Miscellaneous | InjuryBoard Anchorage

75 year old Gene Speece of Homer lost his life Friday when his skiff capsized off Port Graham. Mike and Charles Speece were also on board. All were thrown into the icy water, but a near by charter boat pulled Mike and Charles from the water. They appeared unharmed. But the older Speece was trapped under the skiff. He was dead when a Coast Guard rescue swimmer pulled him from the water an...

The Thanksgiving weekend recorded three home fires that left a total of 21 people homeless, but did not cause serious injury or death. The last of these was caused by a faulty wood stove, according to fire investigators. Whenever a home fire causes serious injury or death, it should be immediatelly investigated by an attorney working for the family, with the help of a qualified 'cause and...

Deep ruts in the Glenn Highway and other Alaska roads pose a serious threat of injury or death to drivers, but there is little available money to address the problem. If road maintenance problems are the cause of serious injury or death, it will take a very good personal injury attorney to get justice for the victim. In Alaska, even though the State has a duty to reasonably maintain roads, it...

Defendant Brown lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a "breakaway" light pole. It broke away, creating a hazard for other vehicles in the right of way. 90 minutes later an ATV driver came along, collided with the pole and suffered a serious head injury. The ATV driver, Winschel, sued Brown, whose insurance carrier denied the claim and successfully talked Fairbanks Superior Court Judge...

Recently, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld an award of $25K in punitive damages and $50K in damages for emotional distress against a local physician, Dr. Michael Bradner. Bradner assaulted a scheduling nurse at a local hospital because he was upset with her. She also suffered a knee injury requiring surgery. The verdict was considerably in excess of $100K. All of Bradner's appeal points were...

Police claim that Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2007, and Anchorage man, Joshua Sagayo, 23, so violently abused a 22 month old toddler in his care, that the child is still hospitalized with serious, and possibly fatal, injuries. Sagayo is in jail facing first and second degree assault charges. Conviction of assault often requires a finding by the jury that the conduct was "reckless" or "criminally...

Poor lighting and visibility may have been factors in the Saturday morning, 11/10/07, pedestrian fatality in Anchorage. It was snowing and just getting light as Stephen W. Hanes, 57, turned Eastbound onto 6th from the northbound lanes of A street. He was driving a tractor pulling a belly-dump. A pedestrian caught in the right rear dual tires was drug 10 blocks before a motorist was able to...

Allstate, Progressive, and other carriers are often quick to take coverage disputes to Federal Court. The carriers bring a "declaratory judgment" action against their own policy holders, and sometimes sue the party that may have been seriously injured or killed by their policy holder. The insurers try to get the Federal Court to side with them. Carriers take such steps even though they know...

Statistics show that commercial fishing in Alaska, particularly the notoriously dangerous King crab fishery, is among the most dangerous occupations in America today. Death and serious injury are the result of constant exposure to risks of the business; slippery, wet, heaving decks, heavy equipment, moving lines, and ferocious weather. When death or serious injury is caused in a fishing...

Two Noorvik men drank home brew into the early morning hours Monday. Then things went bad. One man attacked the other, injuring him seriously. The attacker was arrested and charged with assault. A good personal injury attorney can often find insurance coverage for an event like this, even where it appears the acts were criminal or intentional.For more information on this subject, please...

Allstate Insurance Company works hard to keep people with serious injury or wrongful death claims away from qualified attorneys. There is a good reason the "Good Hands" people want you in their hands. Its own figures prove that if you are hurt, or have lost a loved one, you will get two to three times more compensation if you have an attorney on your side.The numbers aren't limited to large...

Geico insured the mother of two...now three...a homemaker, who was 26 YOA on March 10 2001 when a Gieco-insured, 65 yoa male, now deceased, turned in front of her. She told the Dr. She was going 50 (in a 45) and had no seat belt on. Injury was cervical sprain with head turned to right to check on her kids in the back seat at the point of impact. After two years, Geico paid its $50,000...

Last week a guest at a Spenard motel was wounded by gunfire. He and the shooter exchanged words, the shooter got into a vehicle, rolled down the window, fired a number of times and fled the scene. Even if later identified, it is unlikely that the shooter's auto insurance will cover the wounded man's bills, and even if the shooter had homeowner's coverage, the "intentional act" exclusion could...

Omar Stratman's decades-long effort to return some of the best land in the Kodiak archipelago to the US government was dealt a blow last week. The Federal District Court for the District of Alaska dismissed Statman's suit despite considerable authority to the contrary. Stratman will appeal. The dispute involves who will ultimately own over 70 square miles of the most beautiful and valuable...

Last week a very good lawyer lost a serious injury case in Palmer, Ak. The judge ruled that he could not explain to the jury why his client did and didn't do certain things because to do so would violate [this particular judge's interpretation of] an evidence rule that keeps the jury from hearing about insurance. It hurt the client's credibility in the eyes of the jury and resulted in a...