Edmonds Personal Injury Attorneys
If you have suffered an injury by the negligence of another, you can count on the experience of our Edmonds personal injury attorneys. We will fight hard and earn you the maximum compensation available.
When you suffer personal injuries due to the fault of another, you may feel like your life is out of control. In one moment you are healthy and relatively financially stable and in the next, you suddenly find yourself in the hospital with severe injuries and unable to work for the foreseeable future while mounting medical bills escalate at a time when you can least afford them. Perhaps the most frustrating part of it all is that someone else caused your injuries, and neither they nor their insurance carrier are stepping up to the plate to make you whole again. Instead, the insurance company is just stringing you along and you don’t know what to do.
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In order to take back control of your life after suffering personal injuries, you need to call an attorney. Not just any attorney, you need one of the experienced Edmonds personal injury attorneys who will navigate you through the confusing claim process and fight hard for you to make sure that you receive all of the compensation that you deserve!
We have decades of experience in protecting the rights and interests of accident victims with severe personal injuries. We are fierce and determined with a strong reputation for procuring lucrative settlements and jury awards for our clients, in even the most difficult of cases.
We have hands-on experience in aggressively handling a vast array of accident and injury cases. We routinely assist people injured in motor vehicle accidents involving cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles, and various modes of public transportation. We represent clients in premises liability actions when they were injured due to a hazardous condition created by a store, business, house, or other public building. We also handle dog bites, on the job injuries, construction site accidents, exposure injuries from toxic or chemical substances, product liability actions, and virtually any other case where someone sustained injuries due to the negligence of another.
Here you will find general information about provisions of Washington personal injury law that may have a bearing on your injury case:
Washington’s Statute of Limitations
Every state has laws that create time limitations or deadlines for when an injured party’s case must be filed. These deadlines are known as the statutes of limitation. If a party does not properly pursue their case within the time period prescribed by their statute of limitations, they permanently forfeit their right to be compensated for their injuries. In Washington State, an injured party generally has 3 years from the date of the accident in which to initiate a lawsuit.
Although three years may sound like a lengthy time period, it is imperative that an injured party retain one of experienced Edmonds personal injury attorneys as soon as reasonably possible following their accident. Personal injury cases do not get better with time. From an evidentiary standpoint, key pieces of physical evidence may get lost or discarded over time. Additionally, many disputed injury cases hinge on the testimony of critical witnesses to the accident. Parties who wait to pursue their case often run the risk of their eyewitnesses becoming forgetful or confused about critical case information that can have a detrimental impact on their recovery.
When you retain our services, we begin work on your case the exact same day. We immediately conduct a thorough investigation, interviewing all pertinent witnesses and first responders, and we gather all relevant physical evidence, leaving absolutely nothing to chance so that we are in the best possible position to obtain the absolute top dollar settlement on your behalf. Additionally, getting an early jump on your case often is the difference between obtaining a favorable early settlement for a large sum for certain or facing a long, tedious, and intrusive litigation process marked with uncertainty.
Washington’s Pure Comparative Fault Law
Insurance companies often take the position that the injured party was partially at fault for causing the accident. Washington State has enacted a “pure comparative fault law” that allows an injured party to recover compensation for their injuries even if they are adjudged to be partially at fault for the accident. However, in circumstances where the injured party is deemed to be partially at fault, the amount of compensation they may collect is reduced by their percentage of the fault. For example, if a jury awarded an injured party $100,000, but determined that he was 15% at fault for causing the accident, the injured party would only be permitted to recover $85,000, representing a $15,000 deduction for his percentage of the fault.
Shared fault issues are often raised early on in the case by the insurance company and can have a major bearing on the settlement value of the case. It is important to retain one of our skilled Edmonds personal injury attorneys to ensure that any shared fault issues are resolved in your favor so that you may receive maximum compensation for your injuries.
This applies whether someone crashed into you in Edmonds and you need an Edmonds car accident attorney, if one of your loved ones was killed in Seattle and you need a Seattle wrongful death attorney, or you have suffered any other type of injury by the negligence of another anywhere in Washington state.
Types of Recoverable Damages in Washington
Washington state allows an injured party to recover damages for their economic losses and non-economic losses with no limitations. Economic damages are best thought of as losses that one can place a monetary value upon. Examples of economic damages include past and future medical expenses, past and future lost wages, loss of household services, and any other costs associated with out-of-pocket losses and property damage caused by the accident. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are best thought of as those types of damages that are not so easy to quantify with a fixed monetary value. Examples include past and future pain and suffering, scarring and disfigurement, permanent disability/impairment, and loss of consortium.
