Karey was born in Arkansas before relocating to Washington State. She is a mother of
two boys. Her first, Phillip Conrad, was born in 2016. She recently gave birth to her second son,
Tex Conrad, in 2022. Since the February 2019 motor vehicle accident, Karey has been a stay-at-
home mom to her two children and the family recently relocated to Nevada in September of 2021.
While Karey has not returned to a 9:00 to 5:00 job, she has been the sole caretaker of her
two sons as her husband is a pilot. Karey spends her time being the “chauffer” to her two sons,
cooking, cleaning, laundry, mowing the lawn, volunteering at her son’s school and being an
active participant on the PTA board.
On February 19, 2019, Ms. Conrad was a passenger in a vehicle, being driven by her
husband southbound on 124th Avenue NE at the 14200 block in Kirkland. Defendant Zheng was
traveling eastbound on NE 142nd Place approaching where the street intersected 124th Avenue
NE in Kirkland. Zheng had a Stop sign. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad had a straightaway. Zheng began
making a left turn from eastbound NE 142nd Place onto Westbound 124th Avenue NE directly in
front of the Conrad vehicle. Zheng caused the front driver’s side of his vehicle to collide with
the front driver’s side of the vehicle; Ms. Conrad was a passenger in the vehicle.
On July 18, 2019, Ms. Conrad was traveling on eastbound I-90 in Snoqualmie, Kittitas
County, Washington. Defendant Lamb was traveling at the same location and direction directly
behind Ms. Conrad’s vehicle. Ms. Conrad slowed for traffic, and Lamb collided with the rear of
Ms. Conrad’s vehicle. Lamb alleges that the collision was caused by the negligence of Third-
Party Defendant T.J. Tire, Inc., (T.J. Tire”). Lamb alleges that the brake system on the boat
trailer failed, causing his vehicle to collide with the rear end of Ms. Conrad’s vehicle.
On the day following the February 2019 motor vehicle accident, Karey presented to
Virginia Mason Medical Center complaining of low back and neck discomfort, as well as some
lightheadedness. Unfortunately, Karey felt that all of her previous good progress related to her
low back was unraveled due to this accident. She noted that her low back was aggravated and
that she was experiencing trouble lifting her 2-year-old son (weighed approximately 28 pounds).
Karey started physical therapy, massage therapy and migraine management.
Unfortunately, Karey was involved in a second motor vehicle collision in July 2019.
Immediately following the collision when Karey arrived at her destination, she presented to
Kootenai Health Emergency Department. She reported that upon impact her head had snapped
forward and she was experiencing pain in her head, neck, back, right knee, and right hip.
Following conservative care and a few rounds of injections, Karey was unable to find permanent
relief. On May 7, 2020, Karey underwent a right L4-5 micro laminotomy. Despite surgery,
Karey continued to have pain complaints and underwent additional injections in 2021.
These accidents have not only affected Karey physically but also mentally and
emotionally. Karey was incredibly active prior to the motor vehicle accidents. While living in
Kirkland, she had an expansive garden that she would tend to for numerous hours a day. In an
attempt to maintain a garden in her new home, Karey’s husband built raised garden beds and
created an overall smaller area for her to enjoy. She also spent most of her days chasing around
her first son, Phillip, and participating in the toddler activities of crawling on the floor, playing
games, pulling him in the wagon outside, and going to the park. Unfortunately, Karey’s life and
her involvement with her sons took a turn following the motor vehicle accidents.
Since Karey’s husband is a pilot which requires many days and hours out of the house,
Karey has found workarounds to ensure that the chores get done. For example, laundry may take
a few days because Karey requires more breaks as she has difficult bending into the washer and
pulling clothes out. In addition to laundry and other household chores, Karey also relies on her
husband to mow the lawn and take the trash out. However, due to his schedule, there may be
times that Karey must step in to make sure that the lawn is mowed, and the track is on the curb in
time for the garbage truck to pick it up. Since moving to Nevada, Karey and her husband
purchased a home with a pool which required them to hire a pool cleaner once a week.
Outside of the day-to-day activities, Karey used to enjoy weightlifting, going on walks
with their dog, detailing the vehicles, camping, and spending time with her toddler. However,
each of these activities became increasingly difficult following the motor vehicle accidents. Not
only was lifting weights difficult in those initial months following the February 2019 accident,
but Karey struggled with picking up her toddler. She also used to enjoy detailing their truck,
climbing up on ladders and cleaning the inside of the vehicles, however, it takes a good amount
of muscle to perform these tasks which Karey no longer has.
In advance of trial, this case went to Mediation. Defendant Zheng tendered their policy
limits in the amount of $100,000. Defendants Lamb and TJ Tire offered a combined $135,000.
Ultimately, Karey’s case was settled at mediation for $235,000.00. Following mediation, our
office turned to Karey’s underinsured motorist coverage for additional funds given the severity of
the accident. Our office successfully got $28,000 in personal injury protection waived and
recovered the additional $100,000 policy limits from the underinsured motorist carrier.
Ultimately, Karey’s case settled for a total of $363,000.