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Washington Personal Injury Law Blog

Is maintenance required of commercial trucks?

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Commercial Vehicle Accidents on Friday, August 3, 2018.

It is important for vehicle owners to perform regular and necessary maintenance on their cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles in order to ensure that those automobiles remain in safe and working condition. A vehicle that is poorly maintained can put its driver, passengers and others in danger if it fails to respond as it should. Just as private drivers are required to perform upkeep on their personal vehicles, so too must truck and commercial vehicle owners make repairs to the large automobiles that they send out onto the roads.

Under guidance provided by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration certain commercial vehicles that carry passengers are required to regularly inspect and make repairs to their rigs. Certain vehicle components such as emergency doors must be inspected at least every 90 days.

Defending your rights after a distracted driving accident

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Car Accidents on Friday, July 20, 2018.

It takes only a moment for a car accident to occur. In the time it takes for a driver to check their text messages, change their radio station or turn around to talk to their passengers a life-altering collision could happen with another vehicle on the road. When distracted driving accidents happen, Washington residents deserve strong representation for the recovery of their losses.

David A. Williams is committed to serving the needs of vehicle accident victims in the Bellevue area. Distractions have become a major problem for all drivers who must share the roads with others, and attorney Williams and his firm are prepared to fight for the rights of men, women and children who have suffered injuries and harm due to the careless actions of others.

Who can you sue after a commercial vehicle accident?

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Commercial Vehicle Accidents on Thursday, July 5, 2018.

Seeking legal assistance after a commercial vehicle accident can be an important step in the financial recovery of a victim. In Washington, individuals who suffer harm at the hands of commercial drivers may have rights to pursue their losses through civil claims based on negligence and other causes of action. However, their opportunities to seek recovery may not be limited to just the drivers who were involved in their collisions; other parties may hold responsibility for their losses and suffering.

For example, the victim of a commercial vehicle accident may be able to include in their lawsuit the owner of the company that put the driver and their rig on the road. If a retailer employed the driver and provided them with the truck that was involved in the accident, then by virtue of the existing relationship the liability of the driver may extend to the owner as well.

Washington laws regarding pedestrian safety

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Pedestrian Accidents on Thursday, June 21, 2018.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Association, more than 5,000 people die in the United States each year from collisions with motor vehicles. This alarming statistic affects Washington residents as pedestrians become victims of crashes when drivers fail to follow the rules of the road and some of the laws that drivers must comply with.

It is the duty of drivers in Washington to avoid colliding with pedestrians and to take preventative steps, such as using their horns, to alert pedestrians to their presence. Additionally, drivers must yield to pedestrians who are in intersections at crosswalks. Such crosswalks may be marked or unmarked, and drivers must permit pedestrians to get from one side of the road to the other without disrupting their movements.

Multi-vehicle accident injures several victims in Seattle

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Car Accidents on Wednesday, June 6, 2018.

Traffic in Washington's metropolitan areas can be terrible. A single accident or area of road construction can cripple the daily commute of drivers who simply want to get to or home from work. Recently, a five-vehicle accident caused major problems for drivers in the area of Seattle's Aurora Bridge.

At around 5:30 in the evening during the nightly commute a major accident happened on the bridge. As a result, all lanes of the bridge were closed and three people suffered injuries. All of the victims were taken to the hospital and are expected to survive their ordeal.

Rest periods are a requirement for many commercial drivers

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Commercial Vehicle Accidents on Wednesday, May 23, 2018.

Drowsy driving is a dangerous form of distracted driving because it may cause a motor vehicle operator to lose control of the automobile when they fall asleep while behind the wheel. Exhaustion plagues all drivers at some point in their lives, but for most individuals who simply drive to get to where they want to go it is not an issue that could threaten their livelihood. However, for long distance truckers and other commercial vehicle drivers, resting and taking sleep breaks can put them off of their schedules and can cause them to lose money.

Regulations promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandate that certain commercial drivers take breaks from operating their rigs so that they may rest and prevent exhaustion from affecting their abilities to drive. For example, after taking 10 full hours off duty from driving a driver may operate their rig for up to 11 hours. Their operation may not continue beyond 14 hours, including mandatory stops and breaks, before they must again take a 10 hour off duty break.

After a pedestrian accident, know your rights as a victim

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Pedestrian Accidents on Wednesday, May 9, 2018.

Previous posts here have offered several articles on the devastation that can result when vehicles collide with people. From a street sweeper striking and killing a pedestrian to the harms that may befall children when drivers fail to notice them, pedestrian accidents are dangerous and can uproot the lives of not only their direct victims, but also the victims' families.

It may take everything for the victim of a pedestrian accident to simply wake up each day and face the challenges that their accident left them with. They may find that they can no longer do their job or that they need help simply completing tasks that barely required their attention before. Their family may feel the stress and strain of their lost income and their new responsibilities toward caring for the injured victim.

What steps should be taken after a pedestrian accident?

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Pedestrian Accidents on Wednesday, April 25, 2018.

A collision between a vehicle and a Washington resident can be a devastating and often tragic event. When a Bellevue resident becomes the victim of this type of preventable accident, they may be uncertain of what they should do to protect their legal rights. There are some steps victims can take after their pedestrian accidents.

As with all vehicle-related accidents, victims should seek medical help for any and all injuries they may have suffered in their ordeals. In some cases, a victim may not even know that they have suffered an injury because in the shock of the incident they may not feel any pain. As such, victims should be checked out by medical professionals to make sure their health-related needs are met.

Crashes between cars and commercial vehicles can be devastating

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Commercial Vehicle Accidents on Thursday, April 12, 2018.

Fender-benders and minor collisions happen every day on the roads throughout Bellevue, and most of the parties who are involved in these accidents are able to go about their days after working through the details of their crashes. However, as our readers know, more serious accidents also occur that can cause victims to suffer serious bodily injuries and even deaths. One type of accident that can be particularly devastating to victims is a commercial vehicle collision.

Commercial vehicles are those trucks, vans, buses and big rigs that are used to carry passengers and cargo to different destinations. Unlike private vehicles that are used by individual owners and operators for their personal use, commercial vehicles are part of the chain of commerce that gets things to where they need to be. Commercial vehicles are often large and when they are weighted down with parcels or passengers they can be massive obstacles for drivers to encounter on the roads.

A driver's duty changes when children are near

On behalf of Law Office of David A. Williams posted in Pedestrian Accidents on Friday, March 30, 2018.

Anyone who has had to drive near a school at the time of release understands the crunch of traffic that happens when a wave of children begins crossing a road. Though many Washington school districts take care to employ safety guards and protect kids with crosswalks, close calls happen when drivers fail to slow down, note the presence of children, and exercise heightened care when around them. In fact, drivers are generally expected to raise their duty of care when they are in the vicinity of kids.

This is because children are often the victims of auto-pedestrian accidents. Children become victims of these preventable tragedies for many reasons, such as the fact that their small statures that make them harder for drivers to see. Kids also can make poor decisions with regard to their safety and may inadvertently put themselves in harm's way by running into roads when their paths may be crossed by cars.

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