WA State Supreme Court: State is Liable for Safety of Foster Kids

In a 5-4 decision, the Washington State Supreme court ruled that the state is liable for safety and welfare of the more than 10,000 foster children in the state’s foster system. Specifically, the majority opinion says that the state Department of Social and Health Services – now the Department of Children, Youth and Families “owes a duty of reasonable care to protect foster children from abuse at the hands of their foster parents…the foster children produced sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that DSHS breached its protective duty, and that the breach of that duty caused their injuries.” In the dissenting opinion, Justice Barbara Madsen disagreed that “a special relationship exists between foster children and DSHS and that, therefore, the state shouldn’t be held responsible for child abuse that occurs after custody is transferred to the foster parent.”

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How to Drive Safely through a Flash Flood

The U.S. National Weather Service looked at a 30-year national average in 2005 and found that about 127 people die every year in floods in the United States; much more than the number who die in tornadoes, hurricanes or by lightening. A Zevin 1994 report found that 80 to 90 percent of flood deaths are caused by flash floods. About 40 percent of flash flood fatalities were pedestrian accidents or motor vehicle accidents as the person or vehicle attempted to cross the flooded area.

What is a flash flood?

A flash flood is an intense flooding of low-lying areas over a period of six or less hours. In the Pacific Northwest flash floods are generally caused by a severe rain or thunderstorm.

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Bus Accident Injury Claims Can Involve Unique Procedural Rules

According to a study by the University of Michigan, buses are involved in 63,000 motor vehicle accidents every year. People who are injured in or property that is damaged by a government owned bus will need to follow specific procedural rules unique to filing bus accident injury claims.

Bus accident injuries

Like for all types of motor vehicle accidents, bus accident injuries vary from minor to severe and most commonly involve whiplash-related soft tissue injuries, traumatic brain injury / head trauma, broken bones, cuts and bruises. While risk of a bus accident is smaller than the risk of a standard motor vehicle accident, buses do carry a higher danger of a rollover or tip-over accident. When a bus does tip or rollover, injuries tend to be more severe because passengers are not wearing seat belts. When buses hit a regular passenger vehicle the damage and injuries are more prone to being serious because of the enormous size difference of the vehicles.

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10 House Fire Prevention Safety Tips for Fire Prevention Month

Fire departments across the United States are called to extinguish almost two million fires every year; three-quarters of them are house fires. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, fires take the lives of over 4,000 Americans and injure about 20,000 more each year. Prevent property damage, burns, smoke inhalation and death with these fire prevention safety tips.

10 House Fire Prevention Safety Tips

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Medical Malpractice Lawsuit for Bowel Injury Caused by Hernia Repair Surgery

Hernia surgery is common and has positive patient outcomes the vast majority of the time. This is no comfort to the two percent of ventral hernia surgery patients that experience bowel injuries as result of the procedure however. Bowel injuries can lead to serious complications including sepsis and fistulas and even death. Bowel injuries also increase the length of the hospital stay after hernia surgery from four to seven days and increases the likelihood of reoperations and readmissions.

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Common Carrier Injury Claims: Limousine Personal Injury Case

A common carrier is a person or company that transports goods or passengers on regular routes at set rates. People traveling in a rented limousine, sightseeing bus, taxi, train, airport shuttle, cruise ship, airplane or any form of private group transportation are using a common carrier to get where they need to go.

Common carrier injury claims are filed when a passenger is injured while traveling on one of these types of transportation.

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Injured by an Intoxicated Person? Washington State Dram Shop Laws May Apply

If you or a loved one was injured by an intoxicated person – such as in a car accident or physical altercation – you may be able to recover damages under Washington State dram shop laws. For years, the state has recognized the right of a person injured by an inebriated minor to bring a civil lawsuit against the social host or alcohol vendor who sold or served alcohol to the minor. Claims against social hosts fall under social host liability laws while claims against alcohol vendors fall under dram shop laws; both sets of laws are meant to protect victims of alcohol-related accidents.

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The Famous “Scalding Cup of Coffee” Personal Injury Lawsuit Explained

Most people over the age of 30 have heard about the famous “scalding cup of coffee” personal injury lawsuit. Many use it as a notorious example of the amount of “frivolous lawsuits” in the United States. The problem is that most people don’t know anything about the details of the case or why the jury awarded the plaintiff almost $3 million in punitive damages for the burns she suffered.

What you should know about the “scalding cup of coffee” personal injury lawsuit

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Beef from Popular Grocery Chains under Food Recall After 1 Death Reported

On September 19, 2018, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service announced that Colorado based Cargill Meat Solutions was recalling about 132,606 pounds of ground beef products due to a possible Escherichia coli O26 contamination. According to the USDA, the beef products involved in the food recall were produced and packaged on June 21, 2018. It is a class I contamination which means that the health hazard has a reasonable chance of causing serious health issues or death if ingested. (more…)

What to Do If You Are the Victim of a Hit and Run Bike Accident

When a driver slams into, opens a door into or forces a bicycle off the road and then leaves the scene of the accident before information can be exchanged, a hit and run bike accident has happened. After the crash, there are steps that a bicyclist can take to ensure that their legal rights are protected and that they receive the full compensation that they are owed.

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