Personal injuries are one of the most common causes of death and disability in Oregon and across the United States. They impact millions of victims and their family members each year, resulting in actual expenses while causing major pain and suffering. Our Oregon personal injury attorneys explain your rights in seeking compensation for these losses in a claim.
Who Pays The High Costs Associated With Personal Injuries In Oregon?
Personal injuries happen due to different types of accidents. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), they send nearly 100 million people to hospital emergency rooms each year. Slips and falls, product liability cases, and motor vehicle accidents involving drivers, motorcyclists, bicyclists, or pedestrians are often to blame and frequently occur due to negligence on the part of others involved.
Negligence is a legal term that means behaving in a manner that puts others at risk or failing to take reasonable precautions to prevent others from suffering harm. Negligence is at the heart of most personal injury cases.
The costs associated with personal injuries totals billions each year. Why should victims and their families have to pay these costs when others are to blame? When you suffer personal injuries in Oregon, you have the right to hold them accountable in a claim. Compensation available includes:
- Economic damages, which cover your medical expenses, lost wages, property damages, and other tangible costs;
- Non-economic damages, which compensate you for any intangible losses you suffer.
What Is Included In Pain and Suffering?
Under Section 31.710 of the Oregon Code, economic damages refer to objectively verifiable costs-those you can actually document. Non-economic damages, on the other hand, refer to subjective losses that do not have an actual dollar amount. This includes:
- The physical pain you suffered in your accident and as a result of your injuries;
- Any emotional suffering or mental anguish it caused;
- Emotional distress due to scarring, disfigurement, or long-term disabilities;
- Anxiety and humiliation due to being unable to work;
- Lost enjoyment in life, in the event your injuries prevent you from engaging in your prior hobbies and activities;
- Loss of companionship, which compensates you and your loved ones for the impact your injuries have on your relationship.
As there are no actual dollar amounts associated with the above, compensation for pain and suffering is typically calculated one of two ways. A per diem amount may be assigned or the court may use a multiplier. This is a number between one and five which, as the name implies, is multiplied by the total amount of actual, economic damages.
Get Trusted Legal Guidance From Our Oregon Personal Injury Attorneys
Accidents typically happen due to the negligence of others involved. At the Johnston Law Firm, we help injured victims and their families hold those at-fault accountable in a claim. For trusted legal guidance regarding your rights to compensation for pain, suffering, and other losses, call (503) 546-3167 or contact our Oregon personal injury attorneys online and request a free consultation.