Washington Personal Injury Law

An amputation — whether it be losing a limb, hand, or eye — is a life-altering experience for anyone. Many amputees are grateful to be alive after their brush with tragedy in a auto or construction site accident. Yet after the initial shock subsides, injured workers must still learn to cope with the aftermath of their accident, recover from their amputation, and adjust to life with a disability.

Auto accident injuries can range from bruises, cuts, soft tissue damage, and neck pain to catastrophic injuries involving the head, spinal cord, and brain. As a victim, it is in your best interest to secure guidance and support from an Auto Accident Injury attorney as soon as possible after an auto accident. This allows time for a legal expert to build a case on your behalf and collect the evidence necessary to establish liability.

Emery | Reddy frequently handles workplace back injuries including bulging discs, herniated discs, pinched nerves, stenosis, myelopathy, arachnoiditis, failed back or post-laminectomy syndrome, cervical and lumbar disc fractures, and cases involving workers who have undergone or need laminectomies, discectomies, or fusions. Workers may have difficulty getting approval for physical therapy, medication, injections, facet blocks, or even spinal cord stimulators that can provide needed relief from pain.

In general terms, a traumatic brain injury includes any harm resulting in damage to the brain. Most cases of traumatic brain injuries are caused by blunt force trauma to the head or closed head injuries. For example, a person’s head may hit their windshield in a collision or be struck by a falling object in a warehouse at work. Other accidents involve penetrating head injuries where an object actually penetrates the skull, directly damaging the brain.

Workers with burn injuries are at increased risk of infection, and pain levels may sometimes be high enough to trigger unconsciousness. Burn injury victims also commonly suffer from scarring, or hair may fail to grow back in areas where burns have occurred. Wheezing can be a symptom of internal burns in the lungs, while hoarseness may indicate a burned throat. Nausea and vomiting are another set of symptoms to look for; these can be signs of smoke inhalation and exposure to chemicals. Finally, a condition known as paresthesia can lead to numbness, tingling, or pain around the burned area.

Car accident injuries can range from bruises, cuts, soft tissue damage, and neck pain to catastrophic injuries involving the head, spinal cord, and brain. Emery | Reddy’s Car Accident Injury Attorneys collaborate with experienced investigators to study your accident scene, analyze road conditions, interview witnesses, and reconstruct the event, putting you in the best position to receive full compensation for your injuries.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is compression of the median nerve that runs through the carpal tunnel. Primary symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome include sporadic numbness of the thumb, index, long, and radial side of the ring finger. Numbness tends to occur at night because many people sleep with their wrists flexed. Long-standing carpal tunnel syndrome can result in serious and permanent nerve damage, with workers eventually experiencing constant numbness, atrophy of muscles in the hand, and weakness of palmar abduction.

Catastrophic injuries can be caused by anything from automobile accidents to construction accidents and defective products. If a negligent party is at fault for such an injury, a victim’s claim becomes an essential factor in shaping their future quality of life; successful claims will greatly impact the quality of that individual’s medical care and related support and will help compensate the victim for lost earnings, loss of employment, and pain and suffering.

Following an injury to a shoulder, knee, hand, or other extremity, workers may suffer from intense or chronic pain during recovery. While pain is certainly normal during the healing process, workers should seek a medical evaluation if it develops into something persistent and intense. This may be an indication that you have developed a condition known as chronic pain syndrome.

Dog attacks can result in punctures and lacerations, crushing wounds, fractured bones, and disfiguring scars. Children are especially vulnerable to emotional trauma after being attacked by an animal.

People injured in dog attacks generally have the right to seek compensation if the dog owner’s negligence contributed to its attack, if the owner violated dog leash or restraint laws, or if the owner kept a dog with a known history of aggressive behavior toward people.

Head injuries and head trauma are common among workers involved in car, truck, and motorcycle accidents, slip-and-falls, construction site accidents, and other work-related incidents. A blow to the head should not be casually dismissed just because it seems relatively minor at the time; even a mere bump on the head can escalate into a life-threatening brain injury if an individual does not receive proper medical evaluation and treatment.

If you work in a loud environment or on a noisy job site, you could be at risk of occupational hearing loss. Losing your hearing — whether temporarily or permanently — is not only disorienting, but it can also greatly impact your ability to earn a living and provide for your family. Even though employers are required to provide protections against occupational hearing loss, it can still occur.

Heavy equipment accidents often occur at or near construction and industrial sites where many large moving parts create dangerous conditions. Machinery, tools, and vehicles can injure workers, visitors, or those simply passing by. Employers, property owners, and associated parties are responsible for protecting your safety — but often safety measures are neglected or equipment is defective or misused.

