Event Calendar

Hip huggers, bell bottoms, mustaches, and classic rock were all the rage in the late 60s and early 70s. So was crosswalk litigation. Who knew? 

Supreme Court Justice Hugh Rossellini (no relation to his childhood friend Gov. Albert Rossellini 1957-1965) authored seminal opinions developing Washington’s crosswalk jurisprudence. Was it dark out? Did the pedestrian come from the left or the right? Did another car stop at the crosswalk? 

Every crosswalk accident seems to be a little different, and we hope to have a lively discussion regarding the nuances. Concluding remarks will focus on whether an accident-reconstruction expert should be retained to perform a point-of-notice analysis for your disfavored driver client when no Washington crosswalk case has (yet) required its application to assert a contributory-negligence defense. 

Levi Bendele is a civil defense attorney who defends insureds and insurance companies.  He worked for State Farm claims in the late 90s and, for the last 20+ years, has defended a variety of cases, including automobile liability and UM/UIM, premise liability, construction injury and defect, HOA litigation, professional liability, and insurance matters involving EUOs, PIP, coverage, bad faith, and IFCA claims.  He has been a member of WDTL since the early 2000s, was formerly a board member, and currently heads the Auto and Trucking Practice Group.

Stephanie McNulty is an experienced litigator involved in personal injury since 2013. The majority of that time has been spent in the Insurance Defense practice area. Stephanie also has experience as a Plaintiff attorney, giving her a unique perspective when representing her clients. She also has experience with family law, estates, protection orders, and other civil litigation, but the complexities of Insurance Defense are where her passion lies and why Lee Smart has been such a great personal fit for her. In addition to personal injury, Stephanie works on professional malpractice claims utilizing her broad legal background, defending professionals in court and responding to Licensing Boards and credentialing agencies. Stephanie has handled trials in various jurisdictions, including Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom Counties.

Braydon Bourne is an accident reconstructionist specializing in motor vehicle, bicycle, motorcycle, and heavy truck accident reconstruction, in addition to pedestrian incidents, product failure, and other general safety related issues. He is certified to access and interpret Heavy Vehicle Event Data Recorders and passenger vehicles as a BOSCH Crash Data Retrieval (CDR) Technician/Analyst. His experience also includes video analysis and human factors related to motor vehicle accidents, including driver response and nighttime visibility analyses. He is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Traffic Accident Reconstruction (ACTAR #4085). He is currently an active board member and the treasurer of the Washington Association of Technical Accident Investigators.

Brendan Morse is a Biomechanist specializing in the study of the forces and mechanics associated with injuries to the human body. He applies this work to all segments of the human body involved in collisions and other impact-producing events.

Amanda Stone, Ph.D. is a Senior Biomechanist specializing in injury biomechanics and human factors. During her doctorate program at the University of Florida, she focused primarily on cognition and biomechanics following a lower extremity injury, or in persons with neurologic or orthopedic issues. She continued this work on lower extremity biomechanics through her joint post-doctoral fellowship at the Puget Sound Veterans Hospital and University of Washington.