If you have experienced a personal injury due to an accident occurring in Washington state, which was caused by another, you may be entitled to receive compensation for your injuries. The recovery you may receive is intended to reimburse you for damages associated with the injury. Damages may consist of past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, and compensation for pain and suffering you and your family have endured.
Typical Washington State Personal Injury Practice Areas
The field of personal injury law depicts mental, physical, and emotional harms or damages caused to a person by another party’s negligence. Personal injuries can happen in a wide variety of ways. They occur along a continuum of degrees in terms of severity. The triggers for most Washington-based personal injuries typically fall into these categories:
- Employment-based injuries
- Car accidents
- Construction site accidents
- Workplace injuries
- Wrongful death
- Maritime accidents
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
What Is a Catastrophic Injury in Washington Personal Injury Law?
Some practitioners in the personal injury field in Washington state accept cases from prospective clients who have been injured catastrophically in a variety of traumatic and severe accidents. The types of injuries usually placed in this category, where damages claimed are often at the highest levels available under the law, are:
- Paralysis
- Quadriplegia
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Burns
- Chemical burns
- Chemical exposures
- Electrical injuries
Each case and its facts and circumstances differ. A personal injury attorney can best address your specific questions and concerns through an initial consultation.
Major Role Played by Negligence in Washington Personal Injury Law
To collect a recovery in a personal injury lawsuit in Washington state, a successful plaintiff must be able to prove that the defendant was negligent. How does a litigant accomplish this task? The legal principle of negligence is established by showing these prongs to the judge or jury:
- Duty
- Breach of that duty
- Actual and proximate (legal) causation
- Damages
How Does Washington Law Assign Fault Between Parties in Accidents?
Like 12 other states, Washington adopted the pure comparative fault rule in negligence. Pursuant to this rule, a damaged party is able to recover even if she is 99 percent at fault for her injuries. However, Washington-based judges and juries will most likely reduce the ultimate recovery by the proportion of the plaintiff’s own fault.
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer in Washington State
Personal injury cases range widely in significance of injuries and amount of compensation for a potential recovery to the injured party. Many practitioners work in this legal field, so it may seem difficult to screen attorneys and decide who is best to prosecute your claim, but help is available. Here are some suggested questions to ask a prospective attorney:
- How many cases have you handled similar to my case?
- How many cases have you tried in court?
- What percentage of cases do you try in court and what percentage do you negotiate and settle short of trial?
- What is my case worth in your estimation?
- What will you do to make sure that I recover the amount I deserve from settlement or trial?
- How will you inform me of the status and progression of my case?
- What do you base your evaluation of my case upon?
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