If yuou have been in accident - There is no better time to call
Kent, Washington Car Accident Lawyer
Fighting for Kent and King County injury victims
Kent Office: 21620 84th Ave S, STE 201 D, Kent, WA 98032 · Open 24/7 by phone · (253) 336-5664
The crash was not your fault, but the phone is already ringing. It is the other driver's insurance company, and the adjuster sounds friendly. They want a quick recorded statement, a fast number on your car, and a signed medical release. Every one of those requests is built to shrink what they pay you.
A car wreck on I-5, SR 167, or Pacific Highway South can end with a totaled vehicle, weeks of missed work, and bills that arrive faster than any settlement check. Kent drivers face some of the most crash-prone intersections in King County, and the people who get hurt are usually the ones who did nothing wrong.
Washington law is on your side more than most people realize. You can recover even if you were partly at fault, the state sets no cap on pain-and-suffering money, and you have three years to act. The hard part is not the law. It is the insurance company that hopes you settle before you understand it.
The Kent car accident lawyers at Goldberg & Loren represent crash victims across King County and the State of Washington on a pure contingency basis. The first call is free, no obligation, and we tell you exactly where you stand before you decide anything.
Injured in a Kent car crash? Call (253) 336-5664 or get your free consultation online · available 24/7, 365 days a year.
Washington Car Accident Law at a Glance
Washington applies pure comparative fault under RCW 4.22.005. Even if you are found partly to blame, you still recover. Your award is reduced by your share of the fault, not erased.
The state puts no cap on pain-and-suffering damages, requires you to stop and report any serious crash, and gives you three years to file suit. Each of these rules can be used against you by an adjuster who is counting on you not knowing them.
Three-year statute of limitations
You generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a civil lawsuit in Washington. For injured children, the clock is paused until age 18 under RCW 4.16.190. Miss the deadline and you usually lose the case, no matter how clear the other driver's fault was.
Pure comparative fault
Washington uses pure comparative fault, with responsibility split among the parties under RCW 4.22.070. A finding that you were 30 percent at fault reduces your award by 30 percent. It does not bar recovery, unlike the modified-fault states next door.
Stop and report duties
Every driver in a crash must stop, give their name and insurance, and help anyone hurt. You must also file a written report within four days if the crash caused injury, death, or property damage of $1,000 or more. Driving away is a hit and run, which is a crime.
UM/UIM coverage
Every Washington auto insurer must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at your liability limits. You can decline it in writing, but most drivers should not. When the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, this coverage often becomes the case.
Claims against the government
Was the City of Kent, King County, the state, or a public agency involved? Then you must file a formal tort claim and wait 60 days before you can sue. These cases move on a tighter track than a normal three-year claim, so act early.
Car Crash Deaths and Injuries Are Rising in Washington
For the people who survive them, crashes have grown more severe rather than less. Washington counted 809 traffic deaths in 2023, its worst year on the roads in more than three decades. The figure eased to roughly 730 in 2024 and 659 in 2025, both still preliminary, and behind every death sit many more drivers and passengers left seriously hurt (Washington Traffic Safety Commission).
King County carries an outsized part of that burden. The county lost 167 people to traffic crashes in 2023, a record high (King County Target Zero). The national picture matches it, with roughly 40,000 people killed on U.S. roads in a typical year (NHTSA).
The same handful of driver choices sits behind most of it. Impaired drivers figured in 48 percent of Washington's 2024 traffic deaths and speeding drivers in 34 percent, and a distracted driver was involved in nearly one in five (WTSC). The federal research on phone use behind the wheel is hard to wave away (CDC).
Kent's Highest-Crash Intersections
An analysis of Washington State Patrol crash data from 2011 to 2024 ranked the 30 most crash-prone intersections in the state. Eleven of them are in King County, and six of those sit in Kent, more than any other city in the county (Auburn Reporter).
| Kent intersection | Crashes (2011–2024) | Statewide rank |
|---|---|---|
| 116th Ave SE & Kent-Kangley Rd | 99 (41% injury rate) | 7th |
| Kent-Des Moines Rd & Military Rd S | 97 | 8th |
| SE 240th St & 104th Ave SE | 93 | 11th |
| 108th Ave SE & SE 208th St | 92 | 12th |
Source: analysis of Washington State Patrol collision data (2011–2024) reported by the Auburn Reporter, February 2026.
