Oregon Personal Injury Legal Questions

You can contact the court clerk in the county in which the accident happened, and inquire as to whether any party has sued you in your name. Just because you have not been served, doesn't mean the action has not been filed. In most states, parties have a few months up to three usually in order to serve a defendant in an action that has been timely filed.... Read More

It seems to me that the most common concern clients have with their attorney is lack of communications.  An attorney is obligagted to keep you informed and up-to-date about your case. That being said, you state that your have personal injury case.  With the COVID slow down, everything has been placed on the back burner, especially with person injury cases.  It may be months between court hearings.  It is very likely that nothing is happening with your case, with the the COVID slow down, and nothing to report to you.  You are not the only person frustrated.   Let me suggest you give your attorney a call and ask him what is happening.  You will most likely hear what I stated above. ... Read More

Lawyers are hired “at will”  that means you have the right to terminate a lawyer at any time without cause.  However, let me suggest when you terminate this lawyer, you should do so in writing.  Your letter should state why they there being terminated and it should give instructions as to where you want your file sent.  It can sent to another lawyer or yourself.... Read More

In order to answer your question, I would have to see the police reports and/or claim documents that led to the $3,000 settlement. Also, which insurance company paid the $3,000, your Dad?s carrier or the carrier for the other driver? It sound like there was a claim for property damage to the truck (and maybe the trailer) along with a personal injury claim for you and the carrier for the at-fault driver put it all into one settlement check. If you can figure out how much of the settlement was for property damage to the truck, that would be for your Dad. On the other hand, if $2,500 was for any injuries you sustained, that would be yours. Once you find out the respective amounts, you should be able to cash the check, send your Dad his share to pay for the repairs to his truck and keep the rest.... Read More

If you invited your girlfriend to come and live in your home and she brought her stuff to the residence and had access to your personal property, you essentially created a ?common law? marriage with her. If she had a key to your house that you gave her, then she did not break into your home to steal your stuff (a criminal felony) but she did violate the terms of your cohabitation agreement which would be a civil matter. The officer was correct.... Read More

You could have some serious problems on these facts. By your statement that you and your brother are joint owners, I am assuming that you are both on title to the vehicle which would make both of you liable for any damage caused by a driver?s negligence or intentional behavior. Given that fact, you should both be named as insured parties in the insurance policy on the vehicle; if there is no insurance and your brother in driving the vehicle, that in itself is a violation of the law. Further, if the vehicle is encumbered by a loan, that contract also has a provision that the owners will maintain insurance at levels of coverage (property damage, personal injury and damage to the vehicle itself) set forth in the contract. If you brother negligently or intentionally causes damage or personal injury while driving the vehicle, and if you are both on title to the vehicle, you are both jointly liable for the damages and injuries. While I do not know the amount of your investment in the vehicle, if your brother is behaving erratically and you do not have an insurance policy with significant coverage, the best thing for you do to is go to the DMV office and do what you have to do to take your name off the title to the vehicle and make sure that removal is reflected in the DMV records. If your brother were to have an accident which caused serious injuries to someone, and if his medical records indicate the presence of depression and/or suicidal thoughts, you could be facing six-figure damages as a co-owner of the vehicle who took no steps to keep your brother from driving it.... Read More

First thing, make sure your car is stored under your control and no repairs are made until after it has been inspected by a qualified expert. Second, check with the Oregon State Bar and get a referral to a law firm that does products liability law in your area. While many lawyers do work in this area, you need a firm that has contacts with experts that can render an opinion as to whether or not the air bag system was defective at the time of the collision and preserve that evidence pending trial. Your attorney will also need complete medical records related to your injuries and all police reports and photos related to the collision. Do not delay!... Read More

If the airbag failed to perform as designed and advertised, and if that failure was a proximate cause of your injury, your would have a cause of action for personal injury. One big question, where is the Jeep right now? If your insurance carrier had it towed off to a wrecking yard, chances are that it would be very difficult to recover the evidence required for a qualified expert to establish [a] the nature of the failure; and [b] that the failure was the proximate cause of your injury. If you still have the Jeep, keep it ?as is? and contact a personal injury attorney in your area. If an attorney sees the facts required for a personal injury action after a qualified expert examines the evidence, he or she should be able to go forward with the case.... Read More

Yes, your husband has some major problems and needs to consult an attorney to see how best to protect himself. His car insurance company will not accept coverage because your father-in-law is not a licensed driver [excluded from the policy] the car is not garaged at his residence, etc. In California, the owner of a car is jointly liable with the driver for the first $15,000 in damages. But a smart plaintiff's attorney will also claim there was negligent entrustment of the vehicle to an elderly person so there is no limit on your husband's liability. It will be a little difficult to serve your husband in another state, but that will not be a major problem. ?Your husband may want to file for bankruptcy; his dad might also want to do so. A wrongful death case can easily be worth a million or more.... Read More

As it happens, the reason this person was not insured is probably because he or she did not have the money to pay their insurance premiums. If so, it is probably a waste of money to sue the driver because they would not have the money pay any judgment you are going to get from such an action. Assuming you do have uninsured motorist coverage on your car under your policy, the best way to deal with this is to submit the claim to your carrier along with a copy of the police report that should relate that this person had no insurance which probably resulted in that driver being cited. The only other question you need to look at is whether your UM coverage will cover the damage to your vehicle. If there is a question as to whether the coverage is enough to pay for all of the damage, you should get more than one damage estimate from different body shops to make sure the carrier is getting the right numbers.... Read More

