Washington Injury Law Blog

I was raised by a single mother who was very involved in my life well into my 20’s. I lived with her during college and law school off and on. When I was 19 years old I bought a Kawasaki GPZ 750, which is a racing style street motorcycle. My mom was convinced I would seriously injure or kill myself with that “thing.” She even went as far as to donate blood in large amounts during my teens and 20’s. Luckily I avoided any motorcycle accidents or serious injuries while I owned my beloved motorcycle. I still miss my red rocket occasionally.

However, if I had been killed in a serious motorcycle accident, which was caused by the carelessness of another car or truck driver, my mom under Washington law would not have been allowed to do anything against the driver who killed me. Washington’s wrongful death laws do not allow parents to hold wrongdoers accountable for the negligent death of their child–once the child turns 18–unless the parent can show they were economically dependant on the child. This is an unfair and discriminatory, especially for single parents.

A new law has been proposed in the Washington State Legislature — HB 1873 – to change this law, so that parents who are very involved in their child’s life can hold a wrongdoer accountable. 47 other states have already passed laws giving similar rights to parents of wrongfully killed children. Washington needs to do the same.

Please contact your legislator and urge them to pass this law because every family should be valued.