Portland Personal Injury Attorney

The day after you’ve been in an accident, you should seek medical care right away for any potential injuries you may have. Due to the nature of car accidents, you may not feel pain right away because of the adrenaline rush and shock that you experience. If you begin to feel any pain after the accident, we highly recommend visiting an Urgent Care or the Emergency Room for treatment. For those who do not feel like they were hurt, we still suggest that you complete a check up with your primary care doctor or seek chiropractic care, as many people experience tightness or range of motion issues. The injuries could potentially increase other issues you may have previously been experiencing as well, particularly for those who have jobs that require physical labor.

If you were injured in an accident and you were found to not be at-fault, you have a case for personal injury. No matter how big or small your injuries, you have a loss based on the additional pain in your life, whether that be tense muscles, range of motion issues, or any injury that was made worse or created during the accident. In cases where the other driver is unknown, such as a hit and run, you are still able to pursue a settlement through uninsured or under-insured motorist coverage. In addition to physical injuries to your person, if your car incurred any damage from the accident, you may also have a case. Your car will have a diminished value, and a property damage case can be opened by your attorney on your behalf.

The length of time that you have to file a personal injury case is different in every state – in Oregon, you have two years from the date of the loss or discovery of the loss, while in Washington you have three years. Generally, the loss and discovery dates are the same day as the accident, regardless of whether you know the extent of your injuries or not. For situations involving medical malpractice or other personal injury claims, you may not know about any injuries or issues until 6 months or a year afterward. In these cases, the statute of limitations on your claim does not start until you notice the neglect.

If you receive a call from an insurance adjuster, the first item to note is whether this call is from your or the adverse insurance company. For your insurance adjuster, they will likely try to get your personal injury protection or property damage claim set up. Generally, it is okay to talk to your own insurance about this, keeping in mind that your insurance has to cover you, but their primary responsibility is to their shareholders. When you receive a call from the opposing insurance company, they will typically ask you questions including how the accident happened and what the injuries were, and they may try to settle the claim with you before you know the extent of your injuries or begin any type of treatment. Until you are positive of what your permanent or temporary injuries are, we recommend holding off on settling your case. If you have any concerns about talking to an insurance adjuster, you should immediately contact an attorney before supplying them with any information.

The answer to how much your personal injury case is worth is not cut and dry – you generally won’t know until you have completed treatment and your attorney has been able to thoroughly evaluate your case. We generally advise against going with an attorney who gives you a value estimate on your case right away because there are many different variables that factor into the end result. These factors can include previous injuries, your age, what kind of job that you have or how much time off of work you require, so it’s challenging to give a client a number immediately after the accident or at the beginning of the case. Once the case is closer to closing, your attorney should be able to provide you with a more accurate estimate of how much your case is worth.

Luckily, partially at-fault accidents are still eligible for a settlement, as long as you are found to be less than 50% at-fault. We are experienced in handling cases where our drive is partially at-fault, because we know that not all accidents are simple. Dangerous conditions, slippery or confusing roadways, and issues with traffic lights are some of the most common causes of accidents with partial fault assigned.

We generally estimate that the length of the settlement, including collecting records, working the case, and agreeing on a settlement will be roughly 2 years. The time that it takes to settle a claim depends on many factors, the primary of which is the injuries that are sustained or aggravated in the accident. If the accident has just recently occurred, your attorney would generally wait until you are closer to the end of treatment to seek a settlement, which can push out the date of the case closure.

When it comes to accidents, most times the people involved have pre-existing conditions. The goal with subsequent medical treatment is to return you to the baseline that you were at prior to the crash. For example, if a pre-existing medical condition had you at a level 3 on the pain scale from 1 – 10, and after the crash you reach a 6 on a daily basis, we would want to settle your claim for the medical treatment needed to return you to your baseline pain level of a 3. We are able to work with a variety of pre-existing conditions to make sure you get a settlement and are back to feeling like your normal self.

In most cases, your medical bills are paid in part or in full by your Personal Injury Protection insurance. If there is any amount that isn’t covered by this plan, your private insurance should pay the additional costs. Your private insurance will take a statutory lien on your case, which means that they will be repaid at the closing of the settlement. If you do not have medical insurance or you’re using providers that are outside of your insurance coverage, you can choose to either pay out of pocket or the provider can take out a lien on the proceeds of your case. For the latter option, your attorney will give your provider a Letter of Protection, ensuring that the attorney will pay them first out of any proceeds garnered.

Even if you were in an accident while on the job, you still have the ability to make a claim against the at-fault party for your injuries. In these situations, your Workers’ Compensation insurance will operate in place of your Personal Injury Protection insurance, by taking out a statutory lien. For these cases in particular, both you as well as the insurance company will receive funds, and you can make a Personal Injury claim on top of any Workers’ Compensation claim that you file.

Generally, attorneys are paid through a contingency fee, which means that the attorney does not get paid until you receive a settlement. With a contingency fee, there are upfront costs that are provided to you, such as record fees, deposition fees, and expert fees. These will be reimbursed to you, and you won’t pay anything else until the case is resolved.