Most Common Crash Types We See in Kent
Rear-end collisions
Stop-and-go backups on SR 167 and I-5, and red lights on Central Avenue and Meeker Street, leave drivers exposed to the car behind them. Liability is usually straightforward, but injuries are often serious.
Intersection and left-turn crashes
A driver turns left or runs a light across your path. Kent's busiest intersections produce a steady stream of these under failure-to-yield rules in RCW 46.61.185.
Impaired-driving crashes
Drunk and drugged drivers cause nearly half of Washington's traffic deaths. A criminal DUI charge against the other driver can strengthen your civil claim for damages.
Distracted-driving crashes
Texting and phone use behind the wheel cause rear-end and lane-departure wrecks across Kent. Phone records and dashcam footage often prove what the driver will not admit. See our note on distracted driving claims.
Hit-and-run and uninsured drivers
The at-fault driver flees or has no coverage. This is where your own UM/UIM coverage becomes the case. See the UM/UIM section below.
Rideshare and commercial drivers
Crashes involving Uber, Lyft, delivery vans, and other commercial vehicles carry larger insurance policies and more parties, which changes how the claim is built.
What to Do After a Car Accident in Kent
The first 72 hours after a crash shape both your medical recovery and the strength of your claim. The sequence below is what we walk Washington crash victims through.
Get medical attention, even if you feel fine
Adrenaline masks soft-tissue injuries, concussions, and internal harm. Valley Medical Center in Renton, MultiCare Auburn Medical Center, and Kent urgent care clinics are close by. A gap in treatment is the single biggest tool adjusters use to cut a settlement.
Make sure the crash gets reported
If officers were not on scene, file a report with Kent Police or the Washington State Patrol within four days when there is injury or damage over $1,000. The crash report is the foundation of the liability case.
Photograph everything, before anything moves
The vehicles, the road, debris, skid marks, traffic signals, sight lines, and your injuries. If you cannot, ask someone on scene to do it. These photos become exhibits months later.
Get witness names and numbers
Independent witnesses settle disputes faster than almost any other evidence. A bystander who saw the other driver run the light carries more weight than your account alone.
Do not give the other insurer a recorded statement
The at-fault driver's carrier will call within days and ask for a recorded statement. Politely decline until you have spoken with a lawyer. Anything you say can be used to argue you caused part of the crash.
Notify your own insurer about UM/UIM
Report the crash to your own carrier and ask whether your UM/UIM coverage applies. This matters most when the other driver is uninsured, underinsured, or fled. Do this without committing to a recorded statement.
Call a Washington car accident attorney
An early consultation lets us preserve scene evidence, send insurance preservation letters, and stop the carriers from contacting you directly. There is no charge for this call.
PIP Pays Your Medical Bills First, No Matter Who Was at Fault
Personal injury protection, or PIP, is the coverage that pays your own medical bills and part of your lost wages right after a crash, no matter who caused it. In Washington it is often the first money an injured driver actually sees, long before any settlement arrives.
Every Washington auto insurer must offer PIP under RCW 48.22.085. Unless you rejected it in writing, your policy carries at least $10,000 in medical coverage under RCW 48.22.095, and it also protects your passengers and pedestrians you strike.
PIP works alongside your health insurance and your UM/UIM coverage, not instead of them. Used in the right order, these layers keep your treatment moving while the liability claim is still being built.
Your PIP carrier may later ask to be repaid out of your settlement. Washington's made-whole and fee-sharing rules, set out in Mahler v. Szucs, cap how much it can recoup and require it to share in your attorney fees. We hold carriers to those limits.
UM/UIM Coverage Is Often the Whole Case
A large share of Washington drivers carry only the state minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per person, and some carry none at all. A serious crash can produce six-figure medical bills in a single ambulance ride. The math does not work without your own coverage.
Washington law requires every auto insurer to offer UM/UIM coverage at the same limits as your liability coverage under RCW 48.22.030. If you carry it, your own insurer steps into the shoes of the at-fault driver up to your policy limits.
Washington also allows UM/UIM stacking across multiple policies on your household vehicles, which can raise the total coverage available after a serious injury. We routinely find stackable coverage that the carrier never points out.
