Issaquah Auto Accident Attorney
Sadly, people get injured and killed every day in traffic accidents on Washington roads and highways. As you might expect, crashes happen in King County in a far greater proportion than anywhere else in the state. Seattle has some of the worst traffic conditions in the country, and too often this results in serious auto accidents. The saddest fact about all of these accidents is that they are almost always preventable; if a driver hadn’t been speeding, distracted, or drinking and driving, following too close or failing to yield the right-of-way, then these tragedies could have been avoided.
Insurance companies want to treat everything as a fender-bender and pay pennies to resolve the claim and close the file. Don’t be railroaded into an unjust resolution of your injury claim. And don’t neglect taking care of yourself. Get the care and treatment you need to fully recover, and contact the Issaquah auto accident attorneys at Injury Law Group NW to assist you with the burden of dealing with the insurance companies, health care providers’ bills, and holding the persons at-fault responsible for your injury. From our office in Washington, we represent auto injury victims in communities throughout King County, including Bellevue, Renton, Redmond, Sammamish and Seattle. At ILG, you’ve found a law firm devoted to your comfort and care and making sure you get the help you need after being injured in a crash caused by a negligent or reckless driver.
How Washington Car Insurance Laws Apply to Your Auto Accident Claim
Washington state requires all drivers in the state to carry liability insurance or proof of financial responsibility in case they get into an accident. The minimum amounts required are $25,000 for bodily injury per person up to $50,000 per accident, plus $10,000 for property damage. Knowing how expensive a serious auto accident can be, some drivers choose to carry significantly higher amounts of liability insurance to protect their personal assets in the event they cause a crash and seriously injure someone.
Washington is a “choice no-fault” state. That means we have a no-fault insurance system, but it isn’t required. With no-fault insurance, you can make a claim with your insurance company after an accident, regardless of who was at fault in causing the crash. No-fault insurance, also called Personal Injury Protection, covers $10,000 to $35,000 in medical bills, and another $10,000 to $35,000 in wage loss, depending on whether you select the basic policy or opt for additional coverage. The insurance company will only pay for expenses it deems reasonable and necessary, related to the accident, and that are incurred within three years from the date of the accident. PIP coverage is included in your policy unless you specifically reject it in writing.
ILG helps with fault claims. These are claims against the negligent driver and their liability insurance. In a fault claim, it is up to you as the injury victim to prove that the other driver was at fault in causing the accident. You also have to prove that you were injured and that those injuries were caused by the accident. Insurance companies don’t make this easy on you; they want to limit their payout or avoid liability if they can. That’s why they’ll say the accident was minor or that it was your fault and not the fault of their insured. This is where an experienced auto accident attorney can help.
At Injury Law Group NW, we spent over 16 years working for insurance companies and defending people alleged to be at fault in an auto accident. We understand how to build and present an auto accident claim for full value and how the insurance company is likely to respond. Our experience on both sides of auto accident cases helps us to resolve your case successfully and for a full and fair amount.
Not All Washington Drivers Are Insured
Even though Washington requires all drivers in the state to carry liability insurance, a whopping 21.7% of drivers do not, according to 2019 figures from the Insurance Information Institute. That’s more than one in five drivers on the road, and it ranks Washington as the number five state in the nation when it comes to having the most uninsured drivers.
What happens when you get hit by a driver without insurance? One thing you can do is file an uninsured motorist (UM) claim with your insurance company. Like no-fault, UM coverage is included in your insurance policy unless you specifically reject it in writing. Insurance companies have to offer you both uninsured motorist (UM) and underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage when they sell you a liability policy. UM covers you if the driver doesn’t have any insurance, while UIM covers the difference between your policy limits and the other driver’s, assuming they only have the basic 25/50/10 coverage and it doesn’t pay for all the costs of the accident. UM also covers you if you were injured in a hit-and-run or a phantom driver accident (where another car forces you into an accident without actually crashing into you) and the driver can’t be located.
ILG can help you with your UM/UIM claim. Don’t be fooled into thinking the claim process will be easy because it is “your” insurance company and they will take care of you. They still have their financial interests to look after, and their adjusters will still try to say the accident was minor and that you weren’t really hurt, or that your own negligence was to blame. Unlike the insurance company, our interests are completely aligned with yours, and we’ll fight to hold them accountable for the full value of your claim.
Get the Help You Need After a Washington Auto Accident
If you have been hurt in an auto accident in Bellevue, Renton, or throughout King County, call Injury Law Group NW in Washington for a free consultation. We are here to advocate for you, get results, and make sure you are completely taken care of after getting hurt in a King County auto accident.
