5 things to know
What stands out in Washington
The rules people most often get wrong, and the ones that changed recently.
Three years, but government claims need a form and a wait
Washington gives three years for most injury claims. A claim against a city, county or the State needs a tort claim form first, presented within that period, and then 60 days must pass before a lawsuit can be filed. The limitation period is paused during those 60 days.
RCW 4.16.080(2); RCW 4.96.020; RCW 4.92.110PIP is offered with every policy
Insurers must offer personal injury protection, and it stays on the policy unless a named insured rejects it in writing. It pays medical bills, at least $10,000, without waiting for anyone to decide who was at fault.
RCW 48.22.085; RCW 48.22.095; Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner, “Personal injury protection (PIP)”Being impaired can end your claim
Sharing fault normally only reduces a claim in Washington. But if the injured person was under the influence, that contributed to the injury, and they were more than 50 percent at fault, it is a complete defense.
RCW 5.40.060Rideshare underinsured coverage is lower than many pages say
While a passenger is in the vehicle, the required underinsured motorist coverage is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident. The $1,000,000 figure applies to liability coverage, not to this.
RCW 46.72B.180(1)(b)No punitive damages in ordinary injury cases
Washington courts do not award punitive damages unless a statute expressly allows them. Injury claims here are about compensation for actual losses.
Dailey v. North Coast Life Ins. Co., 129 Wn.2d 572 (1996)
6 rules
Deadlines
The lawsuit deadline is the one everyone has heard of. The others are the ones that get missed.
The clocks that can be running
More than one deadline can apply to the same event. The bars share one scale: the full width is 3 years.
Notice to your own insurer
Right away Policies require prompt notice of a crash.
Claims against a government agency
- Washington
- 60 day wait after the form, before a lawsuit
Deadline to sue for an injury
- Washington
- 3 years
Deadline for a claim under your own policy
Its own deadline It runs on your policy’s terms and on rules of its own, and it is not always longer than the lawsuit deadline.
- Deadline to sue for an injury
- Three years for most injury claims.RCW 4.16.080(2)
- Deadline to sue after a death
- Three years, generally counted from the date of death.RCW 4.16.080(2); Atchison v. Great Western Malting Co., 161 Wn.2d 372 (2007)
- Deadline for vehicle and property damage
- Three years for damage to a vehicle or other personal property.RCW 4.16.080(2)
- Claims against a government agency
- Before suing a city, county or other local government, you must present a tort claim form to its designated agent and then wait 60 calendar days. Claims against the State go to the Office of Risk Management with the same 60 day wait. The form has to be presented within the normal limitation period, and that period is paused during the 60 days.RCW 4.96.020; RCW 4.92.100; RCW 4.92.110
- If the injured person is under 18
- If the injured person was under 18 when the claim arose, the time before their 18th birthday generally does not count. This does not extend the deadline in a wrongful death case, because that claim belongs to the personal representative of the estate, not to the child.RCW 4.16.190; Atchison v. Great Western Malting Co., 161 Wn.2d 372 (2007)
- Claims with different deadlines
- Assault and battery claims have a two year limit. Medical malpractice claims follow their own rules, including a one year discovery rule.RCW 4.16.100(1); RCW 4.16.350
1 rule
Fault
What happens to your claim when the other side says you were partly to blame.
Shared fault: an example
Two example shares of fault. In a real claim the share is decided from the evidence.
| State | Share of your damages you keep |
|---|---|
| Washington | 80% |
| State | Share of your damages you keep |
|---|---|
| Washington | 40% |
- If you were partly at fault
- Your share of fault reduces your damages by that percentage but does not bar your claim. One exception: an injured person who was under the influence can be barred entirely if that was a cause of the injury and they were more than 50 percent at fault.RCW 4.22.005; RCW 5.40.060
4 rules
Insurance
What drivers must carry, and the coverage on your own policy that pays when theirs does not.
- Minimum liability insurance drivers must carry
- $25,000 for the injury or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people, and $10,000 for property damage, in one accident.RCW 46.29.090
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
- A new auto policy must include underinsured motorist coverage, which in Washington also covers uninsured, hit and run and phantom vehicles, unless the named insured or spouse rejected it in writing.RCW 48.22.030
- Coverage for your own medical bills
- Insurers must offer personal injury protection (PIP) with every auto policy, and it can only be declined in writing. The minimum benefits are $10,000 for medical and hospital care, plus limited amounts for lost income, household services and funeral costs.RCW 48.22.085; RCW 48.22.095
- Hit and run and unidentified drivers
- When the other vehicle never touched yours (a phantom vehicle), your claim needs evidence beyond your own account, and the crash must be reported to law enforcement within 72 hours.RCW 48.22.030(8)
2 rules
After a crash
What the law requires of every driver at the scene and in the days after.
