Personal Injury
Personal Injury & Catastrophic Claims & Litigation
At Crane Dunham PLLC, we’re proud of the work we do for victims of serious and catastrophic injuries and the loved ones of victims of wrongful death. Crane Dunham PLLC recognizes the turmoil and grief that our clients endure, and we handle each case with sensitivity, care and proven trial and settlement strategies. With our approach to personal injury litigation in Washington State, clients have recovered the compensation they need to move forward after a life-altering event. We also associate with attorneys and law firms located in other states and other countries when the need arises.
We Specialize in the Following Areas
- Personal injury
- Wrongful death
- Construction accidents
- Product liability
- Automobile accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Clergy sexual abuse
- Workplace injuries
- Sexual harassment
- Professional malpractice
Regardless of why a new client comes to us, Crane Dunham PLLC treats each one with respect and care. We are proud of our clients because, in addition to coping with their injuries, they have decided to seek justice for themselves, their families and others who may be in the same situation. Our work involves prompt service, thorough explanation of the legal process and proven successes. Our success in the courtroom is due to the approach we take toward our clients. Juries are sensitive to our sincerity and the respect we give clients.
Crane Dunham PLLC is known for its record of success and its sensitive representation of each client. Because of our reputation, we receive referrals from both plaintiff and defense attorneys. Martindale-Hubbell®* lists us as an “AV®*” firm, the highest possible rating, due to our ethical approach and our history of success as presented in Seattle’s Top Lawyers. While we are proud of our reputation within the legal community, more relevant is the respect we have earned from our clients.
Serious and Catastrophic Personal Injury
We specialize in representing people who are victims of permanent severe or disabling injury due to another’s negligence or misconduct. Many of our clients have experienced serious burns, brain or spinal cord injuries, herniated disks, amputations, scars, nerve or eye injuries, debilitating fractures and many other types of injuries. Our attorneys have helped people who have received these injuries from a long list of potential events, including automobile, motorcycle or bicycle accidents; injuries or death as a result of a plane crash; or while simply walking down the street. Clients sometimes come to us because they were bitten by dogs or injured on another’s premises, such as in stair collapses, walkway incidents or construction site accidents.
We also help people seriously injured by defective products or poisoned by exposure to toxic substances. Because we have expertise in a broad range of injuries and their causes, we have proven strategies that work in personal injury litigation in Washington State. We have a reputation for trial and settlement success and are not intimidated by any adversary.
Wrongful Death
Losing a family member is a terrible experience. Lawsuits arise when circumstances leading to that loss could have been avoided. We have helped many clients who seek justice for their deceased family members. Although we cannot erase our clients’ grief, we can help them seek compensation because their lives are emotionally and financially impacted by their loss. Successful lawsuits may also bring about change so others will not be similarly affected.
Clergy Sexual Abuse
Allegations of sexual abuse involving houses of worship have been increasingly more apparent. Crane Dunham PLLC understands the pain and sensitivity that this situation can garner as it is disturbing. Our firm has successfully handled these types of cases.
Product Liability
Our firm has represented individuals who have been injured as a result of an unsafe product that was designed, manufactured, sold and/or furnished by a person or company. We assist those injured individuals in bringing their claims and being fairly compensated for their injuries through personal injury litigation. Our attorneys represent individuals injured by machinery and tools, medical products and devices, motor vehicles, recreational and other products.
Aviation Accidents
Crane Dunham PLLC represents victims of aviation disasters, and their surviving families, concerning major commercial airlines and aviation crashes involving both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. We have experience in dealing with acquisition of key evidence related to accident investigation processes and procedures of regulatory agencies, including procedures of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Bicycle Accidents
More and more people have taken up bicycling for recreational use and, increasingly, as a primary vehicle for commuting or urban transportation in the Puget Sound area. When bicyclists are involved in a collision with a motorized vehicle, the results are predictably serious. At Crane Dunham PLLC, we feel very strongly about protecting the rights of bicyclists.
Certainly, cyclists have an obligation to operate sensibly and within the law. However, when they do so, the fact is they can be more difficult for other motorists to see, but that is no excuse for not seeing them. This is especially true because they are for the most part unprotected. Bicyclists have a legal right to be on the streets, roads and highways and the failure to provide them those rights results in legal responsibility of the motorist.
Since the injuries are often serious, we work closely with our clients’ doctors in order to have a full and complete understanding of the extent of the injuries, the potential for recovery, the impact on wage-earning potential and the future. We then include those factors in the evaluation we present to the insurance company or, if necessary, the jury. We always develop each case on the assumption that it will go to trial, even though the insurance companies settle many of the cases we handle.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists have an obligation to operate their cycle sensibly and within the law. Motorcyclists are, relatively speaking, largely unprotected. That, coupled with the fact that motorcyclists can often be difficult to see, does not mean that the motorist in a larger vehicle is somehow less responsible for being alert and on the lookout for nearby motorcycles. Motorcyclists are legally allowed to ride on the streets, roads and highways, and should their rights be violated, assuming the motorcyclist was riding his or her motorcycle in a responsible manner, responsibility for the accident often times is attributed to the motorist of the automobile or other, larger vehicle.
Since the injuries are often serious, we maintain close contact with our clients’ medical providers so that we can better understand the patient’s medical condition and extent of their injuries, the projected ability to recover from these injuries, the impact on the patient’s financial status and future quality-of-life issues. We take this information and factor it in to our evaluation that we present to the insurance company or, if necessary, the jury. We work on each case assuming that we will take the client’s case to trial, even though, in many cases, insurance companies decide instead to settle out of court.
If you have been seriously injured, please do not wait to contact an attorney. We welcome you to review our attorneys’ credentials. We look forward to the opportunity to review your legal matter to determine if Crane Dunham PLLC can help you with your personal injury claim.
Professional Malpractice
Our firm has represented individuals involved in professional malpractice. A professional is a person who holds themselves to be an expert in some type of field. Some examples of professional practices include medical, dental, architect or engineer, attorney, chiropractor and more. Professional malpractice is usually litigated under a negligence theory. The plaintiff must show that the defendant failed to exercise the level of care of a reasonable and prudent person under similar circumstances. Our attorneys have successfully represented individuals in numerous types of professional malpractice cases.