How is liability determined for an accident in Portland?
Portland, OR – When you are injured in an accident in Oregon, you have the right to file a personal injury claim and seek damages. All personal injury cases revolve around the concept of negligence. If you want to hold someone accountable for your damages, you must prove they were guilty of negligence and that led to the accident in which you were injured. This applies to all types of traffic accidents, as well as premises liability cases, defective product claims, nursing home abuse, or medical malpractice cases.
As a rule, if you have sustained severe injuries and have considerable damages to recover, you should schedule a free consultation with experienced Portland accident lawyers to make sure your rights are protected.
How is negligence determined in a car accident in Portland?
Oregon follows the modified comparative negligence doctrine. In a car accident case, the insurance adjuster or the jury will have to decide whether one party was solely responsible for the crash or the other driver was also somewhat to blame. If both drivers were at fault, it all comes down to determining who was more at fault. Each party will be assigned a percentage of the blame and this will determine who is liable for damages.
Quick example – you’re driving home when an intoxicated driver loses control of the vehicle and slams into you. Drunk driving is a classical example of negligence, which can best be defined as failure to exercise reasonable care. Clearly someone who drinks too much and then gets behind the wheel is failing in their fundamental duty to look out for the safety of other road users. However, the insurance adjuster discovers from the police report that you were speeding at the time of the crash. This constitutes reckless driving and also counts as negligence.
Bottom line, both of you were negligent. The question is what percentage of blame can be attributed to you? This is where you should let seasoned accident lawyers negotiate with the insurance adjuster.
When you file a claim against the other driver’s insurance, the company will look for any pretext to minimize the damages you deserve. They’ll insist that your speeding played an important part in what happened and assign 30% of the blame to you. This means that your total damages will be reduced by 30%.
Also, under the modified comparative negligence rule, if you’re found 51% or more to blame, you are barred from recovering damages.
Who can you sue for a truck accident injury?
Truck accident cases are even more complex than car crashes. It’s no longer between you and the trucker, as you can hold other parties responsible for your damages. You must look up skilled Oregon truck accident lawyers right away. Time is of the essence if you want to sue the trucking company, the manufacturer of a defective part, or those responsible for loading the vehicle. If your lawyers do not start investigating as soon as possible, important evidence may go missing.
For instance, if the truck’s brakes failed and this is what caused the crash, your lawyers must have the vehicle examined sooner rather than later. If you don’t act fast, the trucking company may quickly repair the truck, send it out on another trip or sell it to another company. Also, the maintenance records may be mysteriously misplaced. Without these vital proof, your lawyers will have a hard time proving that the trucking company failed in its duty of care by failing to provide timely maintenance to its trucks.
Attorneys near me
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