Issues At Trial In Impairment of Earning Capacity Claim

This post is part two in a three-part trial report.  The judge in our case was the recently retired Honorable Stephen N. Tiktin from Bend. He was excellent, as usual. The Defense Counsel was Barry Goehler, head of Nationwide Insurance’s in-house firm. He did a fine job and was very easy to work with. The main … Read More

Impairment of Earning Capacity Claim in Oregon Car Accident Injury Case

This trial report concerns a collision that occurred at the intersection of SW 6th Street and SW Evergreen Avenue in Redmond, Oregon. My client was a passenger in his father’s Honda Accord at the time, which was stopped at the intersection specified above. Our client was looking out the car window to his left, watching an … Read More

What is Impaired Earning Capacity?

Much confusion surrounds the claim of impairment of earning capacity.  While this claim used to be an element of noneconomic damages (“pain and suffering”), it has since become an element of economic damages (“out of pocket losses”).  However, proving the claim can be difficult.  Because of that difficulty, I submit the following in my Trial … Read More

Trial Report – Bend DUII Accident, Part III

The DUII-auto accident trial detailed in the last two posts took four full days. When they jury returned, they awarded my client the following: $8,350.10 for all past medical expenses. No future medicals. This was the most surprising part of the award decision, since they related all priors up to last November. No lost wages … Read More

Trial Report – Bend DUII Accident, Part II

The judge in the Bend DUII-auto accident case was the Honorable Kip Leonard from Eugene. He was an excellent judge – and funny to boot. The Defense Attorney was Brian Driscoll of Smith Freed Eberhard. He did a fine job and was easy to work with. The main issues in this case were as follows: … Read More

Trial Report – Bend DUII Accident, Part I

On April 11, 2008, at about 8:45 p.m., our client was leaving a bar in Bend when he saw the Defendant engaged in a physical altercation with another patron. Our client watched the Defendant – who has admitted to drinking alcohol before this incident – strike the patron, pushing him into our client before the … Read More