Overview of Washington Personal Injury Law

The law of personal injury in the State of Washington involves compensation by way of money for injury to a claimant’s person or reputation. Most personal injury cases in Washington involve the law of negligence in motor vehicle collisions.

Negligence

To prove negligence, a claimant in Washington is required to prove certain elements. Failure of the claimant to prove any single element of negligence will cause his or her case to fail in its entirety. Those elements are that:

• The person who they blame for their injuries owed them a duty of care
• There was a breach of that duty
• The breach of duty caused the claimant to be injured
• The claimant suffered legally recognized damages

Typical Damages in Personal Injury Cases

As every person is different, the injuries and damages in every personal injury case are different too. Common damages claimed in Washington personal injury cases can include:

• Past and future medical bills
• Past and future lost earnings
• Any permanent partial disfigurement
• Any permanent partial disability
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of a normal life
• Funeral and burial expenses in the event of a wrongful death

Why You Need an Injury Attorney

Insurance companies make money by collecting premiums and paying out as little as possible on valid claims. The insurer of the person who seriously injured you wants to settle your claim as soon as possible and as quickly as possible. That saves the insurance company money. Personal injury law is highly complex. You don’t know how to properly put a medical bill or report into evidence, and you don’t know the highly technical differences between direct and cross-examination either. By not retaining a qualified personal injury lawyer right after an accident, you’ll likely be giving up rights that you never even knew that you had.