Articles Posted in Personal Injury

The Seattle Times reported this morning that a $900,000 settlement was reached in a case against DSHS and Houghton Lakeview, a Kirkland adult-family home related to the death of an 87 year old woman from untreated pressure sores.

The woman, who had lived in the home for several years, suffered from pressure sores, also known as bed sores, on her back and elsewhere that had burrowed to the bone. No one called her family. No one alerted a doctor. Caregivers failed to report or properly treat the festering wounds for 22 days, DSHS later concluded. Hobbled by Alzheimer’s disease, the woman had difficulty communicating or moving. At night, she would scream in pain, medical records show. Eventually, a caregiver called the woman’s son, not 911, with a vague description of an emergency. He raced to the home, then rushed his mother to the hospital, but infection had already spread to vital organs. She died in June 2008 at her son’s Bellevue home under hospice care. Bedsores are a common ailment in long-term-care facilities and are easily treatable.

Haughton Lakeview, the home responsible for the woman’s care, had been cited 33 times by DSHS for inadequate care and substandard conditions. Two caregivers were convicted felons, barred from such work. Two others had forged nursing credentials. The public was never warned – nor were the residents in the home. In May 2007, a DSHS investigator tried to revoke the license of Houghton Lakeview after uncovering 11 flagrant violations, including caregivers with forged nursing credentials or felony convictions, and failure by staff to provide medications or report alleged abuse. Nonetheless, DSHS supervisors overruled the recommendation and closed the case with a $200 fine.

The Seattle PI reports a family is demanding answers after their little girl got pierced by a used syringe that had been left in a hotel bed.

The syringe, which was caked with dried blood, pierced through the mattress cover and poked the girl’s right heel as she crawled into her bunk bed at Guest House Inn and Suites in Aberdeen.

“There were syringes, plastic bag, bloody bandage all underneath the mattress cover. We were really shocked and freaking out,” said the girl’s mother. “It scared us to death.”

Fumes in a building at Everett’s Everest College sickened 12 people Wednesday morning, Everett Fire officials said.

Firefighters and hazardous materials teams got the call just before 10 a.m. that people were complaining of headaches and nausea inside the college building at 906 S.E. Everett Mall Way, said Eric Hicks with the Everett Fire Department.

Ten of those affected were taken to a hospital. About 200 were evacuated from the building.

On Thursday, February 23, 2012, a propane tank exploded at the Picnic Point Waste Water Treatment Plant in Edmonds, Washington.  The blast injured five workers at the plant and they were taken to Harborview Medical Center for burns related to the blast.  Two of the workers have life-threatening injuries. 

According to news accounts, the explosion occurred around 11:00 a.m. as a 1,000 gallon propane tank was being loaded onto a truck. About 300 gallons of propane remained in the tank, when it shifted and a valve was severed, causing the truck and tank to explode.

When a propane explosion occurs and workers are seriously injured, the workers and their families need to make certain that a careful investigation is undertaken by experienced lawyers to determine the cause of the blast and whether any claims may exist against third-parties for their injuries.  In order to provide answers for the victims and their families, our law firm investigates these incidents on a contingent fee basis.  This means that we do not charge a fee for our work unless a financial recovery is made.  This allows the families to determine if a valid claim exists without incurring the expense associated with paying lawyers by the hour.  If you or a family member is injured in a propane or plant explosion, we are here to help.  Contact our firm for a free, no obligation consultation. 

On September 26, 2011, a natural gas leak caused a major explosion and fire that injured two persons inside their north Seattle home. The couple, both in their 50’s, suffered serious burns and were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Harborview Medical Center has one of the best burn units in the country. Since it opened in 1974, Harborview’s Burn Center has treated more than 15,000 patients and has a survival rate of about 96 percent.

The gas fumes that had accumulated inside the home were apparently sparked by a household appliance when the couple awoke. Investigators from Puget Sound Energy determined that a downed tree hitting a power line had caused electricity to travel through the trunk of the tree and into the ground, which punctured gas lines when the power surged. That power surge caused leaks in several pipes throughout the neighborhood and likely played a role in the leak that caused the explosion.

In the wake of this explosion, there are a number of questions that remained unanswered. First, what did PSE do in the wake of the tree falling to determine if a risk was posed to gas lines underneath the tree? Second, did the power company play a role in causing the damage to the gas lines? What is the role of the power company? When they began to have leaks in the area, did PSE properly investigate those leaks to determine their cause in a timely manner? Third, should PSE have warned those persons living in the neighborhood?

Personal injury law is complex and ever-changing. Legal developments as well as medical advances make it an exciting area of the law for attorneys who thrive on challenge.  Every day, state legislatures, courtroom judges and medical researchers make many key decisions and discoveries that profoundly affect the way cases are prepared and presented for court. At Kraft Davies Olsson PLLC, we demand understand the importance of staying current with both legal and medical issues.  Our niche area of maritime law has its own complex dimensions that demand our keen attention and diligence so as to be ready for the next seaman’s injury case that comes our way.

You may be considering contacting our law firm after a tug boat injury, a construction injury or a motor vehicle accident. Please know that we scrupulously follow, monitor and analyze key legal, medical and industrial news that will have an impact on the strategies we will use while protecting your rights if our Washington state law firm represents you.

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