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I was the passenger in a car accident, what do I do?
Every time motorists accept a passenger into their vehicle, they form an upspoken agreement that they’ll both do what it takes to make the drive a safe one. Yet it is the driver’s ultimate responsibility to maintain the passenger’s well-being as long as that person is a passenger. Reckless, negligent driving – including drunk, drugged, or distracted driving – puts everyone in danger, especially those who are not in the driver’s seat. In case of an accident those behaviors cause or contribute to, the passenger retains the right to hold the driver liable for damages and losses that result.Click to learn more about car accidents in which the passenger was hurt.
Accident victims need answers. Bill Coats Law's YouTube channel provides them.
After an automobile accident, it's natural to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about what happens next. Bill Coats Law, in Bellingham Washington, has put together a YouTube Channel to answer some common question in hopes to help accident victims start on the right path to full financial recovery. Click here to get the answers you need.
The Truck Safety Coalition
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.
Tips for motorists on sharing the road with bicyclists
As bicycling gains in popularity, also on the rise is the likelihood of a crash with a car, truck, or other vehicle – and, so often, these crashes result in serious injury or death to the cyclist involved. According to the NHTSA, while overall passenger vehicle deaths decreased in 2012, bicyclist fatalities increased. Bicyclists injured in accidents with a vehicle also rose during this time. In sharing the road with bicyclists, motorists can do a few simple things to make everyone's journey safer.
Tips for motorists on sharing the road with bicyclists
As the weather warms, more people take their bicycles on the road, for commuting to work, helping the environment, exercise, recreation, and to save on automobile expenses. As bicycling gains in popularity, also on the rise is the likelihood of a crash with a car, truck, or other vehicle – and, so often, these crashes result in serious injury or death to the cyclist involved. In sharing the road with bicyclists, motorists can do a few simple things to make everyone's journey safer. Click here for tips on how to avoid common errors that drivers sometimes make that can result in serious injury or death.
One easily overlooked way an accident victim's life is changed
Imagine you're the victim of a car accident. You're on the phone with the adjuster from the at-fault driver's insurance company. Are you going to be able to think of all the ways this accident has and will continue to affect your life? Click here for a video on an easy-to-overlook aspect of how an injured person's life can be affected from a car accident.
Being ejected from a vehicle in a crash may change your working life forever after
If you've been in a collision where you were ejected from the vehicle, it's very likely that you're dealing with some severe injuries. Sometimes those injuries prevent accident victims from going back to the same job they used to have. This doesn't mean you are fated to settle for a lower paying job for the rest of your working life. Click here for an article and video about wage loss, future wage loss, and your options.
If your auto accident left you paralyzed, you may be entitled to compensation for future wage loss
Paralysis is a devastating consequence from an auto accident, one of the worst imaginable. Life will be different forever after, and many victims may have to leave a job and be re-trained for another kind that accommodate such a disability, though that may mean less pay. If so, there is a way to be compensated for that wage gap, and it's known as "future wage loss" in personal injury lawyer terms. Click to learn more about what to do if you're facing future wage loss due to paralysis.
Lost wages is one thing, but what if an accident victim can no longer keep up with household chores?
It's easy to take health for granted, but if you are the victim of a car crash, suddenly a lot of things in life that were easy to do are harder - or impossible - to manage. Everyone automatically wonders about if they'll be able to work at the same job enjoyed before the accident - but what about other tasks? Attorney Bill Coats in Bellingham, Washington, talks about a rather obscure-sounding part of personal injury law where you can get money for yard work and other chores. Click here to learn about substitute domestic services in personal injury claims.