Washington Personal Injury Attorneys

At Morgan & Morgan, we have handled all types of personal injury cases over the course of the last few decades. We have lawyers all throughout the United States. If you are looking for an experienced personal injury lawyer in Washington, we can help you. We take all of our cases on a contingency fee basis, so you never have to worry about what costs you have to pay out of your own funds. We don’t get paid unless we win or settle your case. Throughout our career, we have recovered more than ten billion dollars for our clients. Contact us today for a free and confidential case evaluation.

People use the term personal injury all the time, but not everyone knows exactly what it means. Personal injury law encompasses a number of different situations, but it’s essentially the area of law that allows people to recover compensation when they’re injured as a result of someone else’s actions or inactions. Personal injury law includes the following:

Accidents. Personal injury law governs civil lawsuits that arise out of certain accidents, mostly resulting from someone’s negligence. When this negligence causes an accident and someone is injured, they can hire a personal injury lawyer and initiate a lawsuit. This claim could be from a car accident, a slip and fall, medical malpractice, and more.
Intentional Acts. Personal injury law also applies to situations where the defendant acts in an intentional manner. For example, if someone is assaulted, they can file a personal injury claim in civil court. While these actions might also give rise to criminal charges, a civil suit can be filed as well.
Defective Products. Another common area of personal injury law is created by defective products. If you purchase a product and are injured because the product wasn’t designed correctly or it wasn’t built correctly, you may be able to file a lawsuit in civil court. This could have been caused by a defective automobile air bag, a blender that cuts someone severely, or a myriad of other products that don’t work properly and cause a person harm. This type of lawsuit is a bit different than a typical personal injury lawsuit, but it’s important to know what it is.

The statute of limitations refers to the deadline by which you must file a personal injury claim. In the state of Washington, you have three years from the date of the accident to file a civil lawsuit. 

If you miss the deadline and try to file your lawsuit anyway, the defendant will almost definitely file a motion to dismiss the claim based on the statute of limitations. If this happens, you won’t be able to recover any compensation, even if you would have legally been entitled to receive compensation.

Minors

If the personal injury claim involves a minor, the statute of limitations is different. For victims under the age of 18, the statute of limitations doesn’t begin to start until the injured party turns 18. Once the victim reaches this age, they will have three years from that date to file a lawsuit. 

Defendant Leaves the State or Conceals Themselves Within the State

If the person responsible for the accident leaves the state or hides themselves within the state, that particular time won’t count against the statute of limitations. In other words, a person cannot just hide for three years so that they cannot be served and sued. If this occurs, the deadline would be extended. 

Injury Was Discovered Later

Sometimes an injury isn’t immediately discoverable or visible. If this is the case, the statute of limitations may be extended. Generally, if the injury isn’t clear at the time it occurs, the statute of limitations doesn’t start until the injury was actually discovered or until the injury should’ve been discovered through reasonable means. 

Example: A patient has surgery, and the doctor leaves a surgical sponge inside their body. They complain of pain for several years, but no one knows what the cause is. A few years later, the patient has x-rays and it’s revealed that something was left inside their body. In this case, the statute of limitations wouldn’t start running until the date that they discovered the sponge was inside the patient. The patient would have an additional three years to file a lawsuit. 

Washington state personal injury claims are governed by pure comparative fault. This means that you can still recover compensation even if you were partially at fault for your accident and injuries. If the case gets to trial, the jury will decide what percentage you are at fault. Any compensation you were awarded will be reduced by the percentage that you are found to be responsible for. For example, if you were found to be 40 percent at fault, you will receive 60 percent of the compensation. If the award is $100,000, you will take home $60,000. No matter how much you are at fault, you can still recover damages, even if the jury determines that it was 95 percent your fault. 

In a personal injury case in Washington state, you are entitled to recover economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include monetary losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages from the time you had to take off work as a result of the accident, property damage, such as the damage to a car in an accident, and more. Non-economic damages refer to losses that are more difficult to put a dollar amount on. Common non-economic damages include pain and suffering, inconvenience, and mental anguish.

In Washington, there are no caps for economic damages or non-economic damages. This means that the jury can award whatever amounts they believe are appropriate without any monetary limit. An experienced personal injury lawyer in Washington can ensure you get the maximum award in your case.

In most circumstances, you should never take a settlement offer from an insurance company without first speaking to a lawyer. Insurance companies often attempt to make low settlement offers so that a lawsuit isn’t filed and they don’t have to pay out even more money. If you’ve suffered serious injuries and/or property damage, it’s always in your best interest to talk to a personal injury lawyer in Washington. 

If you are filing a personal injury claim against a state or local government entity or employee, you are required to file a formal notice of claim with the state or municipality that is involved in the claim. This is different from filing a lawsuit, and this claim is not filed with the court. After you formally put the government entity on notice with the claim, you must wait 60 days to file a lawsuit in civil court. Filing a lawsuit against a government entity can be complicated, so speaking with an experienced attorney is recommended.  

Most personal injury claims deal with negligence, such as most slip and fall cases, car accidents, and medical malpractice cases. Some types of cases rely on other legal frameworks, such as dog bites. In Washington state, dog bite cases are governed by strict liability. This means that if a dog bites someone, the owner is liable even if they weren’t negligent. The simple act of the dog biting someone creates liability. 

Realistically, you might not know right away if you have a valid legal claim or not. This is why it’s so important to hire an attorney. Personal injury lawyers have dedicated their careers to determine when someone has a legal claim and how they can be successful when those claims are filed. Without that kind of experience, you might miss small details that could make or break a case. 

Many people think that since the statute of limitations is as long as three years, they don’t need to speak with a lawyer right away. However, it’s always a good idea to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer in Washington right after you suffer your injury. Putting together a case can be complicated and time-consuming, so the longer your lawyer has to prepare, the better. They will likely want to do some investigating before they decide if there is a valid legal claim or not. If you wait a couple of years and are too close to the statute of limitations, you are putting your lawyer and yourself at a great disadvantage. Not to mention, the sooner you obtain evidence, the better. If there is video footage, this could disappear if you wait too long to talk to a lawyer. You don’t want to rush into things at the last minute, scrambling for important documents, videos, and witnesses that you now can’t find.

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury as a result of someone else’s actions or inactions and you believe you have a valid legal claim, don’t hesitate to contact Morgan & Morgan. We handle every type of personal injury case, and we will do everything in our power to ensure that you get the compensation and justice you and your family deserve. We have recovered more than ten billion dollars in compensation for our clients. When you hire us, you can rest assured that we will take care of everything. We will always keep you updated and let you know the status of your case. Contact us today for a free and confidential case evaluation.