Kennewick Personal Injury Law Blog

There are reams of articles about motorcycle safety and what you should do to avoid crashes. However, sometimes it's what you don't do that's the most important. Take the following four things, for example. Refraining from these "motorcycle don't's" could save your life and your passengers' lives.

The four "don't's" of motorcycle safety are:

1. Drinking alcohol and driving your motorcycle: Driving a motorcycle while intoxicated by alcohol is a major factor in many bike crashes. Intoxicated drivers also have a higher chance of not using a motorcycle helmet (see item number four). The safest bet is to refrain from riding your bike after consuming any quantity of alcohol.
2. Driving faster than the speed limit: Speed limits exist for a reason. When you follow them you'll be less likely to crash, and – if you do get into a crash – there's a higher chance that you and your passenger will survive.
3. Riding a super sport bike: It's not really fair to say "don't ride a sport bike." These motorcycles are extremely exciting, fun and, for many, they're the ultimate riding experience. However, sport bike riders have a four times higher chance of death than other motorcyclists. If you're new to biking, consider starting on something more conservative. If you're a parent, you might not want to let your teenager ride a super sport bike.
4. Failing to wear a helmet: Wearing a helmet should be obvious, but it's worth mentioning that a properly fitted helmet is the best way to prevent death and catastrophic injury if you're involved in a collision.

A 36-year-old woman recently filed a lawsuit that claims her mother's fertility doctor impregnated her mother with his own genetic material, and -- as a result -- the doctor is her biological father. The Washington woman discovered that the doctor was her father after she submitted her DNA for testing through the Ancestry website. Her genetic sample revealed that her biological father was a reproductive specialist from Idaho.

The 36-year-old woman claimed medical negligence, fraud and battery in her lawsuit, which claims that the doctor intentionally used his sperm to impregnate the woman's mother. Both her mother and -- her now presumed nonbiological father -- went to the fertility doctor for assistance in the early 1980s after they had difficulty producing a child.

Every man-made product was designed and manufactured by a person or organization of people. Furthermore, in the modern world -- as a result of consumer protection laws -- each of these manufactured products has a legal expectation attached to it: It doesn't pose an unreasonable risk to the safety of the consumers who purchase it. The problem is, there are many products that don't meet this expectation and unknown consumers are at risk of getting hurt by them.

One such defective product was recently revealed: The 2018 Hyundai Santa Fe and Santa Fe Sport SUVs. Hyundai voluntarily instituted a roughly 44,000-vehicle recall relating to these vehicles in the United States, saying that their steering wheels are at risk of popping off while drivers are trying to navigate traffic -- a problem that would send the vehicles careening out of control.

If you're a semitruck driver, you know that you carry a heavy responsibility every time you get on the roadway. Your vehicle is hundreds of times heavier than the average car. It's also exponentially slower, harder to maneuver and more difficult to slow it down. In fact, a semitruck at the hands of an irresponsible truck driver is a fatal and catastrophic accident waiting to happen.

Here are two things you'll want to keep in mind to help avoid an accident: