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- Patriots QB Tom Brady Injured in Car Accident, Van Runs Red Light...
Posted on 9/9/2010 - Speeders Beware! Kirkland and Redmond Police Ramping Up 7/16 - 8/1...
Posted on 7/15/2010 - Seattle Hit-and-Run Driver Caught by Police - 4 Cars Hit...
Posted on 7/2/2010 - More Bad News For Toyota - 2010 Lexus GX 460 SUV Sales Halted...
Posted on 4/14/2010 - When is it safe to turn the child seat to face forward?...
Posted on 3/12/2010
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Car and Truck Accidents
- Almost 20% of Washington Drivers Have No Insurance l Kirkland Car Accident Attorney
- Is your vehicle window tint so dark it's illegal in Washington?
- 63% of Youngest Drivers Plead Guilty to Driving Distracted
- New Washington State Law forces drivers to move over away from emergency vehicles on highways.
- What Does It Take to Get a $30M Jury Verdict in Washington?
Car and Truck Accidents
Window Tint in Sunnyside, WA new Hot Button Issue for Police
Enforcement of extra dark window tinting on the rise in Washington. Call 425.822.5700 for help with Washington motor vehicle accidents.Over 40% of Police Car Accident Fatalities Related to No Seat Belt Use
Failure by police to use seat belts is just as deadly for them as it is for all other Washington drivers. You risk your life when you drive without wearing a seatbelt. Injuries in Washington car accidents are much worse for drivers and passengers who fail to wear a seat belt. If you've been injured in a Washington car accident order your free book about Washington Car Accident claims at this website or call 425-822-5700.Emergency Vehicles Get Better Protection by New Law
Policeman injured by passing driver during a stop? Call 425-822-5700 for WA car accident lawyers that have experience in helping down officers. Leading Bellevue, Seattle and Kirkland car accident injury attorneys. If you have been injured in a Seattle or Kirkland Washington car accident order your FREE book “The Guide To Washington Injury Cases” before signing any forms or talking to any insurance adjusters.Washington Car v. Horse Accident Results in $2.7 Million Verdict
Seattle and Kirkland Washington car accident lawyers. Injured in accident? Order your FREE book “The Guide to Washington Injury Cases” by calling 425-822-5700 before signing any forms or talking to any insurance adjusters. The experienced Washington car accident attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates can help if you have been injured in a Washington car accident.Tickets Flying - New Washington Cell Phone Law
Kirkland WA distracted driver accident lawyer, Seattle cell phone accident attorney, Washington distracted driver caused auto accident. Call 425-822-5700 to talk to Seattle and Kirkland's highly experienced distracted driver accident lawyers.Hit & Run Car Accident in Bellevue Shows Why UM Insurance Needed
If you have been injured in a Seattle or Kirkland Washington hit & run car accident order your FREE book “The Guide to Washington Injury Cases” by calling 425-822-5700 before signing any forms or talking to any insurance adjusters. The experienced Washington car accident attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates can help if you have been injured in a Washington car accident.New Tough Cellphone Law Begins June 10th
Been injured in a Seattle Washington car accident by a driver talking on a cellphone? Seattle car accident lawyers Scott McDonald and Max Meyers are experienced in representing Washington car accident victims. Call them at 425-822-5700 if you have suffered a serious injury because of a negligent and reckless Washington driver.Old Tires Sold As New Highly Dangerous l Kirkland WA Car Accident Lawyer
New tires that are 6 years old but never used can fail causing a danagerous and life threatening car accident. If you have been injured in a Seattle or Kirkland Washington car accident order your FREE book “The Guide to Washington Injury Cases” by calling 425-822-5700 before signing any forms or talking to any insurance adjusters. The experienced Washington car accident attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates can help if you have been injured in a Washington car accident.Toyota Facing Multiple Product Liability Lawsuits from Gas Pedal
Victims wrongfully killed by Toyota gas pedal problems have started suing the car maker. Washington wrongful death claims happened when a product or negligent person causes the death of another person. Kirkland, WA attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates a handle wrongful death cases in Washington.How Do You Stop a Car with a Stuck Gas Pedal? l Video demonstration
If you have been injured in a Washington car accident because your car's gas pedal stuck you need to seek the advice of an attorney as soon as possible. Automotive Product Defect claims require special handling and prompt investigation to preserve relevant evidence. If you have a product defect case call the experienced Washington Car Accident Attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates, 425-822-5700 or email at Info@ScottMcDonaldLaw.com.Are you Driving a Ticking Time Bomb?
