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Oregon Personal Injury Lawyer | Oregon Business Lawyer

Christopher T. Hill, PC

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Personal Injury FAQs

Warning: These questions and answers are general statements about the law which may or may not apply to your particular case. None of this advice is an application of law to your case. You should consult an attorney before using or relying on any of this information.

1. What does an Oregon car insurance policy cover?
2. How do I get my medical expenses paid after an accident?
3. What if I am a pedestrian?
4. What if I am on a bike?
5. What if I am a student at college?
6. How do I get my lost wages paid?
7. How do I get my property damage paid?
8. What if my car was repaired but it's not worth as much now?
9. The other driver took off without exchanging information, what do I do?
10. How long do I have to get a case resolved?
    
    

1. What does an Oregon car insurance policy cover?
   

   There are three parts required for car insurance policies issued in Oregon: liability, personal injury protection (PIP), and uninsured / underinsured motorists (UM / UIM). Liability covers you for your own negligence when you cause bodily injury or property damage to someone else. It also covers the other person when they injure you and you make a claim against them. Personal injury protection covers your medical expenses within a certain time and up to a certain amount. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage covers your bodily injury when an uninsured or underinsured motorist causes your injury. Hit-and-run drivers count as uninsured motorists. Uninsured motorist property damage coverage must be offered by your insurer but is not required in Oregon.
   

2. How do I get my medical expenses paid after an accident?

   In Oregon, car insurance policies are required to have Personal Injury Protection, or PIP coverage. PIP covers your medical expenses regardless of who is at fault for the collision. In Washington, PIP coverage is not required but can be waived in writing. In premises injury cases, there will often be a medpay policy, which will cover the medical expenses regardless of who is at fault. PIP and medpay policies often cover the medical expenses incurred within a certain time--usually 1 year--and are exhaused when the insurer pays a certain amount--usually $15,000.00 for Oregon auto policies and $1,000.00 or $5,000.00 for medpay policies.
   
   In claims against third parties, like people who cause car wrecks, reasonable and necessary medical expenses are recoverable, and are the cornerstone of compensation for injured people. They include past and reasonably likely future medical expenses. However, third parties pay once at the end of the case rather than paying your medical expenses as they are billed.
   

3. What if I am a pedestrian?

   By statute, pedestrians in Oregon have personal injury protection coverage from the person who caused the wreck.

4. What if I am on a bike?

   By statute, bicyclists count as pedestrians and have personal injury protection coverage from the person who caused the wreck.

5. What if I am a student at college?

   Depending on the facts of your case, you may be covered under your parents' personal injury protection coverage.

6. How do I get my lost wages paid?

   In Oregon, PIP must also cover 70% of your lost wages up to a maximum of $1,250.00 per month, but the wage loss payments are not triggered until the insured is disabled for 14 days. The balance of the lost wages are paid in the third party claim against the person who caused the wreck. Good documentation from the physicians and the employers is often the key to getting the lost wages paid.

7. How do I get my property damage paid?

   For repairs, most insurance contracts do not specify where the car is to be repaired or what kind of parts are to be used for the repair. That means the insurer cannot tell the insured where or how to get the car repaired. If the cost of repairs are more than 80% of the actual cash value, or ACV, the car is considered a total loss. Adjusters sometimes have discretion to go as low as 65% of the ACV to deem a vehicle totaled.
   
   The general measure of a car's value is it's actual cash value, or ACV, at the time of the loss. Another way of thinking of this is as the fair market value, or what a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in an arms-length transaction where nobody is pressured.
   Oregon Administrative Rule 836-080-0240 sets out some guidelines for how the insurer and insured deal with total losses. In particular, if a computer valuation like CCC or ADP results in an offer so low that a replacement cannot be purchased, the insured should consider this rule.
   

8. What if my car was repaired but it's not worth as much now?

   So, your car is repaired, but now you're stuck with a heap. Or at least, you will have to tell people about that frame damage when you try to sell the car. And who wants to pay full price for a car that has had frame damage?
   Nobody, and that's where diminished value claims happen. The idea is the vehicle is not worth as much even with good repairs because of the stigma of damaged and repaired vehicles. Diminished value claims are often asserted in nicer late model cars with frame damage because those are the easiest cases to prove. And surprisingly, the diminished value is often overlooked!
   

9. The other driver took off without exchanging information, what do I do?

   Report the incident to the police immediately. Hit-and-run wrecks are covered under your uninsured motorist coverage, but you have to report them to the government within 72 hours.
   
   Sometimes a phantom vehicle causes the collision without any contact between the vehicles. The 72 hour reporting requirement applies to phantom vehicle claims, and you need a witness without a claim as well.

10. How long do I have to get a case resolved?
    

    In general, for bodily injury claims, the case must be filed by the two year anniversary of the date of the loss. If the case is not filed by then, whatever rights the claimant may have will disappear.
    
    There are some exceptions and wrinkles to it, but the safest course is to get the case filed by the two year anniversary to ensure that there is no question about whether the case was timely filed. You should consult an attorney immediately if you think you may have a limitations issue.
    
    A somewhat related issue is giving notice of the claim when a government body is responsible for causing the injury. In that case, the Oregon Tort Claims Act generally requires formal notice as defined in the OTCA to be given within 180 days of the date of loss. Again, there are some wrinkles to it, but the safest course is to get the proper notice to the proper government officer(s) within 180 days. And again, you should consult an attorney immediately if you think you may have a notice issue.