Many people think that if they were even partially at fault for an accident that they can’t recover compensation by filing a personal injury claim. In some states, this is true. Fortunately, Washington is not one of those states.
In Washington state, you can recover damages even if you were partially at fault for the accident. Washington is a contributory negligence state, meaning any damages you receive though trial will be reduced by the amount that the court determines you were at fault. For example, if you were 25 percent at fault, your awarded compensation would be reduced by 25 percent. Therefore, if the court determined that you should receive $100,000, you would end up taking home $75,000.