurance industry? Over the past 30+ years, the insurance industry has spent billions of dollars on advertising to spread false and misleading information about accident claims. The industry wants people to believe that the justice system is out of control and that people who file lawsuits are getting millions of dollars for minor injuries. This report tells you the truth. - FREE REPORT: Looking For A Lawyer - How To Choose The Right Attorney For Your Accident Case [PDF]
Description: How on earth does someone who has never had to hire an attorney wade through all of these ads and find a qualified personal injury attorney, let alone someone that is good?? Finding a good personal injury attorney can be challenging, but not impossible. This report contains some guidelines, which if followed, should make your search easier and also relieve some anxiety. - FREE: Looking For A Lawyer - The Truth About Attorney Finder Websites and Directories [PDF]
Description: Are you looking for a lawyer? Using the internet to find one? Beware of websites that say they will help you locate, evaluate, and choose a lawyer. These sites are not always what they appear to be. They are not a public service. More often than not these sites are simply paid advertising spots. - FREE REPORT: Mandatory Arbitration - The Alternative To Trial [PDF]
Description: In Washington, most of the superior courts have adopted a program known as “mandatory arbitration.” Arbitration is another way to resolve a case instead
of going to trial. Read this report to learn more. - FREE REPORT: My Attorney - What A Personal Injury Lawyer Can Do For You [PDF]
Description: I can’t speak for every personal injury attorney, but I can tell you what I do for my own clients in any given case. This report offers you a list and description of what I believe to be the "standard of legal care" in a personal injury case. - FREE REPORTS: Tough Questions - Questions the Insurance Adjustors Don't Want You To Ask [PDF]
Description: Most insurance adjustors are highly trained adversaries, although most people would never think this, at least not in the beginning of the claims process. Now, most people understand that the insurance company’s job is to make money and that one way it does this is by settling claims for less than the claim is worth. Yet, most people are unaware of how sophisticated, yet simple, the methods the carrier will utilize to help it accomplish this goal. Here are some questions that often will make the insurance company squirm. No, the carrier doesn’t like it when you ask these questions because it either cannot answer the question or worse, the answer is one they do not like to hear. - NEWS: Younger Ages Cited in Kitsap's 2007 Traffic Fatality Statistics
Description: Nineteen people have died in traffic-related accidents this year on the roads of Kitsap County, according to records compiled by MADD and the Kitsap Sun. But of those deaths, 42 percent of them involved residents aged 26 and younger, and 63 percent involved people 38 and younger. - NEWS: Lesson in physics convinces woman to always buckle up
Description: The No. 1 contributing cause of automobile deaths was and still is the deadly head-on collision. When two cars traveling 45 miles an hour are involved in a head-on collision, their total speed at impact is equal to 90 miles per hour. The victim is either thrown through the windshield or free of the car and killed instantly when the automobile crushes him. - FREE REPORT - Buyer Beware - Things To Know About Insurance In Washington State [PDF]
Description: The Minimum Insurance Requirements for Washington State
Many states have laws that require motorists to purchase a minimum amount of automobile liability insurance. In Washington State, a motorist must purchase a liability policy with minimum coverage of at least... - FREE REPORT - Buyer Beware - What You Need To Know About Lawyer Advertising [PDF]
Description: You need to know a few things about lawyer advertising. For example, if you look through the yellow pages you’ll see that the ads placed by attorneys all say essentially the same thing. Very few of them actually give good useful information to make it easier for you to choose a good lawyer for your case. - FREE REPORT - Common Insurance Industry Arguments [PDF]
Description: If you have been injured in a car accident insurance companies may try to defeat or diminish the value of your claim with a laundry list of arguments. Here are just a few. - FREE REPORT - Do You Really Need An Attorney To Help You Handle Your Accident Case [PDF]
Description: You definitely do NOT need an attorney for every small accident case. What is a small accident case? - FREE REPORT - Dos And Donts Checklist - Talking With An Insurance Adjustor [PDF]
Description: If you have been in a car accident you will be interviewed by both an adjuster from your own insurance company and by an adjuster from the other party’s insurance company. Both adjusters are trying to minimize the amount of money that their company will pay. Follow this tip sheet to make sure you do not jeopardize your personal injury claim during these phone interviews. - NEWS: Wrong-way crashes on the rise
Description: Between 1/12/07 and 1/13/08 the State Patrol received 23 reports of wrong-way drivers in King County. The number of wrong-way driving fatalities in the Puget Sound area and the Cascade Mountains is at least eight in the last year. - NEWS: Older, dangerous drivers a growing problem
