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When a worst case scenario comes true: a child is injured in a car crash
Seeing children hurt is too painful for many of us to bear. When a child is hurt – or killed – in an accident, the loss is catastrophic and feels at times insurmountable to the survivors. It’s understandable to feel overwhelmed and feel there is no hope. While no one can undo what’s done, there may be help to get you through this time. If the crash occurred because of someone’s negligence, especially in cases of drunk or distracted driving, or poor road safety, the injured child or the survivors may be able to file a claim or lawsuit.
One of the most dangerous places of all for a motorcyclist is also impossible to avoid while riding
Intersections. How many of them do you go through on the average trip through town or beyond? The vast majority of motorcycle collisions happen at intersections. Imagine that you’re on a motorcycle, turning left when a much bigger, heavier vehicle such as a car or truck comes barreling through and hits you. These kinds of accidents are hard on someone in a fully enclosed vehicle, but can be absolutely devastating to someone on a bike. If the person who hit you did so out of negligence or recklessness, you may be due a substantial payout for your injuries and losses from the at-fault party. How will you find out? Reading the article is a great place to start.
Broadside car crashes can be deadly on Bellingham roads
Broadside collisions include T-bone accidents, and can happen at intersections, in parking lots, or on the highway when a driver fails to drive defensively, or, worse yet, is drunk or distracted. These accidents can bring severe injury or death, and the financial repercussions can be high. Often there is money available to pay for damages and losses because there is an at-fault driver involved in these types of wrecks. Here on tips on what to do if you've been side-swiped or broadsided in a car wreck.
A broadside collision is especially dangerous for a motorcycle
Motorcycles do not have the same protection all around them that other vehicles do. Even a tap from a car or truck can result in the motorcycle driver losing control, hitting another object such as a car or guardrail, and getting into a bad wreck that leaves the other driver unscathed. Typically it is the other driver who is at fault in these kinds of broadside collisions, which makes recouping losses more straightforward. However, before you attempt to recover your losses yourself through the maze of insurance policies and protocols, consult with a skilled lawyer. For more information on what to do if you've been broadsided while driving a motorcycle, click here.
If fault is disputed, are medical bills still covered if someone is hurt?
Regardless of who is at fault, if there are injured people in a car accident, those people will deserve medical care. So who pays for those bills? Auto insurance policies have an option called Personal Injury Protection offered to many US drivers; in Washington, for example, the coverage is required by state law to be offered to all drivers licensed in the state. This is the coverage you'll count on to pay medical bills, and sometimes wage loss. Bill Coats Law in Bellingham, WA describes more about what Personal Injury Protection is for and how it works to cover people hurt in an accident, no matter who caused it.
What's even more distracting to drivers than cell phones? The answer may surprise you
Imagine driving down the road and suddenly getting popped in the back of the head with a flying Sponge Bob. Kids are 12 times more distracting to a driver than talking on a cell phone. While it's doubtful laws won't make driving with children illegal anytime soon, here are some statistics on the dangers of distracting driving, plus tips on helping kids learn to behave in cars.
Estimating costs of future medical treatment key to fair car accident claims
Even a fairly minor car accident can cause long-term injuries requiring extensive medical treatment – it is crucial to know how to estimate the cost of future medical treatment. Bill Coats Law represents car accident victims and writes on next steps to take if you are hurt by someone else's negligent driving.
Being ejected from a crash due to a drunk driver is almost too much to bear
It's not uncommon for people ejected from a vehicle in a car crash to have life-threatening injuries. When that accident is due to someone else's negligence, especially drug or drugged driving, it may seem like a cruel, needless tragedy to the victims who weren't even driving. If this kind of case has happened to you, know that you're not alone. Here's a story of one personal injury accident client for an attorney based in Whatcom County, Washington, who went through such a horrible scenario but was compensated fairly. Even if it can't turn back the clock and change what happened, it can help a victim cope.
Statistics on drunk driving from MADD
Since it's formation in 1980, Mothers Against Drunk Driving has made leaps in the education of Americans about drunk driving. Even today there are more and more studies and statistics available to highlight the dangers. From Whatcom County lawyer Bill Coats, here is a summary of statistics on drunk driving.
How a drunk adult can contribute to a child's death without being anywhere near the accident scene
Here is one client's story of how a series of tragic mistakes in the name of having a good time drinking at the lake led to the death of a teenager. Lawyer Bill Coats represented the family of this teen in recovering $2.5M in a wrongful death lawsuit in which the adults who should have been supervising were too drunk to do so.