Kirkland E-Bike Accident Lawyer — A Child Was Seriously Injured in Totem Lake, and the Family Has Questions No One Is Answering
Your child is at Harborview. You are reading this between the trauma bay and the waiting room, or at 2 a.m. in a chair that doesn’t recline, or sitting at your kitchen table in Totem Lake with a phone full of voicemails from numbers you don’t recognize. Someone from the other driver’s insurance has already called — once, maybe twice — and the voice was warm, professional, and wrong. You did not imagine what you saw at NE 124th Street and 109th Court NE. Your child was on an electric bicycle, and a passenger vehicle hit your child, and the police closed westbound lanes of NE 124th Street to map the scene. Your child was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injuries. That is not a sentence you wanted to read about your own kid, and it is the sentence we are going to work with.
We are the trial team at Attorney911 — The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC. We take catastrophic-injury cases in Washington State, including child e-bike collisions in the Eastside corridor. We have written this page for one reason: to arm you before the insurance company arms itself against you. Everything that follows is the answer we would give you across the kitchen table if you called us tonight — the law, the evidence, the deadlines, the things the adjuster will not tell you, and the questions you have not yet thought to ask.
This is not a brochure. This is the playbook.
What We Know About the Totem Lake E-Bike Collision
On the afternoon of June 20, 2026, a child riding an electric bicycle was struck by a passenger vehicle at the intersection of NE 124th Street and 109th Court NE, in the Totem Lake neighborhood of Kirkland, King County, Washington. The Kirkland Police Department closed westbound lanes and the turn lanes on NE 124th Street for an extended period while officers conducted a forensic mapping of the scene. The child was transported to Harborview Medical Center — the region’s only Level I trauma center — with what police described as serious injuries. The investigation is ongoing and, as of this writing, focused on the point of impact and the pre-collision speeds of both vehicles.
That is the public record as we have it. Here is what the public record does not yet say — and what we will be working to find out in the days and weeks ahead:
- The driver’s conduct in the seconds before impact. Speeding, distraction, failure to yield, impairment, or a simple failure to see a child on a bicycle. Washington law treats each of these very differently, and the difference is measured in dollars.
- The vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (EDR) data. Modern passenger vehicles record speed, braking, throttle, and steering input in the seconds before a crash. That data is the most honest witness at the scene. It can be overwritten if the vehicle is repaired or scrapped.
- The e-bike’s status under Washington law. Washington categorizes electric-assisted bicycles into three classes under its e-bike statute, and the class determines where the bike may legally be ridden, what speed is permitted, and what equipment is required. The investigation must determine which class the child’s bike fell under.
- The surveillance footage from nearby businesses. The Village at Totem Lake and the surrounding commercial strips generate high volumes of vehicles and pedestrians. Many nearby businesses operate exterior security cameras that capture the approach to the intersection. That footage typically overwrites on a 7-to-14-day cycle.
- The driver’s cell phone records. If the driver was on a call, texting, or scrolling in the seconds before impact, the cell phone carrier has the records. The preservation letter must be sent immediately, before the carrier’s standard retention window closes.
Each of these facts is recoverable. None of them can wait three months.
Who We Are and Why a Trial Firm Built in Texas Is Writing About a Crash in Kirkland
We are The Manginello Law Firm, PLLC, doing business as Attorney911. Our principal office is in Houston, Texas, but we take catastrophic-injury and wrongful-death cases in Washington State, working with local counsel where the court requires it and appearing pro hac vice in matters that demand it. The reason we are writing this page is not geography — it is the fact that the legal machinery around a serious child injury is the same machinery in every state, and we have been running that machinery for more than two decades.
Ralph P. Manginello, our managing partner, has been a licensed trial attorney in Texas since November 6, 1998 — twenty-seven years and counting, including federal-court practice in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Ralph was a journalist before he became a lawyer, and that background shows up in how our firm builds a case: we do not wait for discovery to learn the story, we go find it. Lupe Peña, our associate attorney, is a former insurance-defense lawyer who spent years on the other side of the table, inside the rooms where adjusters and their software decide how to value claims exactly like yours. Lupe now uses that knowledge for the people the system was built to underpay — and he does it in fluent Spanish, conducting full consultations without an interpreter.
You can read more about Ralph Manginello’s background and practice and Lupe Peña’s transition from defense to plaintiff practice. The point of telling you this is simple: when you call our firm about a crash in Kirkland, the people you talk to are not generalists who read about e-bike law yesterday. They are trial lawyers who have cross-examined insurance experts, fought spoliation motions, and built cases that ended in seven-figure resolutions for catastrophically injured people.
