SeaTac Car Accident Lawyer

Most of us drive our cars every single day. Every time you get into a car, either as the driver or as a passenger, you are at risk of being injured in a car accident. These injuries can be severe, sometimes altering a victim’s life by saddling him or her with a permanent disability or even ending his or her life. In 2014, there were 462 reported traffic fatalities in Washington.

Although you cannot eliminate your risk of being injured or killed in a car accident, you can take steps to reduce your risk of being involved in one. You can also educate yourself about what to do if you are involved in a car accident, which can improve your chance of recovering from your injury physically and financially. When a victim suffers an injury in a car accident caused by another party’s negligence, he or she is entitled to file a personal injury claim to seek compensation for his or her damages.

Injuries That Can Result from a Car Accident

There are many ways you can be injured in a car accident. A few examples include:

• Broken bones;
• Sprains;
• Strains;
• Burns;
• Lacerations; and
• Traumatic brain injuries.

Injuries sustained in a car accident can have far-reaching complications, such as permanent nerve damage, severe blood loss, permanent disfigurement, paralysis, and death.

Damages that can be Recoverd Through a Personal Injury Claim

When you file a personal injury claim, you can seek compensation for the following damages:

• Your medical bills and auxiliary medical needs, like the need for a wheelchair as you recover;
• Your lost wages; and
• Miscellaneous damages, such as the need for in-home domestic services while you cannot complete household tasks on your own. These are known collectively as pain and suffering.

In order to recover compensation through a personal injury claim, you must prove the following:

• That another party had the duty to protect you from harm. In a car accident claim, this refers to each driver’s duty to obey the rules of the road;
• That another party breached their duty to you by behaving negligently or recklessly, such as speeding;
• The other party’s negligence directly caused you to suffer an injury; and
• Your injury caused you to suffer the damages for which you are seeking compensation.

Washington is a “fault state” for car accident claims, which means that rather than seeking compensation through your own auto insurance after an accident, you must seek it through the negligent party’s insurance provider. Washington is also a “pure comparative fault” state, which means that an individual can seek compensation even if he or she was partially at fault for the accident. This is true regardless of the claimant’s level of fault. The compensation the partially-negligent claimant can recover is reduced according to his or her level of fault. For example, if you are deemed to be 20 percent at fault for your accident and you seek $200,000 in compensation, you may only recover up to $160,000 in damages.

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What to Do if you are Involved in a Car Accident

If you are involved in a car accident, the first thing you need to do is come to a complete stop. If you can, pull your car to a safe area off the roadway. If anybody involved in the accident needs emergency medical attention, call 911.

Next, call the local police to have an officer sent to the scene. The officer will complete an official police report, which you may use later to support your personal injury claim. Do not leave the scene of the accident without a copy of this document. While still at the scene, exchange insurance information with all other parties involved and take as many photographs of the accident as you feel necessary to communicate what happened. Before you leave, be sure to take down the contact information for all witnesses to the accident, the attending officer, and the other parties involved.

After leaving the scene, seek medical attention for your injury as soon as you can. Prompt medical attention will help you reach a quicker, more complete recovery. Documentation from your doctor visit can also be used to support your personal injury claim.

After you have received medical attention, consider working with a lawyer to pursue a personal injury claim. In Washington, the statute of limitations for filing a personal injury claim is three years from the date of the accident.

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