Kirk Bernard

Washington State has a “mandatory auto insurance law.” What this means is that the state requires anyone driving a motor vehicle in Washington to have an insurance liability policy, a certificate of deposit or a liability bond up to the required limits. Under this law, you must have a liability policy with a minimum of $25,000 for injury to another person; $50,000 for injuries to all other persons; and $10,000 for damage to another’s property. As a skilled auto accident attorney in Washington, Kirk Bernard suggests that it would also be highly advisable to add uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, which covers you if you are struck by a hit-and-run driver or a driver who lacks auto insurance or sufficient coverage.

Once you have been in an auto accident, one of the first things you should do is call your auto insurance company. Of course, first, you should seek medical care and make sure you recover from the initial effects of the accident. However, it is critical that you make that call to your insurance company as soon as you reasonably can. Calling promptly after an accident is part of your obligations under the contract you signed with your insurance company when you purchased the policy.

The main purpose of your first call is to give the insurance adjuster the basic facts about the accident, such as, what occurred and details about the other driver, including his or her insurance company and policy number. During this call, you may also be asked who was at fault or who was to blame for the accident. Never accept blame or admit during this call that you were at fault. It is important that you get all the information including a police report before you determine who is at fault.

If you believe that you were injured in an auto accident as a result of someone else’s negligence, you need the services of an experienced Seattle car accident lawyer who will remain on your side, fight for your rights and make sure you are fairly compensated for your injuries and loss. Please contact the experienced Washington personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful and educational information to help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

Personal Injury Protection, or PIP as it is commonly known, is an optional coverage on your auto insurance policy, which you can choose to have or not. What does PIP cover? In the event of an auto accident where you are injured, PIP will become the primary payer of your medical expenses. It will pay a limited amount of medical costs, wage loss, funeral expenses and loss of services after an auto accident. The major advantage of having Personal Injury Protection coverage is that it will be available to you irrespective of whether the accident is your fault. Having this type of coverage can be very helpful after an injury accident because the insurance company for the at-fault driver will not pay your medical expenses until you are ready to settle the entire claim.

Skilled Seattle personal injury attorneys know that having PIP coverage can be very important, especially at a time when healthcare costs are astronomical. Having PIP coverage for a small monthly payment will ensure that your medical bills will be taken care of up to the available limit. Remember that PIP coverage not only covers the one who is insured but also all passengers who are in your vehicle at the time of the accident.

If you have PIP coverage, you will also be covered if you are a passenger in another vehicle or if you are a pedestrian who has been struck and injured by another vehicle. The other question most people commonly have is if their insurance rates will go up if they use this PIP coverage. The answer is: If you need it, you should use it. The insurance company cannot and should not raise your rates if the accident was not your fault.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington auto accident, please contact the experienced Washington personal injury attorneys with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful, educational information about Washington car accident cases to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

With an increasing rate of nursing home negligence and abuse taking place throughout the United States, some attribute these events to the fact that more and more baby boomers are headed to these facilities. When a family places a loved one in a nursing home, it is never an easy decision. In fact, families often agonize over it. So, when they entrust their loved one to the care of a skilled nursing facility, they have every reason to expect quality care. Unfortunately, this does not always happen.

According to recent studies performed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), one in five nursing homes is seriously deficient. That means that there are violations committed regularly in these facilities that would place residents’ lives in immediate jeopardy. This includes poor resident hygiene, failure to monitor patient health, failure to follow doctor’s instructions and even physical, emotional or sexual abuse.

If your loved one has suffered neglect or abuse in a nursing home, you may be able to file a personal injury claim against the nursing home. A skilled Seattle nursing home abuse attorney may be able to help you obtain compensation for medical expenses, cost of hospitalization, psychological or physical therapy, and other damages. If you have lost a loved one because of nursing home negligence, you could file a wrongful death claim against the facility or operator.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of nursing home negligence or abuse in Washington State, please contact the experienced Washington personal injury lawyers with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful educational information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

If you have been injured in any type of accident and you are thinking about getting in touch with a personal injury attorney in Seattle, you are probably wondering: How much is this going to cost me? That’s a fair question to ask yourself before you make such an important decision.

Almost all personal injury attorneys work on what is known as a “contingency fee.” Under this arrangement, the attorney’s fee is based on a percentage of what you are awarded in the case. If you lose the case, the attorney does not get a fee. If you hear from any personal injury attorney you approach that you need to pay upfront, you should be highly suspicious about that attorney’s motivation.

The contingency fee percentage varies and some lawyers will offer you a sliding scale based on where you are with the case and how it is settled. A one-third fee is common. It would also be in your best interest to ask whether the lawyer will calculate the fee before or after the expenses. This can make quite a bit of difference because calculating the attorney’s fee after the expenses have been deducted will increase the amount of money you receive.

If you or a loved one has been injured in Washington State, please contact the experienced Washington personal injury lawyers with The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful educational information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

As a skilled wrongful death attorney in Washington State, Kirk Bernard is familiar with how an immediate family member of a deceased individual may be able to file a wrongful death claim if the beloved family member was killed as a result of someone else’s negligence. This is not something that everyone should feel obligated to do after a wrongful death incident; however, knowing that legal options are available can be helpful to some individuals.

