Washington Injury Lawyer Blog

When you're in a car accident and you are injured by the negligence of another driver, they (or in most cases, their insurance company) will pay for all of your damages including medical bills, right? While that's technically true, this answer fails to address the complete picture.

The at-fault driver's insurance company will pay for your medical expenses, lost income, other out of pocket expenses and general damages (commonly called pain & suffering), but only as a lump sum when your case is settled or a verdict rendered. They do not act as your health insurer and pay for your medical care as you incur those costs for treatment. This is where PIP comes in. When you open a PIP claim under your own auto insurance policy, this coverage pays for your medical expenses as you incur them. Essentially, your auto insurance company acts as a health insurer for injuries related to the car accident. Your insurance company then has a right to get repaid out of your settlement with the at-fault driver.

At the conclusion of your case, we will determine the amount that your insurance company is legally entitled to receive. In most cases, this amount is less than the total amount your insurance company has paid for your medical care. We will do everything we can to ensure that you are fully compensated for all of your losses and damage resulting from the car accident.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Insurance

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Most of my personal injury cases are handled on a contingent fee basis. This simply means that I do not get paid unless I settle your case, or receive an arbitration award or verdict. No attorney fees will be paid if there is no recovery. Most attorneys handle personal injury cases on a contingent fee basis and charge one-third (33%) and forty percent (40%) if a lawsuit has to be filed and the case litigated. I value my services, but at the same time I realize that it was my client who was injured and often has to deal with life changing injuries. As such, I have reduced my fees to 30% if a case is settled, and 37% if a lawsuit has to be filed and the case litigated.

When you are looking for a personal injury lawyer, make sure you ask the right questions about their fees, both for settlement and litigation. Also be sure to ask if they charge any "extra" costs. Some attorneys charge a rather steep flat fee for copying and other expenses.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me. John@WilliamsLawPLLC.com.

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Posted In: Attorney Fees

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Most people are aware that pit bulls are a dangerous breed, but persoanally, I would rather be bitten by a pit bull than a Caucasian Shepherd. Admittedly, I knew nothing about this breed until after a client was recently involved in a very severe and vicious attack in the Seattle/Everett area.

Caucasian Shepherds are also known as Kavkazskaya Ovcharka and Caucasian Mountain Dog/Sheepdog among other names. This breed is one of the oldest in the world and originally worked protecting livestock on the slopes of the Caucasus Mountains in Russia and Georgia. They are very aggressive and very protective. These dogs were used by the East Germans to guard the Berlin wall and also guard against their own citizens attempting flee.

The Caucasian Shepherd has a vicious temperment, is very powerful and massive, a deadly combination if you are on the receiving end of an attack. Because they are so protective, they will not obey anyone they do not believe are superior to themselves. Usually they will only obey their master. Remember, that regardless of the breed, exercise great caution around dogs that you are not familiar with. A dog bite is a very painful injury, and is usually comprised of not only bite wounds, but very severe tear wounds as well. Knowledge is one of the keys to avoiding this terrible situation.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Dog Bite Injuries

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So let's say you're driving into Seattle and unfortunately someone behind you is paying more attention to their Blackberry than driving, and rearends you. You're injured and need medical care, but at least you have Personal Injury Protection (PIP) which will take care of your medical bills. Did you know that in some circumstances you have to reimburse your insurance company for any payments made under PIP coverage? That's right, you pay them a premium, they provide PIP coverage, and then you pay it back.

Ok, it sounds a little counter-intuitive, but it really does make sense. Lets take a couple different senarios. Number 1 - You are injured in a car accident, you use your PIP coverage to pay for your medical care and you do not pursue a claim against the other driver. Maybe you don't want to. or perhaps the accident was your fault. In this senario, you do not have to reimburse your insurance company because you did not receive a settlement from another party. To put it another way, your insurance company does not have a right of subrogation (right of reimbursement) in this case. Lets look at senario Number 2 - You are in a car accident, it's not your fault, you are injured and use your PIP for your medical care. You then settle your claim against the at fault driver. Your insurance company will have a right of subrogation.

Continue reading "What's Subrogation?" »

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Insurance

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For years now I have been trying to convince people to keep a camera in their car. If you come across something scenic or interesting in Seattle or Everett, you can take a picture, but more importantly, if you are in an accident you can document the scene. When I first started telling people to keep a camera in their car, I'm sure some people thought I was crazy. To some extent, I thought it may be a bit much. But now, more and more of my clients are coming to me with pictures in hand of the scene of the accident! Sometimes they use a camera, but often they simply use their cell phone camera.

