Category Archives: Injury Claims Against Government

Counting the Days

You go to a public event at a city park. A tent set up by a public utility district collapses. You are injured. You make a personal injury claim against the public utility district, but if you delay contacting an attorney you risk making it difficult and possibly impossible to pursue the claim. A couple […]

Woman Injured in Tacoma Park

A woman was injured at a beach in Tacoma. She filed a lawsuit one week before the statute of limitations was to run. She also served Metro Parks with the statutory claim form, required in Washington before suing state or local governmental entities. The claim form statute imposes a 60-day waiting period before the injury […]

Woman Killed by Husband After Law Enforcement Serves Anti-Harassment Order

Baerbel K. Roznowski got an anti-harassment order against her partner, Paul Chan Kim. The court order required Kim to leave Roznowski’s home, and not come near Roznowski. Roznowski asked the Federal Way Police Department to serve the order. She completed a “law enforcement information sheet” for the police department. On the information sheet Roznowski indicated […]

Emergency Vehicles Duty

Emergency vehicles responding to an emergency must exercise “due regard for the safety of all persons” but do not, of course, have to fully comply with all the normal rules of the road.[1]

U-Haul Hits Tree, Tree Wins

A man hit a tree with a U-Haul truck. He sued the city of Seattle for personal injury. The tree was in a planter along a sidewalk on a Seattle street. The man claimed the City failed to maintain a reasonably safe roadway. The trial judge found for the City. The man appealed.[1] In Washington, […]

Yakima County Sued for Alleged Guardrail Failure

Please note, our law firm took no part in the lawsuit described in this article. A Yakima County driver lost control of his vehicle, striking a guardrail. The guardrail split and pierced the passenger cabin, injuring two passengers. One of the passengers pursued a claim against the County. The passenger through an attorney (not affiliated […]

$1.3 Million Verdict Upheld on Appeal

Our law firm was not involved in the case described. A man sued King County (Metro) to recover damages for severe injuries that he sustained after slipping while exiting a county operated bus on a rainy day. At trial he introduced evidence that yellow nosing strips, located at the edges of the stairs of […]

Court of Appeals Rules in Public Duty Doctrine Case

Our Seattle injury attorney was not involved in the lawsuit described in this article. The Washington Court of Appeals recently ruled that application of the public duty doctrine negated a claim against a fire district for the destruction of a partially constructed house and other property.[1] The same analysis applies to personal injury claims.

Courts Review Tort Claim Form Requirements

Our law firm was not involved in the lawsuit described in this article. Anyone making a claim against a government body in Washington must complete and serve a tort claim form prior to filing a lawsuit. In a recent case the trial court dismissed a lawsuit because the claimant listed damages as “undetermined pending further […]

Rescue Doctrine

Under the rescue doctrine a public entity has a special duty to exercise reasonable care after assuming a duty to warn or come to the aid of a particular plaintiff.[1] That special duty exists because a public entity’s assurances may induce reliance. A person who voluntarily promises to perform a service for another in need […]

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