Hurt, wronged, or owed money
THINKING ABOUT SUING
What Washington law says about the time to bring a claim, by the kind of claim, and about the court that hears small ones. Every period here is one the guide already states, with the section it comes from and the law that section cites.
A period runs from the event its statute names. When that event happened, and whether anything paused the count, are facts a lawyer applies; whether a claim is worth bringing is a question for one too. Nothing here answers either.
THE TIME TO SUE
An injury to a person
Hurt in a fall, a crash, a dog bite, or by somebody's carelessness.
3 years
Suing for an injury to the person
- From
- The injury
An action for any other injury to the person or rights of another not listed elsewhere is commenced within three years.
Damage to property
A car, a phone, a fence, or anything else damaged or taken.
3 years
Suing over personal property taken or damaged
- From
- The claim accruing
An action for taking, detaining or injuring personal property, including an action to get it back, must be started within three years.
A written contract
A signed agreement, a lease, a written estimate or invoice.
6 years
Suing on a written contract or an account receivable
- From
- The claim accruing
A claim on a written contract, or on an account receivable, must be started within six years.
A contract not in writing
A deal made in words or a handshake, or an account with no signed paper.
3 years
Suing on a contract not in writing
- From
- The claim accruing
A claim on a contract not in writing must be started within three years, the same as injury to the person or to personal property.
A CLAIM AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT
A claim against a public body often has a step of its own before a lawsuit, and a shorter period for it. These are the ones the Washington guide carries, in the order they come. A body none of them names is not covered here yet.
Step 1
60 calendar days
The wait after a claim against a local government
- From
- Presenting the claim
No lawsuit may be started until sixty calendar days after the claim is first presented on the standard tort claim form, and the limitation period is tolled during those sixty days.
SMALL CLAIMS COURT
The limit in Washington
Up to ten thousand dollars for a person
RCW 12.40.010 — $10,000 for a person, and no lawyers without the judge's consent
WHAT TO HAVE TOGETHER
Whoever looks at a claim, a lawyer, a legal aid office or a small claims clerk, works from the same handful of facts. These are the ones people are most often asked for, gathered in one place.
When and where it happened
The date, the time if you know it, and the place, as exactly as you can say it.
Who was involved
The person or business on the other side, and the name it uses on its papers or its sign.
What happened, in order
Written down while it is fresh, in your own words, with what was said.
What it cost
Bills, receipts, estimates, repair quotes, and days of work missed, each with its amount.
Photos and papers
Pictures of the place, the damage or the injury, and every letter, contract, receipt or email.
Witnesses
Who saw it, and a phone number or address for each.
Reports already made
A police or incident report, a claim number with an insurer, or a complaint to an agency.
Insurance
Your own policy, and any insurer for the other side that you have been told about.
Keep it in one place
A case keeps all of it together in your account: what happened and when, what it cost, the people involved, every photo and paper kept privately, and one folder ready to download or send to a lawyer.
MyRightz is legal education, not legal advice. Nothing here creates an attorney client relationship. Applying the law to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Washington attorney.