Car Accident Attorney in Portland Oregon

If you are involved in an Oregon car accident, you are required to:

1. Stop the Vehicle

Stop your car at the accident site or as close as you safely can without endangering or blocking other vehicles. If you leave the accident scene, you could be charged with “Hit and Run” in Portland, OR. A conviction would mean revocation or suspension of your driving privileges.

2. Provide Aid

Render aid to any people injured in the accident. Remember that an injured person should be moved away with extreme care. In some cases, they must not be moved at all except by trained paramedics or other emergency personnel.

If someone is unconscious or has been killed in the accident, the driver is required to remain at the accident site until the arrival of a police officer. Violating this rule will result in a “Hit and Run” charge.

3. Exchange Information

You can download and print a checklist of the mandatory exchange information from Oregon.gov/ODOT website and keep it in your vehicle. You must provide the other driver, the passengers in the car, an any injured pedestrians your:

• Full name
• Address
• License plate number
• Driver’s license number
• Insurance information

4. Report the accident to Oregon DMV (as discussed above)

If you are involved in a car accident in Portland, OR, you are required to inform your insurance provider about it. Provide accurate details of the crash and your injuries, and cooperate with the insurer. Stick to the facts of the incident, and avoid giving any other comments or opinions.

If the insurance company later discovers that you intentionally misled them in some way, it could result in a potential denial of your claim for damages. If a police report was filed, make sure to obtain a copy of the report and refer to the facts mentioned therein to your insurance company.

Note the name and contact details of doctors, surgeons, physical therapists, chiropractors, or any other medical professionals who are involved in your treatment.

Maintain an account of the medical treatments and procedures you undergo. Obtain copies of all medical reports and invoices, which will later be used to justify your medical costs.

While medical bills can be documented rather easily, pain and suffering are more subjective matters to prove. Keep a detailed record of your injuries have impacted your daily life, including leave from work, daily activities that you are not able to perform, and details of how the injuries have affected your personal life.

In addition to your physical injuries, include description of your pain, anxiety, depression, loss of sleep and other mental agony in your notes. Courts often consider such records to be more reliable when they are prepared as soon as possible after the accident rather than much later as an afterthought.

But if you recall something at a later stage or the symptoms of your injury show up only later, you must record that information.

Do not ignore seemingly minor details. For example, if you record “slight discomfort in the neck,” it could later support your claim if you end up developing chronic back pain resulting from the accident.

This is why you don’t want to take any money from the insurance company. Don’t accept their offer. You don’t even know what is fully wrong with you. If you take their offer and you later develop some medical problems you will not be eligible to sue them. You will not be entitled to anymore compensation.

Their offer is just enough to cover your car loss and perhaps a little extra for your trouble. It is not enough to cover your lost time at work, pain and suffering, and other medical issues. Don’t sign any of their paperwork until you have a legal pro representing you.