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Will your lost wages be covered if the at-fault driver carries no insurance? Most likely, yes!

States like Washington require insurance companies to include uninsured/underinsured motorist protection to all policy holders unless they specifically opt-out of this coverage. This might come in handy if you've been hit in a car accident by someone who has no insurance or not enough, and you've had to take time off work - or can never work again. Click to learn more about your options for covering wage loss if the driver who hit you has no insurance.

More factors than meet the eye can affect a pedestrian accident case

In this personal injury case won by Bellingham lawyer Bill Coats, he found compensation for the husband who witnessed his wife hit by a negligent truck driver.

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.

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

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. 

Calculating wage loss is an important aspect of assessing damages

One of the most important aspects of figuring out a fair settlement is including money for lost wages. Lost wages don't just mean the time off of work someone had to take while recovering from injuries. What if you can't go back to the same job you had before and must take a lower paying job instead? Check out this video on wage loss to determine if you might be due more money for your claim than the insurance company is trying to offer.

Want to avoid a DUI? Try these tips

There are the old-fashioned methods of crashing on a friend's couch, or designating a sober driver. Modern technology such as apps for our ubiquitous smart phones is another way to make sure no one gets behind the wheel while drunk. Bellingham lawyer Bill Coats of Bill Coats Law works for the victims of drunk drivers on Washington roads and has a few ways we can all drive safer. For tips on avoiding a DUI, click here. 

This one device can help keep drunk drivers from doing further harm

About the size of a cell phone, an ignition interlock device is wired into the ignition system of a drunk driver's car. To go anywhere, the driver must blow into the device and register no alcohol on his or her breath. If there's a measurable amount, the car will not start. Does this device work? Yes, and here's how

Motorcycle passenger's lawyers win suit, awarding the passenger $1,000,000 and finding the city of Coachella negligent in its placement of a wall at an intersection

Accident Type: 
Motorcycle Accident
Result Date: 
Sunday, February 1, 1981
Monetary Result: 
$1,000,000
Topics: 
  Mr. Zamarripa, a 17-­year­-old youth, sustained severe brain damage, including spastic paralysis and a speech impediment when the motorcycle he was riding as a passenger crashed into a van at an intersection. Zamarripa claimed that a five foot high wall on the Union Oil company’s property caused his stepfather, who was driving the motorcycle, to be unable to see on-coming cars at the intersection. Zamarripa sued the city of Coachella for negligently placing the wall. The defending oil company denied this claim and argued that the wall had nothing to do with the accident which took place 86 feet past the intersection. The verdict was in favor of Zamarripa, who recieved $1,000,000 damages. It was judged, however, that only the city, and not the oil company, were responsible for the placement of the wall.