Personal Injury Lawyers Anchorage

Alaska is a place that's world-renowned for its breathtaking scenery at almost any time of the year, but particularly in the spring and summer months when plant and animal life is seemingly on display for those who wish to view it.  One of the most scenic roads in Alaska is the Seward Highway, a stretch of road that's famous for attracting tourists and residents alike who want to take in all that this pathway has to offer.  However, in the opinion of some, the Seward Highway is also notorious, and officials have recently named it as the most dangerous highway in the state based on the number of truly gruesome Alaska auto accidents.

Wrongful Death Attorneys in Alaska

Just within the last few days, two violent collisions have taken place:

1. May 20 - A 19-year-old female lost control of her vehicle while speeding.  The vehicle flipped and rolled several times, and authorities were dumbfounded that the driver managed to survive the crash after seeing the mangled car that the incident created.
2. May 18 - Just two days prior to the accident mentioned above, two people were rushed to the hospital after their Ford Focus, which had stopped to make a turn near Potter Marsh, was rammed from behind by a pickup truck.  The driver of the truck was allegedly distracted and did not see the stopped vehicle.  Fortunately, both passengers in the Ford Focus survived the latest Seward Highway auto accident.

Overall, 11 people lost their lives in Alaska auto accidents on the Seward Highway in the summer of 2009.  Between 2001 and 2007, there were 31 Alaska auto accidents that led to at least one fatality.

Alaska Auto Accident Lawyers

When one compares the troubling Alaska auto accident statistics that have occurred on the Seward Highway to the overall statistics in the state, it's relatively easy to see why the road has earned this dubious distinction.  In 2007, a total of 82 people lost their lives in fatal Alaska auto accidents throughout the entire state, and based on basic numbers more than 10 percent of these fatalities seem to occur on this highway.

If you are driving on the Seward Highway at any point, you need to keep these facts in mind and drive with extreme caution.  If you or someone you love has been harmed in an accident that occurred on the Seward Highway or anywhere else in the state, you need the help of Alaska auto accident lawyers who have the skill and experience necessary to hold those responsible for this harm accountable.  Contact Barber & Banker today to schedule a free initial consultation.

We are taught from the first time we get behind the wheel that we must never fail to focus our eyes on the road in front of us.  While most if not all of us have been guilty of losing that focus from time to time, certain events arise that serve as a reminder that even a one-second lapse in attention can lead to serious consequences.  Unfortunately, this appears to be what occurred yesterday afternoon as a Seward Highway auto accident injured two people.

The accident occurred at approximately 2 p.m. at Mile 116 along Potter Marsh on the Seward Highway.  A Ford Focus was waiting to turn left off of the highway onto a pull-out.  A large pickup truck was trailing the smaller vehicle, and the driver apparently did not notice that the Focus had stopped until it was too late.  He slammed into the rear of the car and smashed it.  As a result of the accident, both of the occupants of the Focus were injured and sent to the hospital.

While authorities indicated that the two injured people will likely survive their injuries, police used the incident as an opportunity to issue a stern reminder that with the summer season upon us, traffic is likely to get heavier and could include tourists who are not familiar with their surroundings.  The combination of traffic and unfamiliarity is always a dangerous combination, especially when such elements are present on a road where drivers are moving at high rates of speed.

Alaska Auto Accident Lawyers

While it's fortunate that those who were hit from behind will likely survive the accident, it's also possible that either or both of them sustained significant injuries. Alaska Rear-end collisions are notorious for producing a plethora of injuries that can be difficult to overcome, including whiplash, spinal cord injuries and head or traumatic brain injuries.  Some of these serious injuries will not reveal themselves by way of overt symptoms immediately.

If you or someone you love has been harmed in an Alaska auto accident, you need the help of Alaska personal injury lawyers who have years of experience in holding those responsible for causing harm accountable.  Contact Barber & Banker today at (800) 478-5858 to schedule a free initial consultation. 

Alaska Injury Attorneys

The Barber & Banker Anchorage Alaska personal injury law firm is not currently representing anyone mentioned in this article at the time it was posted. If you were involved in this incident or a similar incident and have questions as to your legal rights and options, call us or another well recognized and respected personal injury law firm. Please do not rely or act solely upon the information provided in this article. Please consider getting a consultation immediately. The best personal injury law firms will provide a free consultation. Barber & Sims will provide a free, confidential consultation to the persons who were not at fault named in this article. The free consultation offer extends to family members as well.

Certain roads are known or are even notorious for being host to a high number of Alaska auto accidents.  Over the weekend, one stretch of Chena Hot Springs Road near Fairbanks was the site of two different Alaska auto accidents that injured a total of eight people.  Fortunately, no one was killed, but the crashes have sent authorities scrambling for answers regarding how they can lower the number of crashes that occur in this area.  A brief description of each accident appears below.

Fairbanks Auto Accident One

The first crash occurred late Saturday night when Christopher Harkom, 20, of Two Rivers, lost control of his vehicle while heading east on the road near Mile 10.  He crashed head-on with another driver and two of his passengers were injured as a result.  One of the injured people was a 15-year-old girl who suffered unspecified injuries that were described as serious.

Fairbanks Auto Accident Two

On Sunday afternoon at around 1 p.m., another Alaska auto accident occurred on Chena Hot Springs Road.  This one took place near 51.5 Mile when a motorcycle that was driving in tandem with another veered into the opposite lane while attempting to negotiate a turn.  At that point, a Toyota Corolla came around the bend, and the motorcyclist let the motorcycle run over the guard rail to avoid hitting the oncoming car.  Even tough a collision was avoided, the evasive measures taken by the Toyota led to a rollover crash along the side of the road. 

