Keizer, OR, Car Accident Lawyers

Recoverable Damages after a Car Accident in Keizer, OR

In Washington, you can recover economic damages and non-economic damages. You cannot recover punitive or exemplary damages for a car accident in Oregon, even if the at-fault driver’s actions or inactions were grossly negligent.

Economic damages and non-economic damages are compensatory damages. The court orders these types of damages in an attempt to make you whole again. While the money does not bring back a loved one, it reduces financial stress for family members and the accident victim who might not be able to work again.

Economic Damages

Special damages, usually referred to as economic damages, have a monetary value. They include:

• Past and Future Medical Expenses: Past medical expenses are those you incurred because of the accident and prior to a trial award or a settlement. You expect to incur future medical expenses after you settle or win a trial award. Medical expenses also include any therapy you might need, such as cognitive and other psychological therapies, occupational therapy, and physical therapy.
• Past and Future Lost Wages: Past lost wages are those you lost from the time of the accident through the time you settle your case or win a trial award. Future lost wages are those you expect to continue losing after a settlement or a trial award. If you are able to work but your disabilities prevent you from making the same hourly rate or salary as prior to the accident, you could recover partial future lost wages.

Economic losses also include property damage. These damages sometimes have an emotional component as well.

Non-Economic Damages

General damages, usually referred to as non-economic damages, are more difficult to compute in monetary terms. They include:

• Pain and Suffering: This general category usually includes emotional distress, for those who suffered injuries in a car wreck. Money cannot relieve emotional pain and suffering. But it is the only remedy available under Oregon law.
• Lost Quality of Life: Some accident injuries cause disabilities that might require medication or the use of ambulatory aids for the rest of your life. You could recover compensation for loss of quality of life if the accident injuries caused such life-changing changes.
• Loss of Companionship: If your car accident injuries cause long-term or permanent disabilities that preclude you from enjoying family events and activities, you could recover extra compensation.
• Loss of Consortium: If the car accident injuries caused a long-term or permanent disability that precludes you from having a physical relationship with your spouse, whether those injuries are physical or emotional, you could recover extra compensation.

To determine a reasonable amount of non-economic losses, most Keizer, OR car accident lawyers multiply the economic losses by two, three, or four, mostly depending on the facts of the case.

Keizer, OR, Car Accident FAQs

When should I contact a car accident lawyer in Marion County?

You should contact our Keizer, OR, car accident lawyers as soon as possible after the accident. Even if you are in the hospital, we can still meet with you for your initial case evaluation. We can visit you in the hospital or conduct a case evaluation over the phone or via video call.

If you are not able to meet with us due to your injuries, a loved one may contact us on your behalf. We will let your loved one know what steps to take.

My accident was not in Keizer, and the at-fault driver and I live in another city. Do I have to use your Keizer office?

No. You can work with our car accident lawyers in our office in Tacoma, WA, or even in Portland or Eugene, OR. We also have an office in Salt Lake City, UT. Because of jurisdiction and venue laws, you should visit the office closest to where you or the defendant lives or where the accident occurred.

The insurance adjuster for the defendant’s insurance company keeps calling me. What should I do?

Ask the adjuster to contact our office. If you have given the insurance adjuster this information previously, tell the adjuster not to call you again. Additionally, let our office know that the insurance adjuster continues to reach out to you. We will also inform the insurance adjuster that he or she should not contact you.

I need to have my car fixed before my case settles. How do I get it fixed?

We will contact the insurance company on your behalf to get information about repairing your vehicle. Once an investigation has been completed, you can take your car in for repairs. In many cases, insurance companies have separate departments for property damage and personal injury claims. You can discuss getting your vehicle repaired with the property damage department, or you can ask us to obtain the information you need for the repair shop to submit expenses.

If the driver who hit me was on the job, can I also collect from his or her employer?

If the employer is found to have some fault in the accident, you can also sue the employer’s insurance company. For example, if the investigation finds that the brakes failed on a delivery car and the employer knew that the brakes were malfunctioning but told the driver to drive the car anyway, the employer could share in the responsibility for your damages.

If I caused an accident because of a defective part on my vehicle that the manufacturer would not recall, can I sue the manufacturer?

Yes and no. Generally, manufacturers are strictly liable for the injuries their defective products cause. However, if you knew about the defect and did nothing to make your vehicle safer, the manufacturer could use that inaction as a defense.

Strict liability is a higher standard than negligence. A defective product, like a defective tire or an ignition issue, could seriously injure thousands of people. There are basically two kinds of product defects in Washington law:

• Design Defect: The 1970s Ford Pinto is an example of a design defect. To make the car lighter and cheaper, designers put the Pinto’s unlined gas tank behind the rear axle. As a result, it was overly prone to rupture and explosion, even in a relatively low-speed accident.
• Manufacturing Defect: 1990s Takata airbags are an example of a manufacturing defect. To cut costs, the manufacturer replaced a stable and expensive chemical propellant with ammonium nitrate, which is unstable and cheap. Ammonium nitrate is basically the same compound Timothy McVeigh used in the Oklahoma City truck bomb.

The unforeseeable use doctrine is basically the only legal defense in a defective product claim. Manufacturers are not liable for damages if individuals misuse a product, and that misuse causes injury. The misuse must be extreme, like using racing tires to go off-roading in the Cascades.

Is it possible to suffer post-traumatic stress disorder after an accident?

Absolutely. In fact, it’s also possible to suffer from PTSD-like symptoms, and obtain compensation for them, even if you were not otherwise injured.

About half of car crash victims suffer from PTSD. Going through a stressful event, like a car wreck or combat firefight, alters brain chemistry. The amygdala (part of the brain that controls emotional responses) enlarges, and the cerebral cortex (logical responses) shrinks. This imbalance causes effects like depression, anger, flashbacks, and other symptoms that make it difficult or impossible to function in everyday life.

Furthermore, the additional stress parents feel when they see their children injured triggers a special legal doctrine, called the zone of danger rule. Therefore, parents in these situations are entitled to compensation for bystander injuries. This compensation could include both the economic and noneconomic damages mentioned above.

What if the accident was my fault?

Tragedies like car crashes often have multiple causes. So, both drivers could well be partially responsible for the wreck. However, there are two important things to remember in this area.

First, there is a difference between fault and legal responsibility (known as “liability”). An insurance adjuster, who will have the insurance company’s interests as their focus instead of yours, usually determines fault based solely on the immediately available evidence. If your case goes to trial, a jury or judge determines liability based not only on the evidence at the scene, but also on electronic and other subsequently available evidence.

Additionally, even if you were partially responsible for the accident, compensation is still available. Oregon is a modified comparative fault state. So, even if the victim was 51 percent responsible for the collision, the negligent driver is liable for a proportionate share of damages.