http://dixon-law.com/index.php/blog/ en kentynsupport@gmail.com Copyright 2011 2011-12-13T19:44:04+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/ntsb-recommends-total-ban-on-driver-cell-phone-use/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/ntsb-recommends-total-ban-on-driver-cell-phone-use/#When:19:44:04Z   The National Traffic Safety Board has issued a recommendation that all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices be banned in all cases, except to make emergency calls. The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member board, applies to both hands-free and hand-held phones and, as such, significantly exceeds any existing state laws restricting texting and cellphone use behind the wheel. "No call, no text, no update is worth a human life,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, chairman of the N.T.S.B., an independent federal agency that is responsible for promoting traffic safety and investigating accidents and their causes. It will be up to the states to decide whether they want to follow the agency’s recommendation. She said the decision was a hard one because such a ban would be unpopular among some people. But she said its time had come, given what she said were growing distractions in the car and the spread of increasingly powerful mobile devices. A recent study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed that most drivers don’t think it is dangerous when they themselves choose to use their phones, only when others do.  Almost 20% of the drivers surveyed in the study reported texting and/or emailing while they drive, including nearly half of all 21-24 year olds.  An overwhelming majority (77%) of drivers will answer their phone will driving, and 2/3 of those drivers will continue to talk and drive at the same time. The cost of distracted driving is devastating.  In 2010, 3,092 deaths were attributed to distracted driving, accounting for 1/10th of all traffic fatalities.   Seattle Auto Accidents, Seattle Current Events 2011-12-13T19:44:04+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/how-your-facebook-page-can-harm-you/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/how-your-facebook-page-can-harm-you/#When:22:35:14Z They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  But the wrong picture or posting or update on your Facebook page could cost you a lot more than that if you're not careful.  The insurance industry has added a new weapon to its arsenal of ways to deny claims of insureds and injured third parties.  Adjusters and insurance industry lawyers have learned that combing the Facebook page and other social media sites of a claimant may reveal photos or statements that can be used to embarrass a claimant and weaken that person's case.  In the case of Nathalie Blanchard of Quebec, photos she posted on her Facebook page showing her at the beach and in a pub were used by her insurer to discontinue disability benefits she had been receiving during a medical leave from work for depression.  Their argument? If she was well enough to be playing at the beach and going to a pub, she was well enough to work.  Then there's the case of Kurt Norland who posted photos on his Facebook page showing him at the beach with his buddies.  When those photos were discovered by his workers comp insurance company, his payments and medical benefits were immediately cutoff and he had to delay the surgery he had scheduled to repair his shoulder injured on the job.  His insurer believed he was faking his shoulder injury and committing insurance fraud. What the insurer's knee-jerk reaction ignores, however, is that a Facebook posting does not represent the totality of the poster's circumstances.  We all want to present ourselves in the best light.  You would hardly expect, for example, Ms. Blanchard to post a photo of herself crying in a dark room by herself, even if this is what she was doing 18 hours per day.  Mr. Nordland's beach photo didn't reflect the pain he may have been in or the heavy medication he may have been on that were necessary to his being out on the beach that day. All users of social media should take note of this growing trend.  Not only are insurers looking for reasons to deny claims, but employers are looking for flaws in otherwise qualified applicants and lawyers are looking to discredit witnesses.  Oftentimes, we may think a photo or posting is harmless.  We may have old photos or say something in jest. But insurance companies and others will use it all.  Photos or postings may be used to paint the poster in a bad light and weaken or destroy their case or damage their credibility or chances of securing a job. We at Dixon Law have been confronted with this issue a number of times. We have had defense attorneys and insurance adjusters attack our clients and witnesses based on pictures and postings that were posted on social media sites.  Everyone needs to understand that these postings, though intended for viewing by your family and friends, may be mined by people who do not have your best interests at heart.  The best step social media users can take to protect their information is to adjust their privacy settings so that only designated friends can view photos or updates you have posted.  