Salem Car Accident Attorney

The scene of an accident is often chaotic, but it is important to remain as calm as possible and take certain steps to protect your health and your legal rights. If emergency medical personnel advise you to go for emergency care, you should listen to them and seek the necessary medical treatment. If you can remain on the scene, you should do the following:

• Wait for law enforcement and give them your side of the story;
• Collect the names and contact information of witnesses and anyone involved in the collision;
• Take photos of the scene and make notes of any unusual weather or road conditions;
• Seek a medical evaluation to ensure any injuries are timely diagnosed.

Any party that acted negligently and contributed to causing the accident may be held responsible for your medical expenses and other losses. Some examples of negligent parties in collisions include the following:

• Distracted drivers;
• Drunk drivers;
• Aggressive drivers;
• Drivers who violated traffic laws;
• Government entities that failed to maintain, inspect, or repair the roads;
• Auto manufacturers that sold defective brakes, tires, airbags, or other pertinent auto parts.

It is highly important to identify the correct negligent party so that you can seek compensation from them. The action you take to seek recovery can vary based on whether the liable party is a person, a company, or the local government.

When you make a claim with the responsible party’s insurance company, you will likely receive a settlement offer. Many people believe their only option is to accept the offer, however, accepting a settlement that does not fully cover all of your losses can result in financial disaster. Once you accept a settlement, you will have to sign a release that waives your right to file a subsequent lawsuit. Therefore, if the settlement is too low, you will have no other way of obtaining compensation and will be responsible for paying your own medical bills and incurring your other losses with no legal relief. Unfortunately, many insurance companies begin with a low offer, so you should always review settlement offers with an experienced attorney before accepting. A lawyer can then negotiate with the insurance company to try to obtain the maximum settlement.

In many collisions, more than one driver makes an error that contributes to the accident. Fortunately, Oregon law allows victims to recover even if they were partially at fault, though they will not be able to recover for the full amount of their losses. Instead, the court will determine what percentage of fault is attributable to you and will decrease your compensation by that percentage.

For example, imagine that one driver suddenly slams on their brakes for no reason in the middle of the highway. The car behind the braking vehicle would have had time to stop, except that the driver was sending a text message at the time and was not looking at the road. By the time they look up, it is too late to stop and a collision occurs. This is a common example of a situation in which a driver may be partially at fault but may still be able to recover for some of their losses.

Like the majority of legal cases, there is time limit–called the statute of limitations–set out in Oregon law. Specifically, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim for personal injury against the negligent party. If you miss this deadline, you will likely lose your right to recover.

Wrongful death is one that is caused by the negligent or reckless acts of another, or due to someone failing to take the appropriate precautions that could have prevented the death from occurring.