When you suffer an injury to your person or property that someone else caused through their negligence, you deserve to receive compensation. You should not have to suffer further for the financial burden of medical expenses, lost work, or pain and suffering caused by the injury that was not your fault.
If you or a loved one suffered an injury in the Tacoma, Washington area, a Tacoma personal injury lawyer at Ben Crump Law, PLLC may be able to help you recover compensation through a personal injury lawsuit. We operate on contingency, so you will never owe us anything unless we earn a settlement for you. Contact us today at (800) 730-1331 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation on your personal injury case.
Types of Personal Injury Cases
The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reports the most common types of personal injury cases to be for:
- Car accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and fall accidents
- Faulty or defective products
Other common types of personal injury cases include:
- Dog bites or other animal attacks
- Wrongful death
- Motorcycle accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Premises liability
- Nursing home abuse and neglect
- Asbestos exposure
- Airplane accidents
- Boating accidents
A personal injury case can be for any type of accident or other situation that caused you or your loved one harm because of someone’s lack of care. All citizens have a responsibility to take reasonable precautions for preventing harm from occurring to another person through their actions.
For a free legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer serving Tacoma, call (800) 730-1331
Pure Comparative Negligence Rule
Comparative negligence, also called shared fault, is a way of determining financial responsibility for an injury. Under this rule, each person involved in an accident or injury receives a percentage of blame for it.
Washington’s pure comparative negligence statute, Revised Code of Washington (RCW) § 4.22.005, means that whatever damages you may be able to recover in court will be reduced by the portion that you are to blame for the accident. For example, if you are 25% at fault for a car accident that caused your injury, and the damage award is $100,000, you would receive $75,000.
Because of comparative negligence, obtaining compensation for your injury through a personal injury lawsuit requires you to prove that the defendant is at fault for your injury. The higher the percentage of fault that you can show is theirs, the more damages you will be able to recover if you win the lawsuit.
Another Washington statute, RCW § 4.22.015, defines “fault” as “acts or omissions, including misuse of a product, that are in any measure negligent or reckless toward the person or property of the actor or others.” This also includes “unreasonable failure to avoid an injury or to mitigate damages.” Essentially, this means that you have a good chance of recovering compensation for your injury if you can show that the person who caused it failed to take a reasonable standard of care in preventing harm from happening to you.
A Tacoma personal injury lawyer at Ben Crump Law, PLLC may be able to help you prove fault and recover compensation for your injury. Our team can investigate the circumstances of your injury and gather evidence to determine fault.
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Recoverable Damages Through a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Possible economic damages you may recover through a personal injury lawsuit in Tacoma include:
- Medical expenses
- Burial costs
- Loss of the use of property
- Cost of replacement or repair
- Cost of obtaining substitute domestic services
- Loss of employment
- Loss of business or employment opportunities
According to RCW § 4.56.250, noneconomic damages are limited to a certain amount determined by following a mathematical formula. This formula is 0.43 multiplied by the average annual wage and the life expectancy of the person receiving the damages. These damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Mental anguish
- Disability or disfigurement
- Emotional distress
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Injury to reputation and humiliation
- Destruction of the parent-child relationship
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The Statute of Limitations Can Affect Your Case
Being able to pursue compensation for a personal injury through the legal system is limited by the state of Washington’s statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations are state laws that tell how long you have after a wrongful event occurs to take legal action because of it.
According to RCW § 4.16.080, the statute of limitations for personal injury cases in Washington state is three years. Three years is also the limit for wrongful death cases. In most cases, this means that you cannot recover compensation if you or your loved one’s injury occurred more than three years ago. However, there can be rare exceptions to this law, so you might want to consult a Tacoma personal injury lawyer to be sure you know your legal options.
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How Ben Crump Law, PLLC Can Help with Your Personal Injury Case
When you entrust your personal injury case to a Tacoma personal injury lawyer at Ben Crump Law, PLLC, you can take the time you need to recover and heal from your injury knowing that your case is in good hands. To assist you in recovering compensation for your suffering, our team can:
- Investigate the cause of the accident
- Gather evidence such as photos, video surveillance, police reports, medical records, eyewitness testimony, expert testimony, and other information
- Identify what types and amounts of damages you may be able to recover
- Negotiate with insurance providers
- File a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf
- Manage all the documentation and communication between various parties that is necessary for your case
We will aggressively pursue a fair settlement for you. Most personal injury cases are settled out of court, but we will represent your interests in court if necessary. At Ben Crump Law, PLLC, we want you to receive the compensation you deserve.
You can call us at (800) 730-1331 to schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation. Since we operate on a contingency fee basis, we will never charge you any fees unless we recover compensation for you. A Tacoma personal injury lawyer is waiting to help you with your case.
Call or text (800) 730-1331 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