The catch is that a UM/UIM claim is technically a claim against your own insurance company, and they fight it the same way the other driver's carrier would. That is why this kind of case rewards a lawyer who handles them often.
No fee unless we recover. Goldberg & Loren handles every Washington car accident case on contingency. No retainer, no investigation cost, and no fee unless we win a settlement or verdict for you.
Table of Contents
Kent Practice Areas
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Car Accidents
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Dog Bites
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Personal Injury
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Truck Accidents
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Wrongful Death
What Your Kent Car Accident Case May Be Worth
Compensation in a Washington car accident case usually falls into two categories. Economic damages cover the costs you can receipt. Non-economic damages cover the human cost of the injury and the recovery.
Economic Damages
- Emergency room, ambulance, and hospital care, often starting at Valley Medical Center, MultiCare Auburn, or Harborview
- Surgery, imaging, and follow-up procedures for fractures, spinal injuries, and internal harm
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation, inpatient and outpatient
- Traumatic brain injury diagnosis, neuropsychological testing, and long-term care
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity, including for self-employed drivers
- Vehicle repair or replacement at fair market value, plus a rental
- Future medical care proven through expert testimony
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering from the crash and the long recovery
- Disfigurement and permanent scarring from lacerations, burns, or surgical sites
- Emotional distress, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress, including new fear of driving
- Loss of enjoyment of life and the activities a serious injury takes away
- Loss of consortium for the spouse or family of a seriously injured person
In Washington there is no ceiling on what a jury can award for pain and suffering. The state Supreme Court struck down the prior cap in Sofie v. Fibreboard (1989), holding that it stripped injured people of their constitutional right to a jury's verdict.
So the value of a serious car-accident injury turns on the strength of your evidence, not on an arbitrary number written into a statute.
Washington Car Accident Verdicts & Settlements
The fastest way to evaluate any car accident lawyer is to look at the results they have actually obtained for clients in your state. Here are four recent Washington motor-vehicle recoveries from our firm.
Every case is different, but these results show what full documentation and a refusal to accept the first offer can produce.
Our client was lawfully proceeding through an intersection on a green left-turn arrow when a semi-truck driver failed to yield the right-of-way, colliding with and fatally striking his vehicle.
A head-on collision in which another vehicle crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic and struck our client head-on. He sustained multiple fractures, extensive lacerations, and significant contusions.
A head-on collision caused by a driver distracted when their dog jumped from the passenger window. Our client suffered a shattered left foot, a broken right leg, and a concussion.
A commercial vehicle failed to yield while exiting a parking lot and pulled into our client's path. Our client sustained multiple broken ribs and other injuries.
Common Insurance Defenses, and Why They Often Fail in Washington
- "You were partly at fault." Adjusters push this to cut what they pay, even when the crash report points the other way. Under pure comparative fault, a partial fault finding only reduces your award by your percentage. It does not erase the claim.
- "Your injuries are not that serious." Carriers argue that soft-tissue and back injuries are minor or pre-existing. Consistent medical treatment, imaging, and a clear treatment record answer this far better than a delayed or scattered medical history.
- "You waited too long to treat." A gap between the crash and your first doctor visit is the adjuster's favorite tool. Prompt care, and a documented reason for any delay, takes the argument off the table.
- "Take this quick offer." An early lowball offer arrives before you know the full extent of your injuries. Once you sign a release, the claim is closed for good, even if you need more care later. We do not let clients settle blind.
Kent and King County Local Context
Kent sits between I-5, SR 167, SR 18, and the Green River Valley freight corridor. Drivers share these roads with heavy commuter traffic and one of the largest concentrations of warehouses on the West Coast, which means constant truck movement across busy arterials.
Cases tied to crashes in south King County are typically filed at the Maleng Regional Justice Center at 401 Fourth Avenue North in Kent. Cases with venue in north King County may be filed at the King County Courthouse in downtown Seattle.
As Washington car accident lawyers, we also serve the surrounding communities, including Auburn, Renton, Federal Way, Tukwila, Des Moines, Burien, SeaTac, and Maple Valley, along with Tacoma-area and other Pierce County matters. Car crash claims are one part of our broader Kent personal injury practice.