Description: Fatality rates for drivers begin to climb after age 65, according to a recent study by Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, based on data from 1999-2004. From ages 75 to 84, the rate of about three deaths per 100 million miles driven is equal to the death rate of teenage drivers. For drivers 85 and older, the fatality rate skyrockets to nearly four times higher than that for teens. - ARTICLE: General Motors Announces New Rollover Crash Test
Description: General Motors has announced the opening of a new and improved crash test facility, which will offer simulated rollover tests to help enhance consumer safety. Every year in the United States, 10,800 people are killed in rollover crashes and over 16,000 people are seriously injured. - NEWS: Texting while driving now illegal
Description: On Jan. 1, sending a text message while behind the wheel could incur a fine of up to $101. According to a new Washington state law aimed at curbing road fatalities, any driver pulled over for a traffic violation and subsequently caught sending, writing or reading a cell phone text message is punishable. Officers will also have the right to confiscate a driver’s phone. - NEWS: Family seeks help for deadly road
Description: The two-mile-plus stretch of two-lane road is a curvy roller coaster ride, the kind gobbled up by sports cars on a summer day. There are no street lights. - ARTICLE: Safety Most Important In Teen's First Car
Description: Getting that driver's license signifies freedom, but it also signifies new responsibilities. Most teen drivers take this responsibility seriously, but their driving inexperience makes them the age group with the highest crash risk of any age group for traffic fatalities. - STATS: Car Accident Statistics
Description: According to the car accident statistics released by the United States Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were almost 43,000 deaths in 2002 because of car accidents. The car accident fatalities for the year 2003 stand at 42,643. - ARTICLE: Seat Belt Injuries Could Signal More Serious Trauma In Children
Description: Ill-fitting seatbelts raise the risk of serious injury to children involved in car accidents. And seat belt injuries should alert physicians to look for signs of more serious consequences, particularly spinal cord injury, which is not always immediately apparent. - NEWS: More states prohibit chatting and driving
Description: States are expected to pursue distraction laws in 2008, with a particular focus on inexperienced drivers. - NEWS: Drivers on Cellphones Said to Impede Commuters
Description: Drivers talking on cellphones are probably making your commute longer, a new study concludes. - NEWS: New law fines those who send text messages while driving
Description: Under a new law that takes effect January 1, 2008, drivers who read and compose text messages could face a $124 ticket. If texting while driving leads to a car accident, the ticket could increase to $175. - NEWS: Road Rant
Description: Seattle drivers are some of the most civil in the country, according to a survey on road rage released earlier this year. - BULLETIN BOARD: Road Rant
Description: What driving habit bugs you the most? Tailgating? Driving too slow? Not signaling? Improper merging? Join the conversation on the Seattle Times bulletin board. - NEWS: Companies start clamping down on employees' in-car cell phone use
Description: Costs of lawsuits, insurance claims have caused some corporations to prohibit workers from driving distracted - NEWS: Cell phones and car accidents: A danger on the road
Description: Using a cell phone while driving is convenient, but it's not worth the risk of an accident. Motorists caused approximately 700 accidents while using cell phones last year in Washington state. Numerous studies from insurance companies and transportation authorities also continue to prove that cell-phone use increases the probability of a car accident. - NEWS: Road Texting: A Car Accident Waiting to Happen
Description: The risk of getting into an auto accident while reading or writing text messages is 50 percent higher than talking on a phone while driving, according to new research. Psychologists at the University of Utah say their research supports what most consider common sense: that writing and reading text messages while driving a car increases the likelihood of an accident. Specifically, they say texting behind the wheel is 50 percent more dangerous than talking on a cell phone while driving. In another study, 9 out of 10 Americans think road texting should be outlawed. - NEWS: From laptops to sex, drivers have more distractions
Description: In Washington, troopers are seeing more people commit traffic violations because they were distracted by their dashboard global navigation systems or laptops in the front seat. - NEWS: Calls are growing for cell phone laws in cars
Description: For the past six years, Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Auburn, has been trying to pass a bill in Washington against hand-held cell phone driving, which would make ours the third state to do so. - NEWS: PDA blamed for chain-reaction pileup
Description: A driver whose eyes were fixed on his BlackBerry slammed his Dodge van into a car stopped in traffic in the express lanes of Interstate 5 near the Ship Canal Bridge, police say. That crash set off a five-vehicle pileup that included a Community Transit bus with 28 people aboard, slightly injured a baby boy and snarled the morning commute. - NEWS: Bill curbing car phone use advances in state Senate
