All posts by Héctor E. Quiroga

Washington law allows compensation in personal injury, wrongful death claims if your spouse, child, or parent became seriously injured or even killed in an accident that someone else caused, they may have standing to sue for those damages. You may also file a lawsuit seeking compensation for the lost wages, medical bills, and/or pain and suffering.
But what about your suffering? What about the sexual relationship you had with your spouse that, since the accident, is gone? What about the trips you used to take together that now you’ll have to take without your spouse, or the invaluable advice your dad provided that he can no longer give to you?
How much are these untangible losses worth? In some states, nothing at all. But residents of Washington state may be eligible to sue for “loss of consortium,” or the loss of companionship or intimacy experienced from a family member’s death or injury.

Washington law allows insurers to pay for third party diminution of value Would you pay the full amount for a used car or truck that had been in an accident? Probably not. Certain types of auto accidents can cause damage far beyond what the eye can see. The best repair job in the world, with all new parts, may not compensate for the loss you suffered at the moment of impact — the loss in your vehicle’s value.
Because, with repair information readily at hand thanks to such online sites as Carfax™, you can bet that anyone who buys the vehicle from you is going to offer less than if the accident had not occurred. In addition, if the buyer asks if the vehicle has ever been in an accident, you cannot misrepresent the facts.
Do you think the accident will become a bargaining tool for a perspective buyer? Get a written quote to document the Diminished Vale of your car That’s why, after an accident in which you’re not at fault (you are the third party making the claim against the at fault carrier that covers the at fault driver), one of the first things you should do is get an estimate from a good auto dealer.
Have the dealer write down for you the amount he or she would have paid for the vehicle before the accident, and the amount it is worth to him or her now. How much would they be willing to give you for the vehicle if the vehicle was not in a collision, and how much would they be willing to give you after the collision (despite the fact the vehicle is properly repaired).

Today I would like to talk to you about gym liability for injuries or gym owner liability. People like to work out and when they go to the gym, the question is when they get injured what liability does the gym owner has?
Some order management has, what duties do they have to follow to ensure that their clients or customers are safe. Well, this is kind of a “to follow” question. One is typically, a smart gym owner would have a liability waiver or a disclaimer on which you would waive any claim against the gym owner for an injury that happens during a workout. So the first questions is, are these waivers, these waivers or liability, are they enforceable?
Number one, the waiver has to be done very carefully, very well drafted. It can’t just be a form that is sort of downloaded off the internet. It can be a form downloaded off the internet but if it is not applicable to the State of Washington or local laws, a good lawyer may be able to set it aside. Without that waiver the gym owner is fully liable on anything that happens because they have to protect the consumer from any foreseeable harm.
And anybody who is straining too much on a workout could–is foreseeable that they might get injured, that they might get strained, or they might pull their back, or whatever may be the case. So this waiver is sort of the gatekeeper in many ways, between the gym owner, the gym management, and their consumers. Now, there are requirements for the waiver of course, the one who signs it has to have capacity, not just age–18 or over, but they have to have capacity to sign, which most people do.

Custody in Washington state is only a word — in most cases.
As we said in a recent post, when a couple with children divorces the state requires designation of one parent as the custodial parent, mostly so the federal government can determine aid. Both parents can’t claim the child when applying for assistance with food or medical costs, for instance. When the child goes to college, the designated parent will be the one whose income is considered for the purposes of financial aid, as well.
Usually, however, which parent gets custody has little bearing on any aspect of the divorcing couple’s lives or their children’s. The exception: when one of the parents decides to move away, and wants to take the children.
Such a move can be heartbreaking for the non-custodial parent. Worse, it may be detrimental to the child’s best interests — which is why Washington law requires that the custodial parent give 60 days’ advance notice to the noncustodial parent, so the matter can, if needed, be settled by the court.

Landlords need a strong lease. Too often, they figure that out when it’s too late.
The most laid-back person in the world may regret not having a lease when the person renting his or her house, apartment, or office space stops paying the rent, and there’s no way to evict that person without filing a lawsuit. It could take a year to get the renter to vacate the property.
Even a month-to-month verbal agreement won’t protect the landlord when the tenant moves out and leaves behind a pile of belongings. What to do with the stuff? The law says the landlord has to store it, and give the renter a chance to retrieve it. Without a lease, the landlord may not be able to recoup storage costs.
If the renter trashes the place? Without a lease, good luck getting compensated for the damages. The same goes for a property-condition checklist: the renter has to have one in hand to get his or her damage deposit back, but the landlord needs it, as well, to prove the condition of the property at move-in.

If you’re having trouble making your house payments, your bank might not be the best place to turn for help. Contrary to what many think however, filing bankruptcy may be a possible solution.
A Chapter 13 plan can be an option to save your home from foreclosure in Spokane
First, the banks: It’s not that they can’t help you. Mortgage assistance programs are designed to help people stay in their homes. The Obama administration’s Making Home Affordable program. We take a brief look at this program.
I’ve heard from many frustrated clients who say they’ve spent hours on the phone with banks, especially larger institutions, who seem to be giving them the runaround. They might steer the borrower to the proper paperwork but then, once it’s filed, fail to answer or return follow-up calls. Or they might claim that timely applications were late, and require the lender to start the process all over again. Or they might claim after the fact that something extra was needed to make the claim viable, such as sending by certified mail.