So what's so great about pictures of the accident scene or damage to the car? Well, without photos, we have to rely on either a police report diagram, statements of the each driver and/or eyewitnesses, if any. Unfortuantely, eye witness testimony is generally not very credible or accurate, and while police officers do a great job, there are certainly times when the police report and diagram miss the mark. And perhaps the most important reason to document the scene of the accident with photos, is that the at fault driver often times leaves the scene and magically creates new facts so he or she isn't at fault. This is just an unfortunate bit of reality.

So, keep a camera with you and protect yourself. Consider it insurance against changing stories and facts.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car & Truck Accidents

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Yet another pit bull attack in Seattle. According to the Seattletimes.com, 71 year old Huong Le was severely attacked and mauled by two pit bulls when she was just feet from her SeaTac home where she works as live-in caregiver. Le spent more than 10 hours in surgery Monday at the trauma center at Harborview Medical Center, where surgeons worked to preserve her hearing and reattach her ears, both of which had been ripped from her head. Her jaw was broken and her right arm and wrist were crushed beyond complete repair.

Both of the pit bulls had to be shot by deputies in order to save Le. The owner of the pit bulls also owned two other pit bulls which were seized. This is a very sad, but at the same time, infuriating situation. While I don't want to stereotype the breed, at least 95% of the dog bite cases I have ever handled have involved pit bulls. This isn't a coincidence. All of these savage attacks have occurred because the owners were completely irresponsible and likely just didn't care that their dog(s) could severely injury or kill a person. These dogs have to be kept in a very secure enclosure.

Last Friday in Moses Lake, a pit bull (imagine that), pushed open a gate to get to Alex Medina. Alex by the way, is 6 years old. Alex was bitten on the face and head before the pit bull was pulled off. Doctors reattached his nose and ears, but he still faces more surgeries. The dog was not licensed and the owner had no record of rabies vaccine.

Continue reading "More Seattle Pit Bull Attacks" »

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Dog Bite Injuries

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We all know that Seattle is a dangerous place to drive a car, or especially be a pedestrian. While Washington's new cell phone law is a start, a very SMALL and almost useless start in my opinion, there are still many distracted driver's out there that don't see other cars, trucks or pedestrians. And if you drive a motorcycle, you probably feel that there is some cloaking shield around you that makes you and your motorcycle invisible! If driver's can't "see" a SUV, they certainly won't see you on your bike.

Ok, so now your motorcycle is a total loss and you have severe injuries and can't work. So how do you pay for your medical bills? If you are in your car, you simply use your personal injury protection (which everyone should have) to pay for your medical bills. But unfortunately, you discover that you do not have PIP coverage on your motorcycle, since no insurance company offers that coverage for motorcycles. While I haven't researched the reason for this, I would guess that the number of severe injuries is significantly higher than for cars and trucks. In addition, while Washington state law requires that PIP coverage be offered on car and truck policies, it is not mandated for motorcycle policies. The backup to PIP coverage is your own health insurance, but if you are among the many uninsured in the state, you could be in real trouble.

Many people are under the impression that the at-fault driver's insurance will take care of your medical bills. While this is technically true, they will not pay for your medical bills as you incur them like PIP or health insurance. Through settlement or a verdict, your medical bills will be reimbursed, but that could be 1, 2 or 3 years down the road. If you ride a motorcycle and do not have private health insurance, I would encourage you to take another look at your transportation options.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Insurance , Motorcycle Accidents

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Whether you are playing soccer in Seattle or maybe your child is playing T-Ball in Lynnwood, many people and parents have chemical cold packs handy. They are a convenient substitute for ice in the case of an injury. But are they safe? When you buy some of these cold packs, they aren't labled "Chemical" cold packs, but that's exactly what they are. Generally, these cold packs utilize ammonium nitrate crystals and a small bag of water or ampule, all of which is contained in a tough white plastic bag. Once the container for the water is crushed, the water and ammonium nitrate crystals mix resulting in a chemical reaction that creates the cold temperature. Unfortunately, this is a caustic mixture that will cause a chemical burn if exposed to skin because of a faulty outer bag or puncture in the bag.

There are now alternatives to chemical cold packs which do not use a caustic chemical mixture and are safe. There is always the old standby as well, ice. While not as convenient, ice will not cause a chemical burn that you will have the rest of your life. While I have represented clients who have received chemical burns from these cold packs, no one has ever contacted me because they were injured by ice. Always read the ingredients label, and if it lists ammonium nitrate, put it back and find another option.

