Shared Fault In Oregon Injury Cases

Getting hurt in an accident is stressful enough. Then you have to figure out whether you can even make a claim, especially if you might have done something wrong too. A lot of people think that if they’re even partially at fault, they can’t recover anything. That’s not true in Oregon.

Understanding Comparative Negligence

Oregon uses modified comparative negligence. What that means is you can still get compensation even if you share some blame for what happened. The law acknowledges something we all know from experience. Accidents usually don’t have one single cause. There’s often fault on both sides, and figuring out who did what wrong gets complicated fast. You can recover as long as you’re not more responsible than the other person. But your award gets reduced by whatever percentage of fault gets assigned to you. So if you’re found 20% at fault and your damages are $100,000, you walk away with $80,000. The math is simple, even if getting to those percentages isn’t.

The 50 Percent Rule

This is where things get serious. If you’re 50% or more at fault, you get nothing. Zero. Doesn’t matter if your medical bills are astronomical or you’ve been out of work for months. Cross that threshold and your claim disappears entirely. That’s why the fight over fault percentages becomes so intense in these cases. A Eugene Personal Injury Lawyer can evaluate how the facts of your situation might shake out and what you’re realistically looking at for recovery.

How Fault Gets Determined

Plenty of factors go into deciding who was responsible for what:

• What each person did right before the accident happened
• Traffic violations or broken safety rules
• Physical evidence left at the scene
• What witnesses saw and are willing to say about it
• Expert opinions on whether someone acted reasonably

Insurance adjusters will look for anything they can use to push more blame your way. It’s literally their job to pay out as little as possible.

Insurance Company Tactics

Defense attorneys and adjusters know exactly how comparative negligence works in Oregon. They’ve been doing this for a long time. They’ll claim you were distracted. They’ll say you were going too fast. They’ll argue you should have seen whatever you tripped on or avoided whatever hit you. Sometimes these arguments hold water. A lot of times, they’re just trying to muddy things up enough to reduce what they have to pay. Documentation matters enormously. Photos from right after the accident. Medical records that connect your injuries directly to the incident. Witness statements before memories fade or people disappear. All of this helps establish what actually happened versus what an insurance company wishes had happened.

Why Legal Representation Matters

Strong Law Accident & Injury Attorneys has handled plenty of cases where insurance companies initially tried to dump inappropriate levels of fault on injury victims. Having representation changes how these conversations go. They know how to gather the right evidence and present it effectively, can challenge fault allegations before they become cemented in the record, and understand how Oregon’s comparative negligence rules apply differently depending on what type of accident you’re dealing with.

Protecting Your Recovery

Every percentage point of fault assigned to you comes directly out of your recovery. Think about what a 5% difference means on a $200,000 claim. That’s $10,000. Either in your pocket or back in the insurance company’s. These aren’t abstract numbers when you’re dealing with medical bills, lost wages, and ongoing treatment needs. Don’t give insurance companies time to build their case against you while you’re still figuring out what to do. If you’ve been hurt and you’re worried about how shared fault might affect what you can recover, contact A Eugene Personal Injury Lawyer today.