Car accidents can cause life-changing damages. At Wells Trumbull, we understand that you might be feeling overwhelmed by your injuries, phone calls from insurance companies, and the mounting bills.

Understandably, many car accident victims settle their claims too quickly to get some relief from their stressful financial concerns. However, you should not be so fast to accept an insurance company’s offer.

Once you settle your claim, you can’t go back and ask for more money if you later realize you have ongoing medical expenses or pain and suffering that lasts much longer than you expected. You need the advice and representation of an experienced Lake Stevens car accident attorney to ensure all current and future damages are properly valued and calculated. You cannot know whether a settlement offer is fair until you first know the full value of your damages.

Why Choose the Lake Stevens Car Accident Lawyers at Wells Trumbull?

The Lake Stevens personal injury attorneys at Wells Trumbull have decades of experience protecting the rights of personal injury victims and getting them the full compensation they are owed for their current and future damages. Let us do the same for you.

At Wells Trumbull, we offer the following advantages to your car accident case:

A free case consultation and no upfront fees—instead, your payment is contingent upon our obtaining compensation in your claim, so you only us after we recover your settlement or win your court award for damages
The resources, skills, and knowledge of an entire legal team behind your claim
The dedicated attention of a car accident attorney in Lake Stevens devoted to your case
An individualized, results-oriented strategy to recover the maximum compensation available in your case under the state’s pure comparative negligence system

Call us at (360) 322-1477 or complete the quick form on our contact page now to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

Common Causes of Lake Stevens Car Accidents

Drivers have a responsibility to others on the road, requiring them to follow traffic laws and take all reasonable measures to avoid causing accidents and injuries to others. Unfortunately, a traffic error or distracted moment sometimes results in a serious accident. Common causes of car accident injuries in Lake Stevens include the following:

Speeding
Distracted driving
Aggressive driving
Failure to yield the right of way
Unsafe lane changes
Improper merging
Impaired driving
Defective auto parts or faulty tires
Negligent road maintenance (potholes, uneven pavement, and obstructed signs)

Inclement weather, poor visibility, and slippery roads contribute to car accidents; however, drivers have a responsibility to adjust their speed and accommodate for longer braking distances during hazardous driving conditions.

Common Injuries Caused by Lake Stevens Car Accidents

The crash force of a collision is more powerful than many people realize, propelling a motorist forward at stunning force before the seatbelt snaps them back against the seat. According to crash force calculations, a 135-pound person becomes a 6,075-pound force in a collision at only 45 miles per hour. When the structure of the vehicle collapses inward at the collision point, it also causes blunt force trauma to vehicle occupants. Common injuries caused by car accidents include the following:

Fractures
Head injuries and traumatic brain injuries
Neck injuries
Back injuries
Soft-tissue injuries to knees, shoulders, wrists, ankles, and other parts
Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
Spinal cord injuries
Facial and dental trauma
Burns
Internal organ damage
Internal bleeding
Traumatic amputations

Injuries are expensive as well as painful and debilitating. Some car accident injuries cause permanent disability or life-altering impairment. In the worst cases, car accidents can cause fatal injuries. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reveals that distracted driving alone caused 3,308 car accident fatalities in a single recent year, along with 289,310 injuries.

Types of Compensation You May Recover After a Lake Stevens Car Accident

Determining the fair value of your claim depends on identifying and accurately valuing all damages. If you were injured in a Lake Stevens car accident, you may be able to recover two types of damages.

Economic damages are easier to value and calculate. They include losses such as:

Medical expenses (current and future)
Lost wages (current and future)
Therapy expenses
Property damages
Long-term care
The costs of making necessary modifications to your home or vehicle because of your injuries.

Noneconomic damages are subjective and more difficult to value. These damages include:

Pain and suffering
Emotional distress and anguish
Loss of consortium
Loss of enjoyment of life
Disfigurement

They may be more difficult to put a dollar value on, but noneconomic damages can be just as devastating as economic ones.