Knee injuries in the workplace can result from repetitive trauma involving kneeling or crawling at work, or repetitive acts of pulling, pushing, or lifting. Many workers suffer from a serious ACL or meniscal tear caused by a specific on-the-job incident. Knee injuries at work can impact your ability to carry out basic job duties and even compromise your ability to continue earning a living.

It is not uncommon for someone to develop a mental illness due to a traumatic incident at work, whether or not they were physically injured. Additionally, an industrial injury can aggravate a preexisting mental health condition; however, this can be harder to prove. Unfortunately, since there is not often much physical evidence to support a mental health claim, L&I and self-insured employers (SIEs) find many ways to deny treatment by saying that the worker is not injured.

Motorcycle accident injuries can range from bruises, cuts, soft tissue damage, and neck pain to catastrophic injuries involving the head, spinal cord, and brain. Emery | Reddy’s Motorcycle Accident Injury Attorneys collaborate with experienced investigators to study your accident scene, analyze road conditions, interview witnesses, and reconstruct the event, putting you in the best position to receive full compensation for your injuries.

When we hear about defective products, the first images that generally come to mind are the dangerous toys that cause injury or death to children. While these remain alarmingly common today, product liability incidents are not limited to toys or even products recalled by manufacturers. Product liability claims can involve almost any product that has a design flaw or manufacturing defect, that poses a health hazard to someone using it as it was meant to be used, or that does not include an adequate warning of its potential hazard.

Repetitive stress injuries — also known as repetitive strain injuries — involve conditions that arise from placing excessive stress on a joint. Repetitive stress injuries result when the same or similar actions are performed again and again. Stress to a joint pulls on surrounding tissues, including tendons, muscles, and bursae. The repetitive nature of the action means that an important part of the anatomy has insufficient time to recover until the affected area swells and becomes painful.

Breathing harmful airborne particles in the workplace puts employees at an increased risk of respiratory illness and can have long-term consequences for your health, productivity, and quality of life. However, many workers are not even aware that their jobs are compromising their health. Some respiratory diseases can take years or even decades to develop.

Shoulder injuries can be disabling, costly, and impactful on long-term health. The impact of repetitive twisting, turning, lifting, and other apparently harmless motions can accumulate over time and lead to serious shoulder damage. Isolated accidents can also disable a worker who is otherwise in perfect physical condition, forcing them to alter physical activities as a result of a shoulder injury at work.

A slip-and-fall injury at the workplace can occur in an instant, but its consequences often last long after the event has passed. As simple as it may seem, a slip-and-fall can result in severe injuries, including broken bones, muscle and ligament tears, head, brain, or spinal cord injuries, concussions, and other serious physical injuries. In addition to the pain and suffering that a slip-and-fall injury can involve, medical costs and lost wages can be extremely expensive.

If you suffer a spinal cord injury in the workplace, it is crucial that you receive treatment and seek the counsel of a Spinal Cord Injury attorney as soon as possible. Proper diagnoses can generally be secured with an MRI, CT scan, or myelogram and will help ensure that you receive the needed treatment for a successful medical outcome.

A toxic injury claim may involve asthma, a chronic illness, or permanent skin or lung damage as a result of exposure to asbestos, ammonia, arsenic, benzene, gasoline, chloroform, formaldehyde, fuel oils, mercury, lead, smoke, uranium, zinc, or other toxic substances. In addition, employees who have suffered adverse health effects due to allergic reactions to peanuts, latex, mold, or other substances at work have the right to collect workers’ compensation benefits.

Truck accident injuries can range from bruises, cuts, soft tissue damage, and neck pain to catastrophic injuries involving the head, spinal cord, and brain. Emery | Reddy’s Truck Accident Injury Attorneys collaborate with experienced investigators to study your accident scene, analyze road conditions, interview witnesses, and reconstruct the event, putting you in the best position to receive full compensation for your injuries.

Wrongful death can result from a number of circumstances:

• Medical malpractice and emergency room accidents
• Car, truck, motorcycle, and airplane accidents
• Hazardous or defective consumer products
• Criminal behavior
• Dangerous conditions or exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace

Laws concerning wrongful death are highly complex and require the knowledge and resources of a skillful legal counsel.

Washington law allows injured people to seek compensation for both economic and non‑economic damages. Economic damages may include medical bills, future treatment costs, lost income, and reduced earning capacity.

Non‑economic damages may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, disability, and loss of enjoyment of life. In cases involving fatal injuries, surviving family members may also pursue wrongful death damages.

Washington generally does not cap damages in personal injury cases, though recoveries depend on evidence, liability, and insurance coverage.

Washington follows a pure comparative negligence system. This means an injured person can still recover compensation even if they were partially at fault for the incident, although their recovery may be reduced by their percentage of fault.

Insurance companies often attempt to exaggerate an injured person’s role in causing an accident. Understanding how fault is evaluated is a critical part of protecting a personal injury claim.