Toyota stopped sales on eight popular cars and trucks because of problems with the gas pedal sticking. No recall has been issued yet because they don't know how to fix it. Injured in car accident because your gas pedal stuck? Call the experienced Kirkland Washington Car Accident Attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates at 425-822-5700.Uncontrolled Intersections - Who Has the Right of Way?
When an intersection does not have a traffic light or stop sign who has the right of way? Seattle car accidents happen because drivers don't know the answer to this question. If you have been in a Washington car accident at an uncontrolled intersection, call the experienced car accident attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates for a free consultation, (425)822-5700.Drivers use Twitter to Avoid DUI Checkpoints
More and more drivers are using Twitter, text messages, Facebook, and iPhone apps to avoid DUI checkpoints after a night of drinking. Is this right or wrong?Injury Victims Get The Shaft While Insurance Companies Get Rich
Insurance company claims settlement practices, insurance companies tricks, leave injury victims with unpaid medical bills. Washington car, motorcycle, or truck accident victims often need as much information and help as they can find to deal with these questionable insurance tactics. Call the experienced Kirkland Personal Injury attorneys at Scott McDonald and Associates, PLLC - (425) 822-5700.Drive While Texting, Go To Jail? l Seattle Car Accident Lawyer
Distracted driving is dangerous. Texting while driving has been shown in studies to be like driving drunk. Shouldn't the same penalties apply. Serious injuries can result from Washington car accident caused by texting drivers. Perhaps a day or two in jail will be enough to deter drivers and take the danger seriously. If you have been in a Seattle car accident that was caused by a texting driver call the attorneys at Scott McDonald And Associates at 425-822-5700 for a free consultation.What Causes More Deaths in Washington: Car Accidents or Drugs?
Surprisingly, drugs now cause more fatalities in Washington state than do injury car accidents. For decades, vehicle accidents have been the leading cause of injury-related deaths in Washington state. But drug overdoses have now pulled ahead.According to Margaret Warner of the CDC people view car accidents as something that might happen to them. But death from a drug overdose is something people rarely believe will happen to them. However, that statistics are proving otherwise. Cocaine and heroin continue to be significant killers, but most of the increase is due to prescription opiates like methadone, Oxycontin and Vicodin.
Binge Drinkers Like to Drive, 1 in 10 Drive after a Binge l Washington DUI Injury Accident Lawyer
Ten (10%) percent of binge drinkers drive after a heavy drinking session a new study from the CDC reports. Half of those left from a bar, restaurant or nightclub after drinking five or more drinks. So if you're driving late on a weekend, be extra careful a binge drinker is likely on the road with you.
The study is the first to try and measure the likelihood of someone driving after binge drinking. It's studies like this that justify the need for extra police patrols on weekends. Binge drinking is a main factor behind the more than 11,000 death annually from alcohol-related car accidents according to Dr. Timothy Naimi, an epidemiologist with the CDC.
Many of our clients have been injured in a car accident caused by a drunk driver. However, one of the dirty little secrets of insurance companies is that they fight tooth and nail to keep out any mention of the fact that their customer was driving drunk. They never want the truth about their customer to come out in front a jury, but they often also don't want to pay fair compensation for your injuries. They want their cake and eat it too.
I wish their was better news on this one but, often times judges keep out evidence of intoxication because they believe it may too prejudicial to the defendant. In other words, they fear the jury will punish the defendant for driving drunk or be more likely to think negatively of the defendant because of this. The only exception being that if you have suffered emotional trauma, like reoccurring nightmares about being injured by a drunk driver, and received medical treatment for those nightmares then sometimes you can talk about the drunk driver issue. But this is rare and the insurance company will do everything in its power to prevent it.
Personally, I believe if you drive drunk and hurt someone as a result then the jury should be able to know that you ignored the law and hurt someone as a result of your gross negligence.
Drive safe!
Max Meyers
Kirkland Man Driving 100 mph Causes Bothell WA Car Accident, Injures 6 in Minivan l Bothell Car Accident Attorney
A Kirkland, WA man, Geoffrey Goddard, was reported driving over 100 mph on I-405 near Bothell, Washington on June 12, 2009. Goodard smashed his Dodge Dakota pickup into the rear of a Mazda minivan carrying two women and four children. The force of impact was so great the minivan was thrown across four lanes of traffic onto a dirt median where it flipped over on its roof. Goddard is suspected of driving drunk.All six passenger were taken to hospitals with injuries, and two of the children had possible broken bones. Goddard was also injured and taken to Evegreen Hospital. When police arrived to question Goddard he ran from the hospital naked. He left his close and ran out across the parking lot naked. Are you kidding me, he had to be drunk to think that was a good idea.