The Real Questions a Kirkland Family Asks After a Child E-Bike Crash — Answered Directly
You are not looking for a five-thousand-word essay. You are looking for straight answers to the questions that are keeping you awake. Here are the questions real families type into a phone at 2 a.m., and the answers we give them on the first call.
Is the driver of the car automatically at fault?
No, and we will never tell you that they are — because the truth is more useful than a promise. Under Washington law, fault is determined by a jury applying a pure comparative-fault standard (codified at RCW 4.22.005). That means a jury will assign a percentage of fault to each party, and the injured person’s recovery is reduced by their own percentage of fault. But here is what the adjuster will not tell you: Washington law also recognizes what trial lawyers call the “vulnerable road user” doctrine, and the common-law duty to maintain a proper lookout. A driver of a passenger vehicle — an enclosed, multi-ton machine with airbags, crumple zones, and steel frame — owes a heightened duty of care to a child on a bicycle. When the driver hits the child, the legal question is not whether the driver might possibly share some fault with the child. The legal question is whether the driver was doing the basic things a reasonable driver does: watching the road, obeying the speed limit, yielding the right-of-way, and seeing what was there to be seen. At a commercial intersection in a shopping district, in broad daylight, on a street the driver uses regularly, the answer to that question is almost always uncomfortable for the defense.
What about my child — could the child be found at fault?
Washington law applies a “child’s standard of care” to minors. Children under the age of six are generally deemed incapable of negligence. For older children, the question is not whether the child behaved the way a reasonable adult would have behaved — it is whether the child behaved the way a reasonable child of the same age, intelligence, and experience would have behaved. A jury in King County is not going to hold a twelve-year-old to the standard of a commercial driver’s license holder. And the law explicitly recognizes that children do not perceive risk the way adults do, do not process traffic the way adults do, and do not have the experience to anticipate the mistakes of drivers around them. If the defense tries to blame your child, our answer is that the law was written precisely to prevent that.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit?
Washington’s general statute of limitations for personal-injury claims is three years from the date of the injury. For a minor child, that clock is tolled — meaning it does not begin to run — until the child turns eighteen. So if your child is ten, the practical deadline is eleven years from the date of the crash. That sounds like a long time. It is not. Evidence disappears in days. Witness memories fade in months. The investigation we conduct in the first seventy-two hours is what determines whether the case is winnable when your child turns eighteen — or whether the file has gone cold and the defendant’s insurance company has spent a decade telling its adjusters that “no one has filed suit, so there is no exposure.”
How much is the case worth?
Honest answer: it depends on the injuries. If your child has a clean recovery and is back to school in a few weeks with no lasting effects, the case value is modest — primarily the medical bills, the out-of-pocket costs, and a small amount for the pain and inconvenience. If your child suffered a traumatic brain injury, orthopedic trauma requiring surgery, permanent scarring, or any lasting neurological or psychological injury, the case value climbs dramatically. In King County, juries have returned multi-million-dollar verdicts for catastrophically injured children. Washington State has no statutory cap on non-economic damages — the Washington Supreme Court held in Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp. that such caps violate the state constitution. That ruling is the single biggest legal advantage your family has in a case like this, and it is why insurance companies fight so hard to settle these cases before a jury is ever empaneled.
What if the driver has no insurance or only minimum coverage?
Washington’s minimum liability limits are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. For a single night in the Harborview ICU, those limits can be exhausted before your child leaves the emergency department. If the at-fault driver carries only the minimum, your recovery may be limited to that policy — unless your own auto policy includes underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage. UIM coverage steps in when the at-fault driver’s policy is not enough to cover the harm. We will help you identify every available coverage layer, including the at-fault driver’s policy, the vehicle owner’s policy (if different from the driver), your own UIM coverage, and any umbrella or excess policies that may apply. Knowing which policies exist, in what order they pay, and what their combined ceiling is — that is half the value of the case.
Do I have to pay anything up front?
No. We work on contingency. You pay nothing unless we recover money for your family. If we settle the case before filing a lawsuit, our fee is 33.33% of the gross recovery. If the case proceeds through trial, our fee is 40%. There is no retainer, no hourly billing, and no surprise invoice. The free consultation is free, the case evaluation is free, and the investigation is free. We advance the costs of records, experts, and filing fees, and we recover those costs out of the settlement or verdict at the end.
