A Washington State Patrol trooper was hospitalized with serious injuries after a suspected drunk driver on the Interstate 5 in SeaTac, crossed over several lanes of traffic and slammed into the back of the patrol car. According to KOMO news, officials received several reports of a possible drunk driver in a 1989 Toyota Corolla going south on the 5 Freeway in the SeaTac area. The trooper had apparently pulled over to the right shoulder of the freeway near 188th Street, in order to locate the vehicle, when the speeding Toyota crossed multiple lanes and crashed into the back of the marked patrol car.
The impact of the crash pushed the Corolla back on to the roadway where it was struck by a 2009 Mitsubishi Lancer. The trooper sustained serious, but not life-threatening, injuries. The 44-year-old driver of the Corolla was arrested on suspicion of DUI and driving on a suspended license. He also has a prior DUI conviction, according to officials.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious crime in Washington State. According to the Revised Code of Washington Section 46.61.502, driving under the influence is when “a person is guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug if the person drives a vehicle within the state.” It is also illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, please contact the skilled Seattle personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful educational information that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.komonews.com/news/local/79164637.html
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Window Covering Safety Council have announced a massive defective product recall for over 50 million Roman shades and roll-up blinds whose exposed cords can pose a serious strangulation hazard for young children. According to a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, more than 200 infants and young children have died from such accidental strangulation in window cords since 1990. This product defect recall involves all window coverings that can form a loop and cause strangulation. These window coverings were sold at some of the nation’s largest retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, IKEA and Pottery Barn.
Parents and caregivers are being cautioned about these window cord hazards and urged to use only cordless window products in homes with young children. These exposed cords have not only caused fatalities but also near-strangulations that have led to permanent, irreversible brain damage. In strangulation cases, brain injury can occur when oxygen to the brain is cut off.
Parents and caregivers must get rid of these corded blinds and shades to protect young children. If you still have these defective products at home, please make sure that you always move all cribs, beds and furniture away from windows and window cords. Keep all pull cords and inner lift cords out of the reach of children. Lock cords into position whenever horizontal blinds or shades are lowered.
If your child has suffered as a result of these or other recalled products, please contact a skilled Seattle personal injury attorney with The Bernard Law Group for a FREE, comprehensive and completely confidential consultation. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington product defect cases, which has useful, educational information that will help you understand your rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/12/blinds_recall.html
Two drivers sustained critical injuries in a King County car accident, after a suspected drunk driver going east on the Interstate 90, crossed the center median and crashed head-on into a westbound vehicle, near Preston. According to the News Tribune, a state trooper who was going eastbound on the highway saw a 2001 Acura RL drive up over the dirt median and cross over to the westbound lanes. After avoiding a collision with a big rig, the Acura crashed head-on into a 2006 Honda Civic. Both drivers were transported to a Seattle hospital. The driver of the Acura, a 53-year-old man, apparently has a prior DUI conviction and will face charges as a result of this major injury car accident.
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious crime in Washington State. According to the Revised Code of Washington Section 46.61.502, driving under the influence is when “a person is guilty of driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug if the person drives a vehicle within the state.” It is also illegal to drive with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher.
Drunk drivers who cause fatalities may also face vehicular homicide charges. In addition to facing serious criminal charges, drunk drivers could also be held civilly responsible for their actions. Victims of alcohol-related accidents may seek compensation to cover medical expenses, loss of wages, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, therapy and other related expenses.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful educational information that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/996236.html
A 26-year-old man was fatally injured in a pedestrian accident in Marysville after he was struck by a suspected drunk driver, The Seattle Times reports. The fatal pedestrian accident occurred in the 10400 block of Smokey Point Boulevard. The pedestrian was walking along the street when he was struck. Passers by attempted to administer CPR to the victim, but paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene. The 34-year-old driver was arrested on suspicion of vehicular homicide.
When the act of drunk driving causes a fatality to an individual other than the driver, the intoxicated driver could face vehicular homicide charges, under Washington law. The Revised Code of Washington Section 46.61.520 states: “When the death of any person ensues within three years as a proximate result of injury proximately caused by the driving of any vehicle by any person, the driver is guilty of vehicular homicide if the driver was operating a motor vehicle: (a) While under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug, as defined by RCW 46.61.502 or (b) In a reckless manner; or (c) With disregard for the safety of others.”