Taking control over your privacy settings is the best way of preventing unintended consequences of your postings.     Seattle Current Events 2011-11-17T22:35:14+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/fatal-car-accidents-6m-per/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/fatal-car-accidents-6m-per/#When:15:15:30Z AAA has released the results of its latest study on the average cost of car accidents and the auto club reports that a fatal car accident costs, on average, $6 million.  This is sharply up from the average cost reported in 2005 of $3.24 million.  "The cost of crashing is exponentially so much more than we think it is because it includes property damange, it includes lost earnings, lost household production, medical costs, which are huge, emergency services, any time of rehabilitations you need, any kind of legal cost, and that's in addition to pain and lost quality of life," says AAA director of traffic safety culture Michele Harris.  The study also reported that the average cost of a non-fatal car accident to be $162,000. AAA released this study in order to push road safety to the forefront of the national debate over transportation priorities as Congress considers a long-term highway funding bill, says Chris Plaushin, AAA's director of federal relations.  "We wanted to raise the profile and raise the awareness," he says. "Right now, it's jobs, it's construction, it's economic growth that are being talked about. This is part of our effort to bang the drum about safety."  AAA suggests more investment in proven safety measures such as cable barriers along medians to prevent crossover accidents, modernized roundabouts and rumble strips. We know the immense loss and grief inflicted on families and loved ones when someone is killed in a car accident.  We can hope that the work of AAA in publishing the economic cost of these accidents will help raise safety as a national priority and that we can take these critical steps toward prevention.     Seattle Auto Accidents 2011-11-04T15:15:30+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/soccer-helmets-necessary-protection-or-an-overreaction1/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/soccer-helmets-necessary-protection-or-an-overreaction1/#When:18:24:04Z Sitting in the stands, watching my daughter's soccer game this past weekend, I overheard a high school soccer player describing the injuries she and her teammates had suffered throughout the season.  According to this player, over half her team had been injured this fall, with most injuries involving knees and ankles but also including some seriousconcussions that had landed girls in the hospital and rendered at least one of them unconscious for 20 minutes.  Now, thanks to the efforts of the Brain Injury Association of Washington and others, we as parents in the State of Washington are much better informed these days about the risks of concussions, signs and symptoms of brain injury and the importance of obtaining a medical clearance to play sports again after suffering a head injury.  Listening to the high school athlete's description of how aggressive and rough the sport of soccer has become, and watching my daughter's own vulnerable, un-helmeted head bob down the field, I had to wonder "Why aren't we helmeting these kids?" A quick google search taught me that soccer helmets are, in fact, a product that is currently manufactured and sold in the United States.  My research also taught me that the most common cause of concussions in soccer players (according to a Duke University study) was when one player's head struck the head of another player. This was also the most common source of concussions in a group of soccer players at the US Olympic Sport Festival in 1993. The second most common cause of concussions occurred when a ball struck a player's head. These head-to-ball concussions happened when a player was hit in the head by a ball kicked from close range. In many cases, the ball traveled so quickly the player did not have time to react.  None of the concussions were caused by proper heading of the ball.  So, while training soccer players to properly head the ball is critical, it is not preventative of concussions.  It also appeared from my research that, well, not enough research has been done to establish whether the helmets currently available are effective in preventing or at least decreasing the incidence of soccer-related concussive injuries. When I look at the evolution of such contact sports as football and hockey, I would note that those uniforms originally did not require the use of a helmet.  The need for helmets was identified, however, as players suffered and the need was identified.  As we learn more about the long-term consequences of brain injuries suffered by athletes, and as we learn more about the increasingly aggressive nature of soccer as its own contact sport, I would suggest that we give careful consideration to protecting our players and their futures with specifically-designed soccer helmets.  This suggestion, I understand, is not without controversy.  Some might suggest that I am overreacting, over-protective. Maybe we need to focus on coaching our kids on their technique and skills to play the game cleaner.   What do you think? 