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Posted In: Products Liability

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Whether you are in Seattle, Everett, or any other area of the Puget Sound, we have all experienced the proverbial standoff at 4 way intersections that do not have traffic lights. This includes intersections that have stop signs or no stop signs at all. It seems as if a majority of the time, either everyone tries to go at the same time or no one goes, until a driver with a little courage decides to try and negotiate the intersection. There is really no mystery to these types of intersections and traffic should move much better through them, at least in theory.

The question of who goes first, is set out in RCW 46.61.180:

(1) When two vehicles approach or enter an intersection from different highways at approximately the same time, the driver of the vehicle on the left shall yield the right-of-way to the vehicle on the right.

So if you and another car reach an intersection at about the same time, the car on the right has the right-of-way. Seems pretty basic, but apparently some drivers didn't pay attention in their driver's ed class. This rule of the road applies to intersections with either stop signs (3 or 4 way stop) or an uncontrolled intersection with no stop signs at all. It is these types of intersections where most of the accidents and injuries occur.

But despite your knowledge of the rules of the road, you must still exercise caution and cannot count on the other drivers knowing the rules. Bottom line is know the rules, but always drive defensively.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car & Truck Accidents

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When you're involved in an accident, the last thing most people think about is what do I need to do to document that the other driver was at fault. You are likely in shock and disoriented and trying to make sure that you and the other people involved in the accident are ok. Then the driver who just ran the stop sign at a typical four way stop in Seattle or Everett, comes up and says it was his or her fault and apologizes to you. The other driver was clearly at fault so you decide to not call the police, especially since the other driver admitted fault to you.

You then get home and have a damaged car and potential injuries, but at least the other driver's insurance company will take care of your damages. Then a week later you recieve a letter from the other driver's insurance company that they have completed their investigation and based upon the statement of their insured, have determined that you were at fault for the accident! They also let you know that they will be seeking payment from you for the damage caused to their insured's car. Yes this does happen. It is truly unfortunate, but after a little time to think about the situation, far too many people change their story to avoid an at-fault accident which will cause their insurance rates to increase.

I recognize that the police are not available for every single accident, but if you are involved in an accident, make every effort to have the police show up and write an accident report. In too many cases, it is simply too difficult to prove fault after the fact without a police report. I also recommend that everyone carry some sort of camera in their car and take pictures of the accident scene. Many clients have provided pictures from their cell phones which is powerful evidence that cannot be disputed.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car & Truck Accidents

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I usually receive a blank stare when I ask if someone has PIP coverage, but it's a very important and fairly inexpensive coverage on your automobile policy. PIP coverage has to be offered to you when you obtain an automobile insurance policy and has to be rejected in writing if you do not want the coverage. PIP is generally available with limits of $10,000.00 or $35,000.00.

PIP will pay for accident related medical expenses, wage loss (up to a maximum amount per week set by the policy), and necessary household expenses such as house cleaning and yard services. PIP is no fault coverage, which means it is available to you regardless of your fault for the accident. PIP is especially important if you do not have health insurance, otherwise, obtaining medical care in the event of an auto accident is very difficult.

Perhaps the biggest misconception regarding PIP coverage is that is really isn't needed if you aren't at fault for an accident, since the other insurance company will pay for your medical expenses. While this is technically true, they have no obligation to pay as you incur your treatment which is critical. Their only obligation is to pay for your damages either through settlement or verdict, after you have incurred your medical expenses.

If you do not have PIP coverage or simply don't know if you do or not, contact your insurance agent and have it added. It's costs very little so you get a lot of bang for your buck if you ever need it.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Insurance

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Can you imagine being a tenant in an apartment complex, your building catches on fire and burns to the ground with all of your possessions? I can't. And then, when you don't think it can get any worse, Farmers Insurance comes knocking, wanting you to pay them $420,000.00 for the damage to the apartment complex!

This happened to Chris Christoffersen and her daughter Melissa in University Place, Washington. The fire department had ruled the fire accidental and discovered it was caused when the Christoffersen's couch was pushed against the baseboard heater. At first, it was a phone call from Farmers wanting $350,000.00 to repair the complex. And then a bill from a collections agency demanding $420,000.00.

Farmers eventually dropped the matter after being contacted by the KOMO 4 problem solvers, but the arrogance of Farmers is simply amazing. The Washington State Insurance Commissioner stated that Washington Courts have ruled that insurance companies cannot hold tenants responsible for fire damages unless it's expressly written in the lease. But that didn't seem to matter to Farmers.

Posted by John Williams | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Insurance Bad Faith

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