December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month
Since 1981, every president of the United States has proclaimed December as National Drunk & Drugged Driving Prevention Month or, more recently, National Impaired Driving Prevention Month to create awareness about the dangers of driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol. December is chosen for the simple reason that the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day have consistently higher rates of drug and alcohol related crashes. December, 2020 was declared National Impaired Driving Prevention Month (2022 Update) by President Trump.
Read MoreHow Does Speed Car Accident Happen?
Speeding is a danger to everyone on the road from the driver themselves, to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians. The fact is that speeding increases the chance of getting into a car accident is one factor. Also it increases the likelihood that the accident will be deadly. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), speeding was the leading cause of death for 9,738 people in 2018. According to crash stats from the NHTSA, speeding has been a factor in approximately one-third of all motor vehicle accident fatalities for more than two decades.
Read MoreBellingham Police Vehicle Totaled in Crash Caused by Suspected Drunk Driver
As reported by skagitbreaking.com, a Bellingham Police Department (BPD) Crime Scene Investigators vehicle was totaled early on December 5, 2020 – around 2 o’clock in the morning at the intersection of Barkley and Orleans Street. The collision was caused by a suspected drunk driver: an 18-year old male who was driving a pick-up truck. The violent crash was immediately preceded by running a red light while driving over the speed limit. Upon impact, the BPD truck was sent spinning 180 degrees from the path it had been travelling. The at-fault driver’s truck was also totaled in the accident.
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Read MoreSingle-Vehicle I-5 Crash Reveals Empty Vodka Bottle inside Abandoned Vehicle
A single-vehicle I-5 crash near Blaine on Sunday, November 29 damaged about 50 yards of cable barrier after the vehicle struck the median. When State Patrol and Blaine Police arrived at the scene of the accident about 5:30 p.m., they found an abandoned vehicle and an empty bottle of peppermint vodka along with the suspect’s driver’s license through the broken driver’s side window. When police later contacted the suspect, he admitted to crashing his vehicle and walking away from the scene but claimed he had fallen asleep while driving. Questions about the bottle of vodka went unanswered.
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Read MoreHow is Pain and Suffering Calculated in Washington State Personal Injury Cases?
In a personal injury case, pain and suffering is the legal term for the part of the settlement that compensates the victim for the physical and emotional distress caused by an injury. Some examples of pain and suffering damages include depression, loss of enjoyment of life, limitations on activity and chronic pain.
One of the many advantages of hiring a personal injury attorney to help with a personal injury claim is their help calculating a dollar value for your pain and suffering. The injury lawyer factors in a settlement range that is most likely to be offered in negotiations or in a jury award. This information gives the plaintiff a good idea of what compensation they can expect for their pain and suffering from a reasonable offer.
Read MoreSafety Tips for First Time Turkey
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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.
Read MoreWhat is a 50/50 Claim Car Accident ?
A 50 percent fault determination can result from even a minor error committed by one of the drivers, especially when the accident could have been avoided without that mistake. When both parties acknowledge their respective portions of the fault in a 50/50 at-fault accident, it’s referred to as a split liability agreement. In practical terms, this implies that the expenses for injury treatment or property damage will be divided evenly between the parties, and the claimant will be eligible to receive only 50 percent of the total value of their claim.
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.
Read MoreGreat 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.