First of all, our condolences to the Bass family. May they find peace through family relationships. These tragedies are difficult to deal with, but with the support of family and other loved ones, healing will come.
 
Trucking accidents kill many people every year. Husbands, fathers, mothers, grandmothers and children.  All have been seriously maimed or killed by the inattentive, reckless or otherwise dangerous driving of trucking company employees. When trucks drive the roads, substantial safety measures should be taken to make sure innocent people aren't hurt.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed as a result of a trucking company employee's negligence (which is likely imputed to the company itself), then you should talk to a lawyer who has been in the trenches with trucking companies.  At Blackburn Law, PC, attorney Stephen Blackburn has helped hundreds of clients over the years who have been seriously injured, or have had loved ones killed, as a result of car or trucking collisions.

The consultation is free - and you can rest assured you will be making informed decisions. Don't let the trucking company insurance representative call the shots. Get in the driver's seat and get justice for your family.

From The Idaho Statesman:

Our deepest condolences go out to the family of John Orr, who was killed when another driver allegedly did not stop at his stop sign and t-boned the sedan driven by Mr. Orr.  Words cannot express the loss undoubtedly felt by this family, particularly the young boy who was in the vehicle with his father.  Our hearts go out to him in this most difficult time.

From The Idaho Statesman:

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of being struck while legally occupying a crosswalk, call attorney Stephen Blackburn for a free consultation.  Pedestrians in these situations should be given the widest berth possible to avoid colliding with them. Often times, drivers who hit people in crosswalks are not paying attention and fail to realize the serious consequences associated with their decision.

Attorney Blackburn makes sure the insurance company takes care of you.

From The Idaho Statesman:

"A 46-year-old man and a 5-year-old girl were badly hurt Tuesday night when they were hit by a passenger car on East Greenhurst Street near Chicago Street in Nampa.

The man and the girl were carrying orange pedestrian flags when they were struck by a four-door passenger car, Nampa police Sgt. Oren McGuire said.

The girl is currently being treated at St. Luke's Boise Medical Center for what police have called life-threatening injuries. The man is being treated at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center for what police say are serious injuries.

The road had recently been chip sealed and crosswalk lines were obscured, McGuire said.

The crash was reported just after 8:20 p.m. The driver of the car is a 59-year-old woman from Nampa, police say.

An investigation into the cause of the crash is continuing, and no citations had been issued as of 8 a.m. Wednesday."

From The Idaho Statesman:

Attorney Stephen Blackburn assists with people who have been injured as a result of a car, trucking or motorcycle accident.  Don't put your case in the hands of the insurance company without consulting with a lawyer first.

A car crash recently sent several people to the hospital.  According to reports, the offending driver was "talking to his wife" when the accident occurred.  Nobody except the driver really knows what happened, but it is very important to be absolutely attentive and follow at a safe following distance when we are operating motor vehicles.

From The Idaho Statesman:

Blackburn Law, PC

Condolences to the families of all involved in this tragedy.

From The Idaho Statesman:

Idaho State Police officers are still investigating a traffic accident Thursday night that resulted in the deaths of a 16-year-old driver and two of her passengers.

Sloane Weldon and Rebekah and Elisabeth Cole, ages 16 and 17, were pronounced dead at the scene on U.S. 95 near Parma.

Another passenger, Benson Richardson, 16, was taken by air ambulance to Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, where ISP officials say he is listed in critical condition.

The crash occurred around 11:20 p.m. Thursday. ISP officials say it appears Weldon, driving a 1996 Saturn passenger car, was traveling eastbound on U.S. 20 when she failed to stop.

ISP officials say a 29-year-old Parma man was driving a Dodge pickup pulling a trailer with four horses south on U.S. 95 when Weldon’s car entered the intersection. The truck hit the car on the driver’s side.

The force of the collision knocked the car about 80 yards south of the intersection, according to ISP reports.

The pickup was knocked into a field at the southeast corner of the intersection, with the horse trailer ending up overturned in the same field. The horses were later taken to a veterinarian for treatment. ISP officials said they did not know how badly the horses were injured.

The truck had a female passenger and two young children inside. Those kids, ages 2 and 3, were taken by ambulance to a local hospital as a precaution and were later released, ISP officials said Friday.

