While we all try to avoid car accidents, you can’t predict others’ behavior – and in many cases, you can’t avoid the accidents their poor decisions make. The negligent actions or inactions of another person can cause catastrophic injuries or even cause you to lose a loved one unexpectedly.
During times like this, you need someone looking out for your best interests to ensure you recover the compensation you deserve. You can never trust an insurance company to do the right thing, as it always causes a significant decrease in their profits. Reach out to a Seattle car accident lawyer.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, can handle your claim by sending a demand letter, conducting settlement negotiations, and litigating if the insurance company refuses a fair and reasonable settlement.
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Why Choose Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers PA, in Seattle, WA
When looking for a car accident lawyer, you need someone who understands the laws, is adept at settlement negotiations, and is not afraid to stand up for your rights if you must go to court.
The car accident lawyers at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, have handled many car and truck accident cases, including:
- A car accident that caused a one-level cervical fusion and mild traumatic brain injury. The client recovered $1,875,000.
- A truck accident that caused shoulder injuries and mild traumatic brain injuries. The client recovered $1,750,000.
- A car accident caused herniated discs that impinge on the spinal cord. The client recovered $1,580,000.
- A motorcycle accident that caused multiple serious injuries. The client recovered $1,400,000.
- A wrongful death case where a father was killed in a rideshare vehicle. The client recovered $1 million.
While we can’t guarantee similar outcomes, we can guarantee that we will work to help you recover the compensation you deserve.
The Most Dangerous Streets in Seattle, WA
According to an article on King 5, the Washington State Patrol listed Washington’s deadliest highways as:
- Interstate 5 with 45 fatal wrecks.
- Interstate 90 with 20 fatal accidents.
- S. Highway 101 with 13 fatal crashes.
- Interstate 97 with 12 fatal accidents.
- State Route 14 with nine fatal wrecks.
- State Route 7 with nine fatal wrecks.
Depending on the circumstances, including the size and speed of the vehicle, accidents could also cause severe and catastrophic injuries in addition to fatalities.
What to Do After a Seattle, WA Car Accident
After an accident, you can take several steps to help your case, including:
Journaling
As soon as possible, start a journal. Include what happened in the accident and the steps you took immediately after the accident.
Each day, make an entry that includes:
- The doctors’ appointments you went to, including what you discussed.
- Therapy appointments, type of therapy, and what your therapist had you do or discuss.
- Your pain level. You might make more than one entry per day for pain, including when you first get up, if you notice your pain getting worse or better, and right before you sleep.
- Your recovery progress.
Your journal, medical records, and other evidence can help your car accident lawyer determine a fair and reasonable amount of compensation to request.
Follow Treatment Plans
Always keep doctors’ appointments and follow treatment plans. When you miss one or stop following treatment plans, the insurance company will argue that you are not hurt as badly as you claim.
Obtain a Copy of the Police Report and Other Evidence
If possible, obtain a copy of the police report and your medical records. If you took photos of the accident scene, make copies for your attorney. Your car accident lawyer can obtain any evidence you don’t have.
Keep Receipts
If you have out-of-pocket expenses, keep all receipts. Make copies of them for your attorney, as it is the only way to recover compensation for those expenses.
Types of Car Accidents in Seattle, WA
Car accidents come in many forms, and you can never tell how you will get hit until it happens.
The types of injuries you suffer in a car accident depend on several factors, including:
- How the other vehicle hits you.
- The combined speed of both vehicles.
- The size of both vehicles.
- The number of vehicles involved in the accident.
- Whether the person that hits you is driving under the influence, is driving while distracted, or has a medical emergency. The biggest factor includes whether the person sees you and can make any corrections before hitting you.
Types of car accidents include:
- Head-on collisions. This type of collision could happen in a couple of ways – the other driver could cause a full frontal hit or clip the end of the bumper, which could cause you to spin, roll over, or hit other vehicles.
- Rear-end wrecks. When you don’t stop or slow down in time, you can rear-end another vehicle. Rear-end wrecks can happen when the vehicle in front of you is at a stop or while you are traveling. Rear-end wrecks can also involve more than two vehicles. If you are stopped at a light, someone could rear-end you, causing you to rear-end the vehicle in front of you.
- Sideswipe accidents. A sideswipe accident can happen on a highway or a two-lane road. Another vehicle could pull into your lane on the highway, or a third vehicle could shove another vehicle into you. On a two-lane road, someone could pass you and move over too soon or drift into your lane while approaching you head-on but only hit you when the nose of their vehicle passes the front of your vehicle.
- Rollover crashes. A rollover could involve another vehicle hitting you so hard that you roll over.
- T-bone wrecks. This type of wreck happens when another vehicle rams into the side of your vehicle. These wrecks usually happen when someone runs a red light or stop sign.