Description: Chatty drivers using one hand to hold their phone had better not speed or break any other traffic laws if one state lawmaker's crusade against distracted drivers makes it into law this year. - ARTICLE: Traction Tires / Traffic Lights / Street Lights
Description: During winter months, the state Department of Transportation and State Patrol often issue traffic alerts for traction tires advised or required, or for tire chains required, for crossing mountain passes. But what, specifically, is a traction tire? Can those left-turn arrows be programmed to change to yellow blinking arrows during times when traffic is light? - ARTICLE: What are traction tires?
Description: Learn the difference between stud alternative, studded, allseason, and performance tires. - ARTICLE: WSDOT Safe Winter Driving Tips [PDF]
Description: Before leaving home, find out about the driving conditions and prepare your vehicle. Safe drivers know the weather, and they know thier limits. - NEWS: Insurance tests show cars have become far more fragile
Description: A series of crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety this year has shown just how badly new cars are performing in what should be minor fender benders. - REPORT: Top Automobile Safety Picks 2008
Description: The Institute rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal, or poor based on performance in high-speed front and side crash tests plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. The first requirement for a vehicle to become a Top Safety Pick is to earn good ratings in all three Institute tests. Another requirement is that winning vehicles must offer electronic stability control. This requirement is based on Institute research indicating that ESC significantly reduces crash risk, especially the risk of fatal single-vehicle crashes, by helping drivers maintain control of their vehicles during emergency maneuvers. - STUDY: HTSA Completes 2008 Rollover and Crash Tests for Vans and Pickup Trucks
Description: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today announced the 2008 model year rollover ratings and crash test results for vans and pickup trucks. Top scorers in the safety tests include seven vans and 15 pickup trucks. - NEWS: NHTSA Policy and FAQs on Cellular Phone Use While Driving
Description: The primary responsibility of the driver is to operate a motor vehicle safely. The task of driving requires full attention and focus. Cell phone use can distract drivers from this task, risking harm to themselves and others. Therefore, the safest course of action is to refrain from using a cell phone while driving. - ARTICLE: Sleep Deprivation and Traffic Accidents
Description: In 1998, 24,318 deaths were cited from accidents related to sleep deprivation in the US. There were as well 2, 474,430 disabling injuries resulting from accidents where decreased mental efficiency and attentiveness due to sleep loss was the major causative factor. - NEWS: Liability in Bus Accidents
Description: Buses are generally thought to be a safe method of travel; after all, they are significantly larger than other vehicles on the road and many buses do not even come equipped with seat belts. A study by the National Bus Safety Council between the years 1987 and 1996 found 4.3 bus rider fatalities per year compared to 44,000 passenger vehicle fatalities over the same time frame. However, buses are involved in an alarming number of crashes, many of which prove fatal. - ARTICLE: Tips For Getting The Best Car Insurance Rate
Description: Auto insurance is always a must and it is a law in every state. Not only is it required by law, it's just a good piece of mind knowing that you, your loved ones and the other driver are insured when you are out on the road. - NEWS: No Win No Fee - Accident Claims
Description: Have you recently or the last 3 years been in an accident that wasn't your fault and you have suffered as part of this accident. If so you have a legal and civil right to claim compensation for your suffering from the other party. - NEWS: Grant will fund gate at deadly railroad crossing in Mabton
Description: Grant will fund gate at deadly railroad crossing in Mabton
By ROD ANTONE, YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC, November 28, 2007 - ARTICLE: Tips to effectively battle your insurance company
Description: CNN offers tips to effectively battle your insurance company after a car accident or personal injury. - STUDY: SR 99 North Corridor Study - Information About Accidents
Description: WSDOT typically ranks accident locations and corridors by collision cost/per mile/per year when prioritizing projects for safety improvements. The latest statistics on SR-99 in Seattle - REPORT: 2005 Annual Washington State Highway Collision Data Summary [PDF]
Description: The Motor Vehicle Laws of the state of Washington require that a standard Traffic Accident Report form must be submitted when an injury or death occurs to any person, or damage to the property of any person to an apparent extent of seven hundred dollars or more. If a collision is not investigated and reported by an officer, the operators of any involved vehicles must submit their own independent Traffic Accident Report (as stated in RCW 46.52.030 and WAC 446-85-010).
