Colburn Law

Kent Personal Injury Lawyer

When residents of Kent sustain injuries due to negligence, they should know their options for legal recourse. Kent, WA is a suburb of Seattle and home to more than 128,000 residents, making it a busy commuter area and a prime location for car accidents and other injury-causing incidents. When auto accidents or other situations cause injuries, property damage, and other losses, victims should know their rights and what to expect from a personal injury claim. The personal injury attorneys at Colburn Law want Kent residents to know how to handle a personal injury claim. Our firm can help if you or a loved one recently suffered injuries due to another party’s negligence.

What to Expect in a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Kent, WA

If you believe you have a personal injury claim, your first step should be to reach out to an experienced Kent personal injury attorney for representation. While you may believe you can handle representing your own interests in court, the reality is that the court system has many strict deadlines and filing requirements for different elements of your case. An untrained individual is likely to miss a deadline or documents vital to the case’s success. If a plaintiff misses a filing deadline, the judge handling the case may throw it out before it even reaches the trial phase.

An experienced personal injury lawyer will know how to navigate the court’s filing requirements and deadlines and build a strong case to recover the plaintiff’s damages. The statute of limitations for filing personal injury claims in Washington is three years from the date of injury or three years from the date the plaintiff discovered an injury. Some medical conditions, illnesses, and degenerative injuries take time to manifest noticeable symptoms, so the statute of limitations begins when the plaintiff discovers or should have discovered the harm with reasonable diligence.

Proving Negligence and Securing Compensation

Your attorney’s primary focus during your lawsuit will be to prove the defendant in your case was negligent, and his or her negligence directly resulted in your losses. The plaintiff’s attorney must prove that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff in the given situation, failed to meet that duty, and directly caused the plaintiff’s claimed losses. The plaintiff’s attorney will also need to provide evidence of the extent of the plaintiff’s losses and conclusive proof that the damages would not have occurred if not for the defendant’s negligence.

Damages in personal injury claims generally fall into one of two categories: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are the direct financial impacts of a defendant’s negligence and include things like lost income from time spent in recovery, medical expenses, vehicle repair costs, and other property damage. Non-economic damages include things like pain and suffering. Different courts use different systems for calculating these damages, and your Kent personal injury attorney can advise you on the types of compensation available for your claim.

The plaintiff’s attorney must also navigate the state’s pure comparative negligence law. In Washington, a plaintiff may still recover damages even if the plaintiff was partially at fault for the incident. The plaintiff loses a portion of the final case award equal to his or her percentage of fault. In a $50,000 lawsuit, a plaintiff found 50% at fault would only secure half the case award, for a net total of $25,000.

The attorneys at Colburn Law in Kent, WA have extensive experience with all types of personal injury claims. We are confident in our abilities and resources and can help you recover your losses after an injury. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys. Once we review the details of your claim, we can let you know what to expect from a lawsuit and how our firm can help.