If you’ve been hurt, there are several steps you need to take to protect your ability to get just and fair compensation for your damages, pain, and suffering.
In Oregon, thousands of people are involved in car accidents every day. Most are fortunately minor, and the police do not get involved. However, a significant number of people on Oregon’s roads will be injured because of another driver’s careless or reckless behavior. At Precision Litigation Northwest, our experienced car accident lawyer has seen numerous people fall victim to another person’s negligent driving, and we’ve witnessed firsthand the devastation our clients go through when they’ve been hurt in a crash.
Have you been involved in a car accident and sustained injuries? We can help you get the compensation you deserve. Please contact Precision Litigation Northwest today to schedule your free injury consultation. We don’t charge our clients a dime until we get money for their personal injury claim.
What can you do to protect your car accident claim?
When you’re the victim in a car accident, the other driver and their insurance company will do everything they can to prevent you from staking a claim and getting just compensation for your injuries. If you’ve been hurt, there are several steps you need to take to protect your ability to get just and fair compensation for your damages, pain, and suffering.
The negligent driver’s insurance company will try to say that your injuries and damages are not as severe as you claim. We’ve even witnessed insurance companies outright denying any responsibility for an accident and try to pin it on our injured clients. And if you’ve had a previous injury or health condition, the insurance company will say the wreck had no bearing on your pain whatsoever. You’ll want to gather evidence right after a car accident to prevent the insurance company from escaping responsibility.
1. Photographs
It’s a great idea to take photographs of the accident scene, your vehicle, and your injuries if they are visible.
2. Witness Statements
If there were witnesses to the accident, you would want to get their names, phone numbers, and addresses at the scene of the accident. Once you partner with us, we will interview and thoroughly question every witness to the crash.
3. Medical Records
Be sure to gather all of the relevant medical records related to the accident. Emergency room documents, doctor’s appointment receipts, prescriptions, X-rays, and other imaging scans will all help bolster your claim.
4. Document Everything
A lot happens after a car crash. Stress, pain, and medications can all impair your memory and make it hard for you to remember what happened and when. Be sure to document everything in the days following the crash, such as when you saw a doctor, if you spoke to the insurance company, and how many days of work you missed after the accident.
After you contact us, we will go to work for you gathering evidence, speaking to your medical team, and interviewing witnesses and collecting expert testimonies. We will also talk to the insurance company on your behalf, so you don’t have to deal with them. Contact Precision Litigation Northwest today to schedule your free injury consultation.
Call 541-948-8830 for a FREE case evaluation.
The first week after an Oregon car accident
Open a personal injury protection claim with your own auto insurer. Every Oregon policy carries at least $15,000 in medical benefits for one year from the crash under ORS 742.520 to 742.524, and it pays regardless of fault, so your treatment does not have to wait on the other driver’s insurer deciding who was responsible. Give the claim number to every provider you see.
File the DMV report: if anyone was hurt, a vehicle was towed, or the damage is over the DMV’s dollar threshold, each driver must send a Traffic Collision and Insurance Report within 72 hours; the police report does not replace it. The DMV collision reporting page has the form. When the other driver’s adjuster calls asking for a recorded statement, you are not required to give one; confirm your name and insurer, say your attorney will be in touch, and stop there.
How long do you have to file in Oregon?
Two years from the date of the crash for an injury lawsuit under ORS 12.110. If a city, county or state vehicle was involved, or a public agency maintained the road, a written tort claim notice must reach that agency within 180 days under ORS 30.275. Miss the notice and the claim ends, whoever was at fault, so the useful deadline is often far sooner than two years.
Where a Central Oregon car accident claim is handled
Most claims settle without a lawsuit, but if one is needed, a crash in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, Sunriver or La Pine is filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court; Prineville crashes go to Crook County and Madras to Jefferson County. Your records from St. Charles, urgent care or your own doctor are the spine of the claim, so keep every discharge summary and follow the treatment plan, because a gap in care is read as a gap in injury. Keep a plain log of missed work days, mileage to appointments and what you can no longer do at home. Those are damages too, and they are the first things forgotten.
Sources: Oregon DMV — collision reporting and responsibilities · ORS 742.520 — personal injury protection (PIP) benefits