The statute of limitations in Oregon is 2 years from the date of loss. It can be longer for injuries to minors. Yes, you can fire your attorney, but it might not be very wise when you are so close to the statute of limitations period. If you fire your lawyer, he can have a lien on your claim so that he will get paid by your next attorney. As far as the offer goes; no, you do not have to settle for that amount. But your next step is to file a lawsuit against the at fault party before the two years run,. It might be difficult to find a new attorney to do this on your behalf at such short notice. If you do not file a lawsuit or have your case settled by that two year deadline, you will forfeit your right to any recovery.... Read More

If your employer is an Oregon company and they are compliant in having workers' compensation insurance they are immune from suit unless they have intentionally harmed you. If there is/was another business or independent party involved in creating the dangerous situation they may be liable in negligence or under Oregon's Employer Liability Act.... Read More

While an owner of a motel in Oregon does have a duty to install and maintain carbon monoxide monitors and fire alarms, the bigger issue here is the liability for the source of the carbon monoxide that actually caused the death of the tenant or other person in the room. Under standard tort law, a landlord has a duty to maintain his or her property in a reasonably safe condition and can be liable for the failure to deal with reasonably predictable hazards. A secondary issue is whether the failure to maintain an active, operational CO alarm was in fact the proximate cause of the death. In order to make any further comment on the matter, we would need a complete factual history of the matter.... Read More

The main issue is, why were they in your apartment in the first place? Second, do you share that apartment with your boyfriend ? if so, are you both on the lease or rental agreement? (That affects whether or not he has the authority to allow them to come into the apartment without your specific consent.) Next, are any of your documents missing or damaged? Unless the parents had specific permission from an actual tenant to enter the premises, what they have done is a wrongful trespass and an invasion of your privacy. While a real solution to this matter probably depends upon your relationship with your boyfriend, if you have any proof that his parents entered that apartment without your permission and went through your stuff, that would be grounds for a legal action against them. If they took any of your stuff and used it to cause you any harm, they could also face criminal prosecution.... Read More

Airbag deployment and seat belt locking are designed to be triggered by a front or rear impact like you would experience if you rear-ended another car or drifted off the roadway and hit a tree. The fact that you "sideswiped" another vehicle sounds like there was not enough front-to-back impact to trigger the safety devices. If so, it is hard to see how you could maintain an action for product liability when the defense could argue that their product is not designed for the specific type of impact you experienced. On another point, the statute of limitations for a personal injury case in Oregon is two years from the date of the injury. If a "few years" means more than 24 months, the action would be barred.... Read More

Your friend's insurance company paid your chiropractic bill under Oregon's PIP coverage (Personal Injury Protection). This coverage is mandated under Oregon law and it requires a car owner's insurance company to carry coverage for any people in the insured vehicle that are injured for the cost of medical care only. This coverage usually covers claims for medical expenses for an injured passenger up to a specific limit for at least a year. Damages for pain and suffering, on the other hand, are supposed to be paid by the at-fault driver's insurance carrier out of that carrier's liability coverage. You therefore have no claim against your friend's insurance carrier for anything beyond the cost of the care you received.... Read More

Sorry to hear of your situation. If the injury occurred in Oregon and your employer was compliant with workers compensation rules it will be very difficult to hold them liable for a personal injury. That is because the comp rules in Oregon provide the employer with immunity under certain circumstances. If your employer had workers compensation coverage you could file a claim with the insurance carrier to help with your medical treatment, wage loss and any permanent disability. If your employer did not have workers compensation coverage of some form you may have a potential injury claim them. Also, if there were any third parties involved in the work that caused injury to you you may have a valid claim against those parties. You should consult with either a workers compensation attorney or a personal injury attorney to see what you might want to do. Good luck.... Read More

The obvious answer begins with - go get healthy. Focus on your health. In Oregon, you typically have two years from the date of injury to file a claim. There are, however, exception to this general rule. In the meantime, it is good that you took photographs. You should also save the shoes and clothes that you were wearing at the time, as they may become evidence in a case later on. Note that you are not required to give a recorded statement to anyone who contacts you on behalf of the business where you were injured. If you do give a recorded statement or already have you entitled under the law to request that a copy be given to you. Preserve any documents that you have related to the fall, including notes of the names and contact information of any witnesses to anything at the scene. You, or your lawyer, should also send a "spoliation" letter to the business telling them to preserve any relevant evidence related to your injury as it may be needed in a lawsuit - including the names of any witnesses, other customers in the store at that time, yours and similar incident reports, video surveillance tape, photographs, etc. If you are contemplating legal action in the future you would be wise to now consult with a reputable personal injury attorney in your area who handles premises liability cases. Reputable attorneys do not charge consultation fees just to discuss your case with you.... Read More

The short answer is - maybe. You will have to establish that the dentist's actions fell below the "standard of care" in Oregon. This means that you will have to establish that the dentist didn't do what the majority of others would have done in your circumstances. You should contact a personal injury attorney who handles dental and/or medical malpractice claims. They should be able to evaluate your case and give you advice.... Read More