Kent Washington Personal Injury Law Blog

Many Washington motorists think nothing of turning right at a red light. Provided that there are no circumstances to dictate otherwise, it is legal to make a right turn if you stop first at a red light. Still, this does not mean that right turns on red do not present some added risk to anyone crossing the intersection at the time someone makes a right turn. The Bellingham Herald explains how these risks may manifest themselves.

It was not until 1980 that all fifty states had actually legalized making a right turn after stopping at a red light. The states made these changes so that cars would save fuel while driving. However, analysis that followed this policy change discovered that accidents and crashes were more likely to occur, with one study finding that total crashes were up 23 percent at intersections that permitted right turns on red.

As the owner of a vehicle in Kent, you (and others) owe a duty of care to each other that your cars, trucks or SUV's not cause them any harm out on the road. That duty is typically fulfilled by you and other vehicle owners driving safely. Yet does it also extend to vehicle owners permitting others to use their vehicles? If you are involved in an accident caused by a driver who was using another's vehicle, then you might wonder what sort of liability the vehicle owner may face. That all depends on whether negligent entrustment applies to your case. 

The legal doctrine of negligent entrustment allows vicarious liability to be assigned to third parties for damages caused by one to whom they entrusted with a potentially dangerous instrument (such as a car). There are two key elements that must be present in order to apply negligent entrustment to your case: knowledge and consent. First, the vehicle owner must have known (or should have known) that the person they were loaning their car to was an incompetent or reckless driver. Indeed, when establishing the state's standard for negligent entrustment, Washington State Superior Court rulings adhere to the following definition: "A person entrusting a vehicle to another may be liable under a theory of negligent entrustment only if that person knew, or should have known in the exercise of ordinary care, that the person to whom the vehicle was entrusted is reckless, heedless, or incompetent."

People behave dangerously on the roads for countless reasons, from isolated instances of drunk driving to surpassing the speed limit in an attempt to get to work on time when one is running late. Other people may frequently behave recklessly on the road, such as some drivers who are struggling with a long-term addiction to mind-altering substances. Unfortunately, some people who are addicted to drugs get behind the wheel while they are heavily intoxicated, and this can place the lives of many people in danger.

From meth to prescription pain pills and crack cocaine, there are many different types of powerful substances that some people become addicted to. Drug addiction can make life hard in so many ways, but it can bring other hardships as well, such as a higher likelihood of causing a motor vehicle collision. Some drivers, such as those who are in the early stages of addiction, may not be very familiar with the countless ways in which the substance(s) they take adversely impact their driving abilities, and they may exhibit various forms of dangerous behavior on the road.

If you lose a loved one to someone else's negligence or misconduct in Washington, you may wish to file a wrongful death claim. Though no amount of money can bring your loved one back, a fair settlement can allow you to focus on grieving and healing instead of the financial loss caused by your loved one's death. FindLaw outlines the type of damages you may be able to recover. 

According to FindLaw, there are two types of damages you may recover in a wrongful death claim: pecuniary damages and punitive damages. The courts award pecuniary damages to compensate for financial injury caused by a person's unexpected death. Pecuniary injuries may include the loss of services (home maintenance, childcare, etc.), loss of support, lost prospect of inheritance and medical and funeral expenses. Most courts offer a damage award that includes interest from the date of the deceased's death.