In Washington, property owners have a legal duty to keep their spaces reasonably safe for visitors. When that duty is ignored and someone gets hurt, whether it’s a fall on a slick floor, a broken handrail, poor lighting, the law allows you to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost income, and the pain that follows.
There’s just one catch: property owners and their insurance companies handle these claims every day. They have systems in place to limit what they pay, and those systems move quickly once a claim is filed. You deserve someone on your side who understands how those systems work and can keep them from deciding the outcome for you.
At Narwal Injury Law, we represent people injured by unsafe property conditions—slip and falls, unsafe stairs, unmarked hazards, and more. We take on the paperwork, the calls, and the negotiations, so you can focus on healing.
If you’re unsure what to do next, call (425) 474-2714 for a straightforward, no-cost conversation about your options with a Redmond premises liability lawyer.
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Redmond Premises Liability Guide
Why Choose Narwal Injury Law for Your Redmond Premises Liability Claim?
After an injury, you’re suddenly overwhelmed with medical bills and time away from work. At the same time, you are expected to deal with an insurance company whose business model requires them to balance paying claims with making a profit.
You need someone who has been on the other side of these arguments. This is where Narwal Injury Law brings a different perspective to the table.
- We Have an Insider’s Knowledge: Our founding attorney, Gurj Narwal, was an Assistant State Attorney General and an Assistant Seattle City Attorney for 11 years. He defended government agencies in injury lawsuits. He learned how insurance companies and their lawyers build a defense, and now he puts that knowledge to work for you.
- We Prepare Every Case for a Courtroom: Insurance companies pay fair settlements when they know the lawyer across from them is ready for trial. More than 90% of cases settle, but that only happens when you prepare for the other 10%. This approach puts you in the strongest negotiating position from day one.
- You Work Directly with Our Team: Your case won’t be handed off to a junior lawyer. As a boutique firm, we give you direct access to our experienced attorneys. We’re right here in your community, with an office located at 7981 168th Avenue NE, Suite 110, Redmond, WA 98052, near the Redmond Town Center.
- You Pay Nothing Unless We Win: We manage premises liability cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you owe no attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.
- We Serve Our Whole Community: To better support our neighbors, we offer legal services in both Punjabi and Hindi.
What is a Premises Liability Case in Redmond Worth?
The purpose of a premises liability claim is to secure financial compensation to cover every single loss the injury has inflicted on your life. No two cases are alike, but the compensation we pursue is generally broken into two main categories.
Economic Damages: The Hard Costs
These are the concrete, measurable expenses that have piled up since your injury. We look at every receipt and bill, including:
- Medical Bills: All expenses for your hospital stay, surgeries, doctor appointments, physical therapy, and any medical care you will need in the future.
- Lost Income: The wages you lost while you were out of work recovering.
- Diminished Earning Capacity: If the injury permanently affects your ability to do your job or earn a living, we seek compensation for that future loss.
Non-Economic Damages: The Human Cost
Some losses don’t come with a price tag, but they are just as real. This compensation addresses the ways your injury has rewritten every aspect of life, including:
- Pain and Suffering: For the physical pain and emotional distress you’ve endured.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This accounts for how the injury stops you from participating in the hobbies, activities, and daily routines that once brought you joy.
How Does Washington’s Comparative Fault Rule Affect My Case?
Washington state uses a legal doctrine called “pure comparative fault.” In simple terms, it means any compensation you receive is reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury finds you were 10% to blame for the fall, your final award would be reduced by 10%.
Insurance companies are experts at using this rule. They will argue you weren’t looking where you were going or should have seen the hazard. It’s our job to gather the evidence needed to make sure no blame is shifted unfairly onto you.
Where Do These Accidents Typically Happen in Redmond?
An injury can happen on any property, but in a busy area like Redmond, we see them happen in a few common places.
- Retail and Shopping Centers: High-traffic areas like the Redmond Town Center are common sites for falls. Spilled drinks in a food court, rain tracked inside onto slick tile floors, or boxes left in walkways can all cause serious harm.
- Grocery Stores: Produce sections, dairy aisles, and checkout lanes are prone to wet floors. These stores are expected to have regular inspection routines to find and clean up spills right away.
- Parking Lots and Garages: Poor lighting that hides potholes, cracked pavement, or inadequate ice and snow removal can turn a simple walk to or from a car into a dangerous event.
- Public Parks and Sidewalks: Redmond is home to beautiful spaces like Marymoor Park. But when city or county property is poorly maintained, think cracked sidewalks or unmarked drops, the government can be held liable. These claims involve special rules and much tighter deadlines, as outlined in Washington law.
- Apartment and Condominium Complexes: Landlords have a responsibility to maintain common areas. This means fixing broken stairs, ensuring hallways are well-lit, and addressing any known dangers in shared spaces like courtyards or laundry rooms.
How Do You Prove a Property Owner Was Negligent?
Premises liability is the area of law holding property owners accountable for injuries caused by unsafe conditions on their property. To win a claim, we must build a case that clearly proves four key elements:
- Duty of Care: The property owner had a legal responsibility to provide a safe environment for visitors.
- Breach of Duty: The owner either knew about a dangerous condition or should have known about it, and failed to fix it, block it off, or warn you about it.
- Causation: The hazardous condition was the direct cause of your fall and your injuries.
- Damages: As a result, you suffered actual losses, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain.
Proving what an owner “should have known” is usually the hardest part of the fight. This is where a deep investigation makes all the difference.
Does It Matter Why I Was on the Property?
