Car Accident Attorneys

Liability: Who Is at Fault?

In an automobile crash involving a drunk driver who crosses the center lane and causes the crash, there is usually no question that the drunk driver is at fault and the victim is not. However, the inquiry does not end there. If the drunk driver was “over-served” in violation of legal guidelines at a bar or restaurant, there may be some shared legal responsibility on behalf of that commercial establishment. It may be the case that the bar or restaurant is ultimately deemed to be only 1 percent at fault, but this can have huge ramifications upon the personal injury claim.

For all auto accidents, and all personal injury claims in general, being able to investigate and evaluate all the relevant factors is essential to obtaining a just result for an injured person. Knowing what to investigate and how to go about doing so comes from experience and training. We have handled thousands of auto accident claims and are equipped to cover all the necessary bases.

Similarly, the fact that one party got a citation from the police does not conclusively establish the question of fault. In other words, whether or not someone got a traffic ticket is not binding on the question of fault. We have had numerous clients who actually received a traffic citation in relation to an automobile accident when they were not the cause of the accident and have helped resolve many of these cases in their favor.

There are many issues that may not be relevant to your case that insurance companies will try to argue with you when you are negotiating your claims. When it comes to fault, these issues may include things like the speed you were traveling, or contentions that you stopped too fast, followed too close, or that you “should have” or could have seen someone else blow a stop sign or run a red light. The law does not require you to have a crystal ball and foresee everything that might happen despite the arguments you might hear from an insurance adjuster.

Washington’s Pure Comparative Fault Rules*

A car accident case in Washington is pretty straightforward, at least in theory: You are injured in an accident, you file an insurance claim or lawsuit, and you’re awarded compensation for your damages. But what happens when an insurance adjuster or the court decides that you are also partly at fault for a car accident?

Washington uses a “pure comparative fault” rule to sort out injury cases in which the person filing the lawsuit also bears part of the blame for the accident. Here’s how it works: suppose your total damages — medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses — come to $10,000. However, at trial, the jury decides that the other driver involved in the accident was 90 percent at fault, and you were 10 percent at fault. What happens to your $10,000 damages award?

Under the “pure comparative fault” rule, you receive the damages award minus an amount equal to the percentage of your fault. In the example above, this means you’ll walk away with $9,000: The $10,000 total minus $1,000 that represents your 10 percent share of the fault.

Washington State statutes outline the rules of the road. There are also many laws and rules developed via case law. To fully evaluate fault issues, one must have a thorough understanding of the applicable laws and the experience of having argued these issues in our courts.

* Injured passengers are typically never at fault and should seek legal advice immediately to fully understand their situation and options.

Damages: What Is the Claim Worth?

The damages you are entitled to pursue also require a full understanding of the relevant law, as well as an investigation and review of your specific factual circumstances. The law permits you to obtain two broad categories: Economic and noneconomic damages.

Recovering economic damages can be simple and straightforward or highly complex. For example, if you lost hours at work due to your injuries and you work hourly, this is a fairly simple wage loss claim to establish. On the other hand, if you run your own business or you get paid via commissions or profit sharing, it can be much harder to show the wage loss you have incurred. Maybe you had to hire another employee to do the things that you normally did for your business? Or maybe your attitude and motivation were so negatively impacted that you could not make sales like you normally did? In organizations like the military, there may be ramifications to promotions due to being on limited duty or being physically unable to deploy. Worst-case scenarios may involve losing your job or not being able to work at all.

These losses often require experts such as economists and vocational experts to fully establish, or they may need to be developed by attorneys familiar with the evidence required to prevail on these claims. You are entitled to claim past, present, and future wage loss and the same goes for your medical expenses. It is vital to understand your legal rights before finalizing any settlement.

At Becker Franklin Rovang, we fully develop economic loss claims to make you whole. We advance all costs for necessary experts and understand the full extent of the damages the law allows an injured person to recover.

As to non-economic damages (often referred to as “pain and suffering”), the law does not provide a specific way to calculate these damages. Non-economic damages include but are not limited to emotional distress, pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. In order to get fairly compensated for these losses, these claims must be properly presented and argued on your behalf. There is no magic formula or book that you can open that tells you how much a person’s pain is worth or how much the emotional distress related to a permanent injury is worth. Every person has issues and impacts that are unique. Non-economic claims must be fully developed and effectively presented in order to maximize the financial recovery.

How much is it worth if you can’t pursue your favorite hobby like you used to? What if something you loved doing in the past is now a source of pain and agony? We’ve represented clients who could no longer work out at the gym or gave up going fishing, hiking, or camping. For others, it may be more ordinary things like having difficulty cleaning or cooking or keeping up the yard or garden.

It is easy for most of us to figure out the loss of value of a couple of hours of work, but what about the loss of enjoyable time spent with your family or playing with your kids or grandkids?

The value of non-economic damages is ultimately determined by how well your claim is developed and presented and how well you understand the audience who would ultimately decide what these damages are worth. You simply won’t receive adequate settlement value until the insurance companies recognize that you are willing and able to present the evidence to a jury and realistically obtain the type of money you are seeking. There are countless factors that are weighed in assessing and evaluating general damages.