Emergency Vehicles Duty
Emergency vehicles responding to an emergency must exercise “due regard for the safety of all persons” but do not, of course, have to fully comply with all the normal rules of the road.[1]
Continue readingLook Before Crossing
A bus stopped to let passengers on and off. The bus did not stop at a crosswalk. A passenger got off and then jaywalked in front of the bus. Meanwhile a car that had been behind the bus moved into the on-coming lane and passed the bus. The car struck the pedestrian. The pedestrian sued […]
Continue readingWrong House
Michael ran a stop sign and hit a car, allegedly injuring people in it. Michael and his wife lived in Granite Falls, Washington at the time. Michael later lost his house in foreclosure. He moved in with his dad, and on a few nights slept at this brother’s house in Everett. Shortly afterwards Michael and […]
Continue readingU-Haul Hits Tree, Tree Wins
A man hit a tree with a U-Haul truck. He sued the city of Seattle for personal injury. The tree was in a planter along a sidewalk on a Seattle street. The man claimed the City failed to maintain a reasonably safe roadway. The trial judge found for the City. The man appealed.[1] In Washington, […]
Continue readingMedical Malpractice Statute Held Unconstitutional
A nine-year-old boy suffered headaches, dizziness, nausea, weakness in the legs, and double vision. He underwent an MRI, which a doctor reviewed and found to be normal. Later when the boy was 17, he underwent another MRI reviewed by a different doctor. The second doctor found a serious condition, and reviewed the previous MRI that […]
Continue readingCosmetic Surgery Gone Wrong
A woman sought elective facial injections, in an effort to look more “rested.” The result was necrosis that left permanent, deep scarring.
Continue readingNot the Nanny
A woman was injured in an auto accident. She hired an attorney. Shortly before the statute of limitations was to run, the attorney filed the lawsuit and had a process server attempt to serve papers on the other driver. The process server handed to the documents to the nanny, who answered the door. Unfortunately, the […]
Continue readingHeavy Metal Hairdresser
A hairdresser went to a heavy metal concert featuring a band called “Spiderface.” Spiderface uses fake blood. The hairdresser slipped and fell in the fake blood. She broke her ankle, and was unable to work for months.
Continue readingSuing John Doe
A tenant filed a personal injury lawsuit against his landlords one day before the statute of limitations was to run. The complaint named the landlord and “John Does 1-20,” but did not name the owners of the property, or describe facts that would make it clear the tenant intended to name the owner as well […]
Continue readingNot in the Dictionary
A doctor misdiagnosed a woman’s ectopic pregnancy and removed the wrong Fallopian tube. The woman later had the other Fallopian tube removed in a second surgery. She sued. The jury returned a verdict of $71,795.53. When the jury deliberated one juror looked up the word “negligence” in a dictionary (even though it is properly defined […]
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