No Excuse for Any Underage Drunk Driving Accidents

Statistics show that almost every accident on Oregon roads could have been prevented. While that fact alone gives pause for thought, it is certainly the case that there’s no excuse whatever for any underage drunk driving accident. Yet sadly, they continue to occur, though it must be said, the trends are encouraging, both in Oregon and across the United States.

The most recently released statistics related to under age drunk driving accidents show that in 2010, just over 3.3 out of every 100,000 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving accidents on America’s roads. While that rate is still far too high, it still represents an almost 50 percent decrease in the rate of drunk driving fatal crashes over the last two years. In 1991, the number of people killed in alcohol-related accidents was a shocking 6.3 per 100,000 people.

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Recent Notable Personal Injury Settlements May 2012

 Being involved in a serious accident can be a frightening and traumatic experience. If you’re injured in the accident, it’s even worse. Recent notable personal injury settlements also show that when that accident is not your fault, you should not be expected to bear medical expenses, lost income and the cost of ongoing treatment, and in some cases, people or companies that have been proven to be negligent can be made to pay significant sums in damages.

Firestone Tire Defect

When Montana man Bryan Mizenko was left paralyzed after a crash, he filed a lawsuit that involved both a Ford used car dealer and Firestone, the tire manufacturer. Mizenko included the used car dealer who sold him his Ford Bronco II in the suit, saying the dealer was at least partly responsible for his injuries.

The lawsuit maintained that:

• Defects in a Firestone tire were a factor in the 2003 crash that left Mizenko paralyzed.
• Mizenko also claimed through a personal injury attorney that he had been left with cognitive impairment.
• The tread belt separation that caused the crash was one of several reported incidents with this type of Firestone tire, so Ford and the used car dealer should have known not to install them on his vehicle.

For their part, the used car dealer argued that Mizenko’s car crashed because the tire was 14 years old, and Firestone maintained the tire had been damaged prior to the accident, but a jury voted 11 to 1 that Firestone and the used car dealer were responsible. (more…)

Help! I Crashed Someone Else’s Car – Will Insurance Cover this?

People often contact an Oregon car insurance attorney when they have been in an accident in which someone got injured. That’s common enough. However, considerable confusion and anxiety are often the byproducts of an accident where either the person driving the car didn’t own it, or the owner of the car had loaned it to a friend, and the friend caused the accident. What happens then?

The insurance company for the person who is driving should cover damages first

Let’s say your friend calls and says his car is in the shop for repairs. He needs to get to work and wonders if he can buy your car. What should you do? The first thing is to check your own policy to see what kind of coverage is in place. The second thing is to find out if your friend’s insurance will cover him to drive other cars.

Liability insurance follows the driver, not the car, so if your friend has this kind of policy and is in an accident in your car, then his policy should cover any damages, not yours. Therefore, you need to check what kinds of coverage are in place for both you and your friend. These types of cover could include:

• Liability coverage – Oregon, like most other states, requires liability coverage as a minimum. This is the cover that should allow your friend to drive your car, provided your friend actually has a policy in force when you hand him the keys. Oregon car insurance attorneys recommend phoning your own insurance company to get a rundown of your own coverage features, just in case.
• Comprehensive and collision – As the name suggests, comprehensive cover will pay for all damage done, but this type of cover applies to a car and not to a person. This type of cover is also typically more expensive than straight liability coverage.
• Other drivers – Only your insurance company can tell you precisely what level of cover will be in place if you allow someone else to drive your car and an accident occurs. Oregon car insurance attorneys say there are no definitive yes or no answers, regardless of whether you have comprehensive cover in place, so it’s best to ask first. (more…)

Real Clients: Rear-end Accident and Driver Hit By Taxi Cab

These are real stories about our real auto accident clients. All names of individuals have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty alike. But names of insurance companies are real, and the details of what happened have not been changed.

Cases we have recently accepted:

L.F. was driving in SE Portland when the car in front of her stopped for a pedestrian. Like any good driver, she stopped and waited. Unfortunately, the car behind her did not wait and rear-ended her – the hit was so hard that her car was pushed into the car in front of her. The accident left her sore all over, and her head was aching. She had tightness in her leg, shoulder, back, and neck – so much so that she was not able to participate in her normal activities and volunteer work. After over a year of trying to deal with adjusters herself, she hired Joshua Shulman to represent her with the goal of getting a fair settlement.

J.J. was driving in N. Portland when a Broadway cab ran a red light and T-boned his car. With about $4000 in damage, he was not able to drive home so a friend had to take him to the ER. The crash dislocated his shoulder and did a lot of soft tissue damage. Now, the shoulder may need surgery and Shulman DuBois LLC is working with J.J. to make sure all his medical bills are covered. In addition, Broadway Cab should be responsible for the pain and suffering of J.J. because their drivers’ negligence interfered with his work and other interests.