Washington’s E-Bike Law — RCW 46.61.710 and Why the Bike’s Class Matters
Washington’s electric-assisted bicycle statute, RCW 46.61.710, divides e-bikes into three classes. Understanding the class of the bike your child was riding is not an academic exercise — it determines what duties the driver owed, where the bike was legally permitted to be, and how the defense will try to argue the case.
- Class 1 e-bikes are pedal-assist only — the motor provides assistance only when the rider is pedaling, and the motor cuts off at twenty miles per hour. Class 1 bikes may be ridden on roads and bike paths, and in many cases on sidewalks where bicycles are permitted.
- Class 2 e-bikes have a throttle that can propel the bike without pedaling, and the motor cuts off at twenty miles per hour. The rules on where they may be ridden vary by jurisdiction.
- Class 3 e-bikes are pedal-assist only (no throttle), and the motor cuts off at twenty-eight miles per hour. Class 3 bikes are generally restricted to roadways and designated bike lanes; they may not be ridden on most sidewalks or bike paths.
Kirkland Municipal Code may add further restrictions on where motorized personal mobility devices may be operated in the Totem Lake business district — particularly on sidewalks adjacent to commercial frontages. The investigation must determine which class the child’s bike fell under, whether the bike was in compliance with the applicable equipment requirements, and whether the bike was being operated in a location where the law permitted it to be. Each of these facts can either help or hurt the case, and we find out which one it is before we let the defense frame it for us.
The larger point — the one that matters to your family tonight — is that the class of the bike does not change the fundamental legal question: did the driver see the child, and did the driver do what a reasonable driver would have done to avoid the collision? A child on a Class 3 e-bike traveling at twenty-five miles per hour on a residential arterial still has the legal right to be there, and the driver still has the duty not to hit them.
Pure Comparative Fault in Washington — Why Your Child’s Age Protects the Recovery
Washington is one of a minority of states that follows a pure comparative-fault model. Under RCW 4.22.005, an injured person may recover damages even if they are largely at fault for their own injuries — their recovery is simply reduced by their percentage of fault. A child who is found twenty percent at fault still recovers eighty percent of the damages. There is no bar, no threshold, no “if you are more than fifty percent at fault you get nothing” rule. That distinction sounds technical. It is the difference between a meaningful recovery and an empty one in cases where the defense can point to any conduct by the child that fell short of perfection.
For minors, the analysis is even more favorable. Washington’s common law applies a child’s standard of care — the conduct of a reasonable child of the same age, intelligence, and experience under the same circumstances. A jury cannot hold a child to an adult standard. A jury cannot require a child to anticipate the negligence of a driver in a multi-ton vehicle. And in King County — a jury pool that includes parents, teachers, pediatricians, coaches, and people who have watched their own children learn to navigate traffic — the application of that standard is the single most powerful protection your family has against the defense’s effort to shift blame onto the victim.
The Vulnerable Road User Doctrine — Washington’s Special Protection for Children and Cyclists
Washington law has long recognized that drivers of motor vehicles owe a heightened duty of care to “vulnerable road users” — pedestrians, cyclists, and other individuals who are exposed and unprotected. The statutory and common-law framework treats the failure to see or yield to a vulnerable road user as a more serious breach of the duty of care than a similar failure with respect to another motor vehicle.
For a child on a bicycle, the doctrine is reinforced by something else: the reasonable expectation that children will be present in residential and commercial neighborhoods. Totem Lake is not an industrial zone. It is a mixed-use neighborhood with apartments, condos, single-family homes, schools, parks, and the Village at Totem Lake shopping center. Children ride bikes in Totem Lake. Drivers know that, or they are required to know that. A driver who claims not to have seen a child in a bicycle lane, on a residential arterial, in a neighborhood where children routinely ride — that driver is making an admission, not a defense.
Who Can Be Held Liable — The Full Stack of Potential Defendants
The driver of the passenger vehicle is the most obvious defendant, but in a serious child-injury case, the analysis goes deeper. We investigate every layer.
The Driver
The driver of the passenger vehicle may be liable for negligence, negligence per se (if they violated a specific traffic statute such as a speed limit, failure-to-yield, or distracted-driving rule), and for failing to maintain a proper lookout. Washington police reports and the Washington State Patrol’s collision report contain specific coding for the primary contributing circumstance of a crash — that coding is the first clue to which theory applies.
The Vehicle Owner
If the driver was not the owner of the vehicle, the owner may be liable under the doctrine of permissive use — the legal principle that an owner who allows another person to drive their car shares responsibility for that driver’s negligence. The owner may also be liable for negligent entrustment if they knew, or should have known, that the driver was unfit, inexperienced, or impaired.