Why Kent Drivers Choose Goldberg & Loren
George Goldberg
George has practiced law since 1994 and opened Goldberg & Loren in 1996. He leads motor-vehicle, multi-defendant, and government-claim cases.
James Loren
James is a senior partner and trial attorney who represents crash victims throughout Washington, with a focus on serious injury, traumatic brain injury, and contested UM/UIM disputes.
- The lowball offer, refused. We build the medical and liability record before the adjuster's opening number takes hold.
- UM/UIM experience. Many Kent cases turn on your own coverage. We treat first-party claims with the same intensity as the claim against the other driver.
- Medical and reconstruction network. Connections to Puget Sound area surgeons, neuro specialists, and crash reconstructionists.
- Pure contingency. No retainer, no investigation cost, and no fee unless we recover for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to file a Kent car accident claim?
Generally three years from the date of the crash under RCW 4.16.080(2), and paused until age 18 for injured children. Suing a city, county, or the state adds a step: Washington requires a formal tort claim form and a 60-day waiting period before suit under RCW 4.96.020, though the same three-year deadline still applies.
What if I was partly at fault for the crash?
You can still recover. Washington uses pure comparative fault under RCW 4.22.005, so a finding that you were 25 or 40 percent responsible reduces your award by that percentage but does not bar the claim. Many states cut you off at 50 percent. Washington does not.
Do I have to report a car accident in Washington?
Yes. Under RCW 46.52.020 you have to stop at the scene, trade names and insurance details, and help anyone who is hurt. Then, under RCW 46.52.030, a written report is due within four days whenever the crash caused injury, death, or at least $1,000 in property damage. Leaving the scene turns it into a hit and run.
The other driver fled the scene. Do I have a case?
Yes, if you carry uninsured motorist (UM) coverage on your own policy. UM coverage steps into the shoes of the unknown or uninsured driver up to your policy limits. This is one of the most important reasons not to decline UM/UIM coverage in Washington.
The at-fault driver has only $25,000 in coverage. What do I do?
This is exactly what underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage is for. If your damages exceed the at-fault driver's policy limits, your own UIM coverage pays the difference up to your UIM limits. A serious car accident frequently exceeds the Washington minimum policy.
Should I give the other driver's insurance company a statement?
No. Politely decline until you have spoken with a lawyer. Recorded statements are used to lock you into a version of events before you have medical clarity on your injuries and before you understand how Washington law applies to your facts.
What is my car accident case worth?
It depends on the severity of your injuries, the available insurance limits, the strength of liability, and the impact on your earning capacity and life. Cases range from low five figures for minor injuries to multi-million-dollar recoveries for traumatic brain injury, paralysis, or wrongful death. Washington sets no cap on pain-and-suffering damages.
Can I sue the City of Kent or King County for a road defect?
Yes, in limited circumstances. Before suing a city, county, or the state, Washington requires a formal tort claim form and a 60-day waiting period under RCW 4.96.020. The standard three-year statute of limitations still applies, so these cases remain time-sensitive.
How much does it cost to hire Goldberg & Loren?
Nothing up front. We work entirely on contingency, which means we are paid only if we obtain a settlement or verdict for you. Initial consultations are free and fully confidential.
How long will my Kent car accident case take?
Many cases settle within 6 to 18 months once medical treatment stabilizes. Cases involving traumatic brain injury, government defendants, or contested UM/UIM disputes typically run 12 to 30 months. Cases that go to trial take longer.
Talk to a Kent Car Accident Lawyer Today
Looking for a car accident attorney near you in Kent? The first call is free, confidential, and there is no fee unless we recover.
Get Your Free Case Review Call (253) 336-5664Goldberg & Loren · 21620 84th Ave S, STE 201 D, Kent, WA 98032
Senior Partner, Goldberg & Loren · Member, Washington State Bar
J.D., Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law
Serving clients since 1994 · 50+ trials to verdict
Last updated: July 1, 2026
Goldberg & Loren Personal Injury Attorneys
21620 84th Ave S, Ste 201 D
Kent, WA 98032
(253) 336-5664
The insurance company starts building its case against you the day of the crash. My job is to make sure the record tells your story first: the medical proof, the fault, and the full cost of what you have lost. You focus on healing, and we handle the fight.
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