Edward Cranston Harper's Answers

I was cited RCW 46.61.050 "Fail to obey traffic control device" for making an illegal right turn. Can this affect my insurance?

You should contest this ticket. The prosecutor must provide you with discovery and follow all the applicable procedures in order to get the case before a judge. At that point you can provide the judge with evidence (witnesses, your testimony, photographs, diagrams, etc.) to counter-act what the prosecutor comes up with. Often the prosecutor will negotiate with you and offer you a non-moving violation ticket which does not go on your driving record. The 46.61.050 is a violation that ends up...

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Medical Malpractice Deposition for Arbitration, I asked earlier but perhaps in a wrong subgroup, so here I am posting again.

If you have a binding arbitration clause with Kaiser, there may be the possibility of a motion for summary judgment within the arbitration setting. if you claim your chance of survival went down because of the mistakes of a medical professional, you will need to find some legal precedent for this claim. In many states this will be found in case law, and if a medical expert states this opinion then you will have improved your chances to win the case. However, you will still need medical...

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Hospital did not file on my PIP. Now I get a bill years down the road Do I have to pay?

When you have a PIP insurance benefit, and you gave the hospital billing office this information, it seems a mistake was made. However, merely because the information was provided to them, does not relieve the patient of the responsibility to ensure the bills are being paid. In a case of the PIP being exhausted, there is an obligation for your auto insurance to pay a bill within a reasonable time when it has been received. So if the hospital did not send the bill to the PIP insurer before...

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We bought a house at auction recently and have heard from the former owner that we foiled his plan to get his house back.

A non-judicial foreclosure is the key legal method used in our state and does not require court action but does require notice of sale. When the deed of trust contains a provision called a power of sale clause, the trustee can sell the property in order to satisfy the underlying defaulted loan. Requirements are very strict as to the methods of providing notice to all interested parties. It is possible the owner believed he retained a right of redemption which would have been the case if this...

If I was involved in an accident (on the clock, on a work-related errand) & my insurance doesn't cover it, is my work liable?

If you injured while working as an employee of another, and the employer has workers compensation coverage, you should be able to recover for your losses. You cannot sue your employer however as a result. To determine if one is an actual employee vs. an independent contract related to what is called an agency-principal relationship that may have been in place between you (agent) and your employer (principal). You should connect with an attorney as soon as practical in order to protect your...

I was involved in a car accident on May 2nd and I was hit from behind and they ran a stop sign and have no car insurance.

As the others have stated, you can sue the at-fault driver for their negligence. This often is required before you bring an uninsured motorist claim which you likely will have to do in order to receive fair compensation. Your insurance company will have to abide by the insurance policy provisions for medical payments for you as well. However, be aware that you have become the adversary as soon as you make a UIM claim.

Jan 2010 accident. Safeco took 100% responsibilty. Totaled car for under book value. Took them to small claims. Won. Safeco rep

This is a very difficult situation for an injured plaintiff here in Washington. The prevention of claims splitting was the purpose of the case you mentioned, and in the right case may be over-turned when equity requires a different decision. You can contact my office here in Kirkland if you'd like to discuss.

My sister was in a car accident about 2 months ago. It was the other drivers fault, he came into her lane and hit her head on.

As the others have stated, one needs to review their own insurance policy to determine if their is underinsured aka uninsured motorist coverage. Additionally, just because the insurance company says they only have $50k in coverage, you cannot always trust they are telling you the truth. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney before settling the claim. Additionally, there are steps to take to possibly avoid giving a portion of the settlement back to the health insurance company as the...

I was driving a friend's car and received a traffic ticket in Kirkland, WA. I was unable to locate my proof of insurance.

You likely will get the ticket reduced if you check the mitigation box. You can check with the clerk to see if you can do the mitigation hearing by mail. The contested hearing calendar requires you to be there and provide evidence to dispute the validity of the ticket. Hope this helps.

Can an insurance company bill you for damages?

An interesting attempt by the insurance company to get some of their funds back. My thought is that your friend is being sought after since potentially she's responsible for the collision, since the crash occurred under her watch as she was the adult responsible for the car at the time of the crash. However, the insurance company may have valid claims against your friend, but they have to go through the litigation process before they can acquire a judgment. And a judgment is required before...