Yes, it absolutely does. In Washington, the level of responsibility a property owner owes you depends on your legal status as a visitor. There are three categories:
- Invitee: This is someone who enters a property for a business purpose, like a customer in a store or a client in an office. Property owners owe invitees the highest duty of care. They must regularly inspect their property for hazards, fix known dangers, and warn you about them.
- Licensee: A licensee is a social guest, like a friend you invite over for dinner. The property owner must warn a licensee of any known dangers but does not have the same duty to proactively inspect the property for unknown hazards.
- Trespasser: This is someone who enters a property without permission. Generally, a property owner only has a duty to not intentionally harm a trespasser. However, this rule changes when children are involved, especially when a property has something that might attract them, like a swimming pool.
How We Investigate Your Claim
Building a strong case starts with gathering evidence before it disappears. Our team acts quickly to:
- Secure Surveillance Footage: Many businesses have security cameras that may have recorded the incident. This footage is sometimes deleted within days, so we move fast to send a preservation letter demanding they save it.
- Interview Witnesses: If anyone saw you fall, their account can be a powerful piece of evidence. We find and speak with witnesses while their memory of the event is still fresh.
- Review Incident Reports: Businesses typically create an internal report after an accident. While they may be reluctant to share it, we know how to obtain it.
- Consult Experts: In some cases, we may work with engineers or safety experts to analyze the hazard and explain why it was unreasonably dangerous.
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What Kinds of Injuries Do We See?
A fall can cause more than just bumps and bruises. We frequently represent clients who have suffered serious injuries, including:
- Sprains and Fractures: Broken wrists, ankles, and hips are common as people try to catch themselves during a fall.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): Hitting your head on the ground, a shelf, or another object can cause a concussion or a more severe TBI. These injuries can have long-lasting effects on memory, concentration, and mood.
- Spinal Cord Injuries: A hard fall can damage the vertebrae or the spinal cord itself, sometimes resulting in partial or full paralysis.
- Cuts and Lacerations: Broken glass or sharp corners can cause deep wounds that may require stitches and result in permanent scarring.
Dealing With the Property Owner’s Insurance Company
Shortly after your injury, an insurance adjuster for the property owner will likely call you. Their job is to investigate what happened, but their ultimate goal is to protect the insurance company’s financial interests.
The insurance claims process is methodical, filled with paperwork, and can feel incredibly slow. It is easy to get worn down and feel pressure to accept a low offer, especially as medical bills accumulate.
What to Watch Out For:
- Requests for a Recorded Statement: You are not obligated to give a recorded statement. Adjusters are trained to ask questions in a way that might get you to unintentionally accept some blame. It’s best to let your lawyer handle all communications.
- A Quick Settlement Offer: If an insurer offers a settlement before you even know the full extent of your injuries, be wary. Some injuries take time to reveal their true severity. Once you accept an offer, you can never ask for more, even if your medical needs grow.
- Requests for a Blanket Medical Release: The insurance company has a right to review medical records related to your fall. However, they might ask you to sign a broad authorization form that gives them access to your entire medical history. They will then dig for any pre-existing conditions they can use to argue your injuries weren’t caused by the fall. We make sure they only get access to the records they are legally entitled to see.
What Should I Be Doing to Protect My Claim?
While we manage the legal work, there are a few things you can do from home that will help strengthen your case.
- Follow Your Doctor’s Treatment Plan: Go to all your medical appointments and complete your prescribed treatments. This not only helps your recovery but also creates a clear medical record that documents the extent of your injuries.
- Keep a Pain Journal: Each day, jot down a few notes about your pain level and how the injuries are affecting you. Did you have trouble sleeping? Could you not lift your grandchild? Were you unable to go for your daily walk? This journal becomes powerful evidence of the non-economic impact on your life.
- Track All Your Expenses: Start a folder and keep every bill, receipt, and pay stub connected to your injury. This includes co-pays, prescription costs, and records showing your time off from work.
- Stay Off Social Media: Insurance companies hire investigators to scroll through claimants’ social media profiles. They are looking for photos or posts they can take out of context to argue your injuries are not as bad as you claim. It’s safest to avoid posting until your case is resolved.
Frequently Asked Questions About Redmond Premises Liability Claims
What if I didn’t report my fall to the property owner right away?
While it’s always best to report an injury immediately, failing to do so does not automatically destroy your claim. Many people are embarrassed after a fall or don’t realize the severity of their injuries until later.
What matters most is whether we can prove the dangerous condition existed and that the property owner knew or should have known about it. Surveillance footage, witness statements, and documentation of the hazard can all help establish your case even if you didn’t file an official incident report at the time.
What if the dangerous condition has been fixed by the time I contact a lawyer?
Property owners often repair hazards quickly after an injury, sometimes to eliminate evidence of the dangerous condition. This does not hurt your case. In fact, the quick repair can actually work in your favor by demonstrating that the owner recognized there was a problem that needed immediate attention.
Our investigation focuses on proving the condition existed at the time of your fall through witness statements, photographs, surveillance footage, and maintenance records that show when the repair was made.
You Don’t Have to Carry This Burden Alone
Many people who get hurt mistakenly blame themselves. They think they were clumsy or should have been more careful, never realizing that a hidden hazard made the fall almost unavoidable.
The truth is, you don’t have to be sure if you have a case. One phone call to us is all you need to get clarity. You shouldn’t bear the consequences of a negligent property owner.
Our team at Narwal Injury Law knows how to investigate these incidents and find the evidence needed to build a persuasive claim. If a Redmond property owner’s carelessness turned your life upside down, let us help you set things right.
For a free, confidential conversation about what happened, call our Redmond personal injury attorneys today at (425) 474-2714.
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(425) 842-8888