Washington Car Accident Settlement Calculator

Washington's pure comparative fault system means you can recover damages from a car accident even if you were mostly at fault. If you are found 70% responsible for a collision and your damages total $100,000, you would still receive $30,000. This makes virtually every motor vehicle accident claim worth evaluating, regardless of the fault split.

Washington gives you 3 years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit, which is in line with the national average of 2.7 years. This is a standard timeframe, but acting sooner preserves evidence and strengthens your position. Washington applies a discovery rule, meaning the clock may start when you discover (or should have discovered) the injury rather than when the incident occurred.

Washington requires all drivers to carry minimum liability insurance of $25K per person / $50K per accident in bodily injury coverage and $10K in property damage coverage (commonly written as 25/50/10). These minimums are below the national average, meaning many drivers in Washington may carry only enough insurance to cover a fraction of the costs from a serious accident. A Washington liability policy includes underinsured motorist coverage, which by the statute's definition also covers a driver with no insurance at all, unless a named insured or spouse rejects it in writing (RCW 48.22.030).

If your car accident involved a government vehicle or occurred due to a government-maintained road defect in Washington, you face a significantly shorter deadline. Washington requires you to file a notice of claim within 60 days of the incident — far shorter than the standard statute of limitations. Missing this notice deadline can permanently bar your claim against the government entity, even if the regular filing deadline has not yet passed.

Washington lets a vehicle owner recover diminished value, the resale value a properly repaired car loses because of its accident history, from the at-fault driver on top of the cost of repairs. Under your own collision coverage, the answer in Washington turns on the wording of your policy. Washington's Office of the Insurance Commissioner tells drivers that a diminished value claim is normally made against the at-fault driver's insurer and that some policies do not cover it. The diminished value guide in the related reading below carries the rule for every state and how to document the loss.