Steps to be Followed for Personal Injury Lawsuits in Washington

Our Attorneys Are Here to Guide You Through the Process Step-By-Step

• Your Role in Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit
• Proving Liability in a Personal Injury Case
• Assessing Personal Injury Damages
• Settlements and Trials

Your Role in Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit

From the moment you incur a personal injury that may have been due to someone else's negligence, your role is vital to the successful pursuit of financial recovery from the responsible party. Some important issues to be aware of are:

• Make detailed notes of the incident
• Ensure that photos are taken of the object you believe caused your injury, whether it is a car, a defective product, etc.
• Seek medical attention immediately
• Locate any witnesses
• Find a personal injury attorney as soon as possible

Following a car accident, it is vitally important you maintain any and all records and evidence relating to your personal injury. In Washington State, our Tacoma, Bellevue, and Everett area personal injury attorneys will help you in gathering the necessary evidence to prove your case. Detailed accounts of what happened from a number of different sources are of extreme importance in personal injury lawsuits.

back to top

Proving Liability in a Personal Injury Case

To prove liability on the part of the defendant in a personal injury case, there are some criteria that must be met.

• Fault on the part of the defendant must be proven, and responsibility must be clearly shown to lay with the defendant
• Damages must have incurred as a direct result of the event in which you were injured.
• You must be able to prove that the injuries you sustained resulted from the event in question

Negligence must be proven on the part of the defendant in order to win a personal injury case. In these terms, negligence would be behavior or actions that are outside the standard of ordinary reasonable behavior or actions. Sometimes, this is not always the case, namely in product liability cases. Many product liability lawsuits require only that strict liability be proven, which means that actual negligence on the part of the defendant may not have to be proven to win the case; if the injury is evident to have come from the product in question, sometimes that is sufficient.

back to top

Assessing Personal Injury Damages

The value of personal injury cases will depend on a variety of factors, including financial, physical, and emotional damages that resulted from the event that caused the injury. Some factors that are taken into consideration are: medical expenses, past and future lost wages, and pain and suffering. Also, the defendant may be required to pay an additional fee as punishment if he/she is proven negligent. Consult our personal injury entitlements page for more information, or contact our Bellevue / Tacoma / Everett area personal injury attorneys for a review of your case.

back to top

Settlement and Trials

Not all personal injury cases will go to trial, in fact, many of them are settled out of court. There are a variety of options to having your case heard, including arbitration by a retired judge or experienced attorney appointed by the court, out-of-court settlement, and trial heard by a judge or a jury. There are risks and benefits to all these situations. Sadly, many defendants' insurance companies will attempt a settlement that grossly undervalues the compensation that will be necessary for the plaintiff. And sometimes, jury trials may not be the best way to go to determine liability in a personal injury case. Having a qualified attorney to represent you is essential to not only winning your case, but also to ensuring you obtain the compensation package you deserve. Our Washington State personal injury attorneys are experienced litigators who can help you navigate through your options and determine the best direction to take your case.

back to top

Contact Tacoma, Bellevue, and Everett Area Personal Injury Attorneys for a Case Evaluation

Filing a personal injury lawsuit is just the first step in a process that can lead to multiple avenues. Learn more about your options, and what you need in order to prepare for litigation, by contacting our Washington State firm. Bellevue, Everett, and Tacoma area personal injury attorneys at Phillips Webster can answer your questions and set up a free consultation.

back to top