2011-10-26T18:24:04+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/soccer-helmets-necessary-protection-or-an-overreaction/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/soccer-helmets-necessary-protection-or-an-overreaction/#When:20:40:24Z Sitting in the stands, watching my daughter's soccer game this past weekend, I overheard a high school soccer player describing the injuries she and her teammates had suffered throughout the season.  According to this player, over half her team had been injured this fall, with most injuries involving knees and ankles but also including some seriousconcussions that had landed girls in the hospital and rendered at least one of them unconscious for 20 minutes.  Now, thanks to the efforts of the Brain Injury Association of Washington and others, we as parents in the State of Washington are much better informed these days about the risks of concussions, signs and symptoms of brain injury and the importance of obtaining a medical clearance to play sports again after suffering a head injury.  Listening to the high school athlete's description of how aggressive and rough the sport of soccer has become, and watching my daughter's own vulnerable, un-helmeted head bob down the field, I had to wonder "Why aren't we helmeting these kids?" A quick google search taught me that soccer helmets are, in fact, a product that is currently manufactured and sold in the United States.  My research also taught me that the most common cause of concussions in soccer players (according to a Duke University study) was when one player's head struck the head of another player. This was also the most common source of concussions in a group of soccer players at the US Olympic Sport Festival in 1993. The second most common cause of concussions occurred when a ball struck a player's head. These head-to-ball concussions happened when a player was hit in the head by a ball kicked from close range. In many cases, the ball traveled so quickly the player did not have time to react.  None of the concussions were caused by proper heading of the ball.  So, while training soccer players to properly head the ball is critical, it is not preventative of concussions.  It also appeared from my research that, well, not enough research has been done to establish whether the helmets currently available are effective in preventing or at least decreasing the incidence of soccer-related concussive injuries. When I look at the evolution of such contact sports as football and hockey, I would note that those uniforms originally did not require the use of a helmet.  The need for helmets was identified, however, as players suffered and the need was identified.  As we learn more about the long-term consequences of brain injuries suffered by athletes, and as we learn more about the increasingly aggressive nature of soccer as its own contact sport, I would suggest that we give careful consideration to protecting our players and their futures with specifically-designed soccer helmets.  This suggestion, I understand, is not without controversy.  Some might suggest that I am overreacting, over-protective. Maybe we need to focus on coaching our kids on their technique and skills to play the game cleaner.   What do you think? Serious Personal Injury In Seattle 2011-10-25T20:40:24+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/two-teens-die-in-rollover-crash-near-ellensburg/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/two-teens-die-in-rollover-crash-near-ellensburg/#When:18:36:33Z A vehicle apparently rolled in steep, hilly terrain northwest of Ellensburg, killing two teenagers and seriously injuring another. The Kittitas County Sheriff's Office says the driver, Taylor Lanning, and passenger Colby Allemand were pronounced dead at the scene Wednesday evening. Both were 16-year-old Ellensburg High School students. Another passenger, 15-year-old Kassidy Gilmore, was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Gilmore is listed in serious but stable condition. The Sheriff's Office says speed and alcohol are believed to be factors in the crash. The agency says the three had been camping with other students where alcohol was being consumed. As Seattle auto accident attorneys, we are saddened to hear about the untimely and tragic deaths of these two teens.   Unfortunately, alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today’s teenagers.  Nearly three quarters of students (72%) have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by the end of high school, and more than a third (37%) have done so by eighth grade.  Drinking and driving simply do not mix, and sadly, the deaths of these two young teens proves that once again.  Our condolences go out to the families, friends, and community of these victims.  Seattle Auto Accidents 2011-06-21T18:36:33+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/summer-safety-for-motorcyclists/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/summer-safety-for-motorcyclists/#When:18:13:29Z As the weather gets nicer, bikers dust off their motorcycles and get ready to hit the road. But this summer, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Department of Licensing are reminding bikers to drive safely to reduce motorcycle-related injuries and fatalities. Together, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington State Department of Licensing will be participating in a major motorcycle safety outreach campaign, “Look Twice, Save a Life.”  