As Kirkland Car Accident Attorney who has handled many drunk driver caused car accidents I can tell you these types of crazy stories happen far too often. Many times the drunk driver has no car insurance or carries the bare minimum coverage of $25,000. When six people are seriously injured in a 100 mph collision the injury victims are often left paying there own medical bills and any other expenses.
How do you protect yourself and your family from this tragic scenario? Buy as much Uninsured Motorist (UIM) insurance coverage you can afford. UIM insurance is the best way to protect yourself and your family from dangerous drunk drivers and other minimally insured drivers. The UIM coverage in your car insurance policy is designed so it takes the place of the at-fault driver when he/she has no insurance or not enough to cover your medical bills and compensate you fairly for all that you have to go through when seriously injured. In essence you buy insurance for those who don't or don't buy enough.
You may be wondering how much UIM coverage should you get? As much as you can afford. My UIM policy limits are $1,000,000, which is a lot coverage for not a lot of money. Think about this, driving in your car is probably the most dangerous thing you do almost everyday, and what would happen if you were in a horrible car accident and were not able to work again due to severe injuries. How much insurance money would you need to replace your income and compensate you for your severe life altering injuries. One million suddenly doesn't seem like a lot given that picture. My suggestion is to have at least $500,000 UIM coverage. This should provide a good cushion if your involved in a catastrophic Washington car accident.
A good place to find a much more detailed look at buying car insurance is our FREE report The Guide To Buying Car Insurance In Washington.
Food for thought!
Texting While Driving is a Very Serious Threat to Safety According to 87% of Public l Seattle Car Accident Attorney
According to a recent AAA survey 87% of people believe texting or emailing while driving is a very serious threat to causing driving safety, second only to drunk driving at 90%. Most people (95%) also believe texting or emailing while driving is unacceptable. As a Kirkland Car Accident lawyer I have many clients who have seen the danger become reality.Washington state outlawed texting while driving this year. Unfortunately, police cannot pull you over and ticket for texting alone. Police have to have another reason for pulling you over, like speeding or illegal lane change, before they can ticket you for texting. This requirement has minimized the deterrent effect of the law. As long as you're not breaking any traffic laws you are basically allowed to text or email while driving.
The law should be strengthened so police can pull you over for texting alone. However, I fear it will take a tragedy that gains media attention and inflames public opinion before any change to the law will be made. In the meantime you can expect more Washington car accidents to be caused by drivers distracted by text and email messaging.
Text Message Causes U of Texas LB to Crash Car - Kirkland Car Accident Lawyer
Text messaging while driving is illegal in Washigton State, which is apparently not the case in Austin, Texas. University of Texas Linebacker Sergio Kindle suffered a concussion after crashing his car into an apartment building because he was looking at a text message on his cell phone. text messaging is a fairly common cause of Washington car accidents.
Sergio Kindle's text message car accident happened on June 24th and resulted in $8,700 in damage. That's one seriously expensive text message!
Washington state drivers have been banned from text messaging while driving since 2008. The fine for text messaging while driving in Washington is about $101. However, the police have to stop you for some other traffic law violation before you can get the texting ticket.
Don't be like Sergio, just put the phone down and drive. The message will be there for you when you arrive at your destination.
Drive Safe!
Nine Injured in Rollover Car Accident on I-5 in Dupont, Washington
Dupont, WA - June 9, 2009 - I-5 freewayTwo kids were left severely injured along with seven other people after a two vehicle accident near Dupont, WA on I-5. All 9 injured people were admitted to local hospitals. The nine people included six kids and two pregnant women all riding in a 8 passenger Ford Explorer.
All 9 people failed to wear seat belts, and none of the children were in child seats. The two most severly injured kids were ejected from the vehicle and found on the highway. They all were lucky that no died, especially the three people ejected from the suv. Seatbelts save lives as do child safty seats.
A Federal Way man caused the car accident that resulted in the Ford Explorer being launched over the jersey barrier rolling into oncoming I-5 traffic. The Federal Way man was arrested for investigation of DUI and attempted vehicluar homicide. The vehicular homicide charge seems to imply the man may have intentionally caused the accident and wanted to hurt the women and children in the Ford Explorer.
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Kirkland, WA 98033
Phone: 425-822-5700
Fax: 425-828-0871
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Car and Truck Accidents
- HANDLING CAR REPAIRS: I was injured and my car was damage in a Seattle car accident. How do I get my car fixed without hurting my injury claim?
- ADJUSTER CLAIMS THERE'S A TIME LIMIT: After my recent car accident the insurance adjuster sent me a letter saying that if I don't call back within the next 14 days they will close my case and consider the matter concluded. Can they do this?
- What is my Seattle car accident case worth?