Safety Tips for First Time Turkey

With COVID-19 in full swing, many families are choosing to have Thanksgiving at home with their immediate family members. That means many chefs will be roasting, deep frying, brining or smoking a turkey for the first time and learning the ropes as they do it. When it comes to turkey, there are all kinds of tricks for keeping it moist and delicious but there are also safety tips that should be taken into consideration to avoid a Thanksgiving Day accident or injury.

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Wrongful Life Lawsuit Awards Plaintiff $10M After Seattle Nurse Gives Flu Shot Instead of Birth Control

According to reporting by the Seattle Times, a federal judge has awarded just over $10 million in a wrongful life lawsuit brought against the government for the negligence of a nurse at a federally funded health care clinic. The suit was brought because of an unwanted pregnancy caused by the nurse’s negligence when she administered a flu shot instead of the quarterly birth control injection. The negligent action ended in the birth of a severely disabled child and the birth injury award is intended to pay for the future care of the child, now eight years old.

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What is a 50/50 Car Accident Claim?

When a car insurance company investigates a car insurance claim against one of their members, they are hoping to find a way to assign at least 50 percent of the blame to the other driver. It is very common for at least some fault to be assigned to each driver. A 50/50 car insurance claim is when an insurance agency determines that liability – or fault – for the accident is shared equally between the drivers. Even a small mistake made by one of the drivers could cause a 50 percent fault determination; particularly if the accident could have been prevented had the mistake not been made. If it is a 50/50 at-fault accident, and both parties agree on their share of the fault, it is called a split liability agreement. In practical terms, this means that any treatment for injuries or property damage costs will be shared equally between the parties and that the claimant will only be able to collect 50 percent of the value of their claim.

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GM Voluntarily Recalling 69,000 Chevy Bolts Over Fire Concerns

Car manufacturers have been ramping up production of Electric Vehicles (EVs) in recent years as demand has grown for more environmentally friendly vehicles. Unfortunately, several manufacturers have had to issue recalls of their battery-powered models in recent months, including Ford, Hyundai, and BMW.

Last week, Detroit auto manufacturer, Chevrolet, issued a voluntary recall of 68,667 Chevy Bolts that were built between 2017 and 2019 worldwide. The reason? There were at least five reported “fire incidents” involving the electric vehicle model; all vehicles had either fully charged or almost fully charged batteries at the time the fires erupted. As a result of the fires, there are two reports of smoke inhalation injuries.

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Great Daytime Visibility Reduces the Risk of Car Accidents

Visibility is incredibly important to our ability to drive safely. We know that our visibility declines when it’s dark, rainy or foggy and that car accidents increase during these times. But what about daytime visibility? Drivers tend to take it for granted and can become overly confident on a sunny day. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there are more motor vehicle accidents during daylight hours than at night. This could be because of the glare of the sun, but also because there are typically more cars and pedestrians on the road during the day.

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How To Reduce Your Risk of a Night Time Driving Accident

Many studies have shown that night is the most dangerous time to drive, with accidents peaking on Saturday nights. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drivers are three times more likely to have a fatal accident at night than during the day. There are various reasons for this including, rush hour, the large percentage of drivers – especially older drivers – who don’t see well in the dark, the increase in impaired drivers and feelings of fatigue. According to stack.com, our bodies produce more melatonin when it’s dark and this increase leads to a surge in feeling fatigued and tired.

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Nov. 1-8 is Drowsy Driving Prevention Week

Thanks to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), Nov. 1-8, 2020 is Drowsy Driving Prevention Week. It makes sense when you consider that we “fall back” to Standard time this week, which affects our sleep pattern. The goal of their annual campaign is to reduce the number of drivers who drive while sleep-deprived by raising awareness and education about the dangers of drowsy driving and how to prevent it. There are many dangers associated with driving drowsy and the alarming statistics presented in this article show why we need to raise awareness.

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State Patrol Vehicle Hit While Responding to Deer Car Accident on I-5 South of Bellingham

According to a report by the Bellingham Herald, a vehicle struck a deer just after 6 a.m. this morning near the North Lake Samish exit of southbound I-5. The accident blocked the left lane of southbound traffic and caused a backup for more than two and a half hours when a Washington State Patrol vehicle who responded to the scene was hit by a passing driver. The patrol vehicle was empty when it was struck and nobody was injured in the crash. The backup was cleared by 9 a.m.

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Prevent Whatcom County Child Pedestrian Accidents as We Return to School

There is no doubt that 2020 has been a weird and difficult year. All public schools in Whatcom County chose to begin their school year with distance only learning for all grades due to the risk of spread of COVID-19. Since that decision was made in late-July, Whatcom County’s infection rate has dropped enough that school districts are beginning to bring students back in hybrid models – either half the class two days a week or every other week. This means that school zones will be back in effect along with the need to protect our children from pedestrian accidents.

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National Teen Driver Safety Week: Teen Driving Accidents

It’s National Teen Driver Safety Week, October 18-24, 2020. Sadly, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens (15-18 years old) in the United States. Teenage brains are still developing and as a result, teens tend to be impulsive and use poor judgment. Poor decisions often include drinking and driving or texting and driving; two of the riskiest behaviors when getting behind the wheel.

In 2017, 2,247 people were killed in car crashes involving a teen driver; 755 deaths were the teen driver. While young people aged 15-19 represented 6.5 percent of the U.S. population in 2017, injuries and fatalities from motor vehicle accidents involving teenage drivers represented about $13.1 billion – or almost eight percent – of the total costs of motor vehicle injuries.

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