If you are the victim of a drunk or negligent driver or if you have lost someone as a result of such negligence, please understand that you have rights. You may be able to file a personal injury claim or a wrongful death claim against the at-fault party. You could seek compensation to cover medical expenses or funeral expenses, loss of wages, cost of hospitalization, physical therapy or long-term care if the accident resulted in catastrophic injuries to the victim.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure, which has useful educational information that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/theblotter/2010548385_a_34-year-old_marysville_man_w.html
Whole Foods Market is recalling several batches of organic raw hazelnuts that were sold in bulk to several states including Washington. According a news report in Consumeraffairs.com, the hazelnuts are being recalled because of possible salmonella contamination. This food-borne illness recall involves non-organic dry roasted hazelnuts sold in bulk through Whole Foods stores in Washington as well as non-organic hazelnuts or filberts sold in bulk through Whole Foods stores in Washington. The possible salmonella contamination was apparently discovered during a routine sweep of one of the Oregon-based company’s production facilities. So far, no illnesses or deaths have been reported as a result of this salmonella contamination.
The most common symptoms of salmonella infection include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. This illness usually lasts four to seven days and most patients recover without treatment. However, in some cases, the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient may require hospitalization. In these patients, the salmonella bacteria may spread from the intestines to the blood stream and to other body sites causing death, unless the patients is properly treated with antibiotics. Infants, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems are more likely to have severe salmonella infection symptoms.
If someone else’s negligence has caused your serious food poisoning injuries, please contact the skilled Seattle personal injury lawyers at The Bernard Law Group. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington food-borne illness cases, which has useful educational information that will help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/12/hazelnut_recall02.html
Seattle personal injury attorneys are extremely concerned about the incidence and frequency of sexual and physical abuse in our nursing homes today. Families pay thousands of dollars a month and entrust their loved one to a nursing home with the belief and hope that their loved one will receive quality care from a professional. But very often, families are in for a rude shock. Many come to realize that nursing homes, especially for-profit facilities, really treat this as a business and will do anything from understaffing their facilities to neglecting their residents, in order to keep their profits going up.
A recent news report talks about a civil lawsuit that was filed against a nursing home alleging that an employee fractured a resident’s hip by pulling or throwing the woman from her bed. The woman stated that the incident occurred barely a week after she came to the nursing home. The lawsuit states that the woman complained about the nursing home’s substandard quality of care and the staff’s lack of proper training.
If you are a victim of nursing home abuse, please remember that you have rights. In fact, filing a civil lawsuit is pretty much the only remedy that most nursing home negligence victims have. In cases where physical abuse or sexual abuse is involved, criminal complaints can be filed.
If your loved one has been abused or neglected at a nursing home, please contact the skilled Seattle nursing home negligence and abuse lawyers at The Bernard Law Firm to find out how we can help. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule your FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington nursing home negligence and abuse cases, which has useful educational information that will help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/porter/85563fbd-5aff-5d22-b910-ba7e738496b0.html
Crane accidents are among the more scarier and deadlier of construction site accidents. To a crane operator, few experiences may be as frightening as when a crane becomes unbalanced while a load is being lifted or when the crane collapses under the weight of an excessive load.
According to a recent news report, one worker died and another was seriously injured after a 400-ton crane collapsed onto a welding shop near a construction site. The crane operator was injured and a worker inside the welding shop was killed. About 50 workers were in the shop at the time when the crane’s 200-foot boom landed on its roof, crushing part of the building. A 30-year-old worker was pinned under the metal debris and a roof beam. He died at a local hospital. The crane carried a 30-ton weight from an 18-wheeler’s flatbed to the ground near the shop where it collapsed. Authorities are looking into the cause of this deadly crane collapse.
