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If a drunk driver in Redmond injured you, Washington State law provides a clear path to hold them financially accountable for the damage they’ve caused. But knowing you have rights is one thing; securing fair payment for your medical bills, lost income, and the personal toll of the injury is another entirely.
The issue is that a collision caused by an intoxicated driver isn’t just another car accident. It’s the result of a criminal choice, which introduces layers of evidence and procedure that don’t exist in a typical traffic case.
This is where our firm, Narwal Injury Law, steps in. We have spent years handling these specific kinds of cases, and we understand the intricate relationship between the criminal charges a driver faces and your separate pursuit of a civil settlement. Our purpose is to manage every legal detail, giving you the space to focus on your recovery.
If you have questions, we have answers. Call Narwal Injury Law for a no-obligation discussion about your case at (425) 474-2714 to speak with a Redmond drunk driving accident lawyer.
Gurjot Narwal, Redmond Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer
Our founding attorney, Gurjot (Gurj) Narwal, brings more than a decade of courtroom experience to your case. His background is unique—he served as an Assistant State Attorney General and an Assistant Seattle City Attorney.
This was time spent on the other side of the table, which gives us an insider’s understanding of how government bodies and large insurance companies operate. We know their procedures and their priorities, and we use that knowledge to build a powerful case strategy for you from the very beginning.
At Narwal Injury Law, our practice is dedicated to personal injury claims. We focus our resources on helping people who have been harmed by someone else’s negligence, especially by those who get behind the wheel while intoxicated. We handle every part of your civil claim, from gathering police reports and witness statements to leading all negotiations with insurers.
We manage all personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This is a straightforward promise: you will not receive a bill from us for our time unless we recover money for you through a settlement or a court decision.
We also provide:
Our Redmond office is located at 7981 168th Avenue NE, Suite 110.
You can find us a few blocks north of Redmond Town Center and a short walk from Redmond Downtown Park, making our office easily reachable for residents throughout the area.
The purpose of a civil claim is to provide financial recovery for every loss the collision caused—both the obvious and the hidden. We pursue the maximum compensation available under the law by systematically identifying, documenting, and proving all of your damages.
These losses typically fall into a few distinct categories.
These are the tangible, verifiable financial losses you have sustained. Think of them as anything that generates a bill or a receipt. We meticulously collect every document to prove these costs, which include:
These damages are meant to compensate you for the intangible, human costs of the accident. While they don’t come with an itemized bill, their effect on your life is just as real and deserves to be recognized. They may include payment for:
Washington follows a “pure comparative fault” rule, which is outlined in Washington law. To put it simply, this means your total compensation award may be reduced by whatever percentage you are found to be at fault for the accident.
Insurance companies frequently look for any angle to argue that you share some of the blame, as this directly reduces the amount they have to pay. Our job is to use the evidence, like police reports, witness testimony, and the other driver’s intoxication, to protect you from any unfair allocation of fault.
When a drunk driving accident results in a death, the legal framework for seeking justice shifts from a personal injury claim to a wrongful death claim. This is a distinct legal action that allows surviving family members to hold the at-fault driver accountable for the loss of their loved one.
Under RCW 4.20.010, a wrongful death is defined as one “caused by the wrongful act, neglect, or default of another.” In Washington, this type of lawsuit must be filed by the personal representative of the deceased person’s estate. This individual acts on behalf of the beneficiaries to recover damages.
The law specifies who can benefit from a wrongful death claim in a two-tiered system:
Damages in a wrongful death case are intended to compensate the beneficiaries for their own losses, which may include:
The statute of limitations for filing a wrongful death claim in Washington is three years from the date of the person’s passing.
A drunk driving claim has unique components that separate it from a standard car accident case.
Washington law is very clear about what it means to drive under the influence. Under RCW 46.61.502, a driver is considered legally intoxicated—or “per se” intoxicated—if they have a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) at or above a certain limit within two hours of driving. The state sets different limits for different types of drivers:
A driver can also be charged with a DUI if they are “under the influence of or affected by” alcohol or any drug, regardless of their BAC level. This means that even if a breath or blood test is below the legal limit, a prosecutor can still pursue a conviction based on evidence of impairment, such as erratic driving, failed sobriety tests, or the driver’s own statements.
Because drunk driving accidents frequently involve high speeds and reckless actions like swerving or head-on impacts, the injuries are often severe. We handle cases involving a wide spectrum of harm, including:
The driver who hit you will almost certainly face criminal charges, like a DUI. This is a separate case brought by the state prosecutor, where the goal is to punish the driver for breaking the law. Your case is a civil claim for damages, where the goal is to secure financial compensation for your losses.
While the two cases are separate, the criminal case can become a source of powerful evidence for your civil claim. Here’s how:
We will closely monitor the criminal proceedings and obtain all relevant reports, transcripts, and findings to strengthen your claim for compensation.
While a drunk driving collision can happen on any road at any time, certain traffic patterns and road features create higher-risk areas. From our experience handling local injury claims, we see crashes happen with greater frequency in specific locations.
According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, thousands of crashes involving impaired drivers occurred in King County in recent years, with many happening at night and on weekends.
Areas in and around Redmond that demand extra caution include:
Soon after the accident, you will likely get a call from the at-fault driver’s insurance adjuster. It is helpful to understand their role. Insurance providers are for-profit businesses, which means they must balance paying valid claims with protecting their financial bottom line.
Yes, you still have options. If you carry Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage on your own auto insurance policy, you can file a claim with your own insurance provider. This coverage is designed for exactly this situation. We can review your policy to identify all available sources of recovery.
In Washington, the statute of limitations for most personal injury claims is three years from the date of the accident (RCW 4.16.080). It is always best to act much sooner, however, as evidence like surveillance footage can be erased and witnesses’ memories can fade over time.
Potentially, yes. Washington has “dram shop” laws that can hold a business liable if they served alcohol to a person who was already visibly intoxicated, and that person then went on to cause an accident. Proving a dram shop claim requires immediate investigation to preserve evidence, such as bar receipts and security camera footage, before it is lost.
This does not end your civil claim. The criminal justice system has a much higher burden of proof (“beyond a reasonable doubt”) than the civil system (“a preponderance of the evidence”). This means we can still succeed in proving the driver was negligent and responsible for your injuries even if they are not convicted of a DUI. We can still use evidence from the arrest, like the police report and BAC test results, in your civil case.
Yes. As an injured passenger, you have the right to file a claim for damages against the driver of the vehicle you were in. Depending on the specifics of your policy, your own auto insurance or medical insurance might also provide some coverage.
You’re facing medical appointments, mounting bills, and the stress of a situation you never asked to be in. But you do not have to figure this out alone.
Letting that uncertainty paralyze you is the biggest risk you can take. Taking action is the solution.
Our work at Narwal Injury Law is to lift that legal burden from your shoulders. We will manage the insurance companies, the deadlines, and the paperwork so you can put your energy where it belongs: on your health, your work, and your family.
For a free, confidential discussion about your case, call our Redmond personal injury lawyer today at (425) 474-2714.
(425) 842-8888
(360)-859-8413
(425) 842-8888