Gendler v. Batiste, No. 85408-4. Today the Supreme Court ordered the Washington State Patrol to provide accident records to the victim of a bicycle accident. Michael Gendler suffered a severe bicycle accident when crossing Montlake Bridge in Seattle. His bike tire became wedged in the bridge grating, tossing him from the bike. Gendler was rendered a quadriplegic, unable to live independently, and unable to work full time in his law practice. Gender suspected his accident was not uncommon and requested records of other bicycle accidents from the Washington State Patrol. The WSP refused to provide the records unless Gendler certified that he would not use them in a lawsuit. Gendler was not willing to waive his right to litigation and sued WSP for violations of the Public Records Act. The trial court ruled for Gendler, ordering disclosure of the historical bicycle records. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the State Patrol had a statutory obligation to collect traffic collision reports and had to disclose those reports.
The Supreme Court agreed, voting 7-2 for Gendler. Justice Mary Fairhurst wrote the majority opinion. WSP argued throughout that a federal statute, 23 U.S.C. 409, protects certain records compiled for federal highway safety reporting purposes. The Supreme Court rejected this argument, noting that WSP has an independent obligation to collect information about accidents under state law, and that the agency could not rely on the federal statute to avoid providing the records.
