Washington
State Personal Injury Information
Personal
injuries not only cause physical pain, but often
emotional and financial hardship through loss of
work, medical bills and stress placed upon families
and loved ones. We often take our physical and mental
well being for granted until something goes wrong.
When an accident happens lives are sometimes forever
changed. Simple pleasures become chores. Daily routines
are disrupted. Economic losses are often devastating.
Whether caused by an automobile accident, a defective
product, medical malpractice, or other negligence,
injuries alter lives.
Our firm strives
to meet and exceed client objectives and goals by
focusing on the catastrophic personal toll caused
by the negligence of other so that judges, juries
and insurance adjusters alike understand the need
to fully and fairly compensate personal injury victims
for all aspects of their losses.
What
will it cost me?
We represent
clients on a contingency fee basis which means that
you pay only if we win a favorable verdict in court,
or succeed in settling your claim for an amount
which you wish to accept. The initial consultation
is always free!
Is
my claim worth pursuing?
Every case must
be evaluated on its own merits. This requires a
careful history of the facts, review of the applicable
medical records, and analysis by experienced personnel
having access to appropriate sources for research
such as we have in our office. We can often evaluate
your claim, and advise you as to the apparent risks,
benefits and costs of pursuing your claim without
any cost to you.
How long will it take?
We can better
estimate how much time it may take to resolve your
claim after our initial evaluation. The large majority
of cases we handle result in settlements, and less
than 5% have to go to trial. However, cases are
sometimes settled only after both sides have found
out what evidence the other side is prepared to
present at trial. Since the discovery process can
take a long time in complex cases, and since the
trial date may be a year and a half to two years,
or even longer, some settlements are not reached
much earlier than that. Many of our clients’
claims, however, are resolved by settlement within
one year.
Overview
of the Law of Negligence
The
general test of liability requires the plaintiff/claimant
to prove that: 1). The defendant owed a duty of
care to the Plaintiff, 2). The defendant breached
that duty of care, 3). This breach caused a loss
or damage to the plaintiff, 4). The defendant should
compensate the plaintiff for that loss or damage.
Damages
place a monetary value on the harm done and seeks
to place the injured party in the condition they
would have been had the wrong not occurred.
DUTY
A
person owes a duty of care to another when the reasonable
person would foresee that the other will be exposed
to the risk of injury if the particular acts or
omissions are continued. (i.e. a driver of an automobile
owes a reasonable duty of care to all other drivers).
BREACH
OF DUTY
Once
it is established that the defendant owed a duty
to the plaintiff, the second question is whether
the duty was breached. If the defendant actually
realized that the plaintiff was being put at risk,
taking the decision to continue that exposure to
the risk of injured may result in a breach of that
duty. If the defendant did not actually foresee
that another might be put at risk, but a reasonable
person in the same situation would have foreseen
the possibility that another might be injured, there
will be a breach.
CAUSATION
For
the defendant to be held liable for monetary damages,
it must be shown that the particular acts or omissions
were the cause of the loss or damage sustained.
(a) Was the defendant the actual cause of injuries
sustained by the plaintiff. (A "but for test"
is usually employed"). Was the defendant the
"but for" cause of the resulting injury
or damage. Once a breach of duty of care has been
established, and it is determined that the plaintiff
was the "but for" cause of the damage
to the plaintiff, the question is whether a defendant
should be liable for all the loss or damage flowing
naturally from that breach. In many instances the
resulting injury may lead to hospital bills, lost
work, and loss of enjoyment of life. With help from
an attorney, the plaintiff will have to prove that
the injury caused by the plaintiff proximately caused
all of the resulting damages. (i.e. Did the automobile
accident lead to the shoulder avascular necrosis
or was it caused by a preexisting condition).
DAMAGES
The
plaintiff must have suffered loss or damage flowing
naturally from the breach of the duty of care if
damages are to be awarded. Damages must be proven
without speculation and may include loss for physical
injury, lost wages, hospital bills, pain and suffering,
loss of consortium, future wage loss, etc.
WHY
YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY
The
defendant and insurance company may have a complete
or partial defense to the claim, and they will fight
to ensure that they pay the least amount possible.
Comparative negligence is a mitigatory defense that
reduces the damages award according to the amount
of negligence the plaintiff is proved to have committed.
(i.e. if the plaintiff was 20% at fault, the defendant
will only be liable for 80% of its damages).
Damages
are compensatory and not punitive in nature. In
Washington, punitive damages are rarely awarded.
This means that the amount paid matches the claimants
actual loss, and does not punish the defendant for
its wrongful conduct. The award should be sufficient
so as to put the plaintiff in the position that
he/she would have been before the tort was committed.
Reinig & Barber has years of experience dealing
with insurance companies and fighting to maximize
your awarded compensation.
Disclaimer: The personal injury, medical malpractice,
dental negligence, birth injury, traumatic brain injury,
negligence, wrongful death, product liability, accident,
crop loss or other legal information presented at
this site should not be construed to be formal legal
advice, nor the formation of a lawyer or attorney-client
relationship. Any results set forth here were dependent
on the facts of that particular case and the results
will differ from case to case. Feel free to contact
a medical malpractice lawyer, personal injury attorney,
or agriculture law specialist at our office in Kennewick,
Washington. This web site is not intended to solicit
clients for matters outside of the State of Washington.
Reinig
& Barber
