The statute of limitations is crucial to your injury case because once it is over, then it is too late to file a lawsuit. But how long do I have to file a lawsuit? Some injury claims have a 6-month limitation period, and some cases have a 2-year limitation. We get calls every day from seriously injured people that either missed or did not understand the limitation deadlines. Always check the statute of limitations with an experienced car accident lawyer, and then calendar it twice. Because of such deadlines, it is best to call a lawyer ASAP after an auto-accident.
A decision to assign a fault in a car accident can be influenced by many factors. Nevertheless, the below listed elements can make it easier to determine who is responsible.
Were Any Traffic Laws Violated
Breaking traffic laws can be an indicator of fault in a car accident. Lawyers will analyze the circumstances that led to the accident and determine which party violated any traffic laws. Some traffic laws are consistent across different jurisdictions, such as running a stop sign or red light, speeding, or driving while under influence. Other are unique to a given state or municipality.
Were Any Citations Issued
The investigating police officer will document any traffic violations that occurred before the accident, as well as the officer’s opinion on what caused the crash.
The insurance company adjuster always will take police reports into account when assessing fault. If the police don’t show up at the crash scene, you can call the nearest police station to request assistance or call 911 if needed. It is important to review the police report for any errors and to discuss with the officer what he or she is reporting.
Type of Collision
While it’s not always the case, the driver who crashes into the back of another car is usually considered at fault in a rear-end collision (unless the front car stopped unreasonably fast). Most laws require drivers to keep a safe distance between themselves and the car in front of them to avoid sudden stop accidents. However, if the front driver’s brake lights were malfunctioning, leading to no warning of a stop or brake, the front driver could be partially at fault.
Accident Reconstruction Report
An accident reconstruction expert is a professional who uses scientific and engineering principles to investigate the cause and circumstances of an accident. Their primary goal is to determine the events that led up to the accident, the factors that contributed to it, the degree of fault of each party involved, and the mechanisms of injury. Accident reconstruction experts typically work in the fields of civil and criminal law, insurance, and public safety.
Analyzing Physical Evidence
Police investigators, as well as personal injury lawyers may examine physical evidence, such as tire skid marks, vehicle damage, and debris, to help reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the accident. These experts may visit the accident site to assess road conditions, traffic patterns, and other environmental factors that may have contributed to the accident.
Interviewing Witnesses
A car accident attorney may interview witnesses to get a better understanding of what the witness saw and heard leading up to the accident. And how those involved behaved after the accident.
To protect your legal rights and prevent an at-fault driver from shifting blame consult a personal injury lawyer. Bart Herron is available for legal advice at: 503-367-0829.
It’s important to stay at the scene of a car accident to avoid being labeled a hit-and-run driver or unfairly having blame shifted to you. Leaving the scene could result in arrest and criminal charges with severe consequences, particularly if someone is injured or killed in the accident. Never leave the accident scene.
If you are physically able, check on your passengers as well as the other individuals involved in the accident. Call 911, especially if medical assistance is needed. Avoid moving anyone who expresses back or neck pain unless their safety is at risk from an emergency condition, such as a burning vehicle. This is because moving a person with a spinal or other injury could cause additional harm.
Take photos and videos of the accident scene and people and vehicles involved. Exchange basic information with other parties, such as your name, driver’s license number, insurance information, and license plate number, but avoid admitting fault or apologizing, as this could implicate you legally.
If possible, talk to witnesses and collect their contact information so that your lawyer can use their accounts to support your case for compensation.
Go to the hospital or urgent care to obtain prompt treatments and diagnoses of your injuries. Waiting to see if you just get better without seeing a doctor immediately can allow insurance defense attorneys to claim that if you were “really hurt” then you would have gone to a doctor that day. Don’t fall into that trap by trying to “tough it out.”
Follow your doctor’s directions on how to get better.
File an accident report with DMV within 72 hours of the crash. Contact the police to obtain a copy of the police report, which you will need when filing an insurance claim.
Call your insurance company and give them truthful details about the incident and cooperate with them. [Remember that what you say will probably be recorded.] But first, you should consult with a personal injury lawyer, particularly if you were seriously injured in the accident. Herron Law offers free initial consultations for injured persons.
Consult a personal injury lawyer, like attorney Bart Herron 503-367-0829, for professional advice.
Here is a basic list of questions a liability insurance adjuster will want to ask you when interviewing and recording your statement:
If you’re unsure of your legal rights, consult a personal injury lawyer, Bart Herron 503-367-0829, for advice.
If you are responsible for a car accident in Oregon, your chance to collect compensation for the damage may depend on the state you live in. In Oregon, the injured at-fault party looks for medical bills and lost earnings compensation from their own insurance provider through the “personal injury protection” (PIP) portion of their motor vehicle insurance coverage, regardless of fault for the accident. PIP coverage aims to cover the medical costs and select economic losses, without regard to fault. You paid for this coverage with your insurance premiums, so use it when needed.
However, as an at-fault party in a car accident, other parties involved in the collision might file a claim against you. The other party involved in a car accident may demand that you or your insurer pay for their damages.
It is important to mention that comparative negligence rules might affect the amount you can recover if you share some fault in a car accident. This should be fully discussed with your attorney.
For help, consult a personal injury lawyer, Bart Herron 503-367-0829, for advice and guidance. Attorney Bart Herron has represented injured persons throughout Oregon and the West Coast.
There are several types of damages to which you are entitled after a car accident caused by another party. Two main categories are economic damages & non-economic damages. Both kinds of compensation should be included in a fair settlement.
Economic Damages:
Medical expenses (past and future): hospital costs, physical therapy, doctors’ visits, medical tests and procedures, ambulance fees, in-home services, temporary or permanent disability – past, current, and future.