When you retain an experienced Edmonds personal injury attorney, you ensure that absolutely all of your injuries, losses, and harms are taken into account so that you get the maximum amount of compensation that your injuries merit. If your case calls for it, our office utilizes a network of experts such as economists, vocational experts, and life care planners to make sure that all of your future damages are captured so that you get the absolute top dollar for your case.
Frequently Asked Questions | Washington Personal Injury
What Should I Do If I’ve Been Seriously Injured?
If you’re seriously injured in Washington, what you should do while you’re still at the scene is collect as much of the evidence as possible. That would include taking photographs and collecting any information of the negligent party, which is very important. It’s much harder to track that down after the fact. Call the police. If it’s a serious accident, you definitely want to get that documented. If there are witnesses, be sure you get their name and contact information. If you’re injured, most importantly, seek medical attention. You want to be sure that if you don’t need an ambulance to come to the scene, that you do that within 24 hours. Go to a walk-in clinic and be sure that you document what’s hurting and that you’re hurting because of a crash.
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What Mistakes Should I Avoid After an Accident?
We see a couple of mistakes that injury victims in Washington commonly make. One would be making a recorded statement to the insurance company. From the outset, you’re going to probably get a call within a day or two of the accident and your answer to even common questions will be used against you later. Don’t take that call if you don’t need to, and definitely don’t provide a recorded statement to the insurance company.
The second most common mistake that we have is people not documenting their injuries. If you come to us two months after the incident and you’ve been hurting that entire time, but you never saw a doctor for your injuries, your case is very difficult. The third thing that we see people making mistakes on in personal injury claims in Washington is not consistently following your doctor’s instructions. If you go to the doctor and your doctor says you should seek massage two times a week and instead you’re going once every month, that’s a problem. Be sure that you’re following your doctor’s instructions and that you’re doing all you can to get better, because that’s going to build not only a stronger case, but improve your chances for making a physical recovery.
How Do I Choose the Best Attorney for My Case?
In Washington, if you’re looking at selecting the best personal injury attorney for your claim, you want to be sure that you do your research, so pick an attorney that’s experienced in personal injury law. What you want to look for is a firm that handles only personal injury cases. A lot of firms dabble in personal injury and you don’t want a lawyer that just dabbles in your type of law. It’d be like going to an orthopedic surgeon who dabbles in brain surgery. That’s not the doctor you want for your brain surgery, and that’s certainly not the lawyer you want. Be sure you have the right attorney with the right expertise.
The other thing you want to look at is the attorney’s track record. Is this an attorney that goes to court? Is this an attorney who goes to trial? Insurance companies keep track of all of that and if you have an attorney that actually will take your case to trial, the insurance company will pay more value on your case than they would an attorney who caves in every time your case gets difficult.
The other thing that you want to look for is an attorney that’s the best fit for you. I always recommend that you talk to a couple of attorneys by phone and that when you decide on the attorney that you like, that you meet them in person. This is a long-term relationship you’ll have with someone, and you want to be sure that it’s the right fit.
Should I Take the First Settlement Offer from the Insurance Company?
If you’ve been injured in an accident in Washington state and an insurance company reaches out to try and settle that case, the odds are that it’s not going to be a fair settlement. Insurance companies are notorious for low-balling people who are unrepresented by a lawyer. If you’ve been injured in Washington state and an insurance company is reaching out to you to settle that case, make sure you contact an experienced personal injury attorney, such as us, to see what they can do for you.
How Long Do I Have to File an Accident Claim in Washington?
If you’re seriously injured, there are some timelines that you need to be aware of in Washington. Typically, you do have three years from the date of your injury in Washington to file a claim or settle your case; that’s called the statute of limitations.
If you were involved in an accident in Washington, it’s important that you hire an attorney because there are loopholes there and deadlines that you need to meet that an experienced personal injury attorney would help to cover for you.
Call Our Edmonds Personal Injury Attorneys
When you suffer personal injuries due to the fault of another, it’s time to take control of the situation by hiring one of our knowledgeable and experienced Edmonds personal injury attorneys right away. Don’t let the insurance companies take advantage of you when you are at your most vulnerable. Over the years, we have assisted thousands of people just like you and fought to secure them the compensation that they deserve.
Call today for a free consultation so that we can start work on your case immediately. There are no costs to you whatsoever as we work on a contingency fee base, meaning we don’t get paid until we win your case.
Let us give the control back to you. Call Certa Law right now to speak with an experienced Edmonds personal injury attorney: (206) 838-2500.