Comparative Fault in Washington: What Spokane Victims Can Recover

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Comparative Fault in Washington: What Spokane Victims Can Recover

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Most crashes on Division Street and most falls on an icy South Hill sidewalk involve some blame on both sides. Washington handles that with a rule called comparative fault, and it’s one of the more generous versions in the country for injured people. The sections below explain how the rule works, what it looks like in real Spokane cases, a catch that applies when more than one person is at fault, the deadline for filing a lawsuit, and what a lawyer does to keep your share of the blame small and your payout whole. Sargent Law’s personal injury lawyers in Spokane spend a good part of every case arguing over that percentage.

Washington Uses Pure Comparative Fault

The rule is written in RCW 4.22.005. If you were partly to blame, your payout gets cut by that same percentage. Partial fault does not automatically bar you from recovering damages.

Say your losses add up to $100,000 and a jury decides the crash was 30 percent your fault. You get $70,000. Even at 80 percent, you could still recover 20 percent of your damages if another party is responsible for the remaining fault. A lot of states cut off recovery once a claimant’s fault reaches a certain threshold. Washington does not use that kind of cutoff.

How Does Shared Fault Look in Real Life?

Percentages get assigned to ordinary mistakes. A few Spokane examples show how it plays out.

• The Division Street rear-end – the driver behind you was texting, but you braked hard for a yellow light. A jury might put 15 percent on you.
• South Hill black ice – the city hadn’t sanded 29th Avenue, and you were going 35 in a 25. Both share the blame.
• The Centennial Trail crash – a driver turned across the trail without looking, and you were riding after dark with no light. Expect the insurer to argue 40 percent.
• Spokane Valley wet floor – the store put out a cone, but it was ten feet from the puddle. You were reading your phone. Fault splits again.

The Catch When Two People Are to Blame

Washington adds a twist when several people share fault. Under RCW 4.22.070, if you carry zero fault, every defendant you sue is on the hook for the full judgment. If you carry any fault at all, even 5 percent, each defendant only pays its own share.

That matters when one of them can’t pay. A drunk driver with a minimum policy is found 60 percent at fault, and the bar that overserved him gets 40 percent. If you were blameless, the bar’s insurer covers all of it. If you were 5 percent at fault, you collect 40 percent from the bar and chase the driver for the rest.

The Deadline Is Three Years

RCW 4.16.080 gives you three years from the date of injury to file a lawsuit in Spokane County Superior Court. Talks with the adjuster don’t stop that clock. Neither does a claim that’s “under review.”

Three years feels like plenty. But the fault fight depends on evidence, and surveillance video from the Sprague Avenue gas station is gone in weeks. So the deadline isn’t the real limit. The proof is.

How a Lawyer Keeps Your Share Small

The personal injury attorneys in Spokane who handle these cases know the percentage is where the money is won or lost. So the job starts with digging up proof the adjuster hopes you never find.

• The full crash file – the State Patrol report for I-90 wrecks, the Spokane Police report for city streets, and the 911 recording.
• Video and data – dashcams, cameras at the intersection, and the computer in most cars that saves your speed and braking for the five seconds before the hit.
• A crash engineer – skid marks and dent patterns show who had time to stop and who didn’t.
• Everything you lost – a doctor’s letter on the care you’ll need later, a report on the paychecks you’ll miss, and a daily log of your pain. A bigger total means a bigger check, even after your share is taken out.

Don’t Let the Adjuster Pick Your Percentage

In Washington, you can still get paid even if part of the crash was your fault. Your payout shrinks by your share, and once you carry any blame, each person you sue only pays for their own part. That one percentage is worth fighting over. If you were hurt in Spokane, talk to a lawyer before you give the insurance company a statement, and long before the deadline shows up.