This report covers collisions on all State Highways in Washington State for the year 2005. Tables and charts will be used to show frequency and rate of collisions, multi-year trends, collision types, contributing circumstances and other factors.
Wrongful Death & Fatal Accidents:
- NEWS: Disturbing truth on wrongful-death bill
Description: The pain and loss families suffer when a loved one dies is tragic and real. Whether a loved one dies in an accident or after a long illness, nothing can fill the empty hole left in our lives. - ARTICLE: Parents sue college, frat for alcohol death
Description: The parents of a Rider University student who died after a suspected hazing incident last spring sued the school Friday, claiming it didn't adequately supervise the fraternity house where excessive drinking occurred. - ARTICLE: How Personal Injury Attorneys & Serious Injury Lawyers Present Damages in Catastrophic Injury Cases
Description: Personal injury lawyers commonly are consulted by a potential client who has been seriously injured or who has suffered catastrophic injuries as the result of the breadth of negligent conduct, from an auto accident or bicycle or pedestrian or motorcycle accident to medical malpractice, a product defect, food poisoning, or a defect or failure to maintain commercial or residential premises. - ARTICLE: Significant Factors in Establishing Wrongful Death Claim in Washington State
Description: If your loved one has been killed because of an accident that resulted from another individual or a company's negligence, carelessness, inaction, malpractice or liability, such tragic loss may be considered as a "wrongful death." - ARTICLE: Significant Aspects to Remember in Wrongful Death Cases in Seattle and Washington State
Description: If you happen to be a parent, child, spouse, partner or even just an estate representative of a person who was killed as a result of an accident caused by negligence or wrongful act of another person, you can be authorized to file a wrongful death lawsuit. - FREE REPORT: Understanding Wrongful Death In Washington State [PDF]
Description: The death of a person that is caused by the conduct of another party may give rise to a “wrongful death” claim. A wrongful death is one where a person dies due to the unlawful conduct of another person or entity. The unlawful conduct can be intentional (e.g., assault or murder) or unintentional (i.e. negligent or mistake). Not only can an individual person be responsible for causing a wrongful death, but so can a corporation or governmental entity can as well. When a wrongful death occurs, the law permits the surviving
relatives of the deceased to recover certain types of damages against the responsible party. Read this report to learn more. - FACTS & FIGURES: Death and mortality statistics for Accidental injury
Description: Death statistics for accidental injury: These are statistics from various sources about deaths and Accidental injury. - ARTICLE: Judge awards $10 million in wrongful death suit
Description: Judge ruled that faather is entitled to $10 million in damages as the result of the wrongful death of his 15-year-old son. - ARTICLE: Wrongful Death suit seeks $3 M after tractor-trailer collision
Description: The family of a Sara Lee Bakery Group employee is seeking more than $3 million after a tractor-trailer collision led to fatal injuries. - ARTICLE: Family awarded millions in wrongful death lawsuit
Description: The family of a beloved coach killed in a bizarre bus accident will receive a minimum of $4.4 million after a civil verdict. - ARTICLE: Wrongful death of 9-year-old with peanut allergy
Description: A 9-year-old boy went on a field trip with his third-grade classmates. Though the school had been notified that the boy was allergic to peanuts, he was given a sack lunch that included peanut products. He died later that day. Attorneys for the boy's family informed the district that they intended to file a wrongful-death claim. - ARTICLE: Family sues driver, firm in cyclist wrongful death
Description: The family of a bicyclist who was struck and killed by a dump truck on Seattle's Eastlake Avenue East in September has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the truck driver and the Woodinville-based construction company that employed him. - ARTICLE: Widow battles to unseal secrets over blast that killed her husband
Description: A man went to work one night eight years ago and never came home again. He was killed by a chemical-plant explosion triggered by a defective pipe that was supposed to be inspected but never was.