Motorcycle safety can be increased by rider and automobile driver’s attention, according to the news report. Most fatal motorcycle collisions are at the fault of the driver, according to the WSP. Troopers also remind bikers to have a driver license endorsement for riding and to wear a helmet. Last year, 67 motorcyclists died on Washington roads, a slight increase from the previous year.  The Washington State Patrol and Washington Department of Licensing hope that their new safety outreach campaign will reduce the number of fatal accidents in 2011.  As Seattle motorcycle accident attorneys, we urge bikers to always practice safe riding habits including following the speed limit, wearing a helmet and paying attention to the road. Motorcycle training and endorsement information can be found online at www.EndorseYourSport.com. Seattle Auto Accidents 2011-06-21T18:13:29+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/study-finds-equal-number-of-errors-in-hospitals-doctors-offices/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/study-finds-equal-number-of-errors-in-hospitals-doctors-offices/#When:18:01:49Z Your chances of suffering harm because of a medical error are about the same in a doctor's office as in a hospital, according to a new study. Using the U.S. National Practitioner Data Bank, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College compared malpractice claims paid on behalf of physicians who work in hospitals or doctors' offices. Of the nearly 11,000 malpractice payments made on behalf of physicians in 2009, about half were for adverse events from medical errors that occurred in a doctor's office and half were from errors that occurred in a hospital. Adverse outcomes in doctors' offices were most often the result of incorrect diagnoses, whereas unsuccessful surgery was the most common cause of negative outcomes in hospitals, according to the student, published in the June 15 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers said the finding shows the need to improve care in doctors' offices. "Physician practices have not been the focus of patient safety research, much less of policy efforts to reduce medical error," the study's lead author, Dr. Tara Bishop, an assistant professor of public health and medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and a physician at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, said in a college news release. "Our findings may reflect a lack of coordination within and between doctors' offices," Bishop said. "For example, a primary care physician may refer a patient to a specialist, but the actual appointment may never happen. A cardiologist may order a scan, unaware that it was already performed during a patient's hospital stay." "The problems associated with outpatient safety may not be easy to fix, but the adoption of electronic health records is already improving communication between doctors," she noted. "Patient safety is likely to improve markedly as more and more doctors' offices change the way their records are kept, updated and accessed." As Seattle medical malpractice attorneys, we hope this study will act as a wake-up call for the medical community and for patients so, as a community, we can start working on ways to solve these problems.   The Institute of Medicine reported that more than 98,000 Americans are killed due to medical errors each year.  Sadly, preventable mistakes have persisted despite the many measures instituted to prevent them.  We hope that this study will prompt hospitals and private medical clinics to take more steps to ensure patient safety.  Seattle Medical Malpractice 2011-06-21T18:01:49+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/teen-found-guilty-of-vehicular-homicide/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/teen-found-guilty-of-vehicular-homicide/#When:18:55:20Z A jury found a 16-year-old girl guilty of vehicular homicide in a crash that left a 2-year-old girl dead and her mother injured. The teen faces anywhere from three to nine months in jail when sentenced for the September 2010 crash that killed Anna Marie Brulotte. The toddler was hit while crossing the street with her mother and her two siblings, a 5-year-old and an 8-year-old, on Cornwall Avenue near Assumption Catholic School. A car had stopped to let them cross, but that car was rear-ended by the teen's car, detectives said. The impact of the crash caused the stopped car to accelerate forward and strike the toddler and her mother, who was holding her hand. The toddler sustained a crushing skull injury and was pronounced dead at the scene. The mother hit her head on the windshield of the hit car, and was thrown to the pavement. The woman was taken to St. Joseph Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The two other children were not hurt. Detectives said the teen driver, who was with two friends at the time, was distracted as she'd just asked her passenger to find something in her backpack. The driver was "looking at the backpack (on the front passenger seat along with her friend) and was indicating where the item was in the backpack" when she crashed, according to the statement of probable cause. Investigators determined the teen driver was traveling at a speed of 32 mph when she crashed. She "took no evasive action, including braking, or moving to the left to avoid the (hit) vehicle," detectives wrote. The girl's sentencing is set for July 6. As Seattle pedestrian and auto accident attorneys, we are saddened that this tragic accident occurred.  