Kent Workplace Injury Attorney
Injury Law Group NW represents people in Kent and across King County who were hurt on the job because someone other than their employer failed to act with care, including contractors, property owners, equipment makers, and drivers. Our firm handles construction accidents, truck and vehicle crashes, premises injuries, and other negligence claims, and we serve clients throughout the Kent area, the Eastside, Seattle, and the greater Puget Sound region.
If you are searching for a Kent workplace injury attorney, you have probably already learned the first surprise of Washington injury law: being hurt at work does not usually let you sue your employer. Workers’ compensation is the exchange for that protection. The second surprise is more useful. When a different company, a subcontractor on the same site, a negligent driver, or a manufacturer of a defective machine contributed to your injury, you may have a separate third-party claim that pays for things workers’ compensation never will, such as pain and suffering and the full value of lost earning capacity. That gap between the two systems is where most of our work for injured workers happens.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Kent Workplace Injury Claim
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that serves Kent, Renton, Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah, and communities throughout King County. Our attorneys spent decades defending insurance companies before representing injury victims, so we know how insurers value, delay, and deny claims, and we prepare every case as though it will go to trial. Clients come to us free of charge for the first consultation, and we work on a contingency fee basis, which means no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
Troy Hunter, our founding partner, spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer, where he defended insurers and corporate clients against personal injury, wrongful death, and construction defect claims. That construction-side experience matters on job site cases, because third-party workplace claims often turn on who controlled the site and who owed which safety duty. Troy also serves as a dispute mediator. David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov, a Seattle defense firm, trying catastrophic injury, wrongful death, and product liability cases before Washington judges and juries. That product liability background is directly relevant when a defective ladder, lift, saw, or guard contributed to a workplace injury. Both Troy and David are rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell. David has been selected to the Super Lawyers list and teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold complete the team, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice. Our attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court.
Results give a sense of how we handle serious claims. We secured a mid-six-figure settlement for a family of five whose minivan was forced into the I-5 center barrier by a semi-truck, a mid-six-figure settlement for an elderly woman struck by a transit bus in a downtown Seattle crosswalk, and more than $1 million for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep, a case that also led the hospital to change its procedures. Past results do not guarantee a future outcome. Clients consistently describe our team as responsive, honest, and communicative, and our case managers return calls and texts promptly. David Mordekhov is fluent in Russian and Warren Barreiro speaks Spanish, so we regularly help workers and families who are more comfortable in those languages. If your injuries make travel difficult, we will come to you at home or at the hospital.
Common Kinds of Workplace Injury Cases We Take
- Construction Site Falls: Falls from ladders, scaffolds, roofs, and unprotected edges are among the most serious job site injuries. Where a general contractor, property owner, or another trade failed to provide proper fall protection or erect scaffolding correctly, a third-party claim may sit alongside your workers’ compensation benefits.
- Equipment, Crane, and Forklift Accidents: Warehouse and distribution work is part of daily life around Kent, and forklift tip-overs, pinned workers, and crane or hoist failures can be caused by a negligent operator from another company or by a defective machine. Product liability claims can reach the manufacturer.
- Trench Collapses and Electrocution: Excavation cave-ins and contact with energized lines often point to a failure by someone other than your employer, such as a utility, a general contractor, or a site owner who controlled the work area.
- Work-Related Vehicle and Truck Crashes: Delivery drivers, field technicians, and anyone who drives for work can be hurt on I-5, SR 167, SR 516, or local Kent streets by a careless driver. The at-fault driver and any commercial carrier involved can be pursued in addition to workers’ compensation.
- Struck-By and Falling Object Injuries: Tools, materials, and loads dropped or swung by another company’s crew cause head, spine, and limb injuries on commercial and industrial sites.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries at Work: A fall, a blow, or a vehicle crash on the job can cause a brain injury whose symptoms are easy to miss at first and easy for insurers to dispute. We build the medical and vocational evidence needed to value an injury that may affect your ability to work for years.
- Premises Hazards for Non-Employees on a Work Site: Delivery drivers, vendors, and contractors visiting another company’s property can be hurt by wet floors, broken stairs, poor lighting, or unsafe loading areas, and may have a premises claim against the owner or manager.
- Fatal Workplace Accidents: When a worker dies, the personal representative of the estate can pursue a wrongful death action for the benefit of the surviving spouse or domestic partner and children, or if there are none, parents or siblings.
What to Do After a Job Injury in Kent
Get medical care first, and tell every provider that the injury happened at work so the records connect your condition to the incident. Report the injury to your employer promptly and in writing if you can. Workers’ compensation in Washington is run through the state, and your employer and your doctor both have roles in starting the claim, but you should not assume anyone else is keeping track of your paperwork. Keep your own copies of everything.
Then start preserving what only you can preserve. Photograph the spot where you were hurt, the equipment involved, and your injuries as they change. Write down the names of coworkers and anyone from other companies who was on site, because the identity of the other businesses present is often the key to a third-party claim. Note which company ran the site, who supplied the scaffolding or machinery, and who was giving directions. Do not sign anything from an insurer, and do not give a recorded statement to any insurance company other than what your workers’ compensation claim requires, without talking to a lawyer first. Adjusters ask questions designed to narrow your injuries or shift fault onto you.
