The Washington State Department of Transportation says that roughly 100,000 car accidents happened in 2019, no matter the cause as they range from distracted driving to disregard for traffic laws, over 30,000 of these car accidents resulted in injuries.
So you might be wondering what happens if you are in a car accident in Washington, what are the laws in Washington? These are both great questions in a car accident lawyers can help you find the answers you need.
If you have experienced injuries or property damage to your car due to a car accident, there are of course legal steps that you may take to receive compensation for your injuries, medical care and even the damages to your car. However before you file a suit it is very important for you to understand the laws of Washington state, and how they apply to your situation.
Contributory Fault in Washington State
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You might be wondering what happens if you are partly at fault for the accident you were in, and contributory fall is a doctrine in the revised code of Washington, which states that in situations where both people involved in the car accident are somewhat responsible for the accident, the option for them to recover damages is going to stand. However they cannot receive the full amount they would’ve received, the amount you are rewarded is going to be brought down by the percentage of fault that is determined to be your fault.
An example is, you get into a car accident with somebody else and while the accident was mainly the other driver’s fault because they attempted to pass you in a no pass zone, you were distracted by your phone and were unable to drive defensively and anticipate the other driver’s carelessness. Therefore the court is going to rule that the first driver is 80% at fault while you were 20% at fault, which will mean that your compensation is going to be decreased to 20% after the final amount is given.
Accident law also says that the amount of compensation you can claim for personal injuries that you have because of an accident is determined by multiplying .43 by the average annual wage and by the life expectancy of you as a person. This limit is of course only applied to noneconomic damages determined by the court, but you can still typically pursue for loss of income, medical expenses, verifiable monetary losses such as lack of work or loss of ability to work, and cost of replacement and repairs.
You should talk to your car accident lawyer if you think that you have an accident that you need to dispute, you should also talk to your car accident lawyer if you believe that you are in a rear end collision because while the other driver that was following you would typically be held responsible, there are ways the insurance company or the other drivers lawyer may try to dispute.
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