If you’ve been sued in a personal injury or wrongful death case, we can fight for you, too.
There are two (or more) sides to every personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit, and we also defend those who have been accused of negligence. Every defendant deserves an effective defense—but it is particularly important in cases where the person injured or killed contributed to the outcome through their own actions. For instance, a pedestrian jaywalking or crossing against a “Don’t Walk” signal, or a consumer using a product in a clearly dangerous or reckless manner.
You might not be responsible at all for the injury or death involved in the case—for example, if you own a store but not the property on which it sits, and a slip and fall happened in the parking lot, that could be the responsibility of the landlord. Or say the person injured or killed was intoxicated or impaired, and took a reckless action well outside the bounds of normal behavior. In these cases, we fight to clear your name and prevent significant financial awards.
In some instances, both parties are partially to blame, and the state of Washington allows for compensation in these cases to reflect the percentage of fault. An injury case determined to be worth $1 million in total damages might result in a payout of $400,000 if the injured party was judged to be 60% at fault. We dig deep into our defense cases to determine ways to reduce our clients’ liability; the example here isn’t a total victory for the defendant, but it’s a reasonable outcome if they played a partial role in the injury. And it’s far better than being responsible for paying the entire $1 million.
Most of our defense clients have their fees paid in full or in part by their insurance company—whether under a personal policy (such as auto, home, or umbrella), or a business policy. That means you might have little to no out-of-pocket costs for an expert defense attorney.