Our law firm was not involved in the lawsuit described in this article.

Generally each side in a lawsuit must its own attorney fees unless there is fee shifting by contract or a legal exception.

Under some circumstances an insurance company may have to pay part of an injury victim’s attorney fees and legal expenses.

In a recent decision the Washington Court of Appeals considered whether this applies to a passenger in a vehicle who is injured as a result of the fault of the driver of the same vehicle.  The Court ruled in a published decision that under such circumstances the driver’s insurance company is not liable for a pro-rata share of attorney fees.[1] Read the rest of this entry »

Our law firm took no part in this decision.

After the plaintiff’s vehicle sustained damage in a collision his insurance carrier paid the full cost of repairs, less a deductible. The plaintiff claimed that the policy covered loss for the diminished value of his vehicle, but his insurance company  disagreed.

The plaintiff filed a class action lawsuit, alleging breach of contract, insurance bad faith, and violations of the Washington Administrative Code and Consumer Protection Act (CPA). Read the rest of this entry »

Our law firm was not involved in this case.

In a recent opinion the Washington Court of Appeals rejected the argument that an insured should be reimbursed for its deductible when the insurance company collects from the at fault party.[1] Read the rest of this entry »

Mahler is an important Washington State Supreme Court case concerning subrogation and attorney fees.

Normally an injury victim who recovers damages must reimburse their own insurance company for benefits the insurance company paid that are related to the injury, such as medical expenses, or other damages caused by the at fault party.

However, it is unfair for the injury victim’s insurance company to collect its money from the settlement generated by the efforts of the injury attorney and injury victim unless the insurance company helps pay the attorney fees.  Otherwise the insurance company benefits from the settlement funds but does not contribute to the creation of the settlement. Read the rest of this entry »

Insurance carriers typically have the right to be reimbursed under the insurance company’s right of subrogation when their insured recovers from an at fault party.

In Washington the injury victim must first be made whole before the injured person’s insurance company is entitled to be reimbursed.  [1] This means that if an injury victim recovers less than full compensation for his injuries – such as when the at-fault party does not have enough insurance – the injured person’s insurance company does not get reimbursed.

This Washington rule does not apply to employee benefits paid under a plan covered by federal ERISA law or to certain other statues that create liens on the injury recovery.

This is not a substitute for legal advice.  For advice about your situation speak to a personal injury attorney.