The E-Bike Manufacturer
If the e-bike’s braking system, speed controller, or other component contributed to the inability to avoid the collision, the manufacturer may face product-liability exposure. Modern e-bikes contain electronic controllers, motor-assist modules, and battery management systems — any of which can fail in ways that prevent the rider from slowing or stopping. We inspect the bike. We retain it as evidence. We send a preservation letter to the manufacturer demanding the design specifications, the production records, and the warranty file.
The City of Kirkland
If the intersection’s design — sightline obstructions, signage, pavement markings, or signal timing — contributed to the crash, the City of Kirkland may face liability under Washington’s tort-claims framework. Government tort claims have strict notice deadlines, often as short as sixty to ninety days from the incident, so this is an analysis that must be conducted in the first week, not the first year.
Each of these defendants represents a different insurance tower, a different legal strategy, and a different source of recovery. The first job of any serious case is to identify every potential defendant. The second job is to make sure none of them slips out of the case before the statute of limitations runs.
The Evidence Clock — What Exists, Who Holds It, and How Fast It Disappears
This is the section of the page we wish every family would read on the first night, because the evidence in a case like this begins to disappear within hours — not months, not years, hours.
The Vehicle’s Event Data Recorder (EDR)
Most passenger vehicles manufactured since the early 2010s contain an Event Data Recorder — sometimes called the “black box.” The EDR captures speed, throttle position, brake application, steering input, and seatbelt status in the seconds before a crash. That data is the single most objective record of what the driver did in the moments before impact. It is also vulnerable: if the vehicle is repaired, the data can be overwritten. If the vehicle is scrapped, the data is gone. The preservation letter to the vehicle owner, the driver’s insurance company, and any repair facility must go out within the first seventy-two hours.
Surveillance Footage from Totem Lake Businesses
The Village at Totem Lake and the surrounding commercial strips are lined with businesses that operate exterior security cameras. Many of these cameras are high-definition, time-stamped, and positioned to capture the approach to the intersection of NE 124th Street and 109th Court NE. Footage from these systems typically overwrites on a 7-to-14-day cycle — meaning that if we do not send preservation letters to every business in the immediate area within the first week, the video is gone forever. We send the letters. We follow up with phone calls. We send process servers if the businesses do not respond.
The E-Bike Itself
The e-bike is evidence. It contains the motor controller, the battery management system, and potentially a telemetry module that recorded speed, motor engagement, and braking. That data must be downloaded before the bike is repaired, sold, or discarded. The bike must be impounded. We coordinate with the police to ensure the bike is held as evidence, and where the police release it, we arrange for our own expert to inspect and download the data.
The Driver’s Cell Phone Records
If the driver was using a cell phone at the moment of impact — calling, texting, scrolling, or even just looking at a notification — the cell phone carrier has the records. Cell phone carriers retain detailed records (tower connections, text message metadata, app usage) for varying periods, but the standard retention window can be as short as sixty to ninety days for some categories of data. The preservation letter to the carrier must demand that the records be held indefinitely pending litigation. The letter must be sent before the retention window closes.
The Police Report and 911 Recordings
The Kirkland Police Department will prepare a collision report. That report contains the officer’s narrative, the diagram of the scene, the witness statements, and the citation (if any) issued to the driver. The 911 recording — the call that brought police and medics to the scene — is a separate record, often more vivid and less sanitized than the written report. We obtain both.
The Medical Records
Harborview Medical Center’s records are the foundation of the damages case. They document the injury, the treatment, the imaging, and the prognosis. They are the proof that the injuries were serious, that they required the level of care they received, and that they will require future care. We obtain them with a HIPAA-compliant authorization, and we engage medical experts to interpret them.
“Washington follows a pure comparative-fault system. An injured person may recover damages even if they are partially at fault — their recovery is simply reduced by their percentage of fault.” — Codified at RCW 4.22.005.
The Insurance-Adjuster Playbook — Three Plays You Will See Within the Next Seven Days
The driver’s insurance company has a playbook. It runs on a clock. Here are the three plays you will encounter, and exactly what to do about each.
Play One: The Friendly Phone Call
Within the first week, often within the first seventy-two hours, an adjuster from the at-fault driver’s insurance company will call you. The voice will be warm. The adjuster will introduce themselves by first name. They will say they are “just checking in” and they want to “make sure your family is okay.” They will ask you to “just tell them what happened” — and they will be recording the call.
