Seattle, WA –Seattle attorney Christopher Davis has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Snohomish County Superior Court against the owners of a dog that was allowed to roam free and bite two men.  One of the men developed an infection from the dog’s saliva and later died.

The lawsuit is being filed by the Estate of Kenneth D. Bock for Mr. Bock’s wrongful death.  According to the complaint, Bock was working at Chain Lake Mini-Storage in Monroe, WA on February 9, 2010 when the defendant, Konrad Haskins, visited the facility with his dog Buddy.  Haskins allowed his dog to roam free on the Chain Lake property.  The dog then bit two men, including Mr. Bock.  The bite to Mr. Bock was on his index finger.  Soon after Bock developed a life-threatening infection and died ten days later. 

Bock was diagnosed with Capnocytophaga canimorsus sepsis which is a bacterium commonly found in the saliva of cats and dogs.  This bacterium can, as in Bock’s case, result in multiple organ failure due to compromised circulation, renal failure, meningitis, systematic rotting of the flesh, and ultimately death. 

Dogs are the most common household pets in the United States.   The Center for Disease Control estimates that 50% of all Americans will be bitten by a dog during their lifetime and that approximately one million dog bites occur annually.  Capnocytophaga canimorsus sepsis is the main human pathogen associated with dog bites.  The organism frequently causes septicemia, meningitis, endocarditis, and sometimes ocular infections.

“This is a very tragic case that never should have happened,” says Chris Davis, the Bock family’s attorney.  “We know that Mr. Bock was the second person bit by the Haskin’s dog on the day in question, which tells us that Mr. Haskin knew his dog was a danger to other human beings when Mr. Bock was bitten.”  According to Davis, Mr. Bock died a very painful and agonizing death.  “We know that the bacterium from the bite led to multiple organ failure and tissue necrosis – it means that Mr. Bock literally ‘rotted to death’ according my medical experts,” states Davis. 

The complaint alleges that Haskins had prior knowledge that the dog had vicious and/or dangerous propensities that could lead to an attack on humans since the dog had previously bitten, injured or acted aggressively toward other people.  By failing to control the dog the defendants were willfully putting the public in danger.

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About Attorney Christopher M. Davis

Christopher M. Davis has been a licensed attorney in the state of Washington since 1993 and is the founder of the Davis Law Group.  He is the author of several books about injury law including When The Dog Bites: The Essential Guide To Dog Bite Claims In Washington in which Davis explores the legal rights of dog bite victims; outlines the legal and settlement process for dog bite claims; gives tips on dealing with insurance companies; answers common questions asked by dog owners and bite victims; and address legal issues that are often present in animal attack cases. You can learn more about Chris Davis and the Davis Law Group by visiting www.DavisLawGroupSeattle.com.

Media Contact:
Mischelle Weedman-Davis
Davis Law Group, P.S.
Mischelle@DavisLawGroupSeattle.com
Office: 206-727-4000 x102

We have signed up 6 cases over the last few months.  Each of them involved a drunk driving accident.  One of them involves the wrongful death of a elderly woman who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a drunk driver ran a stop sign and broad sided her at 50 mph.

You would think that the tough laws against drinking and driving would drastically reduce the number of injury accidents caused by alcohol.  But it really hasn’t.

One problem is that the criminal penalties for vehicular homicide is fairly low.  I believe the last time I checked, the stats showed that the average sentence handed down to someone who kills another person while driving drunk is 3 to 4 years behind bars.

If only our society could truly appreciate the devastation that a drunk driving fatality causes to the family members of the innocent victim.  Sometimes the person killed is a parent with small children.  Those are the most tragic of cases since the child’s parent will no longer be there to take care of the child, provide financial and emotional support, and all of the other important qualities that a strong parent-child relationship provides.  

What is equally tragic is that the accident could have easily been prevented.  Just don’t drink and drive.  When you drink, your judgment is the first thing that is affected.  You cannot rationally decide whether you are able to drive after consuming a few drinks.  Just don’t take the chance.  It’s not worth it.

“What’s my injury accident case worth??”

This is perhaps the question I am asked most often by clients and prospective clients.  How does one determine the value of a case?  What factors are used to determine value?  How can one maximize the value of his or her case?

