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Caron, Colven, Robison & Shafton CCRS Law
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10 months ago
Bill Robison is a great personal injury attorney. I was fortunate enough to have friends in the field of law that knew Bill. … More He came highly recommended as an attorney to represent me after a recent auto accident injury. I gave him a call and boy am I glad I did! First of all, he knew quite a bit about my injury and helped me navigate finding the right doctors and treatments. Even with a good primary care physician, I couldn’t quite seem to figure out a roadmap that would help me address my injury and pain. But most importantly, he did a great job negotiating an excellent settlement for me. Not only that, Bill was able to make this happen before our court date. For a personal injury attorney, I would go no where else. Thank you Bill Robison! I am so glad to know you. -
3 years ago
Through a tough and complicated estate closure involving a business with thousands of customers, high back taxes, multiple … More checking accounts and subpoenas and bankruptcy, we are eternally grateful to have worked with Ben Shafton, who guided us all the way. He was always available by email and phone with excellent advice while following up with quick action and fair pricing. My family highly recommends this law firm. -
4 years ago
Bill Robison left no stone unturned while investigating our case. He is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met. … More That combined with his passion and integrity make him a top notch attorney. Ben Shafton was also a big help and to which I owe a huge thank you. The office assistant, Tammy, was a true gem in answering all of my questions and always kept me informed. I can honestly say I would not have made it through this process without their team. To all of them I am eternally grateful. Trina Cortese
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Vancouver, Washington Lawyers
Caron, Colven, Robison & Shafton
https://ccrslaw.com
900 Washington Street Suite 1000
Vancouver, WA 98660
Phone: 360.699.3001
Vancouver, WA 98660
4.2 stars -
based on 20 reviews (as of 02/10/2020)
Uninsured and Underinsured Drivers
/in Legal /by vancouveradminUninsured and Underinsured Drivers
Although there are laws in place in all 50 states requiring drivers to carry insurance, it is estimated that in Washington State, nearly 20% of all drivers do not have insurance, making it the seventh-worst state in the entire nation for uninsured drivers. When an insured driver has their own automobile coverage, they can pay a deductible and make a claim on their own policy. In most cases, their insurance company will seek reimbursement from the uninsured driver. The issue, however, is that if there are any injuries or property damage, there is no coverage for that.
What Is Uninsured Motorist Coverage?
This is where uninsured motorist coverage comes in. Uninsured motorist coverage is a rider that policyholders can have added on to their auto insurance policy that will pay for any injuries they sustain or damage to their property in the event of an accident with an uninsured driver. Another reason that uninsured motorist coverage is important is that hit-and-run drivers are also considered to be uninsured motorists. If someone hits your car in the middle of the night or gets into an accident with you and flees the scene before information can be exchanged, you would have to pay out of pocket without uninsured motorist coverage. One final reason that uninsured motorist coverage is important is if the other person’s insurance company simply refuses to pay the claim. This is one more situation that results in the same outcome as another driver simply not having any insurance at all. With uninsured motorist protection, you would still be covered.
What is Underinsured Motorist Coverage?
Similar to uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage works much the same way. While most states have a certain minimum amount of coverage drivers need to carry, not all do. If the other driver does not carry insurance with coverage limits high enough to cover all of the costs of the accident, you would be left paying the rest, or you would have to try and take them to court to get compensation. For instance, if you drive a car that is valued at $35,000, but the other driver only has $25,000 worth of insurance coverage, then your underinsured motorist coverage would kick in to cover the gap. Uninsured and underinsured motorists coverage is a particularly important insurance to carry in any state where there are a high number of drivers driving without insurance. This would include Washington State.
After A Car Accident Be Sure To Hire An Experienced Trial Lawyer
/in Car Accidents, Personal Injury /by Thomas HojemA vast majority of car crash cases do not need to be tried. By tried, I mean having a trial: going to court, picking a jury, and having those twelve strangers decide the outcome of your case.
But that doesn’t mean that your lawyer shouldn’t be ready and willing to go to trial. Why? Because if an adjuster or an insurance defense attorney doesn’t believe that your lawyer will go the distance, then the chances of them making a good offer drop dramatically. Why make a good offer when you know the injured person’s lawyer will blink at the last second?
This is why it is especially important to pick a lawyer with a track record of taking car crash cases to a jury. Personal injury trials are notoriously difficult, but an experienced trial lawyer with the proper training can confidently enter the courtroom, tell your story, and get you the result you deserve.
Our firm does that. A few other firms in Clark County do that too, to be honest. Whoever you choose as your lawyer, make sure that he or she is one who can take your case to trial if they need to. My recommendation is to specifically ask the lawyer who you are considering hiring whether they have done any jury trials. If their answer is no, you should strongly consider talking to others.
-Tom Hojem
Clark County, Vancouver, Camas, Ridgefield, Washington: Traffic Circles reduce crashes, save lives and reduce injuries.
