$3,250,000 – Work Site Injury

This was a confidential settlement involving an industrial accident in Snohomish County. Our client suffered pelvic injuries as well as foot and ankle fractures which required surgeries and a lengthy hospital stay. When things go wrong in an ind...

$2,500,000 – Wrongful Death of Teenager Killed in Whatcom County Jet-Ski Collision

Zac's mother contacted Bellingham personal injury attorney Bill Coats to seek a second opinion after her initial lawyer advised that a wrongful death claim was not worth pursuing. Since her son Zac had died in a jet-ski accident when he and his ...

$1,400,000 – Whatcom County Girl Blinded in One Eye from Bottle Rocket

Bellingham lawyer Bill Coats’ client Beth was only 13 years old when she was a guest at a holiday party hosted by the owners of a gravel pit near Ferndale. During the party, the teenage son of the hosts recklessly fired off a bottle rocket wh...

$1,300,000 – Bellingham Girls Injured in House Fire

No parent ever wants their children to experience suffering that brings lifelong consequences, but for one Bellingham family, that is exactly what happened.  On the morning of one New Year's Day, an electrical fire broke out in the home...

$1,300,000 – Toddler Injured After Drinking Lye

Liam, a three-year-old toddler, was seriously injured at a friend’s home when he drank lye that had been left out from a soap making party that day. Bellingham Personal Injury Attorney Bill Coats recovered $1,300,00 for Liam and obtained court app...

$1,115,000 – Neck Surgery After Whatcom County Bicycle Accident for Lynden Veterinarian

Bellingham attorney Bill Coats’ handling of a case with multiple defendants shows how a careful bike accident attorney can use the principle of “divide and conquer” to obtain over a million dollar settlement for his client. The story begins...

$1,000,000 – Head-on Collision Near Bellingham

Jenna was in Bellingham on a visit from British Columba, Canada.  Her friend was driving on I-5 and lost control.  She overcorrected, crossed the median, and hit a car going the opposite direction.  Jenna was critically...

$825,000 – Drunk Driving Car Accident Near Bellingham

Steven is in the front seat of his teenage friend’s VW Jetta as it drives down a two-lane Whatcom County road, north of Bellingham.  It’s a foggy evening and up ahead a raspberry picker is traveling very slowly in the same direction, partia...

$745,000 – Neck Surgery After Collision with Drunk Driver in Whatcom County

Michelle was in two car accidents, exactly 13 months apart, making her case a bit more complicated than normal. The first collision was on November 13, 2007.  Michelle was sideswiped and felt a strain in her back.  Her back continued to gi...

$677,000 – Head-on Car Crash Injures Mother and Five Children

One lovely summer day, a driver was not paying attention to the road as she barrelled down State Route 2 near Monroe, Washington. The car in front of her slowed to stop, but the driver didn't see it until the last minute. To try to avoid a...

$550,000 – Whatcom County Truck Driver Suffers Fractured Arm from Commercial Trucking Negligence

Robert was a long-haul truck driver for over 20 years.  He was almost home here in Bellingham when seemingly out of nowhere, part of a tire came crashing through his windshield.  The tire had come off a semi-truck that was traveling i...

$545,000 – Bellingham Distracted Driving Case

Our client Derek was driving home when he was struck by another driver who was distracted by his young children, failed to negotiate a curve in a Whatcom County road, crossed the center line, and crashed directly into Derek. Derek was extricated fro...

$525,000 – Underinsured Motorist Settlement for Bellingham Driver

Don suffered disc injuries to his low back in a car accident where the at-fault driver pulled into traffic south of Bellingham and struck the side of Don’s classic 1955 Ford T-Bird. Don’s injuries were severe enough that he could ...

$500,000 – Negligent Supervision of Whatcom County Probationer Leads to Death of a Child

Eight year old Michael “Mikey” Busby Jr. was murdered April 18, 2002 by his sixteen year old neighbor, Ryan Alexander. At the time of the murder, Alexander was supposed to be serving a 20-day sentence from Juvenile Court on home arrest, and was ...

$355,000 – Whatcom County Pedestrian Collision with Broken Ankle

A large pickup truck struck Lolita as she and her husband walked across a Bellingham-area casino parking lot to their car. Lolita was badly hurt with fractures in both ankles and her husband was also shaken up. The driver of the picku...

$295,000 – Neck Injury after Distracted Driving Accident in Bellingham

Kim was driving to her Bellingham home after work when her VW Beetle was rear-ended by a large pickup truck. The impact forced Kim’s car into the car in front of her, broke her seat, and injured her back.  She tried less invasive treatme...

$260,000 – Bicycle Accident Caused by Truck Negligence

Lynn loved to ride her bike.  Every workday she rode to her job at Joint Base Lewis McChord.  Lynn was well aware of the dangers of riding and always rode safely with a sharp eye out for hazards.  She was in the bike lane as she appro...

$240,000 – Pedestrian Hit by Car at Bellingham Intersection

Intersections can be dangerous places, especially for pedestrians unprotected by the structure of a vehicle. When a car hits a pedestrian, severe injuries can result even at relatively low speeds.  Kevin was attempting to cross the street wh...

$234,466 – Bellingham Driver’s Neck Injury caused by Reckless Driver

On an icy January night, Mr. O’Brien was going too fast down an onramp to I-5 and lost control of his Ford Explorer. He ended up facing southbound in the northbound lane. At the time, his license had been suspended and he shouldn’t have been dri...

$225,000 – Rear-end Collision at Freeway On-ramp

Paul was stopped at the traffic signal waiting to get onto the I-5 freeway. The at-fault driver wasn't paying attention and did not see that Paul was stopped ahead of her as she accelerated to highway speed. By the time she realized she needed ...

$200,000 – Whatcom County Bicycle Accident Results in Shoulder Injury

Bellingham and Whatcom County are popular for bicyclists, whether bike commuting to work, riding the trails, or taking a nice road ride in the county. However, when a car and bike collide, it's nearly always the cyclist who is hurt worse. Ian was...

$195,000 – Shoulder Injury from Pedestrian Collision in Bellingham

Diana was walking with her grandchild through the Bellingham Lowes parking lot when a van began backing into them.  Diana pushed her grandchild safely out of the way, but was knocked to the ground and injured her shoulder. Whatcom County ped...

$180,000 – Intoxicated Driver (Marijuana) caused T-bone Car Accident in Whatcom County

Travis was driving to work in his employer’s truck when a driver with marijuana in his system ran a stop sign and crashed into Travis. He suffered a fractured arm that required surgery to fix. The at-fault driver had no insurance, but Bellingham a...

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