Great questions, but often times no easy answers.  Let’s first discuss how personal injury claims are valued.  There are numerous factors that may influence value.  These may include:

1. Who’s at fault?  Just one entity or a combination of entities?
2. Is there comparative fault (fault against YOU)?
3. How much insurance exists?
4. What type of accident or event caused the injury or harm?
5. Extent of injuries?
6. Type, nature and frequency of medical treatment?
7. In what ways have the injuries affect you and your daily activities?
8. Are your injuries permanent and life changing?
9. What are the economic or special damages (medical bills, lost wages, property loss, etc.)?
10. What facts support the non-economic damages (pain, suffering, disability, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, etc.)?
11. Who is the carrier that will be defending the claim (Are they difficult to deal with? Do they fight to the death on every case?)?
12. Will litigation be necessary (and hence lead to more costly litigation expense)?
13. Which venue will the case be tried in (Are jurors there more or less conservative with awarding money damages?)?
14. Who is the judge that will preside in your case (is he/she a defense minded judge or a plaintiff’s minded judge)?
15. How do you (the injured plaintiff) appear as a witness (are you credible, trustworthy, attractive, etc.?)?

There may be many more different factors that can affect the value of your case.  With so many different variables, it can be next to impossible to determine with accuracy what the true value of a case is.

In the end, the value of a case is what a jury says its worth.  That’s why the parties, attorneys, and insurance companies involved try to predict how a jury will decide a case.  But when it comes to predicting how 12 jurors will see the case, there’s quite a bit of speculation involved.

In any event, you’ll want to hire a very experienced and successful injury attorney to work on your behalf.  To uncover and advocate the facts in your favor that may lead to a higher case value.

Many parents may fear the time when their child receives a driver’s license and starts to drive the family car.  The real fear is if the child causes a serious car accident. 

The important question is: Can the parents be held legally responsible for that car accident?  In a word, yes.

In Washington, there is a law known as the Family Car Doctrine.  This doctrine states that the parents can be held legally liable for the child’s negligence in causing a car accident if the car being driven by the child was owned or maintained by the parents, and the parents provided the vehicle for the general use, convenience and pleasure of the family.

Under the Family Car Doctrine, the parents can be sued individually if their child causes a car accident and injures someone.  That means the parents could be financially ruined if their child causes serious injuries and/or property loss.

Parents need to be careful when letting their children drive their car.  Some steps that parents can take to protect themselves from the loss or damages caused by their children’s use of the vehicle:

1. Think about registering the car in your child’s name, and require that your child actually purchase the vehicle.
2. Require your child to maintain the vehicle by purchasing gas, insurance, and paying for routine maintenance.
3. Take out more insurance on the vehicle that will be used by your child.
4. Think about purchasing a high value umbrella policy which should provide additional coverage if your child causes a serious accident.
5. Maintain strict rules for your child about the use of the family car (no passengers until a certain age, no infractions, no alcohol use, curfew hours, etc.).

Now, even if you utilize all of these precautions it still may not prevent  you from being sued over a car accident caused by your child.  But they will help to minimize and/or eliminate your financial responsibility in a subsequent lawsuit.

After two years on the run, the “Barefoot Bandit” has finally been caught.  But what about the theft and damage to personal property this young man has caused in the wake of his criminal conduct?

If  you’re one of the victims of the “Barefoot Bandit”, let’s hope you have a good insurance policy that will cover the extensive damage and loss this criminal has caused to property.  Without a good policy, you will be left holding the bag for whatever property loss this criminal has caused you.

Why?  Because the “Barefoot Bandit” likely has no assets of his own to pay for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars in property loss he has caused to innocent victims.

Won’t the criminal court order restitution?  Probably.  But good luck trying to collect on a restitution order against this young thug.  He’ll likely spend several years in prison, so you’ll have to wait an awfully long time to try and get your money back.  Then when he gets out, he’ll have to find a way to pay off all of the restitution he’s been ordered to pay. 

In most criminal cases, the order of restitution is usually worthless.  Most criminals lack the financial means to pay these orders off, particularly when the criminal is a young kid with no job prospects, education and no assets.

I just hope the victims of the “Barefoot Bandit” have a good insurance policy to pay for their loss.  Let’s hope this kid receives a good long sentence so that others in his place won’t be tempted to mimic his criminal behavior.

A dog bites your finger.  The wound appears minor so you don’t go to the hospital.  Instead you clean the wound yourself.  The next day you wake up with extreme pain in your leg. A blood clot has formed, requiring immediate medical attention.

The clot turns into a blood infection.  It spreads rapidly, causing severe pain to your extremities.  It feels as if your “skin is on fire.” 

Then, within 10 days you are dead.

Can it happen?  Absolutely yes.  We are handling just such a case.

The dog bite spread a bacterium known as Capnocytophaga Canimorsus.  This bacterium is commonly found in dog and cat saliva, and it can cause serious problems in humans.

Once the person is infected, he or she becomes increasingly unwell, with initial lethargy, tiredness, listlessness, and subsequent fevers, rigors and embolic events, including necrosis of the extremities (i.e., tissue dies). Multi-system organ failure follows (Hore, 2001). In these scenarios, infection is often fatal, with mortality rates in the order of 30%.

