Washington State follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence. This is the standard that is used to assign fault in personal injury matters — and determine the extent of a defendant’s liability. Under this doctrine, the amount of monetary recovery a victim can receive for their injuries would be reduced by their share of blame for the accident. Comparative negligence can often make personal injury matters much more complex and significantly impact the outcome of a case.

What is Comparative Negligence?

Comparative negligence is a legal doctrine that determines how fault is determined in a personal injury action. It evaluates the actions of each party to allocate blame between them. While a victim can still recover damages if they are partly — or mostly — to blame for the accident, any compensation awarded would be reduced by their percentage of fault.

Importantly, Washington follows the doctrine of “pure comparative negligence.” This allows a victim to recover compensation in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, as long as the victim is not 100% at fault. Pure comparative negligence should not be confused with modified comparative negligence. In states that follow modified comparative negligence, a victim is barred from recovery if they are half, or more than half, to blame for their injuries. Some jurisdictions set the threshold for a victim’s fault at 50%, while others bar recovery if a victim is 51% or more at fault.

Pure comparative negligence is also distinct from contributory negligence. In jurisdictions that apply this doctrine, a victim would be barred from recovering compensation if they contributed to the accident that caused their injuries in any way.

How Does Comparative Negligence Work?

Under Washington’s comparative negligence laws, the damages a victim can recover in a personal injury action are reduced in accordance with their degree of fault for the accident. For instance, if a victim is found to be 40% at fault for the accident, and their damages total $100,000, they can still recover $60,000. In the event more than one party is to blame, each would be assigned a percentage of fault which would be apportioned among them.

Some common examples where comparative negligence can come into play include the following scenarios:

• A slip and fall accident where the victim slipped on a wet floor while wearing inappropriate footwear.
• A premises liability case where the victim was hurt after they ignored warning signs of a dangerous condition.
• A trip and fall accident where the victim was looking at their phone and failed to see a crack in the sidewalk.
• A pedestrian accident where the victim is struck by a car while crossing the street outside a designated crosswalk.

In the above examples, both parties may have been negligent. However, as long as the victim wasn’t 100% to blame for the accident, they can still recover compensation from the defendant for their injuries in Washington.

What Constitutes Negligence?

In order to fully understand the impact of Washington’s comparative negligence laws in a personal injury case, it is essential to be aware of what constitutes negligence. Simply put, negligence is the failure to exercise reasonable care to the level that another person in the same situation would. Four key elements must be proven to establish negligence:

• Duty — The defendant must have owed a duty of care to the victim to act with reasonable care toward them. This duty can vary depending on the circumstances of the case. For instance, a driver has a duty to obey traffic laws and a property owner has a duty to maintain a reasonably safe premises for visitors.
• Breach — The defendant must have failed to fulfill their duty of care toward the victim. This can mean their actions were careless or reckless. A breach can also involve failing to do something, such as repairing a known hazard on a property.
• Causation — The defendant’s breach must have been the proximate cause of the victim’s injury.
• Damages — The victim must have suffered actual losses in connection with the defendant’s breach. Damages can include monetary losses and pain and suffering.

If a victim can establish the defendant’s negligence, they may be entitled to recover both their economic and non-economic damages in a personal injury action. Economic damages can include unreimbursed medical expenses, lost wages, out-of-pocket costs, and other financial losses. Non-economic damages compensate for losses that are intangible and much more difficult to quantify, such as physical pain, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life.

Contact an Experienced Washington Personal Injury Attorney

If you were hurt due to the negligence of another, an experienced personal injury attorney can work to maximize your compensation and ensure the at-fault party is held accountable for their wrongdoing. The Bellingham personal injury attorneys at Robinson & Kole provide reliable counsel to accident victims throughout Washington State for a broad scope of personal injury matters and strives to secure the best possible results in every case.

We welcome you to contact us for a free consultation by calling 360-671-8112 or by using our online contact form. Se habla Español.