The recorded statement is the adjuster’s most powerful tool. It is engineered to get you to say things that can later be quoted out of context: “I’m feeling better” (when you mean compared to yesterday). “The pain isn’t that bad” (when you mean compared to what you expected). “My child is doing okay” (when you mean your child is alive, which is not the same as recovering). Every word of that call is a potential exhibit in the defense file.
The counter: Do not give a recorded statement. Refer the adjuster to your attorney. If you have not yet retained counsel, politely say, “I will not be giving a statement at this time,” and hang up. Then call us.
Play Two: The Quick Settlement Check
Within the first two to three weeks, often before your child has completed the initial course of treatment, the adjuster may offer a settlement. The number may seem large — it will be framed as “trying to help with the immediate bills.” The check will arrive with a release attached — a legal document that, once signed, ends your right to seek any further compensation for this injury. Forever.
The quick settlement is the adjuster’s second most powerful tool. It is designed to lock you into a number that reflects what the case looked like in the first ten days — before the specialist appointments, before the imaging, before the neuropsychological evaluation, before anyone knows whether your child has a permanent brain injury or a clean recovery. It is also designed to arrive at the moment you are most financially vulnerable, when the Harborview bills are stacking up and the paychecks are not.
The counter: Do not sign the release. Do not deposit the check. Call us. We will advise you on whether the offer reflects the actual value of the case, and we will handle the negotiation from a position of knowledge — not a position of panic.
Play Three: The Social Media Monitoring
Within the first month, the insurance company will begin monitoring your social media — and, more importantly, your child’s social media (if your child is old enough to have accounts). They will look for photos of your child smiling, playing, going back to school. They will look for any post that could be used to argue that the injury is not as serious as claimed.
This is not hypothetical. It is standard practice. The insurance defense industry has entire units dedicated to social-media surveillance of injury claimants.
The counter: Set your social media to private. Have your child do the same. Do not post photos, videos, or status updates about the injury, the recovery, or the case. Do not accept friend requests from people you do not know. If you would not want an insurance company lawyer to read it aloud to a jury, do not post it.
The Medical Reality — What “Serious Injuries” Looks Like in a Child E-Bike Crash
When the police describe a child’s injuries as “serious,” that label covers a wide spectrum — from a complex fracture that requires surgery and months of rehabilitation to a traumatic brain injury that alters the child’s cognitive development for the rest of their life. Each end of that spectrum produces a very different case.
Orthopedic Trauma
A child struck by a passenger vehicle can suffer fractures of the femur, pelvis, tibia, humerus, or — in severe cases — the spine. Treatment may involve surgical fixation with plates, screws, or rods; multiple follow-up procedures to remove hardware as the child grows; and months of physical therapy. The long-term consequences include growth-plate injuries that produce limb-length discrepancy, post-traumatic arthritis, and chronic pain. The economic cost of orthopedic trauma in a child can reach seven figures when projected over a lifetime of additional surgeries, revisions, and replacement procedures.
Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury in a child is the catastrophic injury that the law was built to address — and the injury that most insurance companies are built to deny. A “mild” TBI can present with a perfectly normal CT scan and a perfectly normal MRI. The symptoms — headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, cognitive fog, mood changes, short-term memory loss, sensitivity to light and noise — are real, life-altering, and invisible on standard imaging. The diagnosis requires neuropsychological testing, advanced imaging such as functional MRI or diffusion tensor imaging, and the careful documentation of the child’s pre-injury baseline.
If your child suffered a head injury in the Totem Lake crash, even if the initial scans were “normal,” the symptoms may emerge over weeks and months. Watch for changes in school performance, in mood, in sleep, in social behavior. Document everything. The medical record you build in the first six months is the foundation of the damages case.
Soft-Tissue and Internal Injuries
Abdominal trauma, chest injuries, and pelvic injuries are common in child pedestrian and cyclist collisions. Internal bleeding may not present for hours after the crash. The fact that your child was taken to Harborview — a Level I trauma center — and underwent the full trauma workup is itself evidence of the seriousness of the mechanism of injury. We will obtain and review every imaging study, every lab result, every consultation note.
Scarring and Disfigurement
A child who suffers road rash, lacerations, or surgical scars carries those marks for a lifetime. Washington law permits recovery for past and future disfigurement, and King County juries understand — viscerally, personally — the cost of a child growing up with visible scarring from a crash that was not their fault.
Psychological Trauma
Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and fear of traffic are common and well-documented in child crash survivors. The treatment is real. The cost is real. The effect on the child’s development is real. And it is compensable under Washington law.
