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A decision to postpone jury trials in Clark County courts makes good sense in terms of what is going on with local virus infection and hospitalization rates.

I can’t count how many times I’ve had to tell a dumbfounded personal injury client that not only is our lawsuit not going to be against the negligent party’s insurance company, but we can’t even mention the fact that they have insurance in court. Their confusion is understandable - to most people it seems intuitive that the insurer, the one that hires the defense attorneys and ends up paying the money, is “responsible” and should be talked about.

When The Money Is Not Enough It is an all-too-common scenario. A client is injured in a collision. The injuries are severe, even crippling in some ways. The client seeks treatment, and it is helpful. But the injuries are permanent. The pain just will not go away, and it affects virtually every a...

There are generally two types of trucking accidents. Many people think only of those where the semi causes catastrophic injury or death. A fully loaded tractor-trailer can be dangerous.  Those instances certainly exist, and they are worthy of special time and attention in their own right. But what about when another driver hits a trucker? That happens, too. And those cases present some unique challenges.

If you can prove that the injuries that you suffered as a result of an incident are permanent, then you are able to seek a much higher number in terms of compensation in your potential personal injury case.  Essentially, if you are facing dealing with your injuries and symptoms for the rest of your life, the compensation you can seek in your personal injury claim is much greater (and that's only fair for the reasons discussed below).

But, ultimately the most effective method to affirmatively prove permanent injury is through the testimony of a medical provider or doctor.  Where a doctor testifies to the jury and explains that, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, the injured person more probably than not suffered permanent injury. In some instances, an injured person might believe, personally, that they are permanently injured but their doctor is unable to testify that this is true from a medical perspective.  There may, then, be problems of proof in that case.  That injured person may not succeed in collecting damages for a permanent injury.

We need to slow down. Obey the speed limit, especially in school zones and residential areas. Pay attention and drive defensively. We need to protect our kids.  Dr. Steven Cliff, the Acting Administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has appropriately stated that “loss of life is unacceptable on any of our nation’s roadways and everyone has a role to play in ensuring that they are safe.” We owe that responsibility to our children. 

After over 40 years in this wonderful career I am stepping back from the full time practice of law, effective July 1, 2021.  I will remain of counsel with the Schauermann Thayer firm, assisting and offering input on issues and cases as needed. I have really enjoyed being able to work for and wit...

On July 16, 2021, the Clark County Bar Association circulated court updates for Clark County's Superior and District Courts which went into effect on July 19, 2021 and effectively opened up the courthouse to a greater degree than it has been during the pandemic. The Superior Court has updated the COVID-19 Mitigation Order for the Courthouses (GO 21-03) as well as the Emergency Order (GO 21-04).

Sometimes the fact that the crash was so traumatic can lead to mental health impacts not only from the event itself but also from either having avoided death and having survived (often called “survivor's guilt”), depending on the circumstances.  This can cause people some significant crash-related symptoms beyond physical injury.  It might even arise to a level where mental health counseling or therapy is both needed and obtained.

Partners Brad Thayer and Ben Melnick have been selected by their peers as two of Washington's Plaintiff's Personal Injury Rising Stars in the 2021 Super Lawyers Magazine. Mr. Thayer is a repeat winner, and this is Mr. Melnick's first selection. 

“Seat Belts Save Lives” is not just a public service announcement; it is reality. A recent publication by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”) found a clear correlation between seat belt usage and lower rates of death in automobile collisions.  The study looked at overall ...

The insurance company offered only $25,000 to settle our client's claim. $25,000! The insurance company explained that the policy had a clause in it, called a “step-down” or “drop back” clause that provided that if anyone other than the named insured or the named insured's family members was driving the vehicle at the time of the collision, then the policy limit paid for by the insured—in this case, $100,000—would be reduced to the minimum limits required by the state—in this case, a Washington case, $25,000. 

NHTSA estimates that approximately 38,680 people died on the road last year. That is a 7.2% increase over 2019 and the largest total since 2007. The fatality rate also increased per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, too.   This may seem strange since there were fewer people on the roads, and people drove less. That is probably due, in part, to reduced travel, reduced commuting, fewer businesses being open, and overall life is a little more isolated in 2020. 

Ordinarily, in the personal injury cases we get called upon to handle, the client's emphasis is on trying to obtain a remedy for the damage they suffered. Just compensation for the harm that was caused to them.  But not always. Some clients just want to deter the person or entity that harmed them or their loved one from being careless again and hurting someone else, or worse yet, from killing someone.  Both concerns are important – civil deterrence and civil redress. But this is a blog about civil deterrence. 

Welcome to a basic primer on “the Rescue Doctrine”. If a careless person puts himself or another at risk of injury, and a third person is trying to help gets hurt, can they be held responsible for the attempted rescuer's damages? The answer in Washington State as well as in Oregon is definitely, “Yes”. 

Why are Insurance Companies so Cheap?By Bill ThayerMarch 19, 2021 I am often asked the question set out above in the title of this blog, or some variation of it.  Many times by unrepresented people calling our office regarding the offer an insurance company has made to them, or by my own clients...

If I decline an ambulance at the scene of a car crash does that kill my personal injury case?By Brad Thayer In short, no.  Personal injury claims are more nuanced than that. In doing what we do we always have to consider what a jury will think when they hear testimony and evidence at trial.  Al...

CROSSWALKS This summer and fall, with nicer weather and folks emerging in public from COVID-induced hibernation, pedestrian/crosswalk safety is vitally important.  A good summary of many areas of the law can be found in the pattern jury instructions that we lawyers use when in trial. These are ...

When resolving a personal injury claim by settlement against a third party, in the situation where Washington worker's compensation (Dept. of Labor and Industries/”LNI” or a self-insured employer/”SIE”) has paid the bills, under the Tobin case you must allocate the settlement between economic damages (medical bills, wage loss) and general damages (“pain and suffering”).

DOGS AND HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE In February my family welcomed a new puppy, a first for us. Just now, halfway through the year, I got around to calling my insurance agent to ask if my homeowners insurance needed to be updated to take this pooch into account. As we've written about before, dog owne...

Should I see my primary care doctor after a car accident? By Brad Thayer As we've discussed on this blog before, we stay in our lane as attorneys and don't unduly influence our clients' course of medical care.  We are attorneys, not doctors, and we know that.  Our clients are, more often than n...

As of 2020, motor vehicles on the roadway must give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space, if not the whole lane, when passing.

But what's worse is when the crash causes the front seat to fall backward onto a child in the back seat and/or in a car seat—resulting in a catastrophic injury or even worse the death of a child.