Vancouver PERSONAL
INJURY Attorney

Personal Injury Lawyers 
Serving Clients in Vancouver, WA

Were you recently injured in an accident that resulted from another party’s negligence? You should not have to bear the financial costs associated with severe personal injuries when another person is to blame. Accidents happen much too often in Vancouver, and indeed throughout the greater Portland area. Given that Vancouver is among the largest suburbs of Portland according to a fact sheet from the U.S. Census, the city may see more accidents and injuries than those recorded in smaller towns throughout southern Washington. What is especially important to remember is that many accidents are preventable. When an avoidable accident happens because of someone else’s careless or reckless behavior, the victim deserves to seek financial compensation.

A Vancouver personal injury attorney can assist with your case.

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Types of Personal 
Injury Cases We Handle

Personal injury law is a broad area of the law that allows injured victims to file civil claims in order to seek compensation for their losses. There are many different types of personal injury cases, and numerous theories of law are used in building strong personal injury claims for plaintiffs. In many personal injury situations, the plaintiff will argue that the defendant was negligent and therefore responsible for injuries. In other types of accidents, the plaintiff may be able to argue a theory of strict liability in which she will not even need to prove that the defendant was liable in order to obtain financial compensation.

At Johnston Law Firm, P.C., we handle a wide variety of personal injury cases, including but not limited to:

• Car accidents;
• Truck accidents;
• Motorcycle accidents;
• Pedestrian and bicycle accidents;
• Wrongful death;
• Medical malpractice;
• Product liability;
• Sexual abuse;
• Insurance bad faith.

Motor 
Vehicle Accidents

Car and truck accidents happen much too often in Vancouver, Washington. According to a fact sheet from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission (WTSC), a particularly high number of traffic crashes occur in Clark County, where Vancouver is located.

Between 2013 and 2014, for instance, the total number of fatalities rose from 20 to 39. To be clear, the number of fatal injuries in auto accidents nearly doubled. What causes most of these accidents? The WTSC cites impaired driving, distracted driving, and aggressive driving as among the most frequent reasons that car and truck crashes occur.

When we talk about car accidents, we are often referring to many different types of crashes that happen on highways like I-205 or I-5, as well as local roads running through Vancouver. Auto accident claims can help victims of truck accidents, car accidents, and motorcycle accidents to seek compensation from the liable party.

Don’t miss out on these common personal injury mistakes.

Get the legal counsel you need to guide you through the process of filing an injury claim.

Medical 
Malpractice Lawsuits

In Vancouver, medical malpractice claims are governed by Washington State law. Generally speaking, patients who have suffered serious injuries as a result of a healthcare provider’s negligence may be able to file a medical malpractice claim. Examples of common medical malpractice cases include but are not limited to:

• Delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis;
• Medication errors;
• Surgical errors;
• Hospital infections;
• Anesthesia errors; and
• Birth injuries.

Generally speaking, Washington State law requires a plaintiff in a medical malpractice case to prove the following in order to be eligible for compensation:

• Healthcare provider failed to exercise a degree of care or skill that is expected of healthcare providers in the same field in Vancouver; and
• Healthcare provider’s failure to provide that care was the proximate cause of the patient’s injury.

Pedestrian and BicyclistAccidents

Too many pedestrians and bicyclists suffer serious injuries in crashes involving motor vehicles in Washington. Vancouver is no exception. According to a collision data summary from the Washington State Department of Transportation, there were 1,797 pedestrian-involved accidents in the state in 2011, which is a number that has remained steady for a number of years. In total, 67 pedestrian fatalities occurred that year, with 284 serious pedestrian injuries. Pedestrians can include people walking, bicycling, and using other forms of transportation that are not motorized.

The most common cause of a serious or fatal collision involving a pedestrian or a bicyclist was a motorist’s failure to yield the right of way to the pedestrian or cyclist. Distracted driving and impaired driving also played prominent roles in pedestrian accidents. You can seek compensation from a liable driving under a legal theory of negligence by filing a personal injury case. If you or someone you love was injured by a motorist, a personal injury lawyer at our firm can help.

Product 
Liability Claims

What happens if you go to a retail establishment in Vancouver and purchase a product that causes an injury? Consumer products should be safe to use, but many products contain dangerous defects that can harm individuals in Washington. The Washington State Department of Health provides a recall list to help consumers know if foods and other products in the area have been subject to a recall.

If you did get hurt because of a dangerous item, you should know that there are three different kinds of product liability lawsuits:

• Design defect (there is a problem with the very design of the consumer item);
• Manufacturing defect (the design of the product is safe but a defect occurred during manufacture);
• Marketing defect, or failure to warn (the product is not inherently unsafe, but it lacks a proper warning about ways in which it might cause harm).

Sexual
Abuse Cases

In some sexual abuse cases, the victim might seek to file a civil claim in order to obtain compensation for her injuries. Specifically, there is a Washington State statute that allows for actions based on childhood sexual abuse. In general, there is a three-year statute of limitations period for filing such a claim, but that three-year period can commence once a victim discovers that the injuries were caused by sexual abuse.

If you have questions about filing a claim, a Vancouver personal injury lawyer can help.

Insurance
Bad Faith Claims

The personal injury law team at our firm also helps clients with insurance bad faith claims. When an insurer in Washington State unfairly denies a claim, the injured party may be able to seek compensation.