The Damages Case — What Your Family Can Recover
Washington law divides recoverable damages into two broad categories: economic damages and non-economic damages. The third category — punitive damages — is available in limited circumstances where the defendant’s conduct rises to the level of malice or egregious negligence.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the out-of-pocket costs: the Harborview bill, the ambulance bill, the follow-up specialist visits, the imaging, the prescription medications, the durable medical equipment, the physical therapy, the occupational therapy, the neuropsychological evaluation, the tutoring or educational support if the injury affects school performance, and — critically — the future medical care that the child will require over a lifetime. Economic damages also include lost earning capacity if the injury affects the child’s future ability to work. For a child with a traumatic brain injury, the loss of future earning capacity can be the single largest component of the damages case.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for what the law calls “pain, suffering, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.” For a child, this category includes the pain of the injury itself, the fear and anxiety of the hospitalization, the loss of the activities the child enjoyed before the crash — sports, dance, music, time with friends — and the lasting psychological impact of surviving a violent collision. Washington does not cap non-economic damages. The Washington Supreme Court’s decision in Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp. held that statutory caps on non-economic damages violate the Washington Constitution. That holding is the reason catastrophic-injury cases in Washington are tried — and the reason insurance companies fight so hard to settle before a King County jury is empaneled.
Parental Loss of Consortium
Washington recognizes a parent’s claim for loss of consortium — the deprivation of the child’s companionship, society, and services — when a child is seriously injured by the negligence of another. This is a separate claim from the child’s claim, and it is brought by the parents on their own behalf.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are reserved for cases where the defendant’s conduct shows a reckless or egregious disregard for the safety of others. Driving while intoxicated, driving while texting in a manner that amounts to recklessness, or fleeing the scene are the kinds of facts that can support a punitive-damages claim. Punitive damages are not guaranteed in any case, and they are not awarded for ordinary negligence. But where the facts support them, they can multiply the total recovery.
The First 72 Hours — A Practical Roadmap for the Family
You cannot do everything. You cannot do nothing. Here is the order of operations we recommend for the first three days after the crash.
Day One: Medical and Legal
- Stay with your child. The medical team at Harborview is among the best in the country for pediatric trauma. Be present for the rounds. Ask questions. Take notes. Request copies of every imaging study and every discharge summary.
- Do not give a recorded statement to the other driver’s insurance. Refer them to your attorney. If you have not retained counsel, decline politely and call us.
- Do not post about the crash on social media. Do not allow your child to post about it either. Set accounts to private.
- Call us. 1-888-ATTY-911. The consultation is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day. We will begin the evidence-preservation process the same day.
Day Two: Evidence Preservation
- Identify the e-bike. Make sure the police have impounded it. If they have released it, secure it. Do not allow it to be repaired, sold, or discarded.
- Identify the at-fault vehicle. If the vehicle is at a tow yard, do not allow it to be released to the owner or the insurance company without a preservation letter. The EDR data is the single most important objective evidence in the case.
- Send preservation letters. To the at-fault driver, the vehicle owner, the driver’s insurance carrier, the e-bike manufacturer, and the cell phone carrier. We handle this.
- Identify witnesses. Anyone who saw the crash, anyone who arrived in the seconds after, anyone who spoke to the driver before police arrived. Witness statements are time-sensitive — memories fade.
Day Three: Building the Foundation
- Obtain the police report. Washington collision reports are typically available within a few business days. We review the report for errors, omissions, and the contributing-circstance coding.
- Begin the medical documentation. Request that every treating physician at Harborview — and every specialist your child sees afterward — prepare a narrative report linking the injuries to the crash and projecting future care needs.
- Begin the insurance inventory. Your own auto policy may include underinsured motorist coverage, medical-payments coverage, and other benefits that apply. The at-fault driver’s policy, the vehicle owner’s policy, and any umbrella or excess policies must be identified and tendered.
- Photograph everything. The intersection, the bike, the injuries (with timestamps), the scars as they heal, the missed school days, the canceled activities. Documentation is the currency of the damages case.
How the Case Is Actually Built — The Proof Story Week by Week
We do not “investigate” in the abstract. We execute a sequence.
Week One. Preservation letters go out. The bike and the vehicle are secured. Witnesses are identified and interviewed. The police report is requested. The insurance inventory is started.
Weeks Two Through Six. Medical records are obtained from Harborview. Specialists are consulted. The accident reconstruction expert is retained — in a case like this, the reconstruction expert will build a three-dimensional model of the intersection, map the driver’s cone of vision, and demonstrate that the child was visible long before impact.