Deadlines deserve attention early. A personal injury lawsuit in Washington generally must be started within three years, and wrongful death claims follow the same three-year rule counted from the date of death. A lawsuit counts as started by filing or by service, as long as the other step is completed within 90 days, so a missed second step can undo the timing. If a city, county, school district, or other government body may share responsibility, a formal tort claim on the required form must be presented to that entity first, followed by a 60-day waiting period before suit can be filed. Claims against local governments generally cannot be presented by email or fax. If your injury involves a construction defect rather than an ongoing job, a separate six-year limit tied to substantial completion of the improvement can apply.
If a third-party lawsuit becomes necessary, claims arising in Kent are typically heard in King County Superior Court, where a person living south of Seattle and I-90 will probably have the matter heard at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Smaller claims within the district court’s dollar limit can be filed in King County District Court, and the Maleng Regional Justice Center houses a South Division district court as well. Serious injury claims usually belong in Superior Court because their value exceeds district court limits.
How Workers’ Compensation and a Third-Party Claim Fit Together
Workers’ compensation pays medical treatment and partial wage replacement without regard to who was at fault, which is why it is faster and more predictable than a lawsuit. What it does not pay is compensation for pain, loss of enjoyment of life, or the full measure of lost future earnings. A third-party claim can. In Washington, damages in an injury case can include past and future medical care, lost wages and earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
The two tracks interact, so coordination matters. The state may have a right to recover part of what it paid out of your third-party recovery, and how that is handled affects what you actually keep. That is one reason we look at the whole picture before talking about numbers, not just the lawsuit in isolation.
Fault is also a live issue. Washington follows comparative fault, so if you are found partly responsible for what happened, your compensation is reduced by your percentage but you are not barred from recovering. Defense lawyers know this and often try to blame the injured worker for skipping a step or ignoring a warning. A company that wrote the schedule, supplied the equipment, or controlled the site rarely gets to put its safety failures entirely on the person who was hurt.
Questions About Kent Workplace Injury Claims
Can I sue my employer if I was hurt at work?
Generally not. Workers’ compensation is the main remedy against your own employer. The opportunity usually lies against other companies or people whose negligence contributed, such as a subcontractor, a property owner, a driver, or an equipment manufacturer.
What is a third-party claim?
It is a lawsuit or insurance claim against someone who is not your employer and who helped cause your injury. It can recover damages that workers’ compensation does not cover, including pain and suffering.
How long do I have to file?
Most personal injury lawsuits in Washington must be started within three years. Wrongful death claims also follow a three-year period from the date of death. Claims against government entities require a formal tort claim first and a 60-day waiting period, so those cases need attention sooner.
What if I was partly to blame?
Washington reduces your compensation by your share of fault but does not bar recovery. If you were found 30 percent responsible, you could still recover the remaining 70 percent of your damages.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
The first consultation is free and confidential. We handle injury cases on a contingency fee, so you owe no attorney fee unless we recover money for you.
Do I need a lawyer if workers’ compensation is already paying my bills?
If anyone besides your employer contributed to the injury, yes, it is worth a conversation. Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering or full lost earning capacity, and a third-party claim has its own deadlines that keep running while your benefits are paid.
What if my injury happened because of defective equipment?
A product liability claim against the maker or seller may be possible. Washington sets a three-year limit from when you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the harm and its cause, and a presumption arises that a product’s useful safe life has ended if the harm occurred more than twelve years after delivery, though that presumption can be rebutted. Preserve the equipment and do not let anyone repair or discard it.
Can a brain injury from a workplace accident be part of the claim?
Yes. Brain injuries may not show clearly on a scan and insurers often dispute them. Prompt diagnosis, consistent treatment records, and vocational evidence about how the injury affects your work are central to valuing the claim.
What if a family member died in a workplace accident?
The personal representative of the estate can bring a wrongful death action for the benefit of the spouse or state registered domestic partner and children, including stepchildren. If there are none, parents or siblings may be the beneficiaries. The estate may also pursue a survival claim for the injury the worker suffered before death.
Should I give a recorded statement to an insurance company?
You are generally not required to give one to an at-fault party’s insurer, and it is wise to speak with a lawyer first. Having spent years on the defense side, our attorneys know how those statements get used against injured people.
Will I have to go to trial?
Most cases settle, but we build every one as if it will be tried, because insurers pay more fairly when they know the lawyer across the table is ready to go to court.
Can you meet with me if I cannot travel?
Yes. If your injuries make travel hard, we will come to you at home or at the hospital at a time that works for you.
Serving Kent and Surrounding King County Communities
We represent injured workers and their families across Kent, from the East Hill and West Hill neighborhoods and the Valley Floor warehouse and industrial districts to the Meridian area and the communities along SR 516 and SR 167. Our reach extends to neighboring Renton, Auburn, Covington, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Des Moines, SeaTac, and Tukwila, and north into Seattle and across Lake Washington to Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, and Issaquah. Whether your injury happened on a construction site, in a distribution center, on a delivery route along I-5, or at a commercial property anywhere in King County, we can meet you where you are and explain which options may be open to you.
Talk With a Kent Workplace Injury Lawyer
If you were hurt on the job and want to know whether someone other than your employer should be held responsible, our team is ready to talk with you. A conversation with a Kent workplace injury lawyer at Injury Law Group NW costs nothing, is confidential, and carries no obligation. We will listen to what happened, explain how workers’ compensation and a third-party claim could work together in your situation, and tell you plainly what we see. Call or text us to schedule your free consultation. We give hope. We get results.
