Seattle Injury Lawyer Blog

Metro bus hits pedestrian, who heads off for coffee; driver arrested

January 9, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A 32-year-old man who managed to get up and walk to a nearby Starbucks for a cup of coffee after being struck by a bus on Tuesday morning is recovering from his injuries at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.

The victim was attempting to cross Third Avenue around 7:15 a.m. when he was struck by King County Metro’s Route 358 bus, shattering the bus windshield. The victim then managed to get up and walk with a bloodied head to the nearby Starbucks store at Westlake Center to order a cup of drip coffee. But he didn’t get to enjoy the brew, and instead was taken by paramedics to Harborview Medical Center, where he is recovering from his injuries.

A police officer trained to evaluate whether drivers are impaired checked the bus driver at the scene and determined he was showing signs of impairment, police said. The bus driver was taken into custody by police and also taken to Harborview, where his blood was drawn to determine whether he was impaired, police said. He was later released.

Ferry Hits Dock in New York Causing 50 Passenger Injuries

January 9, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A ferry loaded with hundreds of commuters from New Jersey crashed into a dock in lower Manhattan today during the morning rush hour, injuring around 50 people, at least two critically.

Passengers aboard the Seastreak Wall Street said scores of people who had been standing, waiting to disembark, were hurled to the deck by the impact.

”We were pulling into the dock. The boat hit the dock. We just tumbled on top of each other. I got thrown into everybody else. … People were hysterical, crying,” said Ellen Foran, 57, of Neptune City, N.J.

Safety issues to consider when purchasing a vehicle for your teen

January 8, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Teen drivers are at higher risk of being involved in a crash during their novice years than at any other point in their driving careers. In addition to teaching teens about safe driving techniques and forbidding hazards such as drunk, distracted and drowsy driving, parents can help to reduce the likelihood of their teens being involved in car accidents by ensuring that the vehicles they drive are safe.

A good rule of thumb is that when you are deciding between two vehicle models, always opt for the one boasting the most effective and advanced safety features. Preventing car accidents is not always possible. However, reducing the risk that your teen will become injured or perish in a crash can be prevented in many cases if the vehicle he or she is driving is as safe as possible.

If you are purchasing a used vehicle, make sure that the air bags in the car have not been replaced with models recently recalled as defective. Auto sellers were not obligated to replace many of these defective air bag models, so it is imperative that you do your research with regards to this critical safety feature.

Coast Guard rescues crew of grounded fishing vessel near La Push, Washington

January 7, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

The Coast Guard towed a 40-foot fishing vessel and its crew to safety, Thursday, after it ran aground approximately three miles north of the Quillayute River mouth near La Push, Wash.

The Coast Guard received a mayday call from the four-member crew of the Jayden Ray at 2:20 a.m., after their fishing vessel washed up on rocks and was unable to deploy its anchor.

An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., and a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Quillayute River, located in La Push, deployed to the scene. The motor lifeboat crew was able to navigate through the rocks and throw over a towline at approximately 3:30 a.m., after receiving aid from a spotlight shone from the helicopter.

Man reported overboard south of Kodiak Island

January 2, 2013 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a crewman missing more than 12 hours from a vessel bound from Washington State to eastern Asia.

The crewmember fell from the boat carrier Aqua Splendor.

The Coast Guard took a distress alert from the vessel Tuesday night when it was 300 miles south of the city of Kodiak.

Systemic failure on the part of DSHS to investigate and prevent abuse in state-funded adult group homes

December 18, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

When lawyers for a watchdog group were combing through state files involving people with developmental disabilities, they stumbled onto a disturbing case: A paid caregiver allegedly had assaulted a resident of a state-funded group home. An examination revealed bruising around the man’s genitals.

The July 2010 incident was disturbing on its own, said attorney Susan Kas, who works for the watchdog group, Disability Rights Washington (DRW). But even more troubling was what happened next.

“People witnessed this; he had an injury to the groin that was documented. And yet the abuse was unsubstantiated by state investigators,” Kas said. “I was dumbfounded.”

Sea-Tac Airport workers complain of unsafe work conditions

December 17, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

A group of Sea-Tac Airport workers say their daily work routine is filled with safety violations and health hazards. The workers claim they’re exposed to jet fuel, harsh chemicals and even human waste.

The dozens of workers who have stepped forward with complaints say their jobs are no longer safe, and they point to airplane refueling trucks run by ASIG, which they say often leak.

“At least once a day I’ll go out and something’s leaking, leaking jet fuel somewhere. And while they’ll go out and fix it, it will be back in a maintenance bay within a few days,” said a fuel truck worker.

Vehicle data recorders raise privacy concerns but could increase vehicle safety

December 12, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Many motorists don’t know it, but it’s likely that every time they get behind the wheel, there’s a snitch along for the ride.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday proposed long-delayed regulations requiring auto manufacturers to include event data recorders – better known as “black boxes” – in all new cars and light trucks beginning Sept. 1, 2014. But the agency is behind the curve. Automakers have been quietly tucking the devices, which automatically record the actions of drivers and the responses of their vehicles in a continuous information loop, into most new cars for years.

When a car is involved in a crash or when its airbags deploy, inputs from the vehicle’s sensors during the 5 to 10 seconds before impact are automatically preserved. That’s usually enough to record things like how fast the car was traveling and whether the driver applied the brake, was steering erratically or had a seat belt on.

Outbreak of unknown illness onboard Holland America cruise liner

December 11, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

The CDC reports that 85 passengers and six crewmembers aboard the Holland America vessel AMSTERDAM have fallen ill in the last month due to an unknown illness. The 85 passengers comprise over 10% of all passengers aboard the vessel in that time frame. Predominant symptoms of the illness are vomiting and diarrhea.

Passengers exhibiting symptoms have been transported off the vessel to limit exposure to healthy passengers, and there has been increased cleaning and disinfection onboard. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in San Diego, CA on December 5, 2012 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities.

If you fall ill as a cruise passenger due to vessel negligence, you are entitled to recover damages for your illness. Where there is an outbreak onboard a vessel, it is likely that the cause of the outbreak was within the control of the vessel owner or crew, and that negligence contributed. If you experience an illness under such circumstances, it is important that you contact an experienced maritime attorney as soon as possible to ensure that an investigation can be done to learn the cause of your illness.

Four injured due to escalator malfunction at Bellevue Square shopping center

December 7, 2012 | Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC

Four people fell when an escalator inside Bellevue Square shopping center malfunctioned Thursday evening, according to the Bellevue Fire Department.

A 30-year-old man, a woman and two 3-year-olds were taken to Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue after the 7:21 p.m. malfunction on the ground floor of Macy’s.

A witness reported she heard a loud sound followed by chaos near the escalator. When she went toward the noise, she saw that chunks of the escalator had fallen off.