Attorney At Law (503) 399-8967

 DO I HAVE A CLAIM?
The specific circumstances of your claim must be evaluated and addressed before we can determine that our firm can help you. We must first obtain answers to many questions and obtain the necessary information. Some of the questions that we ask include:

1. Were your injuries caused by another person’s negligence?
2. Are your injuries clearly related to the accident in question?
3. If you were injured in an automobile accident, will you incur over $15,000.00 in accident related medical expenses?
4. Did the person who caused the automobile accident and/or your injuries have insurance at the time of the accident?
5. If you were injured in a pedestrian, bicycle or automobile accident, did you have insurance on a motor vehicle at the time of the accident, or if you were injured as a passenger in another person’s vehicle, was there insurance on that vehicle at the time of the accident?

Any viable injury claim must have three elements present. The lack of any one of these elements can clear the claim. The three critical elements are:

1. There must be injuries.
2. The injuries must have been caused by another person's negligence and or intentional act.
3. There must be a source of recovery (almost always insurance or an individual's or business' personal income or assets).

When we fully understand the circumstances of your case, we will be able to determine if our firm can help you.

Over the last 15 years, our firm has successfully represented hundreds of injury victims. Please call (503) 399-8967 or complete the contact form to schedule a free, no obligation consultation. Saturday appointments may be available.


WHAT IS THE CLAIMS PROCESS?

Preliminary File Preparation and Investigation

We notify all parties, your insurer and the other parties’ insurer of our representation on your claim. We review police reports and other official investigation files. We document the facts of the accident that are necessary with on-scene data, photographs and affidavits to prove the extent of the other parties' negligence, to connect your injuries to the negligence of the other party and to otherwise determine the strength of your case. If the responsible driver is uninsured or underinsured, your personal insurance may be applicable and responsible to pay your claim.

Assistance With Your Current “No-Fault” or Other Benefits

Your insurance company may owe you benefits prior to settlement.

After we notify your insurance company of our representation in writing, we follow up with them by fax to expedite payment of your benefits. This phase of the process may be brief, or it may take considerable time: some insurance companies are understaffed and slow.  We do everything we can to “speed up” your recovery of benefits.  We can help, but remember the insurance writes the checks and controls the payments. The speed with which an insurance company pays claims is something that should be considered when purchasing insurance.

Documentation of Damages

We contact all of your doctors, hospitals and other medical providers to obtain copies of their billings, records, and reports. We obtain information concerning any loss of income resulting from your injury. We keep in touch/contact with doctors so we can document the extent of your injury and your prospects for a full recovery. Documentation of the medical part of your claim takes as long a it does for your injuries to heal. You will want to reach a point where your injuries are fully discovered and treated (when you are "medically stationary") before trying to settle your claim.

Final Documentation and Brochure Preparation

When your injuries have healed to a point that your damages can be determined, we secure final medical documentation and billings, from everyone who treated you. We then prepare a demand (written bound book of documentation) that we supply to the insurance company, which insures the person who caused the injury. This demand is prepared when we are ready to begin negotiations toward a settlement of your claim. The insurance company may take several weeks to review and evaluate the demand. Their response time depends upon the size of the claim, the case load of the insurance representatives and other factors beyond your immediate control.

Settlement Negotiation or Lawsuit

Most cases are settled by negotiation, even when a lawsuit is filed against the adverse party. Terms of negotiation are quite variable: If there are few issues or questions about the cause or the extent of the damage, a prompt settlement may be made.  If there are serious questions about who was at fault, whether your injuries were caused by the accident or the extent of your injuries, it may take a great deal of time and patience to resolve the claim. If the claim cannot be resolved reasonably through a settlement with the insurance representatives, we will file suit. Lawsuits can be settled at anytime during the litigation (“suing”) process. Most lawsuits are settled without going into a courtroom. We continue to represent you throughout the lawsuit process.

Distribution and Payment of the Proceeds of Your Case

When you have authorized us to settle your case or a court awards damages, we obtain the funds from the insurance company, retain our fee, pay any outstanding medical bills and remit to you the net settlement obtained in resolving your case. We then conclude the process of your claim. Our handling of your case will assure a professional result with less stress and a greater monetary recovery for the injuries you sustain.

WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME TO SETTLE A CASE?