In such cases, the company that is operating the crane could be held liable for injuries or wrongful death caused as a result of the accident. Where negligence is involved, families of deceased accident victims may file a wrongful death claim seeking compensation to cover funeral expenses, loss of earnings and other related damages. Very often, in construction and industrial accidents, we see that families lose their sole breadwinner when tragedy hits. In such cases workers compensation benefits are inadequate to cover the expenses the family has to go through without its primary wage earner.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a Seattle construction accident, please contact the reputed Seattle personal injury lawyers with The Bernard Law Group. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington construction accident cases, which has useful educational information that will help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20091118/articles/911189954&tc=yahoo
A nursing home has lost its Medicare and Medicaid funding for all new patients after health investigators discovered that critical treatment errors at that nursing home led to the deaths of two residents. According to a news report in the Star Tribune, the facility will lose its funding for all patients if it does not fix its problems by Jan. 7. Inspectors, who surveyed the facility three times, said the survey resulted in 29 deficiencies including failing to respond to signs of distress in two residents, who later died. The nursing home has already been fined $3,000. An additional $24,300 fine is expected to be imposed for six days when residents were in grave danger of being harmed by medication errors.
A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) states that widespread deficiencies involving malnutrition, bedsores, medication errors and abuse of nursing home residents, are often understated and underreported. Nursing homes are typically inspected once a year by state employees working under contract with the federal government, which sets stringent standards. Federal officials try to validate the work of state inspectors by accompanying them or doing follow-up surveys within a few weeks. GAO found that state employees had missed at least one serious deficiency in 15 percent of the inspections checked by federal officials. In nine states, inspectors missed serious problems in more than 25 percent of the surveys analyzed from 2002 to 2007.
These are serious issues, which show that nursing home residents in Washington State and elsewhere in the nation are being put in harm’s way on a daily basis. It is important that these negligent nursing home operators are held accountable for their actions. If your loved one has been abused or neglected at a nursing home, please contact the skilled Seattle personal injury lawyers at The Bernard Law Firm to find out how we can help. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule your FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington nursing home negligence and abuse cases, which has useful educational information that will help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.
Source:http://www.startribune.com/local/79107537.html
A 32-year-old man has been charged with causing a hit-and-run Washington car accident, which injured his passenger. According to a news report in the Wenatchee World, the man was driving on Highway 97 when he lost control of his car and drove off the road into Ruby Creek. Officials say he fled the scene of the accident leaving an injured passenger in the car. When authorities arrived, the car was partially submerged in the creek and the 29-year-old passenger was taken to the hospital with head and neck injuries. Washington State Patrol troopers found the man walking a short distance away from the scene of the crash.
Under Washington law, leaving the scene of a car accident is a serious crime. Under the Revised Code of Washington Section 46.52.020: ” A driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in the injury to or death of any person or involving striking the body of a deceased person shall immediately stop such vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to, and in every event remain at, the scene of such accident until he or she has fulfilled the requirements of subsection (3) of this section; every such stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary.”
If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a car accident caused by a hit-and-run driver or as a result of an uninsured or underinsured driver, you may be able to claim compensation through the negligent party’s insurance or through the uninsured and underinsured clause under your own car insurance policy. However, dealing with insurance companies is never easy. Car insurance companies may collect premiums from you every month, but when the time comes for them to pay, they will use every tactic to stall or deny your claim. That’s why you need someone on your side, who can beat the insurance companies at their own game.
If you need assistance with your car accident claim, please contact an experienced Seattle personal injury attorney at The Bernard Law Firm. Call 1-800-418-8282 or send an email to info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation that we will provide at no cost to you. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure that has useful and educational information that will help you in understanding your legal rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2009/dec/05/charges-filed-against-driver-in-blewett-pass/
A woman sustained critical injuries in a Seattle pedestrian accident after she was struck while walking near the intersection of Rainier Avenue South and South Andover Street. According to a news report in the Seattle Times, a man was driving north on Rainier in a Toyota Corolla when he drove up on to the sidewalk at Andover hitting the pedestrian. The driver then fled the scene of the accident. He was stopped a short distance away. Officials are investigating this as a drunk driving and vehicular assault case. The woman was taken to a Seattle hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Both driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs and leaving the scene of an accident are serious crimes in Washington State. Drunk drivers whose actions result in serious injury or death face not only, criminal charges, but can also be held civilly liable for causing serious personal injuries or wrongful death. Victims in such cases may seek compensation to cover medical expenses, lost wages, cost of hospitalization, rehabilitation, physical therapy and even long-term care, if the injuries are catastrophic.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a drunk driver, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys at The Bernard Law Firm. Call 1-800-418-8282 or send an email to info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation that we will provide at no cost to you. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure that has useful and educational information that will help you in understanding your legal rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010413964_webpedestrianaccident03m.html?syndication=rss