Portland Low Impact Car Accidents

Portland low impact accident lawyers come up against the argument on a regular basis. The insurance company in court is trying to convince the jury that the injured victim who is rightly claiming compensation can’t really be as badly hurt as he’s claiming to be, because the car he was in when the accident occurred really wasn’t that badly damaged!

It’s true; the insurance companies would love to be able to convince the courts that there is a specific scientific correlation between the damage to a car and the injuries to the people inside, and they even produce some fancy jargon and formulas to back up this ludicrous claim. Experienced Portland low impact accident lawyers, on the other hand, have seen countless accidents that looked like mere “fender benders,” where their clients have suffered quite traumatic injuries to their neck, spine and other joints.

The Myth of the Low Impact Accident

In spite of completely legitimate claims being made by people who have been injured through no fault of their own, the insurance companies continue to perpetuate the myth that these people couldn’t really have been injured—at least not seriously—in low impact accidents. And the myths, because they’ve been repeated often enough, loudly enough, and have had millions of insurance company dollars spent on spreading tales of cheats, frauds and fakes, are starting to have the effect the insurance companies desire.

Claims are being denied all over the country, and the insurance companies are producing ever-more complex statistics and specialists to support their mean-spirited refusals to pay fair settlements to people who have suffered serious injuries in low impact accidents.

What is a “Low Impact” Accident?

A low impact accident is most often judged on the amount of money it would take to fix the car. Years ago, a dime-sized dent costing $50 to fill and paint would have constituted a low impact accident, and rightly so. Now, however, that figure doesn’t really suit the insurance companies’ argument, and they have driven that figure literally up into the mid-four figure range.

Insurers want to be able to go into court and argue that the case they are defending is a low impact case, i.e. one in which the claimant is clearly exaggerating his injuries. Therefore, it suits the insurance companies to claim that damages of as much as $5,000 to the vehicle alone actually constitute a low impact accident. (more…)

Government Liability for Car Accidents

When a government entity or employee acting in an official capacity causes a car accident that leads to an innocent victim being injured, Portland auto accident attorneys are frequently asked about the possibility of successfully filing a claim for compensation.

The truth is suing a government body for their negligence in an injury-related accident is difficult but by no means impossible, in spite of the standard policy of sovereign or governmental tort immunity. This immunity commonly protects agencies or employees from being held liable for their part in an automobile accident, even if they were clearly at fault. However, an experienced Portland auto accident lawyer has a number of avenues they can explore in the fight to get the injured victim a fair settlement. (more…)

Portland Civil Litigation Lawyer Explains Car Accident Litigation

None of us like to accept the fact that during our lifetimes, we are far more likely than not to be involved in an automobile accident, but a Portland civil litigation lawyer maintains not every accident will or should end up in court. When a road user is injured through another’s negligence, however, car accident litigation may become inevitable.

A general rule of thumb is that the greater the damage and/or injury that has occurred in a road accident, the more likely a lawsuit will ultimately result. The most common types of Oregon car accidents which lead to a requirement for a Portland civil litigation lawyer include those which involve:

• Driver error – This is a wide-ranging category and includes drivers committing such mistakes as driving too fast, following too closely, passing when it is not safe to do so, failing to yield the right of way and disregarding traffic control signs and devices.
• Driver distractions – More and more accidents are caused by drivers whose attention has been diverted from the job at hand; getting from Point A to Point B safely. Using a cell phone (particularly to send and receive texts), putting on makeup, looking at children in the back seat or observing something on the side of the road frequently lead to accidents that end up in civil litigation.
• DUII – It’s stupid, selfish and against the law, and anyone who injures someone else because they thought it was all right to get behind the wheel after having a few drinks or using an intoxicating substance deserves both criminal and civil prosecution.
• Bad weather – Drivers often fail to modify their driving habits when weather conditions should require driving slower and maintaining greater gaps between surrounding traffic. Unexpected hazards like black ice frequently lead to severe accidents in Oregon, and all too often, the results are traumatic or even fatal injuries.
• Poor road design and/or poor road conditions – The driver of the car doesn’t always have to be negligent for an injury-related accident to occur. When a government agency designs a road with dangerous conditions or intersections, accidents may occur. In such cases, it is imperative to retain the services of an experienced Portland civil litigation lawyer, as the rules for holding a government agency liable are exceptionally complex.
• Vehicle defects – Some cars roll over far too easily. In some cases, cars that have been serviced have had brakes replaced incorrectly. Other vehicles have defective airbag deployment systems, and given any of these scenarios, serious injuries can occur which are in reality no fault of the driver involved. (more…)