Car Accident Attorney in Tacoma Ready to Fight For You
The number and type of auto accident crash deaths vary widely from state to state. While a state’s population obviously has an effect on the number of motor vehicle accidents and deaths, there are other factors including speed limits, state traffic laws, weather, and topography. In 2019, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there were 33,244 fatal motor vehicle crashes in the United States, resulting in 11 deaths per 100,000 people. In the state of Washington, there were 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people, or 0.83 deaths per 100 million miles traveled. Having an experienced Tacoma car accident attorney like Blake Kremer can make a difference in the eventual outcome of your car accident.
If you are the victim of a car accident in Tacoma or surrounding areas like Seattle, Everett, Olympia, Puget Sound, South Sound, and virtually all of Western Washington, Blake Kremer can help you. Attorney Blake Kremer is a third-generation attorney with a father an
d grandfather who were also attorneys. Blake, along with his paralegal Kate, have a history of service to their community. Blake often does pro bono work, including victim advocacy, hospice work, and work for a pediatric HIV/AIDS support organization.
This passion for social justice, along with a passion for individual justice has helped many who might otherwise not have experienced justice under the law. Blake has been successful in many prominent activist cases, often winning against immense odds. Taking injury cases others might consider unwinnable, Blake recovers significant settlements for his clients including a $2,000,000 wrongful death settlement as a result of a drowning, a $775,000 settlement for client injured in a semi-truck accident, and a $950,000 settlement for a client who was run over in a crosswalk.
How We Support Social Justice Activists in Our Community
What are the Typical Causes of Car Accidents?
Being involved in a car accident can cause you significant anxiety and stress when dealing with your injuries and the financial difficulties related to those injuries. One moment you may be driving home from work or from running an errand, then the next minute an at-fault driver slams into you, changing your life in an instant. There are many different causes of car accidents, but the most common include the following:
- Distracted driving may well be the top cause of car accidents in the United States today. Drivers commonly talk on their cell phones, eat entire meals, fiddle with car controls, set their GPS, talk to their passengers, daydream, and turn around to see what the children are doing in the backseat. Any of these distracted driving behaviors can lead to a serious auto accident.
- Exceeding the speed limit is dangerous under virtually all conditions, particularly under adverse weather conditions. Cars exceeding the speed limit are less able to stop for a hazard in the road, therefore more likely to be involved in an accident.
- Impaired driving leads to serious auto accidents, yet this is one of the top causes of auto accidents that can actually be avoided.
- Fatigued driving can, in some cases, be just as dangerous as impaired driving. Drivers who have gone for 18 hours or more without sleep have slower reflexes and impaired judgment.
- Reckless or careless driving can cause serious auto accidents. Careless driving is simply not paying attention to your driving. Reckless driving can include unsafe lane changes, tailgating, exceeding the speed limit, failure to yield, or even instances of road rage.
- Inclement weather is responsible for many car accidents. Rain can create a slick, dangerous surface, as can snow and ice. High winds and dust storms can result in low visibility, leading to auto accidents.
- Teenage drivers are simply inexperienced drivers who may not know how to properly respond to driving situations. This inexperience can lead to serious auto accidents.
- Design defects on vehicles are responsible for many auto accident injuries. This could include defective airbags or other defective car parts.
Where do Car Accidents Typically Occur?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, most fatal car accidents occur within 25 miles of your home. When considering non-fatal car accidents, more than half of these accidents occur within 5 miles of the home, with about 77 percent occurring within 15 miles of your home. So, when all is said and done, most car accidents occur close to your home.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), most fatal car accidents happen within 25 miles of your home. For nonfatal accidents, more than half (52%) occur within 5 miles of the home, and around 77% take place within 15 miles of a driver’s home. The Wandering RV offers further statistics regarding where auto accidents occur. In terms of accidents by state, the most auto collisions occurred in Texas and California in 2019. Most car accidents occur on a weekend, specifically Saturday night from 9 p.m. to 12 a.m. Car accidents most often occur on rural highways, on two-lane roads, during rush hour, in intersections, and at stop signs.
Fatal crashes are simply more likely in urban areas, due to more vehicles, although that data varies by state. Drivers on long trips may become drowsy and less alert, leading to a single-vehicle crash. Drivers often rear-end other drivers at stop signs and stop lights, causing auto accidents with injuries. Drivers that are driving under the influence can disregard the rules of the road, leading to serious auto accidents.
What Types of Injuries are Common Following a Car Accident?
While the injuries you suffer from your auto accident will be unique to you and to the facts and circumstances surrounding the accident, the most common types of injuries following a car accident include:
- Whiplash and other soft tissue injuries
- Fractures and broken bones (particularly broken legs, arms, wrists, ankles, and ribs)
- Facial injuries that can cause scars and disfigurement
- Loss of limbs
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Paralysis and other spinal cord injuries
- Other neck and back injuries
- Knee injuries
- Lacerations, bruises, and “road rash”
- Internal injuries
- Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries
- Crush Injuries
What Type of Compensation Can I Collect Following My Tacoma Car Accident?
While the exact compensation you may be entitled to receive following your Tacoma car accident will depend entirely on the circumstances and facts surrounding your accident—as well as your injuries—you may be entitled to the following:
Economic damages are those that are easily quantifiable. This means there is evidence to back up the damages, as there would be for medical expenses. Economic damages include the following:
- Property damage to your vehicle
- Medical expenses, including past, present, and future. Your Tacoma car accident attorney will determine what your future medical expenses will include, such as expenses for future surgical procedures, rehabilitative therapies, drug therapies, assistive devices, and any other types of medical expenses.
- Lost wages, including current as well as future lost wages. Lost wages compensation also includes the loss of PTO benefits as well as other employee benefits.
Non-economic damages are much less easy to quantify and can include:
- Pain and suffering damages are meant to cover significant pain following the accident as well as emotional trauma.
- Loss of consortium is a legal term for the loss of companionship of a husband or wife, including the loss of physical intimacy.
- Loss of enjoyment of life covers the activities you once enjoyed but are no longer able to participate in.
Punitive damages are available when the at-fault party acted in a particularly egregious or malicious manner.
How Tacoma Car Accident Attorney Blake Kremer Can Help
When you have been involved in a Tacoma or King County car accident, the most important step you can take is to contact an experienced Tacoma car accident attorney like Blake Kremer. Blake Kremer has been helping people in situations just like yours for three decades. At the Law Office of Blake Kremer, Blake believes strongly in every client’s right to be heard and treated with respect and dignity. Blake’s dedication to social justice is equally strong when pursuing justice on behalf of an individual or for an entity. Call (253) 830-5844 today to speak with attorney Blake Kremer, or (253) 368-4382 to speak with Kate, Blake’s paralegal.