Contact an Alaska Auto Accident Lawyer

Clearly, Alaska auto accidents can occur at any time and in any place, and if you or someone you love has been harmed in a crash, you need the help of an Alaska auto accident lawyer who understands how to analyze all of the evidence and move towards holding those responsible for harm accountable.  Contact Barber & Banker at (800) 478-5858 today to schedule a free initial consultation.

When someone gets behind the wheel of a vehicle, that driver owes a legal duty of care not only to other drivers, pedestrians and anyone else who could be harmed by his or her actions outside of the vehicle being driven, but also to any passengers riding along with the driver.  When that driver makes a mistake that injures his or her passengers, an Alaska personal injury lawsuit that follows could find that he or she breached that duty of care owed to those passengers.

Sadly, a Wasilla auto accident over the weekend could give rise to this type of legal analysis, even though the driver of the vehicle in the accident at issue was critically injured in the crash.  The accident occurred at approximately 3:45 a.m. when a teen-aged driver was headed east on Bogard Road.  He apparently lost control of his vehicle, slipped over to the other side of the road and rolled into a ditch just before the intersection with Earl Drive. 

Not only was the driver in the accident critically injured, but his two passengers were also harmed and were flown to the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center.  Since the driver is a minor, no specific word could be provided on his condition without the permission of his or her parents, but regardless of the fault displayed in the accident, we certainly hope he and everyone else involved is able to overcome the injuries suffered and will recover fully.

Alaska Auto Accident Statistics

This situation is hardly rare.  Alaska auto accident statistics reveal that more than 10,000 crashes occur on an annual basis, leading to more than 3,000 injuries and almost 100 deaths every year.  That comes to nearly 30 Alaska auto accidents every day with several people injured on a daily basis and nearly two people per week who are killed.

Alaska Auto Accident Lawyers and the Concept of Fault

In this situation, it's possible that the passengers injured could seek legal redress in the form of an Alaska personal injury lawsuit depending on the facts of the situation.  Basically, unless the passengers were responsible for distracting the driver and causing the accident, the driver could be liable for negligence.  However, police also stated that additional work needs to be done before coming to a definitive conclusion regarding ultimate fault in the situation.

If you or someone you love has been harmed in an Alaska auto accident, you need to seek the help of an Alaska auto accident lawyer who understands how the sometimes-harsh world of legal claims works.  Contact Barber & Banker today to schedule a free initial consultation.

Alaska auto accidents can occur for any number of reasons, and many of them are the result of a simple mistake, lapse in judgment or loss of focus that's extremely temporary.  However, some Alaska auto accidents can be the result of extreme recklessness to the point where the drivers involved really have no excuse in terms of the expected result of their actions.  It seems that such an accident occurred in Anchorage last night.

The accident took place on Dowling Road near Elmore Road at approximately 8:30 p.m.  The crash involved three vehicles, but two of them - both pickup trucks - were racing side-by-side down Dowling Road before the collision took place.  The pickups were headed in an eastward direction and were approaching the intersection with Elmore Road.  A sedan was attempting to turn in the area and was hit by both vehicles that were moving at a high rate of speed.  Fortunately, no one was killed, but the two people in the sedan that was hit were sent to the hospital with injuries.

Alaska Reckless Driving Statute

The drivers of the pickup trucks could face significant penalties if they are prosecuted for these actions.  Alaska's law on reckless driving states, in part:

(a) A person who drives a motor vehicle in the state in a manner that creates a substantial and unjustifiable risk of harm to a person or to property is guilty of reckless driving. A substantial and unjustifiable risk is a risk of such a nature and degree that the conscious disregard of it or a failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation.

(b) A person convicted of reckless driving is guilty of a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year or by both.

Contact an Alaska Auto Accident Lawyer

In addition to the criminal statute that appears to have been broken, the drivers of the pickup trucks could also face civil liability in an Alaska personal injury lawsuit given the obvious negligence or recklessness on display that led to the injuries suffered.  If you or someone you love has been harmed in such a collision, you need the help of an Alaska auto accident lawyer who understands how to successfully hold those responsible for harm accountable.  Contact Barber & Banker today to schedule a free initial consultation.

Alaska auto accidents occur with alarming regularity, and many of these crashes involve much more than a simple fender-bender between two vehicles.  Accidents can involve multiple vehicles, and when this occurs the danger and risk involved for everyone in the area only rises.  Sadly, such a circumstance played out in reality today when a three-car Wasilla auto accident sent nine people to the hospital, including five adults and four children.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Bogard and Engstrom roads at approximately 1:30 p.m. today.  As of a few hours later, officials had no comment as to what could have caused the crash, but only supplied details of the fallout of the accident.  Apparently, at least two people were trapped inside each of the vehicles involved in the accident, and rescue workers had to pry open the roofs and the doors of those vehicles to free the injured passengers.

Thankfully, none of the injuries reported appeared at the time to be life-threatening, but the children were described generally as being five years old and younger, which means that they could be vulnerable to injuries more so than older, larger adults.  Authorities stated that they would supply a written statement soon that provides the details of the investigation, but it appears that at this point no one is sure what led to the collision.

Alaska Auto Accident Statistics

Unfortunately, this latest incident will only add to the existing statistics regarding Alaska auto accidents.  More than 10,000 Alaska auto accidents occur every year, and more than 3,000 people are injured as a result.  In addition, almost 100 people are killed in Alaska auto accidents every year, which means that approximately 60 people are injured and two people are killed in these collisions every week somewhere in the state.

Contact an Alaska Auto Accident Lawyer

If you or someone you love has been harmed in an accident, you need to seek the help of Alaska auto accident lawyers who have the skill and experience necessary to sort through murky details in order to hold the proper parties acocuntable for the injuries they cause.  Contact Barber & Banker today to schedule a free initial consultation.