$18.5 Million Settlement for Motorcyclist Left in Coma After I-5 Construction Zone Crash

In the early morning hours of April 2015, Scott Bliss, a welder from Rochester, Washington, was riding his motorcycle northbound on Interstate 5 toward his job in Tumwater. In the darkness of a construction zone near Centralia, a dump truck operated by Scarsella Bros. Inc., a Kent-based contractor working on a WSDOT freeway widening project, made a U-turn across the on-ramp without a flagger to warn approaching traffic. Instead of using the gravel access road designated for turning, the driver cut across the lane. Bliss had no time to stop. His motorcycle struck the metal coupling connecting the truck and its trailer, and the impact threw him off the bike.

Bliss suffered a catastrophic traumatic brain injury along with broken bones and internal organ damage. He remained in a coma for months after the crash. By the time the case resolved, he required 24-hour assistance and would need ongoing physical therapy for the rest of his life.

Cheryl Aton, Bliss's girlfriend and legal guardian, retained Kirk Bernard and Viivi Vanderslice of Bernard Law Group to pursue claims against both WSDOT and Scarsella Bros. The legal team alleged that the crash was entirely preventable. According to court filings and coverage of the litigation, the firm argued that WSDOT's nighttime inspectors were understaffed and undertrained, that the contractor failed to follow basic safety protocols in the work zone, and that no flagger was present to protect motorcyclists and other road users from exactly this type of maneuver.

The case was filed as a claim against the state and a civil lawsuit against the contractor. In 2016, a judge approved an $18.5 million settlement funded through special insurance policies held by WSDOT and Scarsella Bros. The settlement was structured as an annuity and a trust to cover Bliss's daily medical care and future needs. The result is believed to be the largest settlement of its kind involving WSDOT in Lewis County history.