Driver distraction presents a serious and potentially deadly danger. In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving. Distracted driving comes in various forms, such as cell phone use, texting while driving, eating, drinking, talking with passengers, as well as using in-vehicle technologies and portable electronic devices.  We urge all of our readers to be consonant of the distractions they face while driving and modify their behavior accordingly.  Safety first!   Seattle Auto Accidents, Serious Personal Injury In Seattle 2011-06-15T18:55:20+00:00 http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/idaho-man-injured-in-rental-truck-crash-on-i-5/ http://dixon-law.com/blog/comments/idaho-man-injured-in-rental-truck-crash-on-i-5/#When:18:41:16Z An Idaho man was injured late Friday night after the rental truck he was driving crashed while trying to avoid a disabled vehicle on I-5 near Kent-Des Moines Road. The Washington State Patrol says that the rental truck was heading south on I-5 at around 11:20 p.m. when it started to pull over to the right shoulder. But at the last moment, the truck’s driver saw that a 2005 Chevrolet Impala that was already on the shoulder with a flat tire. The driver quickly tried to swerve to the left, but clipped the Impala on the rear. The truck then went across all of the southbound lanes, hit the jersey barrier, went over the barrier and ended up on its side on the northbound median. The truck’s driver, a 58-year-old man from Kendrick, Idaho, was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for treatment. The two people in the Impala were not injured. As Seattle accident attorneys, we know that rentals trucks can be difficult to drive. For those who are not used to driving trucks, a truck rental vehicle is a bit of a challenge. Do not assume that because you possess a valid driver’s license or you are competent at driving a regular vehicle, that you can drive a truck rental. The larger the size of the moving truck rental, the more difficult it is going to be to manage.  The key to driving a rental truck is being cautious and knowing the truck’s attributes before starting out on your journey. Some of the key points to recognize when driving a larger truck are as follows: Length of Rental Truck • When making a turn, especially a right hand turn, take the length of the truck rental vehicle into consideration so you do not ride up on the curb. When making a left turn, judge yourself according with the truck rental vehicle so you stay in the road space and again do not overshoot the lane and end up on the curb.• Watch for pedestrians as the length of the moving truck rental vehicle may prevent you from seeing people standing at the corner or close to the curb. Blind Spots• The rental vehicle will have blind spots in different places than your car. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust your mirrors before leaving the truck rental lot and also, make sure that you can see out of the mirrors.• Be extremely careful of bicycles riding along side the moving truck rental vehicle to ensure that you do not side scrape them and knock the rider of his bike. Height of the Rental Vehicle• Indeed, some bridges are going to be a problem for a moving truck rental if the brides are low. All bridges have signs posted before the bridge in order to warn motorists about the maximum height of the bridge. Write down the height of the truck rental so you have it handy when you are driving.• Another spot that is going to be problematic for rental trucks are parking garages. These garages usually have a long yellow bar to the entrance with the height marked on the bar in black. Take special note of the marked height, as you do not want to pay for damages both to the budget truck rental agency and the garage property owners. Width of the Rental• The lanes for drive-through windows for banking machines and food outlets may not be wide enough for bigger truck rental vehicles to pass. It would be prudent to leave the truck rental vehicle in the parking lot or on the street and go inside to conduct your business. Need to Brake Sooner• Many factors go into the successful braking of a vehicle. For example, the longer the vehicle, the more space you will need to brake and actually stop the truck rental vehicle.• The weight of the truck rental is another factor to remember, as the weight will push the moving truck rental vehicle even farther forward careening into things in its path.• No matter how well your belongings are stored in the cargo of the truck rental, braking hard will cause things to fall down and possibly smash up your possessions both inside and outside of boxes.• If you are braking hard on a curve, it will be almost impossible to control the moving truck rental vehicle trying to brake and turn it at the same time.   Seattle Auto Accidents 2011-06-15T18:41:16+00:00