This is one of the most commonly asked questions. The first thing to keep in mind is that once settled there is no going back -- “the book is closed.” Therefore, it is important to allow enough time to complete medical treatment and permit your doctors to reasonably determine the full extent of your injuries. We do not recommend settlement before your claim can be fairly evaluated. Under no circumstances do we attempt to go for a “quick settlement.” This is almost always a mistake for a client. Insurance companies on the other hand, may attempt to settle cases quickly for a small amount of money before the full extent of the injuries can be determined. That often means that the victim is given less compensation than he/she would normally be entitled to if the victim had completed medical treatment.

In most cases, the right time to attempt to settle a claim is when we can reasonably determine, from a medical point of view, the full extent of a client’s injuries. This usually occurs after a client has completed medical treatment and has been determined by their doctor to be “medically stationary.”

WHEN IS IT TOO LATE TO PURSUE A CLAIM?

It is not unusual for our office to be asked if it is too late to pursue a claim.  There are legal statutes known as “statutes of limitation” that limit the amount of time a person has to bring an injury claim.  These statutes of limitation vary from state to state and the type of case. Because there are statutes of limitation, as well as other deadlines that apply in making claims against governmental bodies, it is important that you promptly consult an attorney.

It is important not to delay. If you delay, critical information may be unavailable, including key accident and medical information. Necessary medical follow-up should be prompt. Insurance companies like nothing more than to attack the validity of a claim by arguing that injuries were not serious or are fained because a person delayed prompt medical treatment.

If you think that you or a family member may have a case, but you are unsure, you can call our office at (503) 399-8967 or complete our contact form to schedule a free, no obligation consultation.

IF I HAVE SUFFERED INJURIES AS A RESULT OF NEGLIGENCE, WHAT TYPES OF LOSSES OR DAMAGES WILL BE COMPENSATED?

Numerous categories of damages exist for each injured person. Depending on your specific case, you could receive compensation for one or more of the following damage categories:

1. Past Medical Expenses
2. Future Medical Expenses
3. Past and Present Pain and Suffering
4. Future Pain and Suffering
5. Disability and Disfigurement
6. Loss of Normal Life Enjoyment
7. Aggravation of a Pre-existing Condition
8. Past Lost Wages
9. Future Lost Wages

In a death case, depending on the specific circumstances, it may also be possible for the estate of the deceased to recover compensation for the aforementioned categories in what is known as a “survival action.”  The surviving next of kin (spouse and children) may also be able to bring a “Wrongful Death” lawsuit for compensation for “loss of society and companionship.”

WHEN SHOULD I CONTACT AN ATTORNEY IF I HAVE SUFFERED INJURIES AS A RESULT OF SOME OTHER PERSON’S, DOCTOR’S OR COMPANY’S NEGLIGENCE?

Although in many cases it is not essential to retain an attorney immediately, there are a number of good reasons to contact an attorney as soon as possible to evaluation a claim.

An attorney will be able to advise you of any time limitations (statutes of limitation and notice of claim deadlines against governmental bodies) that apply to your case.

 

In many slip and fall cases, the owners of premises have surveillance videotape that recorded the incident.  It is important to ask for a copy of the tape as soon as possible.  Most stores will not voluntarily provide copies of videotapes until they have been sued.  Nonetheless, it is important to promptly ask for a copy of the tape.  If the tape is later reported to be missing or is mysteriously erased or copied over, the land owner cannot claim that they did not realize it was important to keep a copy of the tape.

In medical malpractice cases, the more time that elapses between the time of the injury and the time you retain an attorney, a greater opportunity exists for medical records, nursing notes, physician’s records and other documents to become missing, lost or destroyed. It should be noted that document destruction and/or purposeful misplacement do not occur in most legal actions.  It, however, is better to be safe than sorry.

Most product liability actions involve a failure on the part of the manufacturer to design and market safe products for public use. An integral part of any product liability lawsuit from the plaintiff’s position involves obtaining all of the relevant blueprints, plans, design documents, hazard analyses, concerns, complaints, incident reports, etc. Similar to medical records, these types of documents can easily be disposed of or unintentionally lost over time.

In any type of case, especially automobile accidents, where witnesses testimony plays a crucial role in the outcome of a lawsuit, memories of the accident are not as “fresh” as more time passes. Therefore, it is preferable to obtain statements from witnesses immediately after an accident occurs, so the witnesses memories can be refreshed months or years later when the case is being settled or prepared for trial.

Disclaimer. The information on this website is about Oregon medical malpractice and is not considered to be legal advice, but general information related to issues commonly encountered with medical malpractice claims. If you or a loved one have suffered an unjust personal injury please contact our law office for the compensation you deserve. This does not mean that all law suits are accepted, we do reserve the right representation.