Personal Injury Law Overview
Tom Hause, of the Gourley Law Group in Snohomish, Washington, represented insurance companies for 15 years. Now he is taking that knowledge and fighting for the injured. If you have sustained a serious injury in an accident, or if a loved one suffered a wrongful death due to someone else’s negligence, don’t wait to contact an experienced personal injury attorney. Call us today at (360) 323-2885.
If you have been injured because someone else made an avoidable error or acted in negligence, you may need to consider hiring an injury law attorney. Personal injury law attorney, Tom Hause, focuses on serious personal injury claims, including,
- asbestos related injuries,
- automobile accidents,
- auto products liability,
- airplane crash & cruise injuries,
- bicycle accidents & injuries,
- brain injury,
- dangerous products,
- diving accidents & aquatic injuries,
- dog bites,
- government liability,
- hazardous condition of property,
- highway safety,
- insurance bad faith,
- insurance coverage disputes,
- maritime injuries,
- medical malpractice,
- premises liability,
- product tampering & liability,
- spinal cord injury,
- toxic exposure,
- trucking injury,
- slip and fall injury, and
- wrongful death.
Serious personal injuries can cause pain, debilitation, or even death. Catastrophic personal injuries often come with heavy financial burdens, due to costly medical bills and loss of income.
If you have sustained a serious injury in an accident, or lost a loved one due to wrongful death, you have the legal right to recover financial compensation for your pain and suffering. We are here to see that you are fairly compensated.
From the moment you contact the Gourley Law Group, we will do everything we can to bring you peace of mind as you recover from your injuries. Your primary concern should be your recovery, without the worry of dealing with the insurance companies, adjusters, and opposing attorneys.
In a personal injury suit, your verdict or settlement is typically paid by the negligent party’s insurance company. The only sure way to make an insurance company pay a fair settlement is to prepare a winning case. We are committed to working hard, to get you the compensation you deserve, and will begin preparations for your case the first day we accept you as a client.
What is Premises Liability?
Premises liability refers to the liability of the owner, or occupiers of land, for injuries that occur on their property. Examples of premises liability include: falling off a deck due to a rotten hand rail, slipping on spilled soda in a grocery store, and a child falling into an unprotected pool or hot tub. A property owner can also be liable for inadequate security or lighting, such as an assault occurring in a parking lot that did not have adequate lighting at night.
The owner of the premises is liable for injuries caused when they know of an unsafe condition or failed to exercise ordinary care to discover the unsafe condition. Property owners and occupiers have a duty of care to remove or warn of hazardous conditions that may cause an unreasonable risk of harm to others. For example, a grocery store has an obligation to keep its premises reasonably free of physically dangerous conditions, such as produce or liquid on the floor that may cause tripping or slipping. If the hazard cannot be remedied promptly, then a hazard warning, such as a caution, wet floor cone, should be prominently displayed to prevent avoidable injury for customers and employees.
The legal rules that apply in premises liability cases can vary depending on the injured person’s status on the property. For instance, the duty owed by a business to its customers differs from the duty a property owner owes to trespassers.
What is Products Liability?
A manufacturer may be subject to liability if their product was not reasonably safe, as designed, at the time of leaving the manufacturer’s control, and is the proximate cause of a consumer’s injury. Manufacturers have a duty to design products that are reasonably safe. A product will be considered defectively designed if it is unreasonably dangerous and every product designed by the manufacturer contains the same defect.
A product is not reasonably safe, as designed, if it cannot pass a risk-utility test or consumer expectations test as determined by courts:
- Risk utility test. At the time of manufacture, the likelihood that the product will cause injury or damage—like that claimed by the injured party—and the seriousness of such injuries or damage outweighs the burden on the manufacturer to design a product that would have prevented the injury or damage; as well as outweighs the adverse effect that a practical and feasible alternative design would have on the usefulness of the product.
- Consumer expectations test. The product is unsafe, to an extent, beyond that which would be contemplated by an ordinary user.
Manufacturers also have a duty to warn against potential harms, resulting from the use, or foreseeable misuse, of their products. An example would include failing to warn of a drowning risk posed by a swimming pool cover.
Finally, there are manufacturing defect claims. Manufacturing defects occur when a product deviates, in a material way, from the design specifications and other identical units. These defective products are mistakes, but still find their way into the stream of commerce, containing a defect that deviates from the design specifications intended by the manufacturer.
What is Insurance Bad Faith?
Insurance Bad Faith occurs when an insurance company unreasonably denies, delays, or underpays a claim. For example, if an insurance company undervalues property, or denies a claim, without adequate appraisal or investigation of the claim. Another example would include an insurance company taking an unreasonable length of time to pay a claimant for an accepted insurance claim. Depending on the circumstances, the financial implications of an insurance claim can be crippling to a business or individual. It is imperative that the insurance companies act in good faith to protect the property and livelihoods of their clients.
What is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice law is commonly misunderstood; cases can include birth injury caused by neglect, nursing home abuse and injury, and medical device issues, to identify a few. Medical malpractice laws allow victims to seek compensation from physicians, midwives, and dentists, as well as other medical professionals in cases of negligence, or substandard care, that results in harm, injury, or death.
Personal Injury Law Attorneys, Snohomish, Washington
Under Washington laws, all claims for personal injury must be filed within three years of the date of the incident that caused an injury. In some cases, this may be extended, such as when a medical procedure caused an illness that did not manifest symptoms for a long period of time, as in asbestos related injuries. If you have suffered due to someone’s negligence, it is important to contact a personal injury law attorney right away.
At Gourley Law Group, we have a full working knowledge of the Washington State laws governing personal injury. We have represented the people of Western Washington State as their asbestos injury attorney, product liability attorney, wrongful death attorney, and everything in between. We have the skills and experience to represent you and fight for your right to proper compensation for your suffering. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation with one of our expert personal injury lawyers at (360) 323-2885.
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(360) 323-2885