To maximize your compensation, you need an experienced Lake Stevens car accident attorney to accurately value all costs included.

How to File a Car Accident Claim In Lake Stevens

Washington is a fault-based insurance state requiring car accident victims to file claims against an at-fault party to recover their damages. Unfortunately, this isn’t always a straightforward process. Insurance companies often try to shift liability to injury victims to protect their profits. Filing an injury claim with the help of a car accident lawyer allows you to focus on your physical recovery while your attorney focuses on your financial recovery. Then, a car accident injury claim proceeds in the following way:

Your Lake Stevens car accident attorney investigates the car accident to determine the cause and identify the at-fault party or parties
The attorney documents compelling evidence of liability by examining the police report, hearing from eyewitnesses, scrutinizing photos and videos, and consulting with accident reconstruction specialists
The car accident attorney examines your medical report, bills, and receipts to total your medical expenses and consults with medical experts to calculate future costs and your expected pain level and duration of pain
The accident attorney calculates your lost wages and future income loss
The attorney sends a demand package to the appropriate insurance company
Negotiations begin between the insurance adjuster and your attorney
In about 93% of cases, a car accident claim ends with a settlement

If the insurance company doesn’t offer an ample settlement or denies your valid claim, a results-oriented attorney will take the case to court in a lawsuit seeking a large jury award for your damages. A court case must be filed within the state’s statute of limitations.

Statute of Limitations For Lake Stevens Car Accidents

A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing your claim. If you miss the deadline, you will likely be unable to recover any compensation for your injuries.

The general statute of limitations for car accidents in Washington is three years from the date of your accident for personal injury claims. However, there are exceptions to the three-year deadline.

You should consult with a trustworthy Lake Stevens car accident attorney to understand your specific deadline for filing a claim.

It’s common to feel disoriented after a car accident, and some accident victims are incapacitated by their injuries and unable to take any purposeful action; however, using a cell phone to preserve important evidence at the scene benefits your case. If you or an uninjured companion can safely use a cell phone, take the following steps at the accident scene:

First, call 911 to report the accident and apply any necessary first aid
Then, use the phone’s camera to photograph the accident scene, the damaged vehicles, and any visible injuries
Add the contact information of the involved driver to your phone
Add the contact information of any eyewitnesses
Record a brief statement of what you remember about your accident (trauma often fades memories later)

Always go to an emergency room or urgent care center as soon as possible after your accident if you don’t go directly from the scene in an ambulance. This ensures that you receive emergency medical care and also documents that your injuries occurred in the accident, preventing the insurance company from a common reason to dispute your claim.

Questions to Ask Your Lake Stevens Car Accident Attorney During a Car Accident Consultation

Filing a car accident claim is a complex process when it involves serious injuries and the expenses that go with them. It’s important to choose the right attorney for your case. Fortunately, reputable car accident lawyers offer free consultations to injury victims. At your consultation, the attorney will evaluate the merits of your case and give you a chance to ask questions. Questions to consider include the following:

What percentage of my compensation goes to your legal fees?
How long do you think my car accident claim will take
What are the chances that my case will go to court?
Do you have experiences with cases similar to mine, and what were the results?
Are you the attorney who will work on my case, or will you delegate it to another attorney in the firm, and if so, may I speak with that attorney?

Choosing the right attorney for your car accident claim in Lake Stevens makes all the difference in your claim. At Wells Trumbull, our history of recovering millions of dollars for car accident victims puts a strong voice behind your claim.

Contact a Lake Stevens Car Accident Lawyer Today

If you have been injured in a car accident in the Lake Stevens area, we want to help you. At Wells Trumbull, our car accident attorneys in Lake Stevens have more than three decades of experience protecting the rights of car accident victims and getting them maximum compensation.

Call us at (360) 322-1477 or visit our contact page now to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case. We will listen to you, answer your questions, explain your options, and help you take the next right steps. If we represent you, we will fight tirelessly to recover every dollar you deserve and help you get your life back on track.