There are cases reported where a dog lick to a person’s exposed wound has caused the bacterium to spread in a human and then cause death.

In our case, a man was bitten on the finger.  He died within 10 days.  His family is devastated.  The dog owner is legally liable for this wrongful death.  All dog owners are strictly liable for their animal’s bites and attacks, except in limited circumstances.

If you are bitten by a dog, no matter how small the wound, please get prompt medical attention.  It may save your life.

Recentlly I took the deposition of a woman who had been using her cell phone to talk while driving her car.  She had left a bar in Bellevue after working all day.  She admitted to drinking one glass of wine.

This woman then caused a car accident by rear-ending my client at 30 mph.  Her car was totalled.  When police arrived they also smelled alcohol on her breath.  The officer administered a portable breath test which resulted in a BAC of 0.03.  The legal limit in Washington is 0.08.  The officer declined to arrest the woman, believing she was not “impaired.”

The woman she rear-ended is my client.  I’ll call her Beth.  Beth had been in a delivery van on her way to deliver some produce to a customer.  Upon impact, Beth felt her neck “pop” which whipped her neck back and forth.  She felt immediate pain at the scene.  Beth followed up with a visit to the local emergency room.  The ER doctor diagnosed a neck strain and prescribed some narcotics for pain.

Over the next 4 weeks, Beth’s cervical spine pain grew increasingly bad.  She finally had an MRI which showed a large disc herniation impinging her spinal cord.  Beth’s doctor immediately referred her to a neurosurgeon.  That doctor recommended immediate surgery.  The procedure consisted of an artificial disk replacement.

Beth still has ongoing pain in her neck and down her arms.  Although the surgery was successful because it greatly diminished her symptoms, it did not cure them by any degree. 

Beth recently received a CT scan which showed ongoing pathology at the C4-5 and C5-6 discs.  Beth will likely need ongoing treatment and medication to manage her ongoing symptoms.  Her medical bills now exceed $90,000, and this amount is likely to double within Beth’s lifetime.

Meanwhile, the woman who caused the accident by using her cell phone received an $85 ticket for inattentive driving.  She paid the fine, and no action was taken against her license.  The woman works as a paralegal for a local Bellevue attorney.  The woman has gone on with her life as if the accident had never happened.

The woman’s insurance company, Encompass Insurance, has refused to pay out the policy limits of $250,000 to settle Beth’s claim.  Instead, the Encompass lawyer has requested Beth’s medical records going back 20+ years in an attempt to find out if Beth had a pre-existing condition.  Encompass argues that Beth’s visit to a chiropractor 15 months before the accident proves that the spine surgery was due to a prior condition, and not the car accident. 

Beth has now incurred thousands of dollars in attorney fees and costs to force the woman’s insurance carrier to pay for her medical bills.  Afterall she says, I’m not trying to get rich.  I just want my medical bills paid so I don’t have to declare bankruptcy. 

All Beth wants is a little justice.  She reminds me repeatedly — I wasn’t using a cell phone while driving, the other woman was.  Why am I now being treated like I’m trying to milk the system?  My answer is the same answer I give to many of my clients: that’s the system, I explain.  The insurance companies will always try to blame the victim or force you to incur enormous expense by filing a lawsuit to pay for damages that were caused by another driver’s negligence.

In this case, the driver’s negligence was using a cell phone while driving.  Oh, and drinking some alcohol to boot.  Don’t worry Beth, I will continue to fight for you.  We will obtain justice.

Davis Law Group received a call this week from a distraught mother about her 15-year-old son who was hit by a car while crossing the street.  The boy received life-threatening injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, collapsed lung, shattered pelvis, shattered leg, broken arm, and internal injuries.  The boy’s medical expenses to date are more than $300,000. 

The driver was a 22-year-old young woman.  She had no insurance, and worked as a waitress.  She was allegedly using her cell phone at the time of the accident.

I had to decline the case.

The reason?  The parents of the 15-year-old did not purchase Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage under their own auto policy.

In Washington State, auto insurance companies have to offer UM coverage unless it is rejected in writing by the insured.

The parents had rejected UM coverage five years ago as a way to save money.  That decision proved tragic, and in the end deprived their son with the opportunity to obtain full compensation for his medical treatment and injuries.

Relatively speaking, the cost of UM coverage is very cheap.  Right now I pay about $150.00 per year for $1 Million in UM coverage on two separate vehicles.

Statistically, most accidents are caused by uninsured and underinsured motorists.  These are individuals that are more likely to be irresponsible on our roadways.  Most of us have to protect ourselves from irresponsible drivers.  Adequate UM coverage is one way to do this.

