A Parking Space Angled Into a Crosswalk. What Could Go Wrong?
A parking space angled into a crosswalk directly behind it, so that any driver pulling out of the parking space must pull directly into a parking lot crosswalk. See where this is going? A customer used the painted crosswalk to walk towards an entrance to Value Village in Marysville. A customer backed a minivan from […]
Continue reading$3.5M Personal Injury Verdict Against Landlord Upheld
A woman went to a birthday party with her boyfriend and two other friends. She had a lot to drink. After the party the group went to the boyfriend’s apartment complex. The boyfriend and one friend went to a convenience store. While they were away, the other friend remained outside the apartment to smoke while […]
Continue readingIf a chicken is injured crossing the road to change a tire, does insurance cover it?
Insurance policies typically provide coverage for injuries “arising out of” the “use” of a covered vehicle. This obviously means driving a car, but what if you are not driving? What if someone hits you while you are changing your tire, or while out of your car exchanging information with another driver? This varies a lot […]
Continue readingWhen Good Samaritans are Injured or Cause Injury
Do Good Deeds Always Go Unpunished? Sometimes a good Samaritan unintentionally causes further injury to someone they are trying to help; or, a person gets injured trying rescue another person. What are the rules? Good Samaritan. By statute in Washington a good Samaritan in generally not liable for ordinary negligence. A good Samaritan is liable […]
Continue readingInjured Student Athletes. Can the School be Liable?
A referee in a high school wrestling match turns his back to adjust some mats. While he is distracted, one competitor uses an illegal hold on the other, severing his spine and rendering him paralyzed below the neck. The school argued that the referee was an independent contractor, and that the student had assumed the […]
Continue readingTenant Injury on Stairs
Injuries on stairs are common, including in rental properties. Whether the landlord is responsible for the injury will depend on several factors. Landlords must keep common areas in a reasonably safe condition for tenants and their guests. If the stairs are in a common area the landlord may be liable for a failure to keep […]
Continue readingBicycles and Bollards
Recently my wife and I visited a park and driving into the lot we saw an ambulance and a crowd gathering around. We elected to leave the area and go to a different park. Days later we returned to the park. I noticed a large, fresh plug missing from a wooden bollard. The bollard is […]
Continue readingChiropractor Failed to Disclose Risk of Stroke
A chiropractor performed vigorous manual neck manipulation without a “work-up” to determine whether there was increased risk to the patient based on factors such as medical history, and without warning the patient of the risk of stroke. The patient suffered a stroke and later sued the chiropractor for medical malpractice. The patient retained experts who […]
Continue readingLandlord Responsibility for Injuries to Guests
Sometimes a tenant’s guests are injured because of a dangerous condition in the rental property. Whether the landlord is legally responsible for injuries to a tenant’s guests depends on various factors including whether the property is commercial or residential, whether the injury occurred in a common area, whether the lease contract requires repairs, whether the […]
Continue readingThe Right of Way
The rules of the road rights of way help determine fault. Often fault for an accident is pretty clear. Often it is not. There may be differing accounts of what happened. ‘I had the light.’ ‘No, it was green for me.’ Also, the right of way is not always an either/or proposition. The disfavored driver […]
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