Serious Accidents & Catastrophic Injuries:
- Fireworks Accident and Injury Statistics
Description: It is hard to imagine the Fourth of July without fireworks. More people ignite simple or homemade fireworks each year than attend large-scale fireworks displays. But simple fireworks such as bottle rockets and sparklers are the most dangerous manufactured explosives. And M80 and M100 cherry bombs the most dangerous type of fireworks.
Insurance Coverage Disputes & Bad Faith Claims:
- 'Chameleon-Like' Insurance Firm Accused Of Fraud
Description: United Services Automobile Association, one of the nation's largest insurance companies, has for years argued on both sides of the fence about whether suits against it for non-payment of claims should be argued in state or federal court.
In more than 170 instances throughout the United States, the Texas-based company has convinced both federal and state judges that it was being sued in the wrong court, failing to reveal that it had argued the other way in other cases, frequently simultaneously. - ARTICLE: Crash victim beats the odds in high court
Description: A Seattle woman's 10-year battle for justice was rewarded yesterday by the state's highest court, which ruled she deserves a chance to prove that her insurance company was wrong to deny her benefits in connection with a car accident that wasn't her fault. - EDITORIAL: Insurers must honor their commitment
Description: Will your insurance company be there when you need it most? That's what you assume when you buy insurance. You pay a premium so that when something goes wrong, your insurance company will pay for your covered losses. Unfortunately, that is not happening in Washington state. Our system is broken. - ARTICLE: Insurer wants to silence 2 ex-staffers
Description: Farmers Insurance has asked a state court to silence two of its former employees who say a new computer program being used throughout the industry places unfairly low values on its personal-injury claims. - ARTICLE: Policyholders beware, insurance critics warn
Description: There is no way the public can know how many property claims are denied in this way. An insurance company's anti-fraud plans and activities, although reported to the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, are proprietary and cannot be discovered through civil litigation. - ARTICLE: Ten Things About Your Insurance That Your Insurance Company
Description: The average American spends thousands of dollars per year of insurance. Homeowners, automobile, medical, life, business, disability, umbrella and other coverages. Because most of us never suffer the large losses that everyone worries about, people have very little experience in dealing with insurance companies on large claims. Those that do are often in for a bit of a shock. Delay, the use of complex policy language to deny claims, and substantial underestimating of losses by carriers are common. Many people don't realize that insurance companies, like banks, earn their profits from investments, stocks, bonds, venture capital and real estate. The profitability of a company depends on how much money they have available to invest. If a company owes X million to all claimants at a given point in time, it can save 8% or more of that per year in investment profits by merely engaging in delay. It can save another 30 to 40% by engaging in lowballing. Another 20 to 30% can be saved by wrongful claim denials on confusing policy language. - ARTICLE: Bad Faith Claim Practices Defined
Description: The Insurance Industry has lobbied over the years to see that there is no federal agency which oversees the insurance industry, essentially leaving no federal law or enforcement to protect Insureds against Unfair Insurance Claims Practices. Currently this authority lays at the state level only. - ARTICLE: Good faith insurance bill passes House
Description: The Minnesota House Thursday okayed a measure that would make it easier for homeowners and motorists to sue their insurance companies over unpaid claims. - TV: Did Insurance Company Cheat Disabled Clients? (60 Minutes, CBS)
Description: A number of people who worked at UnumProvident, the giant of the disability insurance business, whose clients include CBS, told us that the company’s management puts tremendous pressure on claims handlers to deny new claims and shut down existing ones. And that many UnumProvident policy holders- who are obviously disabled – are left out in the cold. - NEWS: Like A Good Neighbor..."? - Dateline NBC Conducts Its Own Review Of State Farm Insurance
