Washington Personal Injury Law Blog

As most Washingtonians know while out driving on Western Washington's busy roadways, sharing the roads with large trucks can be challenging. Unfortunately, commercial vehicle accidents with large trucks can result in serious injuries to victims which is why they should be familiar with the legal resources to help protect them when they have been injured by a negligent truck driver or trucking company.

Depending on the circumstances and relationship between the parties in some instances, a negligent truck driver, negligent truck company or both may be liable for the damages and harm suffered by the victim. The trucking industry is heavily regulated and any violation of those regulations that results in serious or catastrophic injuries to victims may be the basis for liability and demonstrate trucking company negligence or truck driver negligence.

Staying focused, staying alert and watching out for the other motorists on the road while behind the wheel is crucial to safe driving. Alcohol influences these capabilities of a person, putting oneself and others in danger. Driving under influence is fatal and regardless of constant campaigns and awareness drives by the authorities in Washington, many drivers are arrested every year in the country for driving while intoxicated.

In a recent case, a former Kent city employee sentenced to eight-and-half years in prison in connection with drunk driving and killing a pedestrian. The fatal accident occurred while the victim, a man in his mid-70s, was trying to cross the intersection at 108th Avenue Southeast and Southeast 204th Street. Reportedly, the victim was hauled about 200 feet by the truck and died at the scene. The man was driving his work vehicle, a maintenance truck, and admitted that he was drunk. He made an apology for his actions before the judge.

Road accident is the most annoying thing to happen to people on the road. It is very unfortunate that some individuals risk their lives because of unexpected incidents that arise due to neglect on the part of other people.

In a recent case, police arrested a man in connection with a wrong-way crash on Interstate 90. At milepost 31, Washington State Forest Unit 55 spotted a white van traveling westbound on I-90 at a very high speed, which investigators later discovered was a stolen vehicle and the van was chased by the officers with the Snohomish Police Department. According to police records, the driver of the vehicle that caused the crash took the on-ramp from milepost 25 to Westbound I-90 and struck a Police Department vehicle. The man was driving recklessly, making multiple U-turns and continued travelling the wrong way to Snoqualmie Parkway.

Bellevue, Washington car drivers should clearly understand that using a cell phone behind the wheel can be dangerous. It can cause fatal car accidents that can have devastating consequences.

Cellphones and other electronic devices are major contributors to traffic fatalities in America. Such devices cause considerable driving distraction that may result in fatal road accidents. As per annual 2015 data collected by the NHTSA, an average of nine deaths and over 1,000 injuries every day in America involved distracted driving.