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Automobile Accidents

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, we can help protect your legal rights. We do not charge for the first meeting. We will immediately contact the other driver’s insurance company so the claim representatives don’t communicate with you directly any more. If you settle your case too soon, all your rights will be lost, even if you later find out you are much more seriously injured. You may also have medical benefits available to you through your own insurance company (called Personal Injury Protection, or PIP). We can assist with processing that claim.

We will investigate the facts, contact any witnesses and obtain complete copies of the police report and any follow up. We will also contact all the hospitals and doctors you have seen, obtain complete copies of their charts and any test results to evaluate your case based on that information. When you (not the insurance company) are ready to settle your case, then we will prepare a detailed settlement demand letter with all supporting records and send it to the insurance company to begin the settlement process. Call us so we can help.
(503-472-3770).

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Uninsured Motorist/Underinsured Motorist

If you have been seriously injured through the fault of another driver who has no insurance or does not have enough, you may have a legal right to recover against your own insurance company. This is called uninsured, or underinsured motorist coverage. We can protect your legal rights as to any uninsured motorist claim you have with your insurer. If you settle your claim before you’ve determined the full extent of your injuries, all your legal rights against your insurance company may be lost. We have the expertise necessary to send the right notices to the insurance companies to protect your rights to a fair settlement.

Oregon law requires that your uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in your automobile policy be equal to your liability insurance limits. So, if your automobile policy has a liability bodily injury limit of $100,000.00, then the insurance company must also provide uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in that amount. If the other driver has some insurance, but not enough, your UM/UIM insurance can be “stacked” over the at-fault driver’s policy. So, if the at-fault driver has a $25,000 policy limit and you have UM/UIM coverage of $100,000 your UM/UIM policy stacks on top of the $25,000 to give you $125,000 of available coverage for your injuries.

There are specific time periods and required notices that apply to these claims. Our firm is very familiar with them and can protect your rights. Call us so we can help. (503-472-3770).

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Personal Injury

Our firm is highly experienced in handling claims for serious personal injuries caused by someone else. We can evaluate the extent of insurance coverage that may be available to satisfy your claim. We will also make arrangements with the claims representatives for the at-fault party’s insurance company to send all communication through our office. We will work with your health insurer regarding any medical benefits you may be owed arising out of the accident. If you do not have health insurance, we will contact your doctors directly and ask that they agree to be paid out of any settlement. Most doctors will agree to this.

Many times there are scientific or engineering questions that must be answered to determine the precise cause of your accident and whether the at-fault person violated any statutes or safety standards. We work closely with a number of forensic engineering firms and accident investigators to help answer a wide variety of questions, such as the slip resistance of floors, appropriate slope of sidewalks and curbs, impact speed in automobile accidents, and many other similar issues.

If you agree to settle your case too soon, all your legal rights to recover for any injuries you may have will be gone, even though you may have more serious injuries than you first thought. Our office can evaluate a fair settlement and protect your rights to recover when the time is right. Call us so we can help protect your legal rights. (503-472-3770).

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Serious/Permanent Injuries

We can protect your legal rights to a fair settlement if you were hurt by the fault of another person, and your injuries are permanent. Permanent injuries often involve claims for past and future lost wages and future medical treatment or even surgery. In addition, you may have a claim for what is called “loss of future earning capacity”. “Loss of future earning capacity” means your loss of the ability to perform as well as you could before you were hurt in the broad range of occupations available in the job marketplace. For instance, a journeyman carpenter who has to have back surgery because of an accident and can’t do heavy lifting anymore, would have a claim for lost future earning capacity because he can now only do light-duty work that pays less.

Our office has the expertise to evaluate these kinds of claims and present them to the at-fault person’s insurer for a fair settlement. We do not charge for the first meeting. Call us for an appointment. (503-472-3770).

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Wrongful Death

If an immediate family member has died due to the fault of someone else, there are several steps that must be taken to protect your legal rights. We can help. Our firm will handle the issues of the legal claim, so you and your loved ones can heal.

Wrongful death claims in Oregon are governed by several statutes. Those statutes have many requirements and time limitations, and our firm is familiar with them. In a wrongful death claim, the estate can recover reasonable charges necessarily incurred for doctors, hospitals, nurses and other medical services, as well as burial and funeral services for your loved one. The estate may also recover for the physical and emotional pain suffered by the deceased from the time of injury until his/her death. The estate may also recover for the dollar loss to the decedent’s estate caused by his premature death. Finally, the estate may recover compensation to the spouse, children, step-children, step-parents and parents for any pecuniary loss and loss of the society, companionship and services of the decedent, as well as any punitive damages the decedent would have been entitled to recover from the at-fault party had he/she lived.

