Miscellaneous | InjuryBoard Anchorage

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...

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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...

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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...

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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...

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September 20, 2007, shortly before 5:00 p.m., a 49 year old employee of Central Paving Products died when he became entangled in a conveyor belt in the gravel pit where he was working at about mile 38.5 of the Parks Highway. When an on-the-job death happens the worker's family can't sue his employer or fellow employees, even if they were at fault in causing the death. But if the conveyor...

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The insurance industry, with the exception of Allstate, has issued new policy language that allows carriers to deny uninsured and underinsured motor insurance claims, and force policyholders into a slow and expensive jury trial in order to get their claim resolved. But AS 21.89.035 makes it doubtful that the new language is enforceable. Because the statute demands that the insurance policies...

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Friday, the Alaska Supreme Court repeated a rule first set out in the Robles case that gives settling parties the full benefit of the bargain they made, while holding the feet of non-settling parties to the trial court fire. Where a plaintiff got vastly more money from pre-trial settlements than the jury awarded in plaintiff's favor at the trial of the non-settling defendant, the non-settling...

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When you are injured as the result of negligence, you should seek legal advice immediately before you discuss the matter with an insurance adjuster, before signing any documents, and before valuable evidence can be lost. The less money insurance companies pay for claims, the more money they make. Before discussing the matter with an adjuster, you should get the advice you need from a qualified...

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The Seward Highway was shut down for hours Saturday night after a vehicle-motorcycle crash that took place south of McHugh Creek at around 7:00 p.m.. The female driver of the motorcycle apparently crossed the center line and caused the crash that took her life, according to Alaska State Troopers investigating the case.For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Car and...

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Two young men working to put siding on the mill building at the Rock Creek Mine died Thursday evening when the man lift, a metal basket-like elevated work station, tipped over, spilling them 50 feet to the ground. The mine, near Nome, had recently passed a safety inspection. These fatalities double the mine death numbers for Alaska over the last decade. An investigation of the incident...

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An Anchorage bus driver was arrested on sexual assualt charges, allegedly having taken advantage of an adult passenger with the mental age of a child. Criminals often have no money or insurance, but if they were on the job, or if their work position helped them commit the crime, a good lawyer can often find a way to hold the employer and its insurance company accountable.

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The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2007 would keep companies from making consumers give up their right to a trial by jury by forcing mandatory binding arbitration. Many consumer contracts, like are offered on a take-it-or-leave-it basis by EBay, lending institutions, brokerage firms, car dealerships, and health care providers take away your rights in the fine print. Consumers should support this...

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Former Alaskan, and former Alaska Airlines CEO, Bruce Kennedy was fatally injured June 28th, when the Cessna 182 he was flying crashed into the Cashmere, Washington High School parking lot. Kennedy not only made Alaska Airlines a major player in the aviation industry, but became internationally recognized for his humanitarian efforts after he left his CEO position in 1981. He was 68. He...

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Be careful, or your liability coverage won't help you if the seriously or fataly injured bring suit against you and you have "exluded" the driver of your vehicle from coverage. So held the Alaska Supreme Court June 29, 2007. Seriously injured Nelson sued the inured parents for negligent entrustment of their car to their son, who hit Nelson.Because parents had excluded son from their policy,...

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If you are hurt or killed on the job you can't sue your employer or fellow employees. And it used to be that employers/fellow employees were the only ones that enjoyed this immuntiy from negligence...or worse. But a couple of legislative sessions ago, Sen. Ralph Seekins of Fairbanks, big oil, and big insurance teamed up to make things even better for negligent big business, while leaving...

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