- Duties at the scene
- Stop, give your name, address, insurance company, policy number and license plate, show your driver’s license, and give reasonable help to anyone injured. In a crash with only property damage, move the vehicles off the road as soon as you can. Moving them does not affect who is at fault.RCW 46.52.020
- Reporting the crash
- If no officer investigates, a driver must file a collision report within four days when anyone is injured or killed, or when damage to any one person’s property is $1,000 or more.RCW 46.52.030; WAC 446-85-010
7 rules
Rideshare, trucks, motorcycles and pedestrians
Rules that apply to particular kinds of crashes.
- Rideshare driver logged in, no ride accepted
- At least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for injuries, and $30,000 for property damage, plus underinsured motorist coverage and PIP as state law requires.RCW 46.72B.180
- Rideshare driver heading to a rider or on a trip
- From the moment the driver accepts a ride until the passenger gets out: $1,000,000 in combined liability coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage of $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident applies while a passenger is in the vehicle, and PIP applies as state law requires.RCW 46.72B.180
- Commercial trucks
- Washington applies the federal motor carrier safety rules, including driver hours, inspections and insurance, to carriers that operate only inside the state as well as those crossing state lines. The federal minimum for hauling general freight across state lines is $750,000 in liability coverage.WAC 446-65-010; 49 C.F.R. § 387.9
- Motorcycle helmets
- Required for every operator and passenger.RCW 46.37.530
- Riding between lanes
- Not allowed. A motorcycle may not travel between lanes of traffic or between rows of vehicles.RCW 46.61.608
- Pedestrians in a crosswalk
- A driver must stop and stay stopped for a pedestrian in a marked or unmarked crosswalk who is on, or within one lane of, the driver’s half of the road.RCW 46.61.235
- Crossing outside a crosswalk
- A pedestrian crossing anywhere else must yield to vehicles. Drivers still have to use due care to avoid hitting anyone on the road.RCW 46.61.240; RCW 46.61.245
3 rules
Unsafe property, dogs and alcohol
When a property owner, a dog owner or a bar can be responsible.
- Injuries on someone else’s property
- What the owner owed you depends on why you were there. A business must use reasonable care about dangers it knows of or should discover. You do not always have to prove the owner knew about the specific hazard if it was reasonably foreseeable given how the business operates.Younce v. Ferguson, 106 Wn.2d 658 (1986); Tincani v. Inland Empire Zoological Society, 124 Wn.2d 121 (1994); Johnson v. Liquor & Cannabis Board, 197 Wn.2d 605 (2021)
- Dog bites
- The owner is liable for a bite to someone in a public place or lawfully on private property, even if the dog had never shown aggression before. Proof that the injured person provoked the attack is a complete defense.RCW 16.08.040; RCW 16.08.060
- Bars and others who serve alcohol
- A business that serves someone who is apparently under the influence can be liable to a person that customer then injures.RCW 66.44.200; Barrett v. Lucky Seven Saloon, Inc., 152 Wn.2d 259 (2004)
2 rules
When someone has died
Who is allowed to bring the claim, and the separate claim that belongs to the estate.
- Who can bring a wrongful death claim
- The personal representative of the estate files the claim. It is for the benefit of the spouse or state registered domestic partner and the children, including stepchildren. If there are none, it is for the parents or siblings.RCW 4.20.010; RCW 4.20.020
- Claim on behalf of the person who died
- Separate survival claims let the estate pursue what the person could have claimed had they lived.RCW 4.20.046; RCW 4.20.060
Guides
Each guide compares Washington with the other two states.
Tools
Every Washington deadline on one page, and tools that apply these rules to a situation you describe.
Sources
Primary sources for the rules on this page. Checked on the dates shown.
- RCW 4.16.080(2) (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.16.080(2); Atchison v. Great Western Malting Co., 161 Wn.2d 372 (2007) (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.96.020; RCW 4.92.100; RCW 4.92.110 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.16.190; Atchison v. Great Western Malting Co., 161 Wn.2d 372 (2007) (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.16.100(1); RCW 4.16.350 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.22.005; RCW 5.40.060 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.29.090 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 48.22.030 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 48.22.085; RCW 48.22.095 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 48.22.030(8) (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.52.020 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.52.030; WAC 446-85-010 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.72B.180 (checked October 3, 2026)
- WAC 446-65-010; 49 C.F.R. § 387.9 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.37.530 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.61.608 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.61.235 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 46.61.240; RCW 46.61.245 (checked October 3, 2026)
- Younce v. Ferguson, 106 Wn.2d 658 (1986); Tincani v. Inland Empire Zoological Society, 124 Wn.2d 121 (1994); Johnson v. Liquor & Cannabis Board, 197 Wn.2d 605 (2021) (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 16.08.040; RCW 16.08.060 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 66.44.200; Barrett v. Lucky Seven Saloon, Inc., 152 Wn.2d 259 (2004) (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.20.010; RCW 4.20.020 (checked October 3, 2026)
- RCW 4.20.046; RCW 4.20.060 (checked October 3, 2026)
This site gives general legal information. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney client relationship. Deadlines depend on the facts. Some are much shorter than the general rule. Do not rely on this page to decide how long you can wait.