Description: Dateline investigates State Farm Insurance Company and its little-known practice of "paper review." In a paper review, State Farm employees review a patient's medical records rather than actually examining the patient. The Dateline crew discovered that some State Farm employees use this practice to manipulate the system. For example, the crew found that some employees "secretly orchestrated the supposedly independent medical results, helping author reports and dictating changes to medical opinions that led to lower recommended payments for medical claims." - NAIC Cites Top Insurance Complaints for 2007
Description: According to data released by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the top three reasons consumers filed formal complaints against their insurance companies in 2007 were delays, denials of claims and unsatisfactory settlement offers. Policy cancellations and premium/insurance rating issues completed the top five. - REPORT: Worst And Best Insurers For Non-Payment of Claims
Description: Worst And Best Insurers For Non-Payment of Claims - REPORT: Bad Faith and Excess Liability -- Insurer Conduct on Trial
Description: It is a general rule that every contract implies the exercise of good faith and fair dealing between the parties to the contract -- that neither party will do anything that impairs the right of the other to receive the benefits of the agreement. - ARTICLE: Insurers dropping millions to stop R-67
Description: Like an intrusive neighbor, State Farm is there. The insurance giant has kicked in $1.608 million to the anti-67 effort. Farmers Insurance is out to get state law back to where it belongs. It's put up $1.524 million. - ARTICLE: Insurance commissioner rejects claims on R-67
Description: The state's top elected industry watchdog, Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler, is baring his teeth and pushing back against a heavily financed campaign to overturn new insurance regulations. - ARTICLE: R-67 mailing 'felt like a threat'
Description: State Farm letter on insurance measure angers some customers - ARTICLE: Referendum 67: Protect consumers
Description: Simply put, the law would provide consumers with much-needed protection against bad actors in the industry - ARTICLE: Insurance giants not supporting Ref. 67
Description: The state's two largest insurance companies say they won't join their industry colleagues in financing a proposed ballot measure to repeal a new insurance law. - ARTICLE: The crash of the insurance companies
Description: A flood of cash from the insurance companies was not enough to sink Referendum 67. Judges will now have the power to award triple damages to people who sue their insurance carriers and win. - LINK: Approve 67
Description: Referendum 67 helps to ensure that the insurance industry honor their commitments to treat all policyholders honestly by making it against the law to unreasonably delay or deny legitimate claims. - NEWS: Insurers keep us spinning
Description: Insurers are spending record amounts against Referendum 67. That's a vote Tuesday on a law passed by the Legislature that would increase penalties when legitimate claims are denied or delayed.
Pedestrian l Crosswalk Collisions & Bicycle Accidents:
- National Pedestrian Crash Report [PDF]
Description: The purpose of this technical report is to analyze the latest trends in pedestrian fatalities and police-reported motor vehicle crashes involving a pedestrian in the United States since 1997. - Traffic Safety Report Bicyclists and Other Cyclists, 2006 [PDF]
Description: Bicyclists and other cyclists include riders of two-wheel nonmotorized vehicles, tricycles, and unicycles powered solely by pedals. Throughout the remainder of this fact sheet the term pedalcyclists will be used to identify these cyclists. The first automobile crash in the United States occurred in New York City in 1896, when a motor vehicle collided with a pedalcycle rider (Famous First Facts, by Joseph Kane). More than 51,000 pedalcyclists have died in traffic crashes in the United States since 1932 — the first year in which estimates of pedalcyclist fatalities were recorded. The 350 pedalcyclists killed in 1932 accounted for 1.3 percent of the 27,979 persons who died in traffic crashes that year. - Car-pedestrian accidents: When are they a crime?
Description: How can it be that a motorist can hit a pedestrian in a crosswalk and not be taken into custody? - SUV backover deaths: What can be done?
Description: More than 2,400 children are backed-up over every year in the United States. Of those, about 100 are killed. In most cases, those children are run over by a parent or other relative. - ARTICLE: Ways to Improve Settlement in a Pedestrian Accident Claim
Description: Pedes
