Understanding Comparative Negligence in Burien Personal Injury Cases

Posted Friday, September 8, 2023 by Chris Thayer

Contributory negligence is an important legal principle in personal injury cases. What is the law in Washington? If contributory negligence may seem mysterious, but now it is time to lift the veil. Find out how Washington law could affect your claim in a Burien personal injury case.

If you have been injured and want to talk with a Burien personal injury lawyer, you may realize that you are within your rights to pursue legal action.

*Basics of Negligence in Personal Injury Cases in Burien*What does negligence mean in terms of Washington law? The simplest way to understand negligence is as failure to exercise an expected degree of care, leading to another’s injuries.

Consider a simple example. A motorist is required by their driver’s license to wear glasses—but fails to wear them. When this motorist causes an accident, they may be found liable for the other party’s injuries. If the driver had been wearing the required glasses, the accident may have been prevented.

*Contributory Negligence in Washington State*State negligence laws tend to have some similarities from state to state. Some states allow for what is known as ’contributory negligence.’ The concept is that fault can be assigned percentages, and this percentage affects the amount a plaintiff can recover. Consider the example of a car accident. A driver is found to be 20% responsible for an incident. Under the contributory negligence theory, they may only claim 80% of their damages for their injuries. In effect, they were partially responsible for the accident, and this affects the amount of rewards they are entitled to claim.

A few states do not allow recovery at all if the plaintiff is partially responsible. Washington State, however, does recognize degrees of contributory fault.

*Elements Needed to Prove Negligence in Burien Personal Injuries*To prove negligence, a plaintiff must prove five elements. These are terms that you will hear frequently in a court case. Getting familiar with the terms can help you understand how a jury or judge evaluates negligence and how this may affect your case.

• Duty: The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty. Think of our earlier example of eyeglasses. The defendant owed the plaintiff the reasonable duty of wearing the required eyewear.
• Breach of Duty: The defendant acted or failed to act contrary to their duty. In this example, the driver did not wear the glasses.
• Cause in Fact: This is legal terminology that means the defendant’s breach of duty resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries. In other words, by not wearing glasses, the driver could not see properly, and this resulted in injuries.
• Proximate Cause: This is a complicated term that means the defendant should have known that their actions or inactions were risky and could cause an injury. If the driver was, for instance, legally blind, they should have known the risks.
• Damages: The plaintiff suffered injuries. These injuries could be physical, emotional, mental, or other as a result of the defendant’s negligence.

*Talk to a Dedicated King County Personal Injury Attorney*If you have been involved in an accident, it can be extremely stressful to navigate all the legal and medical issues regarding your case. A dedicated attorney may be able to provide legal insights related to your injury.