Kirk Bernard – Seattle Personal Injury Lawyer

A number of serious auto accidents in Washington State and elsewhere in the country are caused by sleepy and tired drivers. Whether these accidents involve commercial truck drivers or drivers of regular passenger vehicles, fatigued driving is extremely dangerous. Such negligent driving practices can result in serious injuries or even fatalities, thus affecting not only the tired driver, but also others on the roadway.

According to a recent KHQ news report, the driver of an RV fell asleep at the wheel. His camper drifted off the roadway into a ditch, causing it to rollover onto its side. The crash occurred on Highway 2 just north of East Westmoreland Road in Deer Park, Washington. The driver in this accident was extremely lucky not to have sustained injury or have seriously injured another person.

As a skilled Seattle personal injury attorney, Kirk Bernard has seen first-hand how serious of a problem fatigued driving is; yet, it is often dismissed by motorists and seems to receive the least attention from drivers. In fact, many drivers admit to falling asleep at the wheel 10 or more times in a year. Several studies show that driving fatigued can be as dangerous as driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA) Foundation for Traffic Safety, the effect of being awake for 17 hours causes a performance on psychomotor coordination tests equivalent to that of someone who has a blood alcohol level of 0.05 percent. If they stayed awake a full 24 hours, their test performance compared with that of a person who had a blood alcohol level of 0.10. Some states consider you intoxicated at 0.08. Know your limits. If you are tired or sleepy, rest up and do not get behind the wheel.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington auto accident, please contact the experienced Seattle car accident attorneys with 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 brochure, which has useful, educational information about Washington auto accident cases to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

Source:http://www.khq.com/global/story.asp?s=11944700

A 62-year-old man recently sustained serious injuries in a Spokane area car accident, the Wenatchee World reports. The man was driving a pickup truck on Frosty Road about a mile east of Tonasket when his vehicle ran off the roadway, over an embankment and came to rest in a creek. Washington State Patrol officials said the man suffered a cut to his head and chest bruising in the accident. Officials are looking into what caused the man to lose control of his vehicle.

There are many reasons why single-car crashes occur. If the accident was not the driver’s fault, then it is important to look into whether the accident was caused by a mechanical failure or an auto product defect in the vehicle. If that was the case, the injured victim may file an auto product liability claim against the auto maker or the manufacturer of the defective product. In some cases, single vehicle crashes also occur because of a dangerous or defective roadway. An experienced Spokane car accident lawyer will be able to analyze a case from all angles and help determine whether you have a claim.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington auto accident, please contact the experienced Washington personal injury attorneys with 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 brochure, which has useful, educational information about Washington car accident cases to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

Source:http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2010/jan/21/driver-suffers-head-chest-injuries-in-accident/

A recent Fox News report details the abuse suffered by 15 nursing home residents who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia disorders. According to the report, the nursing assistants allegedly spit in residents’ mouths, poked their breasts and touched their genitals. The residents were also subject to taunting and teasing. Three of the residents died during the course of this abuse.

Nursing home abuse is increasingly becoming a problem in the United States. Incidents of abuse at nursing homes not only have to do with neglect, but are also of a physical, sexual and emotional nature.

Authorities found it difficult to interview the other victims because of their cognitive impairment. The nursing home won’t be penalized because officials followed procedures and notified appropriate authorities.

According to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report in 2002, allegations of physical and sexual abuse of nursing home residents are often not reported promptly. In fact, local law enforcement officials stated in this report that they are seldom called to nursing homes to immediately investigate allegations of physical or sexual abuse. Some of these officials said that the incidents are often reported after the evidence has been compromised. Also, some residents or family members are reluctant to report abuse for fear of retaliation while others may not know where or how to report such abuse.

