Pamela Coffell of Snohomish County sued Allstate in 2005, alleging that the company arbitrarily limited payouts of reasonable medical expenses resulting from a car accident.

Rather than cover the full cost of her medical bills, the company used a billing software program that arbitrarily determined the average pay rate for a procedure in the geographical area and then paid out only 85 percent of the rate, said David Breskin, an attorney for plaintiffs.

Coffell had personal-injury protection on her car insurance and paid premiums on the policy, believing that Allstate would cover the full cost of reasonable expenses regardless of who was at fault, said Robert Kornfeld, another attorney for the plaintiffs.

After she was involved in a car accident in July 2004 and submitted her medical expenses, Allstate often didn’t cover the full costs, leaving her to make up the difference, Kornfeld said. The company never explained why, he added.

The amount may have been small each time, but it added up to hundreds of dollars that Coffell had to pay out of her own pocket to cover the gap, Kornfeld said. “They should be forced to disclose that. It’s not fair,” he added.

Ryan Priest, a spokesman for Allstate, said the company has entered a tentative settlement. “However, we deny wrongdoing in connection with the litigation,” he said. “We believe our medical bill review practices are in full compliance with Washington state law.”

A hearing to complete the settlement is scheduled for Nov. 19 before King County Superior Court Judge William Downing.

The lawsuit, which was certified as a class action, may affect 30,000 to 40,000 insured in this state, Breskin said.

The tentative settlement covers anyone who was injured in an accident covered by an Allstate car insurance policy and filed claims under personal-injury protection or Medpay coverage and whose claims were adjusted using “the ADP or Mitchell Medical bill review system,” according to the settlement.

Those covered by the lawsuit will receive $45 and a percentage of their out-of-pocket expenses based on their coverage, according to the settlement.

“Adjusters do use medical review databases to assist in making fair and accurate claim payment determinations, and that is a common practice in the insurance industry,” Priest said. “Without proper medical bill review, auto insurance could quickly become a blank check for inflated charges and potential fraud.”

But attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that Allstate didn’t make a determination that such expenses were unreasonable before deciding not to pay them in full. Consumers might want to consider that before buying the policy, they said.

Personal-injury protection “covers reasonable and necessary medical expenses for injuries sustained in an automobile accident, up to three years from the date of the accident and up to $10,000,” according to the state Insurance Commissioner’s Office. It also allows for income replacement, funeral expenses and loss of services.

Washington has a mandatory insurance law, but it doesn’t require drivers to have personal-injury protection. Insurers, however, are required to offer the coverage.

If you have suffered injures in Everett or elsewhere in WA we may be able to help you, financially speaking. We as Everett personal injury lawyers know how to pursue a claim against the big insurance companies. To learn more contact a Everett personal injury attorney at our firm for a free consultation today.

Free Consultation: 800-282-4878

Jane Doe v. John Doe driver: King County Superior Court No. 02-2-26432-8 Seattle woman involved in a motor vehicle accident suffered spinal injuries to her neck and low back, radiculopathy, and a worsening of her pre-existing fibromyalgia. A Microsoft employee with a stellar record, she was forced to miss about one year of work over 4 years. According to her rheumatologists, she could not return to her high-stress job as the extra hours and demands of being bent over a computer for most of the day made her injuries worse and caused her to lose sleep. The treating doctors told her to find a 30-40 hour a week job rather than her 50-60 hour position. Given that she was a large wage earner, the insurer agreed to pay its half million dollar policy limit to settle the case.

Total Settlement: $500,000

Now, there is no guarantee your car accident claim could yield a settlement near this ammount or a settlement at all. To find out if you have a claim contact our Seattle personal injury lawyers for a free consultation.

The crash Saturday afternoon on U.S. 2 near Monroe shut down the roadway for several hours.

Washington State Patrol trooper Mark Francis says the car driven by a Bothell man crossed the center line and struck an oncoming tanker truck.

The motorist was killed. The 50-year-old tanker driver wasn’t hurt. No names were released.

Francis says two other cars were hit by debris from the accident, but nobody else was injured.

If you have been injured in an Everett car accident financial compensation may or may not be an option. To find out contact our Car Accident Attorney’s for a free consultation.

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Southbound I5 at South 72nd Street was closed early Sunday by construction and a four-car accident.

