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WHAT I LEARNED WORKING FOR INSURANCE COMPANIES When I was just a puppy lawyer, I worked for one of the largest, most influential insurance defense law firms in the Northwest. I later worked for one of the most popular insurance companies in the United States. In each of these positions, I was em...

What every business owner in Washington should know about personal injury protection Why should I care about personal injury protection? In short, PIP can protect your employees if they need treatment not covered by workers compensation, but make sure it covers employees in the course and scope...

In what is becoming an annual tradition on this blog, I write to you today about boating safety. We've touched on it before- here, here, and here.  The waterways are looking a lot more appealing now that the sun is out, on at least a semi-regular basis. Despite the fairly detailed regulatory sch...

Does the other side have to pay attorney fees and costs if we win? Does the other side have to pay attorney fees and costs if we win? Generally, each side pays their own attorney fees and costs. In a Washington personal injury case, that means the costs and fees come out of the settlement or ve...

This question was posed to me in response to a prior blog about paying back PIP benefits. In general, PIP and Health Insurance benefits have to be paid back at the end of a personal injury case.  In short, the concern was why a consumer pays premiums for protection, and then when they get injured...

Schauermann Thayer's Policy on the Cost of Language Barriers and Connecting With Clients Recently my partner, Ben Melnick, wrote a blog post in titled “Language Barriers and Connecting With Clients” [Link: https://www.washingtonoregonlawyers.com/language-barriers-and-connecting-with-clients].  T...

Can an attorney work remotely outside of the state where they are appearing? The American Bar Association recently told attorneys throughout the United States that we can work remotely from anywhere on cases in a state in which the attorney is licensed, if they follow certain rules. Under those rules, the lawyer must not: Advertise to the public an address in the jurisdiction; Give an address on letterhead, business cards, or websites that indicate the lawyer is present in the jurisdiction; and Offer or provide legal services to clients located in the local jurisdiction, unless authorized by the state’s temporary practice rules.

Talking with my dad not long ago, he recounted the helplessness and anxiety he felt watching me head down the driveway in my car on my 16th birthday, realizing his life had forever changed. Looking back, I can't believe I was allowed to drive at that age. Sixteen-year-old me doesn't seem that sma...

UIM LIMITS FOR NAMED INSUREDS Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM) exists to provide additional insurance coverage for accident victims where the at-fault driver's liability insurance limits are insufficient to cover the injured person's damages. The UIM benefits are limited by the coverage limi...

As personal injury attorneys, we're well familiar with Washington's prohibition on driving while using electronic devices, RCW 46.61.672. Police officers are diligently seeking out drivers who are texting because they know that 1 in 4 car accidents are caused by cell phones.  Although cell phone...

Here are 10 things to remember after you have been involved in a car accident.

Experienced attorneys who have spent their careers in the courtroom are able to pause, and notice the changing of the seasons. Such is the case in this post when Schauermann Thayer founding member, Bill Thayer, stops and smells the roses.

As part of the COVID-19 emergency orders, the state of Oregon has tolled the statute of limitations for personal injury and other cases through, at least, July 31, 2021. Best to file early, and to be aware of the specifics of the extension. But you may still have time to file a lawsuit in Oregon so long as the statute of limitations expired during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

After a car has been wrecked and repaired, it is simply worth less money. The eventual potential buyer of a wrecked car is either going to ask about the crash history or get some sort of Carfax or similar report and find out about it, probably. There is a stigma associated with cars which have been involved in crashes, right or wrong. It can be necessary to hire a "diminished value" legal expert to measure the amount of this damage.

Are you aware of the laws designed to keep our students safe during their school bus commute to and from school? In this post, Schauermann Thayer partner Ben Melnick discusses these laws.

New study explains the gender differences that cause more women than men to be seriously injured in car crashes--women are more likely to be driving smaller, lighter cars than men.

Ava's case was unique and complex. Her injuries are permanent. It was a difficult case to evaluate despite our experience and background. It was one where we asked for help from the community by way of focus groups and one in which we continue to evaluate even today (by way of your comments and questions)

When a loved one is suddenly killed in a car crash, the funeral expenses can add a huge burden to an already overwhelmingly difficult situation. Thankfully, Washington law provides a source of payment for those with PIP insurance.

A recent article I saw through KGW8, a local news outlet, was notable for me on many levels. One, the story is just amazing and wonderful. Two, it reinforces the importance of what we do as injury law attorneys.

The National Safety Traffic Administration (NHTSA) looked at data from the first nine months (January through September) and calculated that the number of people killed on the nation’s highways rose 4.6% despite the number of drivers on the roadways being drastically down as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns.

Change comes in all forms. This recent wave of changes should signal stability in the bench for years to come, with worthy and talented legal professionals making the decisions on the rule of law.

Last month we updated our website to better serve our clients and to make sure those injured because of someone else’s negligence are able to find the resources and connections they need to protect themselves from overreaching insurance companies. Though the look and feel of the website is more modern and contains much of the same information, it should be more accessible and user friendly than our prior website.

The old saying goes, “Justice delayed is justice denied.” With that in mind, courts in Oregon and Washington had until recently been trending toward fast-track systems, implementation of local rules that would push civil cases to be resolved, if at all possible, within a year to fourteen months from the date of the case being filed in court. Since March of last year, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, that train has definitely ground to a halt.

Black History Month gives each of us the opportunity to stop and reflect, and even celebrate, the often overlooked contributions of black Americans in our nation’s history.

The basic guiding principle is, can you prove to a degree of reasonable medical certainty that any future care will be required to address your continuing symptoms? A reasonable medical certainty requires a showing that the future care is “more probably than not” reasonable in amount, necessary as a result of the incident, and related, specifically, to the incident. “More probable than not” could be simplified stated as a 51% probability.