- Fender benders. Collisions at lower speeds, usually in parking lots, can still cause injuries. Another vehicle might hit you hard enough to bend a fender, though if the other driver doesn’t hit the brakes, a fender bender could turn into something more serious.
Types of Car Accident Injuries
Car accident injuries vary based on several factors. In fact, you might drive the same vehicle as another person, get into an accident with another vehicle of the same make and model, and suffer a hit in the same place, but your injuries could be very different.
Injuries you might sustain in a Seattle, WA, car accident include:
- Bumps, bruises, cuts, scrapes, and scratches.
- Road rash.
- Strains and sprains.
- Pulled and torn muscles and other soft tissue injuries.
- Simple and compound fractures.
- Crushed bones and other crush injuries.
- Internal injuries.
- Face and eye injuries.
- Ear injuries, especially if one of the vehicles explodes.
- Chemical and thermal burns.
- Head, neck, and shoulder injuries.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Amputation of a digit or limb.
- Back and spinal cord injuries.
In addition to the initial injuries you might suffer in a car wreck, you could also sustain secondary injuries, such as open wounds becoming infected or picking up an infection such as MRSA while in the hospital.
Your accident injuries could also exacerbate existing illnesses and injuries. In both cases of secondary injuries, you can hold the at-fault driver responsible for the additional medical care and pain and suffering, as you would not have had to deal with these extra injuries if not for the at-fault driver’s negligent actions or inactions.
Recovering Damages After a Seattle, WA Car Accident
You could recover compensation for expenses and other losses if you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a car accident. Compensatory expenses have two categories: Economic damages and non-economic damages. Washington does not allow you to recover punitive damages in personal injury cases.
Economic Damages
Sometimes referred to as special damages, economic damages have a monetary value.
Most people injured in an accident can recover economic damages, including:
Medical Expenses
You can recover compensation for medical expenses, including:
- Doctors’ appointments.
- Surgeries and follow-up appointments.
- Physical therapy appointments.
- Psychological therapy appointments.
- Cognitive therapy appointments.
- Occupational therapy appointments.
- Prescriptions and prescribed over-the-counter medications.
- Ambulatory aids.
- Medical equipment, such as oxygen tanks.
- Accessibility options for your vehicle, such as hand controls, wheelchair ramps, and wheelchair lifts.
- Accessibility options for your home, including but not limited to wheelchair ramps, handrails, grab bars, and widened doorways.
Income
Whether you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a car accident, you will likely be out of income for some time. You can recover lost income for the time you lost at work.
If your injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities that prevent you from earning a living, you could recover the loss of earning capacity from the time of the accident through the time you recover.
Even if you can work, but only part-time, or your disability forces you to take a job that pays less than your previous job, you could recover the loss of partial earning capacity until you retire.
Personal Property
You can recover compensation to repair or replace personal property damaged or destroyed in the accident, including your vehicle and anything of value that suffered damage inside the vehicle.
Death-Related Expenses
If you lose a loved one in a car accident, you can recover compensation for the cost of the funeral and burial. You can also recover cremation expenses and probate court fees. If you retain a probate attorney, you could recover the probate attorney’s fees and costs.
Non-Economic Damages
In most cases, those who can recover non-economic damages are those who suffer catastrophic injuries that cause long-term or permanent disabilities or those who lose a loved one in a car accident.
Non-economic damages do not have a monetary value and include:
- Pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
- Loss of quality of life if you have to make life-long changes, such as taking prescription drugs or using ambulatory aids.
- Loss of consortium if you can no longer enjoy a physical relationship with your spouse.
- Loss of companionship if you can no longer enjoy time with your family or attend family activities and events.
- Loss of use of a body part, such as a finger or a leg.
- Loss of bodily function, such as your eyesight or bladder.
- Amputation of a digit or limb.
- Excessive scarring and/or disfigurement.
Fighting the Insurance Company
Sometimes people believe they can fight the insurance company without the help of a Seattle, WA, car accident lawyer. However, insurance companies always do everything they can to deny your claim or offer you a pittance.
Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. Every claim they pay cuts into those profits – often significantly. Instead of arguing with the insurance company and being taken for a ride, let an experienced car accident lawyer deal with the insurance company while you concentrate on recovering.
If the insurance company still refuses a fair and reasonable settlement, your car accident lawyer already has most of the information required to file a court case.
Contact Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, in Seattle, WA
Washington limits the time you can take legal action. Additionally, once you file a claim, you have deadlines to meet. Instead of worrying about deadlines, let our lawyers and support staff do that. We offer a free, no-obligation case evaluation, and you only pay if you win your case. Contact Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, today at 833-552-7274 (833-55-CRASH) for your free case evaluation.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, works with local counsel in any jurisdiction outside Florida for the purpose of filing lawsuits in jurisdictions wherein we are not licensed. Thus, we will follow each State’s ethical rules to ensure a local attorney is involved.