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VICTIM OF COLLISON AWARDED $1.1 MILLION BY WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

May 12, 2010 by Hamilton McCulloh

Accident in 2005 one of at least 10 crossover collisions involving cable barriers on seven mile span of Interstate-5

SEATTLE (May 12, 2010) – The Seattle-based law firm of Nelson Langer Engle, announces a successful resolution of its lawsuit against the Washington State Department of Transportation (“WSDOT”) on behalf of Jason and Aubrey Knapp. The Snohomish, Wash. couple obtained $1.1 million by way of a settlement for their pain and suffering, loss of consortium damages, outstanding medical bills, and lost wages. The Snohomish County suit was filed in order to gain compensation for Audrey Knapp’s injuries and trauma caused by a median crossover collision that occurred due to the inadequacy of the cable barriers separating northbound and southbound traffic lanes on Interstate-5.

“Aubrey Knapp was recovering from her sixth surgery when the settlement agreement was reached,” said Fred Langer of Nelson, Langer, Engle. “While she will never enjoy the mobility she had prior to the accident, she and her husband Jason are now able to plan for her future. The Knapps are moving into a single story house with ease of access and she is taking the opportunity to retrain for a vocational career that is realistic based on her physical capabilities. Unfortunately, she still faces additional ankle surgeries.

On June 25, 2005, while traveling northbound on I-5 north of Marysville, Aubrey Knapp was hit by a vehicle from the southbound lanes that lost control and shot through the cable barrier system WSDOT had erected to prevent such crossover collisions. The crossover vehicle hit the driver’s side of the Knapp’s vehicle.

Aubrey sustained crushing injuries to her lower body and nerve damage leaving her in constant pain. Her medical bills to date total more than $200,000. The law firm’s research indicated that in seven miles of Interstate-5, in the area where the accident occurred, there were at least 10 accidents between 2000 and 2005 in which a vehicle hit and went through the cable barrier. In at least seven of these incidences the vehicles drove into oncoming traffic causing injury or loss of life.

Nelson Langer Engle previously resolved cable barrier cases including the Holschen case in 2006 for the death of their teenage daughter and the severe brain and orthopedic injuries suffered by the mother and another daughter, and the Jones case in 2009, for the death of a husband and father and Tulalip tribal woodcarver.

“The purpose of median barriers is to keep traffic on its own side of the road,” said Langer. “The problem with the cable barriers as the median barrier is when used in the wrong locations, or when improperly installed, it is too easy for a vehicle to slide over, under or through to oncoming traffic. Their failure rate is such that their continued use has to be questioned. The state has been working to replace many cable barriers along this stretch of highway with better barriers creating a much safer roadway and we hope that the State continues this process.”

Since 1975, Seattle-based Nelson Langer Engle has built a reputation for championing cases with a public interest orientation. They are experts in traumatic brain injury, catastrophic injury, and insurance law, including bad faith and wrongful denial of disability benefits (ERISA and private). The firm filed the first lawsuit in the nation against Farmers Insurance Company complaining that Farmers’ use of “colossus,” a computer program used to evaluate pain and suffering, unfairly devalued injury claims against the company’s own insureds. The firm recently worked to establish the 2009 Zackery Lystedt Law in Washington State, which requires medical clearance of youth athletes suspected of sustaining a concussion, before sending them back in the game, practice or training. For more information visit www.nlelaw.com.

Media Contact: Hamilton McCulloh GreenRubino Direct: (206) 957-4260 Cell: (206) 910-9797 E-mail: hamiltonm@greenrubino.com