Legal Question in Traffic Law in Washington

Re: Hitting Someone without a drivers license?

Yes. Although the other driver was breaking the law (driving with no valid license is a simple misdemeanor and driving without liability insurance is a traffic infraction), he or she can still make a claim against you and your insurance company for any negligence on your part. The claim can be for damages that resulted to among other things, the driver�s person, his or her passengers, or the driver�s automobile.

The general rule is that a victim�s criminal conduct must contribute to their own damages or contribute to or cause the event that caused the damages for their conduct to preclude a recovery. This is because Washington is a �comparative fault� state. There is another law too � which probably doesn�t apply here � that bars some claims by a victim who was driving drunk or who was a drunk driver�s passenger and got injured or killed as a result of the driver�s intoxication.

And so I ask: Was driving without a license and insurance all that the other driver was doing wrong? Was he or she speeding, did they run a red light, were they drunk, etc? That kind of criminal liability � if it exists � could potentially diminish your liability. But if it does not exist, based on the limited facts you provided, I would say that nothing bars this driver from suing you.