It happened just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday. According to the Washington State Patrol, three vehicles were traveling in one lane, and the first two vehicles stopped for traffic in the construction zone. The third vehicle – an Isuzu Rodeo driven by a 22-year-old Lakewood man – did not stop, striking the second vehicle and pushing it into the lead car. That car was forced over a lane, striking a truck.

A 51-year-old Tacoma woman who was driving the first vehicle struck was taken to St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma with minor injuries.

No one else was injured, the patrol said.

The driver of the Isuzu Rodeo is suspected of drunken driving and speeding. He faces a vehicular assault charge, the patrol reported.

In the second accident, a 49-year-old Puyallup man was taken to Harborview Medical Center after his motorcycle struck a guardrail on I-5 in Seattle.

The Washington State Patrol said he was merging from Michigan Street onto northbound I-5 just before 11 a.m. Saturday when he struck a concrete barrier. The man was thrown over the guardrail and landed in the HOV lane of southbound I-5.

He was wearing a helmet. The extent of his injuries is unknown. Drugs and alcohol were not believed to be involved.

Everett Injury Lawyer

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Police say both drivers left a woman to die in the street after she was hit while crossing East Marginal Way South late Friday night.

Investigators say the 24-year-old woman, identified by family members as Clashana Grayson of Seattle, had just gotten off a bus and was headed to a tavern called The Annex just after 11 p.m.

A witness standing in the bar’s parking lot says she saw a Cadillac speeding north on East Marginal just as the woman started walking.

The witness says the Cadillac hit Grayson, who flew up over the hood and may have struck the windshield. The driver stopped momentarily, then fled the scene, said Don Dart of the Tukwila police.

Moments later, a second car ran over Grayson as she lay bleeding in the street.

Police say that driver also left the scene. Detectives say it’s unclear if there’s any connection between the two drivers.

Grayson’s cousin, Kimiko Holmes, says she can’t believe two motorists would just keep driving after running over someone.

“I couldn’t fathom hitting anyone and keep on going. What a coward. What a coward,” she says.

Emergency crews rushed Grayson to Harborview Medical Center, where she later died.

Investigators believe the Cadillac has extensive front-end damage and possibly a cracked windshield. It’s likely a 1990s-to-2000 model with a red, maroon or burgundy paint job.

The second car is a silver import, possibly an older model Honda Civic, and it also may have sustained front-end damage, Dart said.

Police found pieces of at least one car that broke off in the collision, and are now analyzing that evidence.

Grayson has a 7-year-old daughter. Family members says they’re not sure what she was doing in the Tukwila area at that hour, and don’t know why she would be headed to The Annex – if she was at all.

Police are actively looking for the hit-and-run drivers. Anyone with information can call 206-433-1808.

If you have sustained personal injuries in Everett feel free to contact Everett personal injury lawyer Rob Kornfeld.

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A driver found her windshield wipers not working when a rainstorm hit about 3 p.m. and ran a stop sign at Maple Street and 16th Street, Everett Fire Department Battalion Chief Steve Parker said.

Her vehicle struck another car and pushed it into a porch of a nearby house.

Nobody was seriously hurt which is VERY surprising. Every week we here at Kornfeld Law see cases like this where an innocent driver or pedestrian is injured. We then, in turn, take the necessary steps to pursue financial compensation for the victim. It can take quite a bit of time to receive a settlement, but you generally have 2 years to file a car accident lawsuit in the state of Washington.

If you would like to file a car accident lawsuit in Everett or elsewhere in Washington State we welcome you to contact us for a free consultation at a place of your convenience.

Call 1-800-282-4878 toll free to speak with an Everett, WA personal injury lawyer at Kornfeld Law now.

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Walter Gabriel Manuel, 50, was driving westbound on West Wapato Road about 10:30 p.m. and apparently lost control while making a left turn onto Brownstown Road, according to a news release from the Washington State Patrol.

The State Patrol said the Jeep veered off the roadway onto a field, then rolled over, ejecting Manuel. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Manuel was pronounced dead at the scene. State Patrol officials said they believe he was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

If you are thinking of filing a Washington car accident lawsuits please call our Everett Car Accident Lawyer for a free consultation.

