How to calculate pre/post-offer damages split in Washington

Quick takeaways

• Washington uses CR 68 offers to allow judgment. The pre- vs. post-offer damages split separates damages that accrue up to the offer from damages that accrue after the offer.
• The relevant timing window in the CR 68 language provided is “At any time more than 10 days before the trial begins” (this is the rule’s default/general timing, because no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found in the information provided).
• DocketMath’s pre-post-offer-damages calculator helps you compute the split once you provide the offer date, the damages accrual dates (or accrual rate), and the trial start date for timing validation.
• To run the tool and keep the numbers audit-friendly, you’ll typically need:

  1. your damages accrual model (dates and amounts or a rate), and
  2. the offer date, and
  3. the trial begins date to confirm the offer timing matches CR 68’s “more than 10 days” language.

Inputs you need

Before you open DocketMath (tool: /tools/pre-post-offer-damages), gather inputs that connect dates to how your damages accrue.

A. Dates (CR 68 timing and your split boundary)

• Offer date: the date the defending party served the CR 68 offer.
• Trial begins date: the date trial begins (as reflected in your case records; this is the “trial begins” reference point in the CR 68 language provided).
• Optional (useful for reconciliation later):

  • Judgment entry date (for cost and record checks)
  • Accrual end date for the damages you’re splitting (for example, last date damages were claimed to accrue)

B. Damages measurement inputs (pick the model that matches your evidence)

Choose one method that matches your damages theory and proof:

• Option 1: Flat amount model (with date basis)

  • Total damages amount
  • Accrual start date
  • Accrual end date
  • Use DocketMath’s splitting approach that matches how your theory supports accrual (e.g., proportional across the date range if your evidence supports that).

• Option 2: Rate model (common for interest-like accrual)

  • Damages rate (e.g., $X per day/month)
  • Accrual start date
  • Accrual end date
  • Example: $2,500 per month from Jan 1 to Dec 31.

• Option 3: Component model (partition by damages categories)

  • Component A (e.g., past wage loss)

    • lump sum or rate + dates
  • Component B (e.g., future wage loss)

    • lump sum or rate + dates (often starting at or after the offer, depending on your proof)
  • This is often best when different categories accrue under different timing rules in the underlying theory.

C. Outcome inputs (for later CR 68 application)

This guide focuses on the damages split, but CR 68 is ultimately tied to whether judgment is entered for “the money or property or to the effect specified in the offer.” To use your split downstream, have:

• Whether the plaintiff’s result is more favorable or less favorable than the offer amount/effect (determined by comparing the final judgment to the offer).
• What the offer specifies:

  • a numeric amount (“money”), or
  • “property,” or
  • another “effect specified in the offer” (track the offer’s actual language so you align definitions).

How the calculation works

CR 68 provides the mechanism for offering judgment and then using a timing framework that refers to costs “then accrued” when judgment is entered for the money or property or to the effect specified in the offer (as reflected in the provided CR 68 language excerpt). This post focuses on the math problem you need first: compute the pre/post-offer damages split.

Step 1: Confirm the CR 68 timing condition (default/general)

From the CR 68 language provided, the offer must be served:

• “At any time more than 10 days before the trial begins.”

To validate:

• Calculate (trial begins date − offer date).
• Confirm the difference is greater than 10 days.

If the offer was served not more than 10 days before trial begins, you may still compute the pre/post split for internal analysis, but the split may not map cleanly to the CR 68 timing condition you’re relying on.

Step 2: Set the split boundary (typically the offer date)

In “pre/post-offer” calculations, the standard boundary is the offer date because the offer is the timeline anchor created by CR 68.

Use one consistent convention:

• Pre-offer damages: accrue from the damages accrual start date through the period ending just before the offer date (or up to the offer date—if your accrual convention defines that way).
• Post-offer damages: accrue from the offer date forward through your accrual end date.

Pick the convention that matches your evidence and your damages expert’s method. For example, if your damages are modeled per day, then your boundary should align to days; if modeled per month, align to months.

Step 3: Enter your inputs in DocketMath

Open and use DocketMath pre/post-offer damages:

• /tools/pre-post-offer-damages

Enter:

• Offer date
• Accrual start date and accrual end date
• Select the model inputs you have:

  • total amount + date basis, and/or
  • rate + date range, and/or
  • component categories with their own date/rate/amount inputs

The calculator will produce:

• Pre-offer damages
• Post-offer damages
• Total (consistent with the model you entered)

Step 4: Use the split as the anchor for CR 68 analysis (without conflating concepts)

While CR 68 discusses an effect on costs “then accrued,” this blog’s immediate output is the damages split. In practical workflows, you’ll often:

1. Use the DocketMath split to understand how much of the claimed damages maps to time before vs. time after the offer, and then
2. Pair that with the judgment vs. offer comparison and any cost allocation steps required by the CR 68 framework in your case.

Disclaimer: This is not legal advice. CR 68 cost shifting and how it is applied to particular judgment terms can depend on case-specific procedural facts and how the court interprets the offer and judgment. Treat the split as a math aid, and confirm the legal mechanics with qualified counsel or your team’s litigation guidance.

Common pitfalls

1) Using the wrong timing anchor for CR 68

CR 68’s provided language centers the requirement on serving the offer more than 10 days before trial begins. A mismatch between the recorded service date and your assumed offer date can undermine the usefulness of your split for CR 68 mapping.

• Fix: confirm the service date of the offer (not just when it was drafted).

2) Splitting on the wrong date

A frequent error is splitting on something other than the offer date, such as:

• filing date,

• hearing date,

• settlement conference date, or

• acceptance/judgment date.

• Fix: for “pre/post-offer damages,” align the split boundary to the offer date, unless your damages theory explicitly requires a different boundary.

3) Entering a flat total without any date basis

If you input only a single total damages amount and do not provide accrual dates (or a rate), DocketMath can’t reliably determine how much belongs to the pre- vs. post-offer periods.

• Fix: provide accrual start/end dates or use a rate model.

4) Overlap/double-counting between components

If your damages model already includes post-offer amounts (for example, “from now to trial”) and you also add a separate post-offer component, you can end up with totals that exceed your supported damages.

• Fix: either (a) use one integrated accrual model with correct date ranges, or (b) use components that are clearly partitioned with no overlap.

5) Confusing the “damages split” with “costs then accrued”

CR 68 refers to “costs then accrued” in the sequence described by the rule language excerpt. Your DocketMath output is the damages split, not the court’s treatment of costs.

• Fix: keep your damages allocation separate from later cost shifting steps.

Sources and references

• Wash. CR 68 (Offer of judgment) (provided rule text excerpt and timing language):
  https://www.courts.wa.gov/court_rules/pdf/SUPER/CR/SUPER_CR_68_00_00.pdf

  • Provided excerpt includes: offers may be served “At any time more than 10 days before the trial begins”, and the rule links the effect of the offer to judgment for “the money or property or to the effect specified in the offer,” referencing costs “then accrued.”
• TODO: Add Washington appellate decisions or secondary sources addressing how “then accrued” costs are calculated/applied in practice under CR 68 (if you have internal research you want reflected).

Next steps

• Use DocketMath at /tools/pre-post-offer-damages to compute:

  • Pre-offer damages
  • Post-offer damages
  • Total (as consistent with your model inputs)
• Do a quick audit checklist:

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