Lost wages (past and future): a car accident can cause you to lose the ability to earn a living. This may include your inability to work due to doctors’ appointments, time spent in the hospital, problems with physically doing your job and more. You are often entitled to lost wages both in the past and future, which need to be calculated precisely, usually by a personal injury attorney.
Carefully observe the people the next time that you are in a poor neighborhood. You will notice that there are more injured or disabled persons in such neighborhoods, than in richer neighborhoods. This is partly because serious injuries can cause a person to become poor. Do not let that happen to you because you were injured by someone else’s fault. Instead, get a good lawyer to help you. This is a serious matter.
Non-Economic Damages:
Pain and suffering: This is for the mental and emotional distress resulting from your injuries. This is usually calculated with a multiplier by the insurance company, which will multiply your actual economic damages by a factor of anywhere from 1.5 to 4 or more, depending upon the circumstances and the skills and experience of your attorney.
Loss of affection or companionship: Your injuries could affect your ability to show affection or be a companion to your partner. This is also referred to as loss of consortium. These types of losses are claimed by the uninjured partner or children. These types of damages are common when the car accident victim dies, and the surviving partner files a wrongful death lawsuit. They can also happen when a person is seriously hurt.
There Are Other Damages Personal To Your Case
Which of these damages you are entitled to depends upon the exact circumstances of the accident, your injuries, and your situation. We strongly recommend that you at least speak to a car accident personal injury attorney at no cost after a serious accident. This is especially true if you have suffered substantial physical injuries.
Know this before you settle with any car insurance company: many injuries from car accidents will affect you for the rest of your life! Therefore, before accepting a car accident settlement offer, always ask the insurance company adjuster the following:
Ask yourself this question: why have you been paying high car insurance premiums all these years? Is it because you purchased that car insurance to protect yourself and your family in case of an accident? So, make your car insurance company take care of you.
But, when dealing with the insurance company, exercise caution. These days, insurance companies are in business to protect the interests of the insurance company shareholders and pay out as little as possible to you. This is why you need a good attorney.
Read “How to maximize your car wreck insurance company settlement offer”
You should not just turn to any general practice attorney to help you. Look for an experienced car crash personal injury attorney who has experience handling your type of car accident injury claim.
But how do you find that type of car accident lawyer? The best answer is that you want a highly experienced jury trial lawyer who the insurance companies are afraid of going to court against. This is because insurance companies tend to settle cases with lawyers that they are afraid of.
A good jury trial lawyer is trust-worthy and likable. Get some referrals for lawyers and compare them carefully. Meet, call, text or Zoom with a prospective attorney to discuss the car accident claim before you decide to hire him or her. If you like the attorney, then jurors probably would too. Insurance companies don’t want you to have a lawyer that jurors would like.
*You should also be prepared to be rejected; good car accident lawyers are often busy, so you may need to have several choices in reserve.
7 Steps to Take Right Away After Car Wreck:
If you have not done the following steps, today is a good day to start:
1. File the Police or DMV accident report. This should be filed with the DMV within 72 hours of the accident. If the police respond to the scene, they will complete the police report. You should get a copy of this document; if the accident was due to the other driver’s negligence, this will be strong evidence on your side. Make sure the reports are accurate.
2. Take Photos & Videos. If you are physically able to do so, you should take photographs with your cell phone of everything related to the accident: damages, injuries, positions of the vehicles involved, etc.
4. Talk to Witnesses. Collect the contact information and statements of all accident witnesses. Don’t count on the police. Memories fade with time, get a statement from the witnesses as soon as you can. Write down everything they tell you.
5. Keep Diary. Keep a diary after the crash of all expenses, traveling, the pain and suffering that you experience, your injuries, as well as lost work time and loss of enjoyment of life activities.
6. Request all Medical Records & Bills. Organize all medical records, bills, reports, handouts, business card in the separate injury case folder. There will be hundreds of pages of loose documents, but you must keep them all. Keep all empty medication bottles.
7. Keep all Correspondence from ANY Insurance Company. Delete nothing. Print each and every email, letter, record, mail from both insurance companies and place them in your injury folder.
Properly Value | Future Medical Costs | Future Wage Losses
Oregon Law required accident victims that may have serious future medical costs to be compensated fully. Most injured people are unaware of this fact. If you settle too soon and for too little, you could be saddled with huge medical costs down the road.
There are on-going debates in our government about preexisting conditions on almost on a regular basis. For example, discussion about repealing or replacing the Affordable Care Act. Think of what the law changes might do to you because you will be a person with a preexisting condition from now on. In addition, you could also have injuries that prevent you from working for many months in the future or even causing you to need to retire much too early and therefore lose a lot of money that you would have otherwise earned.
Remember to get your case reviewed by a highly accomplished personal attorney, because you could be under-compensated for your future pain and suffering and earnings losses. *Once you sign the settlement papers, the case cannot be reopened.
Properly Calibrate ALL Non-Economic Damages
Economic damages in a personal injury case are easy to quantify. They include medical expenses, lost wages, and out of pocket costs after the accident, etc. Oregon Law states that injured people are entitled to recover non-economic damages if economic damages are awarded. In determining the amount of non-economic damages, if any, consider each of the following: pain, mental suffering, emotional distress, or humiliation that you have sustained from the time you were injured until the present and that you probably will sustain in the future as the result of your injuries; Any inconvenience and interference with your normal and usual activities apart from activities in a gainful occupation that you find have been sustained from the time you were injured until the present and that you probably will sustain in the future as the result of your injuries, etc. *It takes an experienced personal injury attorney to understand what the potential is for your non-economic damages. Often, the non-economic damages are the largest part of the real damages.
Read more about “Types of personal injury cases that can be settled without needing a legal help“
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