It is true that no amount of compensation can ever replace the loss of a family member, and often times, money is the last thing on a person’s mind when he or she has just lost a loved one. However, financial strain does frequently result after a wrongful death incident, especially one that occurs after an accident of some kind. There are many different types of cases where a wrongful death claim may apply to a particular loss. The individual may have been fatally injured in a car accident caused by a distracted or reckless motorist. He or she may have sustained those fatal injuries as a result of a defective auto part or the deceased person may have died as a result of nursing home negligence.

Typically, in wrongful death cases, surviving family members may seek compensation to cover medical costs, funeral and burial expenses. They can also seek loss of future earnings. For example, if a dependant family member, such as a spouse or child, is filing a wrongful death claim, they can seek compensation for future wages that were lost as a result of the person’s death. The part of the wrongful death claim that is not quite as tangible, is the issue of compensation for loss of love, companionship or guidance. A skilled Washington wrongful death attorney will be of invaluable assistance with regard to these issues by presenting a solid case on behalf of the victim.

If you have lost a loved one as a result of someone else’s negligence in Washington State, please contact the experienced Seattle wrongful death attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful and educational information that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

Washington motorcycle accidents often result in far more serious injuries than a crash involving two cars, or an accident involving a car and another larger vehicle. This is because a motorcycle rider has absolutely no protection other than the helmet and other protective gear he or she may be wearing. Yet, if a motorcycle accident case goes to trial, a jury may automatically assume that the motorcyclist was reckless without having heard the full story. This assumption may be made by individuals who do not realize that the majority of motorcyclists are some of the safest drivers out there. This is mainly due to the fact that motorcyclists enjoy being out-in-the-open, but also are fully aware of their vulnerability to others on the road in doing so.

Motorcycle accidents can result in traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken bones, internal injuries, loss of limbs or even death. Motorcycle accident victims face a variety of expenses involved with these accidents including, medical expenses, loss of wages, hospital bills and other related costs. If the accident was caused by another driver, that negligent motorist may be held liable for the motorcyclist’s injuries.

However, in motorcycle accident cases, a motorcyclist has many challenges to overcome in order to veer the jury away from inherent prejudices about motorcycle riders. If you are a motorcycle accident victim, you need an experienced and aggressive motorcycle accident lawyer on your side who will know how to overcome the potential jury prejudice against a motorcyclist. A skilled injury lawyer will highlight the facts of the case. If you were wearing a helmet and protective gear, have undergone motorcyclist safety training and were not violating the law (lane-splitting, unsafe lane change, illegal passing) at the time, then you definitely increase the chances of convincing the jury that you did everything in your power to be a safe rider.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington motorcycle accident, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful and educational information about motorcycle accidents that will help you better understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

If you have been injured in a Washington auto accident, you are probably in the process of filing a claim. When you do so, one of the most important things you need to do as a claimant is to make a complete, thorough and comprehensive list of all your injuries, damages and expenses. Below are some important things to include in your records:

• Property damage: Include photographs wherever possible.
• Injuries: Include documentation wherever possible.
• Medical expenses: Include documentation like receipts and emails.

It is also recommended that you maintain a daily journal:

• How do you feel?
• How has the accident affected you?
• Have you been able to go to work?
• How many days of work did you miss?
• Which pre-accident activities are you unable to participate in after the accident?
• Has there been a significant emotional toll?
• What is the extent of pain you feel?

It is important to write this down in the weeks following the accident, if you are in a position to do so. This is because after the weeks and months pass, you may forget the finer, yet important details.

It is also important that you provide these details to your personal injury Seattle attorney, so he or she will be able to better assess the value of your claim. The success of your personal injury claim depends on the timeliness of your actions and the extent of detail you can provide – be it from the accident scene or in the days immediately after the accident.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a Washington auto accident, please contact the experienced Seattle personal injury attorneys of The Bernard Law Group at 1-800-418-8282 or info@bernardlawgroup.com for a FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE brochure, which has useful and educational information to help you understand your legal rights and options. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.

When you get in a Washington car accident that was caused by someone else’s negligence, that individual could be held liable for the accident and your injuries. In such car accident cases, as a plaintiff, you would file a claim for compensation with the at-fault driver’s insurance company. If that individual does not have insurance, then you would file a claim under the uninsured/underinsured motorist clause of your own insurance policy. However, in a car accident case, your compensation is limited to the extent of insurance coverage available.

However, if your car accident or injuries were caused by an auto product defect, then you have an auto products liability case. Examples of vehicle defects include seatbelt failure, tire tread separation, airbag failure and seatback collapse. In such cases, the auto maker or the manufacturer of the defective auto product can be held liable for the injuries caused. Auto makers could also be held responsible for design defects. In such car accidents, it is critical that the vehicle, which is the main piece of evidence, be preserved without any alterations so it can be examined by an expert for auto product defects.

If your loved one has been seriously injured by a defective auto, please contact the reputed Washington auto products liability lawyers at The Bernard Law Firm to find out about your legal rights and options. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule your FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington auto product defect cases, which has useful, educational information to help you understand your rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.