Kennewick Personal Injury Law Blog

These precautions could lessen your injuries in a car crash

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Car Accidents on Sunday, October 28, 2018.

There is only so much a driver can do to avoid getting into a car accident. Being defensive, attentive and following the rules of the road will certainly reduce one's chances of being in a collision, but with so many irresponsible drivers on the road, there's always a chance of getting into a crash. Therefore, in addition to driving safely, Benton-area motorists may also want to do the following to lessen the severity of their injuries in the event of an unavoidable accident:

Adjust your headrestYour headrest is one of the best pieces of equipment to prevent a serious neck injury. Adjust the headrest so that the top of it is level with the tip of your head. Having a headrest that's adjusted too low can be particularly dangerous.

When will the government require underride guards on semitrucks?

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Car Accidents on Friday, October 19, 2018.

The U.S. government needs to require underride guards on semitrucks -- not simply on the back of the trailers, but also on the sides of trailers. These underride guards prevent vehicles from sliding beneath the trucks when they collide into them. Numerous deaths and catastrophic accidents have happened due to the absence of these vital safety devices.

For years, there was the problem of vehicles sliding beneath semitrucks in rear-end crashes. This would result in the sheering off of vehicle roofs and the death of drivers and occupants within the vehicles. Tragically, decapitation was not uncommon in these incidents. Currently, rear underride guards are a requirement on semitrucks but side underride guards have yet to be required.

These 2 kinds of truck accidents have caused numerous fatalities

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Truck Accidents on Thursday, October 4, 2018.

Driving a semitruck is an enormous responsibility from a safety perspective. These massive vehicles carry unimaginable amounts of tonnage and when a normal passenger vehicle collides with a semitruck, there's a high likelihood of catastrophic injuries and fatalities. For this reason, the drivers of 18-wheelers -- in addition to the transportation companies that employ them and maintain their trucks -- must take all possible precautions to avoid the following two common semitruck accident scenarios:

Jackknifing crashes

Avoid getting into a wide-turn trucking accident

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Truck Accidents on Thursday, September 20, 2018.

Semitrucks are so large that they can't always navigate traffic in the way that normal automobiles do. For example, sometimes when a semitruck makes a turn through an intersection, it needs to swing out wide into a neighboring lane of traffic in order to successfully complete the maneuver. In this article, we will take a look at several possible scenarios that could result in an unintentional wide-turn trucking accident.

Turning into the left lane when making a right turn

Types of femur fractures that happen in car accidents

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Car Accidents on Thursday, September 6, 2018.

Your femur is the largest and strongest bone in your body, so it's very resilient to being broken. Nevertheless, the tremendous forces of a car accident are enough to break anything, which is why this kind of serious leg break is not entirely uncommon in a catastrophic auto collision. Fortunately, with the right medical treatment, doctors can do a lot to help someone suffering from a broken femur.

Before treating the injury, however, your doctor will need to determine which of the following kinds of femur fractures you're suffering from:

Transverse fractures: These are horizontal breaks of the bone.
Oblique fractures: These are breaks that form an angled line.
Spiral fractures: These are breaks that create spiraling line fractures along the bone that look like candy cane stripes.
Comminuted fractures: These are breaks that involve the bone being separated into three or more pieces.
Compound fractures: These breaks include bone fragments that come out of the skin.
Open fractures: These include a bone break in conjunction with a deep wound that exposes the bone.

Truck drivers and vehicle drivers: How to prevent drowsy driving

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Truck Accidents on Friday, August 24, 2018.

Have you ever fallen asleep on the job? It might be embarrassing to admit, but maybe after a long, sleepless night -- or a late night of partying -- you found yourself nodding off at the office. It's human nature to fall asleep when we're tired, no matter what we're doing, but if the activity we're engaged in happens to driving, falling asleep is the worst possible thing that anyone can do.

Whether you're a commercial truck driver, a Sunday motorist or you're just driving to work in the morning, falling asleep is more dangerous than texting-while-driving, distracted driving and intoxicated driving. You're literally asleep at the wheel and this will result in the loss of control of your car and a potentially catastrophic accident.

Drunk driver causes serious injuries in north Benton County crash

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Car Accidents on Friday, August 10, 2018.

If every motorist could refrain from doing three things while driving, it would prevent the vast majority of car accidents. These three things include: (1) refrain from using a cellphone while driving; (2) refrain from speeding; and (3) refrain from driving while intoxicated. Unfortunately, many drivers continue to do these dangerous things while driving and -- in some cases -- it results in unnecessary fatal and injurious crashes. In fact, one such crash happened late last month.

In a recent car accident, a man from Othello admitted to drinking two bottles of wine with friends before causing an injurious car accident with another vehicle in northern Benton County last month. Two people riding in the other vehicle -- a father and his 13-month-old baby boy -- suffered serious injuries that required hospital care. Both needed to receive surgeries as a result of their injuries.

Dangers with Ford Escapes and Fusions trigger massive recall

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Car Accidents on Friday, July 27, 2018.

Ford Motor Company has announced a recall of 500,000-plus automobiles due to problems that could cause the uncontrolled movement of the vehicles. The esteemed automaker announced the recall approximately two weeks ago, after it became apparent that its 2013 to 2016 model Fusions and 2013 to 2014 model Escapes are dangerously prone moving in certain circumstances while they are parked.

According to Ford, a faulty bushing that connects the shift cables to the transmissions in affected vehicles is liable to detach. This can lead to a transmission suddenly moving its gear position. In such situations, a driver might put his or her car in the park position, but the car will not actually be in park and the driver will never know it. This, in turn, might result in the unintentional movement of the vehicle. The vehicle might, for example, roll down a hill and hit other cars, pedestrians or bicyclists causing a serious or fatal accident to occur.

Can I file a claim for lost spousal benefits?

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Car Accidents on Friday, July 13, 2018.

"Loss of consortium" is the legal term used to describe lost spousal benefits. This category of damages relates to the losses suffered by the spouses of individuals who get hurt in accidents. These claims seek to remunerate spouses for the hardship and loss they've endured after losing the various benefits of having a spouse with them in house and home.

Some of the damages that may fall under the category of loss of consortium include:

Benton boat captains: Don't boat under the influence this summer

On behalf of Reinig, Barber & Henry posted in Truck Accidents on Thursday, June 28, 2018.

Benton boating enthusiasts commonly pair boating with beer and other alcoholic beverages. One might even suspect that boating is just an excuse for getting drunk for some people. Such an attitude is extremely irresponsible and dangerous -- in fact, it's criminal. Boaters who cause the death or severe injury of others due to irresponsible boating under the influence may end up in jail and financially liable for the damages they cause.

Local authorities in Franklin and Benton Counties have fortunately taken notice. Area law enforcement officials will be out in full force this summer looking for boaters who are violating boating under the influence laws. It's hoped that these increased enforcement efforts will bring more awareness to the criminal consequences drunk and high boaters face and help discourage the behavior.