Under Joint and Several Liability, Washington accident victims can collect an entire judgment from one at-fault person, even if there are several at-fault parties. This doctrine ensures a victim earns full compensation in the event one party doesn’t have enough insurance coverage to pay for damages.

Joint and Several Liability doesn’t apply to every Washington personal injury case, but when it does apply, injury victims can rest easier knowing they’ll likely be able to collect the full value of a judgment provided to them after an accident.

Hagens Berman takes a special interest in protecting the victims of accidents caused by the negligence of others. We take a comprehensive approach to safeguarding clients from insurance tactics meant to devalue injury claims and rob victims of compensation. Hagens Berman litigates all at-fault parties to make sure victims receive every cent of compensation they need to heal physically, emotionally and financially.

JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY IN WASHINGTON PERSONAL INJURY CASES

In Washington, Joint and Several Liability cases allow the victims of negligence to collect their total awards from a courtroom verdict from any single at-fault party. This means one person may have to pay all of the damages no matter how much blame they share in the accident when compared to other at-fault parties involved.

This often applies to traffic accidents on Washington roads involving multiple cars. For example, your car may get hit by several drivers. Perhaps three drivers are found liable for your injuries. One driver is ruled 60% responsible for the collision. The second driver is found 30% liable. A third driver is blamed for 10% of the damages.

The driver who only shares 10% of the damage may be the only one with insurance. In Joint and Several Liability, that driver could have to pay the entire judgment you are awarded in court. The driver who pays is then responsible for filing a claim against the other drivers to try to get the other 90% of the judgment back from them.

This may seem unfair, but the Joint and Several Liability doctrine is meant to protect victims who get into accidents with motorists who don’t carry insurance or don’t carry enough insurance coverage to pay for all of the victim’s hardships.

WHEN JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY APPLIES TO WASHINGTON ACCIDENTS

For Joint and Several Liability to apply, an accident case must meet certain legal standards. These are the factors that can trigger Joint and Several Liability in Washington:

  • The victim is blameless in the accident. This must be true in all Joint and Several Liability cases.
  • The at-fault parties were acting in concert. When multiple parties were simultaneously engaged in negligent behavior, like drag racing.
  • One at-fault party is acting as the agent of another at-fault party. This can be a factor when a driver is working for a corporation or other business when they cause an accident. This may apply to collisions caused by rideshare drivers or professional truck drivers.

WHEN JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY DOESN’T APPLY

In cases involving multiple at-fault parties where the above exceptions aren’t present, Joint and Several Liability won’t apply. This includes cases where victims share even a small percentage of the blame in the accident that left them injured.

In these cases, Several Liability is used to sort out the blame and compensation in an accident. The parties involved are assigned percentages of damage by a jury. Each party would accept their percentage and only take responsibility for their share of the fault.

In these cases, the injured victim can still be at fault and collect damages. The injured person could still collect on a judgment provided by the court, but the victim’s award would have their percentage of blame deducted from the final amount.

HAGENS BERMAN PROTECTS THE RIGHTS OF VICTIMS OF PERSONAL INJURY

Hagens Berman employs a team of skilled and dedicated Washington personal injury lawyers to ensure injured victims have the best chance of earning success in either Several Liability or Joint and Several Liability cases. Our team quickly determines who should be held responsible for your injury and then aggressively pursues justice for the victim.

Joint and Several Liability cases involve several defendants and several insurance companies. These cases become very complicated as a personal injury lawsuit advances. Hagens Berman easily handles the many facets of your accident case to make sure your pain and emotional suffering cannot be ignored.

Contact the attorneys at Hagens Berman in Seattle for a free, no-obligation case consultation. If you select our representatives for your injury claim, you don’t pay anything unless we win your case.