Months Two Through Six. Discovery. Depositions of the driver, the vehicle owner, the treating physicians. Independent medical examinations (IMEs) — we prepare your child for the IME, and we know what the defense expert will be looking for because Lupe spent years inside the defense firm that runs those examinations.
Months Six Through Twelve. Mediation. Most Washington cases resolve in mediation, before trial. The mediation is a structured negotiation presided over by a neutral mediator, with both sides presenting their best case. We go into mediation with the medical records organized, the damages model built, and the defense’s exposure calculated to the dollar.
Trial. If the case does not resolve in mediation, we try it. In King County, before a jury of your neighbors, with the full weight of the evidence and the law behind your family.
Why the Defense Wants to Settle Early — And Why That Tells You Something
If the driver’s insurance company offers you a quick settlement in the first thirty days, that offer is a signal. It tells you that the adjuster knows something about the case that should worry the defense: that the driver was clearly at fault, that the injuries are serious, that the venue (King County) is favorable, and that the damages will only grow as the medical picture develops. The quick offer is the defense’s attempt to lock in a number that reflects the case at its smallest — before the brain injury is diagnosed, before the orthopedic surgeon projects the lifetime of additional surgeries, before the neuropsychologist documents the cognitive deficits.
Our job is to make sure that does not happen. Our job is to make sure the case is valued at its full extent — every past medical bill, every future medical cost, every day of pain, every year of lost enjoyment, every dollar of lost future earning capacity. And our job is to make sure the insurance company knows we are willing to try the case if they do not pay it.
“Washington does not impose a statutory cap on non-economic damages in personal-injury cases. The Washington Supreme Court has held that such caps violate the state constitution.” — Sofie v. Fibreboard Corp., 112 Wn.2d 636 (1989).
The Comparative-Fault Question — Why the Defense Will Try to Blame Your Child
If there is one thing the insurance company will do, it is this: they will try to shift some percentage of fault to your child. They will say the child was riding too fast. They will say the child was not in the crosswalk. They will say the child darted out. They will say the child was wearing dark clothing. They will say the child should have seen the car coming.
Washington’s pure comparative-fault rule means that every percentage point they can pin on your child is a percentage point they do not pay you. So the defense has a financial incentive to manufacture fault — even when the facts do not support it.
Our response is threefold. First, we apply Washington’s child standard of care — a child is not held to an adult standard. Second, we develop the evidence: the accident reconstruction, the visibility analysis, the biomechanical engineering, the driver-education standards. Third, we make the jury understand the asymmetry of the situation: a child on a bicycle, against a multi-ton vehicle with a driver who is required by law to see what is there to be seen. The doctrine is on our side. The physics is on our side. And a King County jury — parents, teachers, coaches, pediatricians — is on our side.
Frequently Asked Questions
My child was on an electric bicycle — is that even legal in Kirkland?
Yes. Washington State permits electric-assisted bicycles on public roads, and Kirkland Municipal Code generally follows the state framework. The specific rules depend on the class of the e-bike and where it was being operated. The fact that your child was on an e-bike does not change the driver’s duty to avoid the collision.
What if my child was riding on the sidewalk?
Washington law generally permits bicycles and e-bikes on sidewalks unless local ordinance prohibits them. Even if your child was on a sidewalk, the driver of a motor vehicle still has the duty to see what is there to be seen and to yield to vulnerable road users. A child on a sidewalk is among the most foreseeable users of the roadway environment in a residential and commercial neighborhood.
The police haven’t cited the driver. Does that mean there’s no case?
No. Citation is one piece of evidence. Many serious collisions result in no immediate citation because the investigation is ongoing, because the driver has not yet been interviewed, because the police are waiting for additional evidence. The collision report’s contributing-circumstance coding and the independent investigation are at least as important as the citation decision.
The other driver’s insurance company already called me. What do I say?
Thank them for their concern. Tell them you are not giving a recorded statement. Tell them to contact your attorney. If you have not retained counsel, politely end the call and call us at 1-888-ATTY-911. Do not discuss the facts of the crash, your child’s injuries, or your family’s financial situation with the adjuster.
How long will the case take?
It depends on the injuries and the medical trajectory. A case with a clean recovery and modest medical bills may resolve in six to twelve months. A catastrophic-injury case — particularly one involving a traumatic brain injury — may take two to three years to reach trial, because we need to understand the long-term consequences before we can accurately value the damages. We will not pressure you to settle before the medical picture is clear.