If your loved one has been seriously injured or abused in a nursing home or care facility in Washington, please contact the reputed Seattle nursing home abuse attorneys at The Bernard Law Firm to find out about your legal rights and options. 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 brochure, which has useful, educational information to help you understand your rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

Source:http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,460626,00.html

Working with heavy equipment and building materials when balancing on the limited space of a scaffold is a challenge and a danger for construction workers. Without fall protection of safe access, it can be extremely dangerous. Falls from such improperly constructed scaffolds can result in injuries ranging from minor sprains to catastrophic injuries and deaths. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that all scaffolds be constructed according to manufacturer’s instructions, that guardrails are installed along all open sides, ends of platforms, and guardrail systems, and that personal fall arrest systems are used.

In fact, OSHA recently proposed a $140,000 fine against a masonry company for workplace safety violations, which contributed to the death of a worker in a scaffolding collapse. A 52-year-old man died in July when scaffolding collapsed as he and two others were laying brick at a construction site. The man fell 37 feet to his death. The company was cited for 11 violations, including improperly modifying the scaffolding, failing to properly install bracing and not ensuring the scaffolding was secured to prevent tipping.

Where construction accident deaths are caused by such serious violations on the part of the employer or a contractor, workers may seek compensation for medical expenses, lost earnings, cost of hospitalization, therapy and other related damages. In case of fatalities, families of deceased workers may file a wrongful death claim.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington construction accident, please contact the skilled 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 to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his experienced legal team today.

Source:http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/12/30/osha-proposes-fine.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=101

Many of the families across America impacted by an accident or injury situation may not have a very good idea of how comparative fault affects the process of getting compensation as an accident victim. The system for using comparative fault and other elements of a lawsuit or claim differs according to the state where the legal action is being pursued.

In the state of Washington, a comparative fault system is in use for determining how to collect damages for accidents from the parties found to be at fault. What the comparative fault system does is replace a “100%” or “all or nothing” fault system with a more nuanced definition of fault and liability for damages. Many residents hear about this predominantly through cases involving a vehicle accident in Washington, as this kind of system relates directly to finding for damages in a roadside personal injury.

In a comparative fault analysis, the legal process finds a percentage of the total fault and assigns that to each party in the accident. Instead of just pointing the finger at a primary causation and at-fault driver, law enforcement, public officials and legal teams work harder to establish a more detailed picture of what happened on the road. For example, returning to the scenario of a car accident, a judicial process could look at a driver running a stop sign as more than 50% at fault, while another driver who is inattentive to the road could receive some kind of 10% or relative fault number.

However, within the system of comparative fault for Washington State, some Seattle experts have determined that a term called “joint and several liabilities” can be used to provide even more chances for a victim to get what he or she is due under the law.

One type of situation where a joint and several liabilities rule would come into play is when two or three different at fault drivers with various comparative faults cannot all pay their share of the costs. Under a conventional comparative fault system, some of those costs may be immune from recovery by the victim and the victim’s legal counsel. However, if legal counsel implements a joint and several liabilities application to the case, it can end in one at fault party paying all of the compensation for a personal injury, as well as lost wages and pain and suffering damages.

Finding comparative fault is hardly a simple process. In their findings, legal teams often use case precedent, traffic-engineering details, and much more to assess specific comparative fault for parties. Eyewitnesses and documentation may be necessary, which is why experts always counsel those involved in road accidents to document as much as possible to protect themselves. Another big part of what a personal injury legal team can do is to break down the results and ramifications of comparative fault and everything else on the books in Washington to give their client an accurate picture of what to expect from a case, claim or award.

Anyone who has been negatively impacted by a personal injury—whether it’s road-related, work-related, or just related to a public liability—can find that a quick consultation with a local Washington personal injury lawyer can start to get them informed on what options are available for a specific case. The skilled attorneys at the Bernard Law Group led by Kirk Bernard know how the plaintiff will work through considerations such as Washington’s comparative fault system and more to arrive at the results they need for getting compensation to pay medical bills and recover from an accident or injury. To learn more about how you may be able to receive compensation for your injuries, contact The Bernard Law Group today for a free consultation.