Everett Personal Injury Lawyer

A personal injury occurs when one party causes physical harm or economic damage to another through negligence or an intentional action such as an assault. When Everett, WA residents sustain personal injuries due to the negligent and harmful acts of others, hiring a personal injury attorney offers the best chance of recovering from the resulting damages. Colburn Law offers legal representation in all types of personal injury claims for clients in Everett, so contact us today if you need legal counsel for a personal injury case.

Why Choose Colburn Law?

Attorney Greg Colburn has personal motivation to provide the best possible legal representation for injured clients, having experienced the legal system from the perspective of an injured client many years ago after another party’s negligence left him in a wheelchair for two years.
Our firm has the resources and experience to fully explore every route to compensation for our clients; we understand how devastating personal injuries can be and work to maximize client recovery.
We can help clients explore alternative methods of compensation like settlement negotiation or arbitration if they wish to avoid a trial, but we are not afraid of intense litigation if it means ensuring our client’s recovery.
Our firm offers free case evaluations to potential clients. This enables an injured person to better understand the legal implications of his or her situation before making any kind of financial commitment for legal representation.

What Types of Personal Injury Claims Do We Handle?

At Colburn Law, we represent Everett residents in a wide range of personal injury claims. The cases we handle include, but are not limited to, the following:

If you are unsure whether your case qualifies for litigation, schedule a free consultation today. Our firm can evaluate your case and help you better understand your legal options.

How to Prove a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Washington

There are three main facts that you will need to prove in order to secure compensation in a personal injury lawsuit: duty of care; breach of duty; and causation. Your attorney can help you gather the evidence you need to prove each of these elements:

Duty: The at-fault party or defendant in your case owed you a certain duty of care. For example, drivers have a duty to follow state traffic laws and operate their vehicles safely. Property owners have a duty to maintain safe premises and respond to potential hazards in a reasonable time frame.
Breach of Duty: The defendant breached his or her duty of care in some way. For example, drivers who run red lights break the law and therefore breach their duties. Landlords who fail to fix a set of broken stairs after residents alert them to the issue also breach their duties.
Causation: The defendant’s breach of duty caused your accident and your resulting injuries. For example, say that you are injured after a driver runs a red light and collides with your vehicle, leading to a collision. If the driver had followed the law and upheld his or her duty of care, your accident would not have occurred.

Washington’s Comparative Negligence Laws

Not all personal injury cases are straightforward. In some situations, two or more parties share liability for the accident. If the court believes that you were partially responsible for your accident, your award could be impacted by Washington’s comparative negligence laws.

Washington follows a pure comparative negligence standard, meaning that it will reduce your settlement by the percentage of fault that you share. For example, if the court assigns you 30% of the fault, you could only recover 70% of the award that you requested.

How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

If you believe that you qualify for a personal injury claim, it is important to act as quickly as possible. In Washington, there are laws in place that set time limits for filing certain types of claims, which are known as statutes of limitations.

For personal injury lawsuits, the statute of limitations is three years from the date of your accident or injury. If you do not file within this time frame, the court will likely dismiss your case—preventing you from recovering compensation.

There are exceptions to the statute of limitations, but they do not apply to every case. To identify your appropriate filing deadline and protect your right to recovery, speak to a personal injury attorney at Colburn Law as soon as possible.

How Can an Attorney Help With a Personal Injury Claim in Everett?

A personal injury attorney can handle an injured client’s legal issues while he or she focuses on recovery. This entails gathering crucial evidence, subpoenaing records and witness statements relevant to a client’s case, and even helping the client manage personal affairs and finances throughout a lawsuit. Attorneys can also help manage difficult insurance companies and ensure clients receive fair insurance settlements for legitimate claims.

The central issue of any personal injury lawsuit is negligence, or one party’s failure to exercise a reasonable level of care in a given situation. For example, a driver has a duty of care to follow traffic laws and drive safely. Running a red light or texting while driving would constitute breaches of this duty of care. A personal injury attorney’s job is to prove the defendant was negligent, and that his or her negligence was the direct cause of the plaintiff’s damages.

Many personal injury claims have the potential to involve multiple liable parties, and it is possible for a plaintiff to absorb some liability if the jury has any reason to believe he or she contributed to his or her claimed damages in any way. In states like Washington that follow comparative negligence laws, a plaintiff would lose a percentage of a case award or settlement equal to his or her fault percentage for the damages in question. An attorney can help mitigate any comparative negligence a client receives and help maximize the client’s recovery.

Damages and Compensation for a Personal Injury Claim

A successful personal injury claim can include several types of damages. Economic damages are straightforward and generally include financial harm caused by a defendant, such as the cost of hospital treatment, rehabilitation, or vehicle repairs after a car accident. Plaintiffs may also secure compensation for lost income if a defendant’s actions caused him or her to miss work for an extended time or develop a disability that prevents working in the future. The plaintiff’s attorney will need to prove the extent of economic damages and the link between the defendant’s negligence and those damages.

Plaintiffs may also receive noneconomic damages for their physical pain, emotional distress, and mental anguish resulting from a personal injury. If you or a loved one recently experienced any type of personal injury in Everett due to the reckless or negligent actions of another party, Colburn Law can help you determine your legal options for recovery. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with an Everett, WA personal injury attorney.