Will my child have to testify?
Possibly, but not necessarily. In many cases, the child’s treating physicians and the defense’s own medical examinations provide the medical evidence. In cases that go to trial, a child witness is rare — most jurisdictions will allow the medical record to substitute for the child’s in-court testimony. We will prepare you and your child for every step of the process.
What if we were partially at fault?
Washington’s pure comparative-fault rule means your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault — it is not barred. For a child, the standard is the conduct of a reasonable child of the same age, intelligence, and experience. We will fight to keep any comparative-fault allocation as low as possible, and we will make sure the defense does not inflate your child’s percentage to escape its own liability.
What does it cost to hire Attorney911?
Nothing up front. We work on contingency. You pay 33.33% of the gross recovery if the case settles before trial, and 40% if the case proceeds through trial. Costs — records, experts, filing fees — are advanced by the firm and recovered out of the settlement or verdict. The free consultation is free. There is no charge for the case evaluation, the investigation, or the preservation work. You pay nothing unless we recover money for your family.
Will I have to go to court?
Most cases resolve before trial. In King County, the vast majority of personal-injury cases settle in mediation. If your case does require trial, we will prepare you for every step, and we will be standing next to you in the courtroom.
What about the bike — should I get it back?
Not yet. The bike is evidence. We need to inspect it, download the data from the motor controller, and document its condition before it is returned to you, repaired, or replaced. We will coordinate with the police to ensure the bike is preserved.
What about the car that hit my child?
The car is also evidence. The vehicle’s Event Data Recorder contains the most objective record of what the driver did in the seconds before impact. We send a preservation letter to the owner and the insurance carrier within seventy-two hours to ensure the vehicle is not repaired or scrapped.
Can I switch lawyers if I already hired someone?
Yes. You have the right to discharge your current attorney and retain new counsel at any time. If you are concerned that your current attorney is not moving fast enough, not preserving evidence, or not communicating with you, call us. We will review the file, advise you on whether the case is being handled properly, and — if you decide to switch — we will coordinate the transition.
Why Families Across Washington Call Attorney911 When the Stakes Are Highest
We have built this practice on a simple premise: people who are seriously injured deserve a trial firm that fights as hard as the insurance company fights against them. That means we do not chase volume. We do not churn cases. We do not hand your file to a case manager and hope for the best. When you call our firm about a crash in Kirkland, the people working your case are Ralph Manginello and Lupe Peña — and the team they have personally trained.
Ralph has spent twenty-seven years in courtrooms, including federal court. He is a member of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the Houston Bar Association. He was a journalist before he was a lawyer, which is why our firm investigates the way we do — we do not wait for discovery to find the story, we go find it. You can read more about Ralph’s practice and trial record.
Lupe spent years on the other side of the table, inside a national insurance-defense firm — the rooms where adjusters and their software decide how to value claims exactly like yours. He knows the Colossus software. He knows how IME doctors are selected. He knows the surveillance tactics. He knows the delay-and-devalue playbook from the inside. And he now uses that knowledge for the people the system was built to underpay. He is also fluent in Spanish — read more about Lupe’s background and practice.
We handle catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases across multiple practice areas, including car and 18-wheeler accident cases, brain injury claims, and wrongful death claims. For families navigating the aftermath of a serious child injury, we have published a parents’ guide to child injury lawsuits that addresses many of the questions this page may not have covered.
Our contingency fee is straightforward: 33.33% before trial, 40% if trial. No retainer. No hourly billing. No surprise invoice. We advance the costs of records, experts, and filing fees. We do not get paid unless we win your case. Past results depend on the facts of each case and do not guarantee future outcomes — but the work we put in on day one is the same regardless of the eventual outcome.
The Call We Hope You Make Tonight
Your child is at Harborview. The bills are starting to arrive. The adjuster is going to call again tomorrow. The evidence is starting to disappear. You do not have to figure this out alone, and you do not have to wait until the medical picture is clear before you protect your family’s legal rights.
Call us. The consultation is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A real person — not an answering service — will answer the phone. We will listen. We will answer your questions. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right firm for your case, and if we are not, we will help you find someone who is.
1-888-ATTY-911 (1-888-288-9911). Direct: (713) 528-9070. Email: ralph@atty911.com or lupe@atty911.com. You can also reach our firm through our contact page.
We serve your family in English or in Spanish. Hablamos Español.
The work we do in the first seventy-two hours is the work that determines whether your family has the resources to care for your child for the rest of your child’s life. The call you make tonight is the call that starts that clock.