/in Bicycle Accidents, Car Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death /by William RobisonA person is injured or killed on a Washington roadway every 11 minutes. This problem is getting worse. Distracted driving is a major reason. Distracted driving is so common we even have a term: “red light prayer” to describe drivers texting away at traffic lights. Prohibition isn’t working so what can be done? Washington DOT, Clark County, and local cities are working to reduce the toll by replacing “stop go” intersections with traffic circles.
By preventing violent side impact collisions traffic circles save lives. Traffic circles further reduce wrongful deaths and serious personal injuries by taking out stop signs and traffic signals. Where they have been put to use traffic circles have cut crashes by at least 75%. Washington Department of Transportation. https://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Safety/roundabouts/benefits.htm In Washington traffic circles are still a bit of a novelty. PEMCO insurance conducted a poll that shows most people are okay with traffic circles, it’s the other folks we don’t trust!
As personal injury attorneys Caron, Colven, Robison, Shafton and Hojem welcome any measure that reduces injury and death on our roadways. To help drivers our neighbors in Alberta produced this short video: please share.
Just when you thought they couldn’t sink any lower
/in Uncategorized /by William RobisonState Farm has a new cost saving trick up its sleeve. When both driver’s are insured by State Farm only one adjuster is assigned to the claim. This adjuster determines who is at fault and how much they will be paid for their cars. It is pretty safe to say this is a serious conflict of interest.
Let’s look at a crash in Vancouver Washington with personal injuries to one driver and none to the other. Let’s call the uninjured driver, who turned left causing the crash Driver 1. The driver who was proceeding straight through a green light is Driver 2. Driver 1 admits to the police officer at the scene that she does not know if her light was green or not. It would be impossible for her to have a green light when oncoming traffic also has a green. Driver 2 is certain her light was green. Both driver’s agree other folks were going through the intersection in Driver 2’s direction of travel.
After Driver 2 leaves the hospital Driver 2 discovers that State Farm has appointed a single adjuster to the case. The adjuster seems friendly. Driver 2 tells her she had a green light. Driver 1 repeats that she thinks her light was green but she does not know for sure. The adjuster determines that there is inadequate evidence to figure out fault, so both insured’s bear 50% fault. This means Driver 2 loses half her $500 deductible on the spot. State Farm then undervalued her car by using an averaging trick that is the subject of another blog. That trick took about a $1,000 more off the payment to Driver 2.
The final part of the cost saving is basically just lying. Driver 2 told the adjuster that she was going back to the doctor for more treatment. The adjuster informed her that the claim was closed and she couldn’t get payment under the no-fault PIP insurance she had paid State Farm for.
By blaming the driver with the most damage State Farm reduces its losses. By blaming both driver’s State Farm justifies raising the rates on both of them. By blaming both driver’s State Farm makes it harder for the drivers to change insurance.
As someone said: You don’t have the wrong insurance, you have the wrong insurance company.
Dangerous Highway Defects Costs State of Washington $3 Million Dollars To Settle Motorcycle Accident Litigation
/in Motorcycle Accidents /by William RobisonThe State of Washington has agreed to pay $3.0 million dollars to a Clark County Washington woman for injuries she suffered in a 2015 motorcycle crash. The State blamed the motorcyclists both of whom were cited for traffic infractions. The investigation, however, proved the State was entirely to blame. The motorcyclists collided with a traffic island that was improperly designed,
constructed and maintained by the State.
The crash injured four people, two very seriously. No alcohol or drugs were involved and speed was not a factor. Traffic islands have been a contributing factor in motor vehicle accidents on SR 432 for years. In 2008 the State inexplicably missed a chance to bring the island into compliance with safety regulations at little or no cost to the State. The State has since made improvements to the island.
The crash occurred around 10 p.m. on October 17, 2015. Several experienced motorcyclists and their passengers were westbound on SR 432 also known as Industrial Way. The cyclists were riding in a staggered formation when they encountered the dangerous highway defects. Two cyclists riding on the right side of the lane collided with the traffic island. Although the island is entirely within a 50 m.p.h. through travel lane, it was constructed with prohibited 6-inch vertical curbing. The island lacked reflectors, high visibility paint, and gore lines making it nearly invisible at night. The improper vertical curbing made the impact with the island particularly dangerous to motorcyclists and caused both passengers to be ejected. Dash-cam video showed a State Trooper responding to the crash also nearly hit the island.
Had the island met even a few of the visibility safety requirements the motorcyclists would have seen it and avoided it. Tragically, had the curb been a “mountable curb as safety rules require, the State’s failure to maintain signs, paint and reflectors might have been excused because any driver who failed to see the island could drive over it without incident.
William D. Robison handled the litigation and settlement of this motorcycle accident case for Caron, Colven, Robison, Shafton.