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Peter Anthony Lucas, 19, pleaded guilty to running from the scene of an injury accident. That’s a felony. He also pleaded guilty to drunken driving, a gross misdemeanor. He was sentenced to seven months in jail.

Lucas will be able to serve two months on home electronic monitoring on the campus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is a pre-med student. Another month was converted to 240 hours of community service. He may be able to serve the remaining four months on work release, according to court documents filed late Friday afternoon.

Lucas is the son of Superior Court Judge Eric Lucas.

Former Snohomish County Prosecutor Janice Ellis requested that Island County Prosecutor Gregory Banks handle the case to avoid a potential appearance of a conflict of interest. King County Superior Court Judge Bruce Hilyer oversaw Friday’s plea and sentencing.

Lucas initially was charged in July with four felonies, including vehicular assault, assault on an officer and attempting to elude police. Prosecutors alleged that Lucas rammed an Edmonds police officer’s patrol car during a pursuit on New Year’s Day, 2009. The officer received substantial injuries to his neck that caused him to be out of work for three months.

The incident began when an Edmonds officer attempted to stop a Honda Civic. The driver stopped in a parking lot, then sped toward the officer’s car, according to court papers.

The impact of the collision stalled the patrol car and injured the officer. The Honda left the scene. A few minutes later another Edmonds officer spotted two men attempting to change a flat tire on a damaged Honda Civic. The officer ordered the men to stop.

Peter Lucas got behind the wheel and tried to ram a police car but instead lost control and crashed, according to court papers. He was subdued with an electric shock from a stun gun.

Lucas earlier had been drinking at a party. He got scared when the officer attempted to stop him, according to his attorney Laura Martin, with the Snohomish County Public Defender’s Association.

He was “scared for his future, for what his parents would do to him for drinking and driving, for how this would affect his schooling. He made a grave mistake.” Martin wrote in court papers.

Lucas had no previous criminal history. An assessment revealed no drug or alcohol addiction, according to court papers.

“Mr. Lucas will forever be a convicted felon,” Martin wrote. “This conviction, in and of itself, will have dire consequences for his future.”

If you have been injured in an Everett, WA car accident I urge you to contact a free consultation with Everett Car Accident Attorney Rob Kornfeld. With over 30 years experience dealing with Washington state personal injury lawsuits you can be assured he can make any possible compensation happen.

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The accident happened about 9:30 p.m. in the southbound lanes of Broadway at 41st Street.

Police arrested a woman for investigation of vehicular homicide, drunken driving and vehicular assault, Everett police Sgt. Robert Goetz said.

She was at the wheel of a Nissan Xterra sport utility vehicle when it crashed head-on into a Nissan SX two-door coupe that was carrying four people.

Police believe the woman in the SUV was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Broadway when the wreck occurred, Goetz said. She apparently was unharmed in the crash.

A woman who was driving the car that the SUV struck died at the scene, as did one of her passengers, a man, Goetz said. Two other passengers, both men, remained hospitalized Saturday with serious injuries, Goetz said.

A passenger in the SUV was treated for injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

The names and ages of those involved in the accident were not available Saturday.

The southbound freeway entrance to I-5 remained closed for several hours Friday night as detectives gathered evidence.

Impaired driving is the leading cause of traffic deaths in the state, according to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission. More than a third of fatal crashes that occurred in Snohomish County last year involved drinking and driving, the commission’s data shows.

Last year’s toll includes two Clearview couples killed by a drunken driver on Nov. 29 while they were driving on Highway 9 in Marysville.

Friday’s crash is another tragic reminder that drinking and driving can have horrific consequences, Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary said.

“That’s why we are out there every day, trying to get impaired drivers off the road,” he said.

As part of a statewide effort to eliminate traffic deaths, the patrol uses marked and unmarked patrols cars and helicopters to look for impaired drivers on state roads.

If you or a family member has been injured or like in this case worse it can be a tough time. Financial compensation may be the last thing on your mind when you are severely hurt or you have lost a loved one, but time is of essence to pursue any personal injury or wrongful death claim. Learn more from Everett Personal Injury Lawyer Rob Kornfeld.

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If your airbag deployed, there may be some haze in the car, but there is no need to get out of the car hastily unless you see fire or smell smoke. If the car isn’t a safe place to be, get out of the car, and get as far away from any traffic as possible.

More FAQ from Everett Car Accident Attorney.