We work with you and other family members to determine who can recover, and to evaluate a fair settlement. Call us for an appointment. There is no charge for the first meeting. (503- 472-3770).

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Work Place Accidents Involving Third-Parties

If you were injured on the job due to someone’s fault who was not your employer, you may have legal rights to recover for your injuries from that at-fault person, even though you are also receiving workers’ compensation benefits from your employer. For instance, if you are in an automobile accident while on the job, you may have a legal claim against the negligent driver who hit you, in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits from your employer. There are very specific timelines that apply to protecting your rights in these cases. Failure to act now may result in your employer’s workers’ compensation insurer owning all your legal claims against the at-fault party.

In “third-party liability actions”, the workers’ compensation insurer paying your benefits has a reimbursement right (called a lien) against your liability settlement for the amount of the benefits that it has, or will pay for your claim in the future. However, it is quite common for the workers’ compensation insurer to improperly inflate or exaggerate its lien and claim far more of your settlement than it has any right to. We have battled with workers’ compensation insurers on precisely this issue many times with considerable success.

Our firm has the expertise to evaluate these claims, and work with your workers’ compensation carrier and the at-fault party’s insurance company to protect your rights to a fair settlement in addition to your workers’ compensation benefits. Call us so we can assist. (503-472-3770).

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Spinal Injuries

Injuries to the spine at any level can be extremely painful and serious and involve long term permanent disability and loss of function. It is extremely important these cases be evaluated thoroughly and presented to the insurers in a way that will maximize a fair recovery. This firm has handled injury claims involving spinal injuries at all levels of the back and neck, and we are very well qualified to investigate, evaluate and prosecute these claims against the responsible party.

Spinal injuries can be particularly serious, because they may involve long term or permanent nerve damage that can lead to extreme pain, loss of body functions, and in some cases permanent paralysis. Many spinal injuries may require surgery and a long period of rehabilitation after that.

Call us for an appointment There is no charge for the first meeting. (503-472-3770).

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Head Injuries

A blow to the head, whether in an automobile accident, a fall or otherwise, can result in devastating losses. Sometimes the injuries can only be fully documented after extensive “neuropsychological” testing by qualified health care professionals. Even a seemingly minor head injury can produce a concussion, and what is called “post-concussion syndrome”. Symptoms may last for months or longer, and although subtle, can dramatically impact a person’s ability to function at work and in their personal life.

Our firm is very familiar with head injury cases. We have handled many such cases in the past. We work with the health care providers, psychologists and neuropsychologists, and other health care professionals to accurately determine the extent of injury so that your case can be presented fairly for settlement or trial. Call us so we can help. (503-472-3770).

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Fall Injuries

If you have slipped, tripped or fallen at a business or residence it is extremely important that the conditions that caused your fall be documented immediately. Many stores have video surveillance that might have recorded your injury. However, that video will likely be destroyed after a short time. Our firm is very familiar with the law relating to slip-and-falls in Oregon, and the building code requirements that set the safety standards for businesses and retail establishments.

As a customer in a shopping mall, grocery store or any business, you have the legal status of what is called a “business invitee”. This means that under Oregon’s law of “premises liability”, the owner of the business has the obligation to keep the premises reasonably safe for you. If there are any unreasonably dangerous conditions on the premises, the business owner may have the obligation to actually remove the hazard rather than simply warn you.

Tripping or falling claims generally fall into two categories. “Foreign substance” claims involve substances on the floor which make it slippery. If the injured person can establish that the substance was on the floor long enough for the business owner to clean it up, or adequately warn of it, then there may be a recovery against the business. Fall injuries typically involve permanent features of the business which are a hazard, such as sidewalks with improper slope, ramps without handrails or unmarked obstacles in the floor surface.

Call us so we can help protect your rights. (503- 472-3770).

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Dog Bite Injuries

Dog bites can have devastating physical and emotional consequences for the victims due to pain, scarring and disfigurement. In Oregon the victim of the bite can recover economic damages such as lost wages and medical expenses without having to prove that the owner should have known the dog would bite. ORS 31.360 (1). This statute makes the owner or possessor of the dog strictly liable for the economic damages caused by the bite, as long as the dog was not provoked. In order to recover non-economic damages, such as physical and emotional pain and suffering, the victim must prove that the dog owner was negligent, which led to the bite.

The long-term effect of a dog bite can be lasting and requires careful evaluation. This firm has tried and successfully settled many claims involving dog bites. We look forward to hearing from you.