Civil Liability in General.

A tort is a type of legal wrong.? When one party injures or otherwise harms another person, that person?the plaintiff?can typically bring a legal civil action for the tort against the responsible party?the defendant?and seek an award of damages.

?

Ordinary Care and Negligence.

A plaintiff who has been harmed by a defendant's unintentional misconduct can bring a claim for negligence.? A negligence claim requires proof of four basic elements:? (1) that the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of ordinary care; (2) that the defendant's acts or omissions breached their duty of care; (3) that the plaintiff suffered damages; and (4) that the defendant's breach caused the plaintiff's damages.

?

Ordinary care means the care a reasonably careful person would exercise under the same or similar circumstances.? Negligence is the failure to exercise ordinary care. ?It is the doing of some act that a reasonably careful person would not do under the same or similar circumstances or the failure to do some act that a reasonably careful person would have done under the same or similar circumstances.

?

Causation.

In Washington, proximate cause consists of two elements: ?cause in fact and legal causation. ?Cause in fact, or actual cause, refers to the "but for" consequences of an act?the physical connection between an act and an injury.? Legal causation involves a determination of whether liability should attach as a matter of law given the existence of cause in fact. ?Legal causation requires consideration of how far the consequences of a defendant's acts should extend and whether the connection between the ultimate result and the act of the defendant is too remote or insubstantial to impose liability.

?

Damages.

There are various kinds of legally cognizable damages, including economic damages, noneconomic damages, statutory damages, and punitive damages.

?

Economic damages are objectively verifiable monetary losses, including medical expenses, loss of earnings, burial costs, loss of use of property, cost of replacement or repair, cost of obtaining substitute domestic services, loss of employment, and loss of business or employment opportunities.?

?

Noneconomic damages are subjective, nonmonetary losses including, but not limited to, pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, disability or disfigurement incurred by the injured party, emotional distress, loss of society and companionship, loss of consortium, injury to reputation and humiliation, and destruction of the parent-child relationship.?

?

Statutory damages are set by the Legislature and do not typically require proof of any predicate loss but are rather conditioned upon the occurrence of a specified harm.

?

Punitive damages are assessed to punish a defendant for their conduct.? In Washington, punitive damages are generally not recoverable unless expressly authorized by statute.

?

Burden of Proof.

Generally, the plaintiff has the burden of proof when bringing a civil action and must prove each element of their claim by a preponderance of the evidence.? To meet the preponderance of the evidence standard, the party with the burden of proof must persuade the trier of fact that, considering all evidence in the case, the proposition on which that party has the burden of proof is more probably true than not.

?

Contributory Fault.

State law provides that in most cases, in an action based on fault seeking to recover damages for injury or death to person or harm to property, any contributory fault chargeable to the claimant diminishes proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages for an injury attributable to the claimant's contributory fault.

Collision Liability.

Any major motor vehicle operator involved in a collision with a pedestrian, bicycle, or minor motor vehicle is presumed to have negligently caused the collision.? Additionally, any minor motor vehicle or bicycle operator involved in a collision with a pedestrian is presumed to have negligently caused the collision.? These presumptions apply in any tort action alleging liability for the collision.

?

In legal actions subject to this liability rule, the defendant is presumed to have breached his or her duty of care by negligently causing the collision, but the defendant may rebut this presumption by proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant was not negligent or that the defendant's negligence did not cause the collision.? The plaintiff retains the burden of proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, both the plaintiff's damages and that the defendant's negligence was the actual and proximate cause of the plaintiff's damages.?

?

Contributory Negligence.

In legal actions subject to this liability rule, if the trier of fact determines the plaintiff was contributorily negligent and such negligence was a proximate cause of the collision, Washington's contributory fault standards apply and liability will be apportioned among the parties according to their fault.?

?

Unknown Vehicle and Bicycle Operators.

If a vehicle or bicycle operator is unknown, the legal owner of the vehicle or bicycle is presumed to have been the vehicle or bicycle operator at the time of the collision, but the owner may rebut this presumption by proving, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the owner was not driving the vehicle or controlling the bicycle at the time of the collision, and was not responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle or bicycle at the time of the collision.?

?

?

Remedies.

In legal actions subject to this liability rule, a prevailing plaintiff is entitled to recover actual damages, including both economic and noneconomic damages, and statutory damages of $1,500.?

?

If a defendant disputes the presumption of negligence but the trier of fact finds the defendant breached their duty of care by negligently causing the collision, then a prevailing plaintiff is entitled to recover reasonable attorneys' fees and expert costs, including expert fees, related to the disputed presumption.?

?

If a defendant has previously been found civilly or criminally liable for collisions involving a total of three or more pedestrians, bicyclists, or minor motor vehicle operators, then a prevailing plaintiff may also recover punitive damages.?

?

Defined Terms.

"Bicycle" means every device propelled solely by human power, upon which a person or persons may ride, having two tandem wheels or three wheels.?

?

"Major motor vehicle" means a self-propelled device that is capable of being moved upon any street, road, or highway, and in, upon, or by which any persons or property are or may be transported or drawn, and which: ?(i) weighs 200 pounds or more; or (ii) is capable of motorized speeds in excess of 28 miles per hour.?

?

"Minor motor vehicle" means a self-propelled device that is capable of being moved upon any street, road, or highway, and in, upon, or by which any persons or property are or may be transported or drawn, and which is not a major motor vehicle.?

?

"Pedestrian" means any person who is afoot or who is using a wheelchair, a power wheelchair, or a means of conveyance propelled by human power other than a bicycle.?

?

"Vehicle or bicycle operator" includes: ?(i) a person in control of the vehicle or bicycle; (ii) a person who has a responsibility to control the vehicle or bicycle and fails to do so; (iii) a person in remote control of the vehicle; (iv) a person who has a responsibility to remotely control the vehicle and fails to do so; and (v) the employer or principal of any person listed in this subsection while such person is acting on behalf of the employer or principal.?