The mother of that 15-year-old boy told me that she and her husband will likely have to declare bankruptcy because they won’t be able to pay for their son’s medical bills.  Understandably, she and her husband are angry that this could happen.  Through no fault of their own, they may be ruined financially.

My message to parents is to carry adequate auto coverage, including coverage for uninsured motorists.  This coverage can prevent financial ruin if one of your family members becomes the victim of an accident.

My firm, Davis Law Group, recently held the annual Davis Law Group Scholar Athlete of the Year Award banquet at the Columbia Tower Club in Seattle, Washington.

There were a total of 30 weekly Scholar Athletes chosen during the 2009-10 school year.  The banquet was held to honor each athlete and their families, and to choose the male and female Scholar Athlete of the Year winners.

If the number and quality of comments we received from parents, coaches, and the scholar athletes was any guide, then the banquet was a resounding success.  Everyone was very impressed with the quality of the event, as well as the speakers involved.

Bill Wixey, anchorman for Q13 Fox News attended the event.  He gave a very inspirational speech and asked the scholar athletes to find what they love to do and stay with it.

Seattle Seahawk Kelly Jennings also attended.  Mr. Jennings gave a very moving and powerful speech.  He recounted how he continually worked to realize his dream of obtaining a college education (he ultimately received two college degrees) and to make the pros.  Mr. Jennings urged the scholar athletes to keep working hard, even in the face of setbacks, which will undoubtedly arise.  He ended his talk with a very moving and powerful poem that has helped guide him and provide inspiration in his own life.

The event ended with the announcement of the winners for the Scholar Athlete of the Year.  This year’s winners were Hunter Colegrove of Bonney Lake High School and Alexis Court of Liberty High School.  Each of them were more than worthy of receiving this award, which included a $1,000 scholarship each to the college of their choice.

To all of the scholar athletes, congratulations on a fabulous year.  Each of you were picked to recognize your accomplishments and leadership.  All of you deserve it.

And thanks also goes to the Davis Law Group staff who helped with the planning and logistics of the banquet.  All of  you did a fabulous job.  Congrats!

I’m often asked by accident victims what steps they should take after being injured to increase the likelihood of a favorable outcome in their personal injury claim.  Here are the steps to take:

1. Seek medical attention promptly.  Do not delay seeing a doctor.  If you are injured, then you must get the proper medical care immediately.  The longer you go without treatment, the stronger the argument made by the insurance claims adjuster that your injury is not that serious.

2. Don’t miss medical appointments.  You’d be surprised how many clients we see who are truly injured, then miss a number of medical appointments.  Yes, I understand that the occasional appointment may need to be rescheduled, but do not create a pattern of missing doctor or therapist appointments.  If you do, the insurance adjuster will argue that you weren’t injured that bad, or that you are not motivated to get better.  A jury can also become skeptical of your claim if you don’t bother to seek consistent care.  Also, if you are going to miss an appointment, call the healthcare provider and explain why so it doesn’t look like you just forgot to show up.

3. Avoid gaps in treatment.  If you stop treatment for a period of time and then start up again weeks or months later, this may cause damage to your legal claim.  The insurance company will question the gap, and surmise that you stopped treatment because you recovered from your injuries.  If you start up again, the carrier may assert that something else caused your ongoing complaints.  A significant gap in care also impacts the credibility of your claim because it raises the possibility that your injuries were not that bad or that something else other than the accident caused  your complaints. 

4. Be careful about what you communicate to your healthcare provider.  Your doctor or therapist is trained to record what you tell them in your chart.  Your statements can then become a permanent record in your case.  So innocent statements can be taken out of context and show up in  your chart that might hurt your case.  For instance, describing the accident as “not that bad” or “minor” can hurt your claim if the accident was serious and you were seriously injured.

5. Avoid too much palliative care.  The term “palliative care” refers to treatment that may reduce or eliminate your symptoms for a short period of time, but does not cure them.  Examples of this type of care can include chiropractic, massage, and acupuncture.  The tendency for some people is to get a lot of this care because it feels good.  But this can add thousands of dollars in treatment expense that may be disputed by the insurance company.  There are exceptions, like when your PCP or medical doctor recommends the treatment on a continuing basis.  But even then the claims representative may still dispute the treatment as unnecessary or excessive.  If you plateau with certain treatment, it is time for you to discuss other treatment options that may provide more permanent relief.

6. See a specialist if necessary.  If your injuries persist, you should consider seeing a specialist.  The specialist will often be more knowledgeable about your specific injury, and offer treatment that has a better chance of resolving your problem.  Plus, the specialist adds more credibility to your claim (i.e., more proof that your injuries are real and caused by the accident).

Now, even if you follow these 6 steps exactly, it may still not guarantee a successful outcome in your case.  But I can tell you that it will increase the chances of a successful outcome considerably.  Good luck.