The ISP reports Weldon and Rebekah Cole were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash but Richardson and Elisabeth Cole were not.

Here's a classic case where drivers should check their insurance policies carefully to determine whether they have uninsured motorist or underinsured motorist coverage higher that the state required minimum of 25,000/50,000.

When an accident in serious and/or involves multiple victims with injuries, the likelihood of an at-fault driver's insurance policy covering all of the injuries is remote.  In fact, more often than not there is woefully inadequate insurance coverage to protect those who ride motorcycles, because they are naturally exposed to more serious injuries.

In Idaho, insurance companies are required to offer you underinsured motorist coverage.  In these types of scenarios, underinsured motorist coverage can be the difference between an injured person receiving compensation for all of their medical bills, wage loss, and other loss, etc., and not having enough insurance coverage to cover just the bills.  Read your insurance policy carefully.  What you'll learn will likely surprise you.  The insurance industry loves to charge you for coverage you'll never use.  Such is the case with underinsurd motorist coverage on most policies.  If you carry the minimum of $25,000, then that amount will usually "offset" the first $25,000 of the at-fault driver's policy!  So while you think you will have another $25,000 in coverage - you really will have NO additional coverage.  It's one of the industry's dirty little secrets.  Chances are your insurance agent may not even be aware of this, either, so be sure to talk to your agent specifically about underinsured motorist coverage.  In Idaho, if you carry less than $50,000 in UIM, the likelihood of you ever using it is remote - especially when you need it most!

Here's an article from The Idaho Statesman illustrating where having ample UIM coverage would come in very useful.  A bad accident involving at least 7 different people - all of whom will have a claim against the at-fault driver's policy.  If it is a minimal policy and there are lots of injuries, UIM coverage will become necessary to make everyone whole again.

From The Idaho Statesman:

"A tangled mess of wreckage and glass had to be cleaned off of Idaho 44 just west of Middleton late Friday after a chain-reaction crash involving two cars and three motorcycles -- but the good news is that no one involved appeared to have suffered life-threatening injuries.

"It was pretty chaotic," said John Filler, an engineer with Middleton Fire Department who witnessed the crashes and aided the victims at the scene, which was on Idaho 44 at Emmett Road. Based on what he witnessed, he thought there might be a fatality, he said.

A Caldwell woman who was driving a white pickup faces charges in the crash, said Canyon County Corporal Chad Harrold, the incident commander. Harrold said she could face an inattentive driving charge. Also, investigators said the driver smelled of alcohol, and she admitted to drinking. She did not undergo field sobriety tests at the scene because she was injured and transported to the hospital, but her blood was drawn for toxicology tests.

Filler and other firefighters on an engine headed west on Idaho 44 witnessed the crash, which was reported at about 10:13 p.m. It occurred directly ahead of them on the highway in the eastbound lane.

The fire truck was running lights and sirens to a reported grass fire on Purple Sage Road and Highway 30. Three motorcycles on eastbound Idaho 44 pulled to a stop near the side of the road due to the approaching fire truck, and so did a silver passenger car behind the motorcycles, Filler and Harrold said.

But a white pickup truck behind the passenger car and three motorcycles did not stop, Filler said. The pickup hit the passenger car, which slammed into all three of the motorcycles -- each of which had two riders, Harrold said.

The speed limit at that section of the highway is posted 55 miles per hour. Investigators say the pickup may have been traveling close to that speed when it impacted the passenger car. The front of the pickup was heavily damaged, and the fuel tank on the car was ruptured.

The impact of the passenger car into the motorcyclists was startling to those who witnessed it.

"Everybody went straight up," Filler said of the momentarily airborne motorcyclists. He said they landed in a pile between the bikes.

The firefighters did an immediate triage at the scene to determine if there was anyone critically injured; Caldwell Fire responded to the grass fire in lieu of Middleton Fire.

Miraculously, the worst injury identified at the crash scene was a broken leg, Filler said.

Three ambulances from Canyon County Paramedics were dispatched to the scene. Five people were taken to West Valley Medical Center in Nampa -- four people who were on the motorcycles and the driver of the pickup.

Idaho 44 and Emmett Road were shut down for at least two hours, as emergency personnel worked to aid the victims and sheriff's officials investigated the crash."