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A case that sounds too bad to be true: two crashes, one person, in one year
It may sound too bad to be true, but one woman was the victim of two separate crashes, just over a year apart, both of which caused her severe injuries. The second crash was because a drunk driver crossed the center line and hit her head-on. Click for this case study and how her personal injury lawyer in Bellingham, Washington helped her be compensated for her losses and pain.
What you need to know about gap insurance
This type of coverage is important to consider if you're driving a financed or leased vehicle. Click this link for an article by Bill Coats Law on gap insurance - what it is, and who needs it.
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.
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.
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.
What if the negligent driver hit you and doesn't have insurance? You have options.
It's yet another shock after someone crashes into you to learn that they don't have insurance at all, or not enough to pay for your losses. Yet about a quarter of drivers on Washington State roads don't carry insurance at all, even though it is a state law that they must. But this doesn't mean that you are stuck with the bills for an accident that wasn't even your fault. Click here to learn what to do when the negligent driver doesn't have insurance.
A staggering number of people are on their cell phones while driving at any given moment
660,000. Recent statistics show that's how many people are on their phones while driving at any given moment. Not only is this becoming increasingly illegal by state law, it also means that a texting driver is 25 times more likely to get in an accident. Click here to learn more staggering statistics on distracted driving from Bellingham, WA lawyer Bill Coats.
You have options if a speeder hit you
Speed limits are not just recommendations, but established rules that all drivers are expected to follow while operating their vehicles on public roads. Many factors are considered by the engineers who set the limits, such as the road’s characteristics; how wide the shoulder might be, if there is one at all; road grade; and the length of a driver’s line of sight. The limits are set very carefully after an assessment of all these factors, and are meant to keep everyone safe and maintain a healthy flow of traffic as much as possible. However, some drivers speed, and statistics reflect this, and this increases the liklihood and severity of a crash. If you have been hit by a speeding driver, you have options.
Negligence is the key issue in most personal injury cases
Negligence is one of the biggest factors in personal injury - otherwise known as tort - cases. The idea behind negligence is the belief that every member of society is supposed to act responsibly and avoid putting other people at risk – much like the golden rule. Every time someone is hurt doesn’t automatically mean negligence was involved, however. So it’s up to the plaintiff to show that a reasonably prudent person in the defendant’s position would have done things differently under those same circumstances, and that would have avoided the problem in the first place. To learn more about negligence and how it factors into personal injury claims, click here.