Colburn Law

Redmond Personal Injury Lawyer

Redmond is home to more than 64,000 residents of the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett metropolitan area, and residents should know what to do after suffering an injury. If another person or party caused an injury, illness, or economic damages, you can pursue a personal injury claim to secure compensation for these losses. The attorneys at Colburn Law are available to Redmond, WA residents in need of personal injury representation, so contact us for legal counsel in your personal injury claim in Washington.

Why Should I Hire a Redmond Personal Injury Lawyer?

There are several benefits to hiring an attorney in Redmond to handle your personal injury case. A reliable Redmond personal injury attorney can determine the types of compensation available from your claim and help ensure you meet all of the state’s requirements for civil actions. Washington follows a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, meaning a plaintiff has three years from the date an injury occurs to file a claim. However, in cases involving injuries that do not immediately manifest symptoms, the statute of limitations begins on the date the plaintiff discovers the har, or the date the plaintiff should have discovered it through reasonable diligence.

Your personal injury attorney will ensure your case meets all required deadlines. Additionally, your attorney will investigate the details of your case and gather evidence that supports your claim. If your incident requires correspondence with insurance companies, your attorney can handle this, as well, and help you get the most of your insurance claim while minimizing pushback from claims adjusters.

Proving Negligence in a Personal Injury Case in Redmond

The plaintiff’s success in a personal injury lawsuit hinges on the legal concept of negligence, or one party’s failure to exercise reasonable care in a given situation. For example, another driver runs a red light and T-bones your car, causing property damage, a broken arm, and a concussion. To prove negligence and succeed with your claim, your attorney must first establish the defendant’s duty of care and subsequent breach. In this example, the other driver had a duty of care to abide by the traffic laws and breached that duty by running the red light. Your attorney would then gather evidence to prove that your broken arm and concussion occurred from the car accident and not some other cause.

Once the plaintiff’s attorney proves that the defendant’s negligence directly caused the plaintiff’s damages, or that the plaintiff’s damages would not have happened if not for the defendant’s negligence, the plaintiff’s attorney must then prove the extent of those damages. Damages in most personal injury lawsuits include:

• Medical expenses. Medical expenses, such as hospital bills, prescription costs, counseling fees, and any costs for required long-term medical care.
• Lost income. If an injury forced the plaintiff to miss work, he or she can claim the wages lost during that time.
• Property damage. The plaintiff can sue for the costs of repairing or replacing personal property damaged by the defendant.
• Pain and suffering. Different courts use various systems to calculate compensation for a plaintiff’s physical pain and mental suffering resulting from a defendant’s negligence.
• Punitive damages. If the defendant’s behavior was exceptionally dangerous, intentional, or grossly negligent, a jury may award punitive damages to discourage similar actions in the future. The amount of punitive damages a plaintiff receives depends on the financial status of the defendant. Wealthier defendants will need to pay much more in punitive damages.

Contact a Redmond Personal Injury Lawyer Today

Some plaintiffs may even be able to claim their attorneys’ fees as damages in their lawsuits, so hiring an attorney can actually save money in some cases. If you or a loved one recently suffered an injury in the Redmond, WA area due to the negligence of another party, contact Colburn Law today to schedule a free, no-obligation case evaluation. We will go over the details of your situation and let you know what type of compensation you could expect from a personal injury claim.