Western Washington Personal Injury Law Blog

Washington trucks that are intended to haul construction materials or debris, such as large dump trucks, are necessarily large and powerful. Stopping, such a vehicle in the event of a mechanical failure, can be difficult, if not impossible. A recent crash caused by a driver losing control of her dump truck illustrates the point.

Shortly after 9:30 a.m. on August 19, 2019, a dump truck was traveling west on James Street near Pioneer Square. According to police, the truck suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure that caused the driver to lose control. The truck rolled forward and struck a pedestrian at the corner of James Street and Second Avenue. The driver responded by attempting to weave through traffic. The truck struck three cars on James Street and then crashed through the front window of a Subway Sandwich Shop. A video recording of the incident shows the truck resting completely inside the sandwich shop with its windshield shattered.

For the second time in less than a month, a stretch of State Road (SR) 202 near Sammamish has claimed a life in an automobile-truck accident. According to a state trooper who responded to reports of the most recent accident, this stretch of road is "kind of notorious." According to the trooper, the road in this area has several blind corners and narrow driving lanes, and accidents on this stretch are "not ever easy little fender-benders." The latest accident proves both points.

A sedan was heading east on SR 202 when the driver veered to the left as he entered a severe curve. A semi-trailer truck heading in the opposite direction collided head-on with the sedan. The impact broke the steering mechanism on the semi, and the large truck careened toward the side of the road. The truck smashed through the guardrail and toward a 25-30 feet drop into a creek.

The scene at HCR ManorCare nursing home when state inspectors visited was one that could sadden even the most reserved administrator. Patients were found unkempt and dirty, claiming they were lucky to receive minimal personal care every once in a blue moon. Patients in the facility often soil themselves while waiting for a response to their call buttons, while others were left on bedpans fso long that bruises began to form.  

Unfortunately, this scene was not the only problem occurring at the nursing home. Due to lack of staffing and lack of care, there were multiple incidents where residents suffered devastating injuries. One resident had suffered an opioid overdose, another resident had flipped over his wheelchair, resulting in a brain hemorrhage, and an employee helping a paraplegic woman without the assistance of a helper resulted in a fractured hip. 

One of the most controversial police tactics is the high-speed chase. Opponents of the tactic say that high speed chases endanger other motorists and do not increase the number of arrests. Police supporters argue that such chases are a necessary arrow in the policeman's law enforcement quiver. Opponents of high-speed chases received some support for their position when a high-speed police chase resulted in a wrong-way collision and five injured people near Snoqualmie.

Snoqualmie police officers received a call about 6:15 p.m describing an attempted kidnapping in progress in the parking lot at the North Bend malls. One witness described a woman who was standing near a white van and shouting that she did not "want to get into this vehicle." As officers were racing to the scene, a wildlife officer spotted a white van being driven erratically. The officer said that the van was repeatedly changing lanes and occasionally using the wrong lane.