Eugene Pedestrian Accident and Injury Lawyer

After a pedestrian injury, seek medical attention, even if injuries seem minor at first. Report the accident to the police to help ensure an official record is created. If possible, document the scene by taking photos, noting the location, and collecting contact details from the driver and any witnesses.

If you’ve sustained serious injuries or are facing disputes about liability or compensation, having an attorney on your side can make a real difference. Pedestrian accidents can involve complex legal and insurance processes, and having a lawyer fight for you can help ensure that your rights are protected and that you receive the compensation you deserve.

One of the key benefits of hiring a lawyer is their ability to navigate the legal system and handle interactions with insurance companies. Insurance companies and adjusters try to minimize claim costs. Without legal representation, you might be offered a settlement that doesn’t fairly cover your medical expenses, lost income, or other damages. An attorney can negotiate on your behalf to pursue a fair settlement that takes into account both your immediate costs and any long-term impacts, such as ongoing medical treatment, diminished earning capacity, or permanent health problems.

A lawyer can also help gather evidence to support your claim. This may include obtaining police reports, obtaining witness statements, photographing the scene and the vehicle, tracking down photos or video footage from others, securing physical evidence, obtaining vehicle electronic data, and more. If needed, they can work with accident reconstruction experts to build a stronger case for liability.

Pedestrian injury cases often involve determining fault, which can be complicated, especially if there is shared blame. A lawyer can help clarify the extent of fault for all parties involved and advocate to show that your share of fault, if any, is accurately represented under comparative negligence rules.

If the case is filed with the court, an attorney will represent you in litigation, working with you through the pretrial process. Most cases are eventually settled, but having an experienced advocate can make a significant difference in negotiations and the outcome of the case. For cases that must be tried, having a good lawyer to present the evidence and argue your case before a judge and jury is critical.

Ultimately, while some pedestrian cases do not necessarily need legal representation, consulting a qualified attorney is strongly recommended if your injuries are severe, liability will be contested, damages are complicated, or if there may be more than one other party at fault. The attorney’s expertise can provide peace of mind during a difficult time and help secure the best possible outcome for your situation.

Depending on the case, compensation typically is intended to address past medical expenses, lost wages or other income, future medical bills, impairment in future earning ability, past and future pain, any disfigurement, emotional harms, interference with normal activities, mental suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. The specific amount depends on multiple factors, including the severity of injuries, the impact on your life, the circumstances of the injury event, the county where the case is located, and what is financially possible.

Determining fault when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian involves evaluating the circumstances surrounding the incident and gathering evidence to establish responsibility. The process typically begins with reviewing the police report. Depending on the quality of the police investigation, the police materials may include critical details, such as statements from those involved, witness accounts, photos, and the officer’s preliminary (non-binding) opinion of fault.

Additional evidence, such as surveillance footage, dashcam videos, photographs of the scene, traffic light sequencing documentation, and physical evidence at the scene or on the vehicle can sometimes provide a clearer picture of what happened. Witness testimony is another valuable resource, as bystanders can offer firsthand accounts of the event.

Traffic laws play a key role in assigning fault. For example, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians at crosswalks, and failure to do so is negligence. Similarly, pedestrians must follow traffic signals and avoid improperly crossing streets. Violations of traffic laws on either side can influence the determination of fault.

In some cases, fault may not rest entirely with one party. Oregon follows a system of comparative negligence. If both the driver and pedestrian are at fault, an injured pedestrian still has a legitimate claim if their share of fault is less than the driver’s. If the pedestrian has some percentage of fault, their damages are to be reduced by that percentage.

Accident reconstruction experts may be consulted in more complex cases to analyze factors like vehicle speed, braking distance, and visibility. Ultimately, proving fault often requires a thorough investigation and legal experience with pedestrian injury cases.

Yes, in Oregon you can make a claim even if you were partially at fault. A legal principle known as comparative negligence allows fault to be divided among the parties involved, and compensation is adjusted based on each party’s level of responsibility. For example, if you were found to be 20% at fault, your compensation would be reduced by that percentage.

Under Oregon rules, you can recover compensation as long as your share of fault does not exceed 50%. If you are more than 50% at fault, you would be barred from recovering any damages. Under this system, even when a pedestrian shares some responsibility, they are not automatically denied compensation for their injuries.

Determining fault involves examining the specific circumstances of the event. For example, you might share partial fault if you crossed outside of a crosswalk or failed to follow traffic signals. However, a driver could still be at fault if they were speeding, distracted, or failed to yield appropriately, for example.

Making a claim in such cases may require additional evidence to clarify the roles of each party. Surveillance footage, witness statements, and expert analysis can all help establish the extent of your fault compared to that of the driver or others. Sometimes, the relative shares of fault are not clear, and advocacy can make a difference. Even if you were partially at fault, it’s important to explore your legal options to ensure you are treated fairly under the circumstances.

If the at-fault driver doesn’t have insurance, you may still have options for recovering compensation. One common solution is to file a claim through your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, which is included in most auto insurance policies. This type of coverage is specifically designed to protect you in situations where the responsible party lacks insurance. It can help pay for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages related to the accident.

If you don’t have uninsured motorist coverage or if the coverage limits are insufficient to cover your losses, you may consider pursuing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver. Through a lawsuit, you can seek compensation directly from the driver’s personal assets. However, in our experience, negligent drivers who failed to get auto liability insurance often do not seem to have sufficient assets to satisfy a judgment. It can be a frustrating experience to go through the legal process only to have the defendant take bankruptcy or to not be able to find assets to help.

Sometimes, someone in addition to the driver bears legal responsibility. It is important to figure out if there might be someone else who is liable, in addition to the driver who hit you. If the driver was working at the time, their employer may have legal responsibility. If the driver was served drinks at a bar after they were already visibly intoxicated, the bar may have liability. If the person was driving as part of a joint business venture, the other members of the joint venture may also have responsibility. If the driver’s visibility was blocked because of negligent roadway or landscape maintenance, a government or a landowner may have some responsibility. There are other situations where the driver is not the only potential defendant. These cases can easily be missed. Especially if your losses are serious, getting legal help sometimes makes a huge difference.

The time limit to make a personal injury claim varies by state. In Oregon, an adult’s personal injury claim against a private party typically should be properly commenced in the court system within two years of the injury. (That’s not quite the technical rule, but in most cases that is how it works out in practice). There are different time rules for children (they generally have longer time periods), incapacitated persons, claims against public bodies (which sometimes can have, in addition to statutes of limitations, required notice periods as short as 180 days for an injujred adult), claims against bars or others who have violated alcohol service laws with drunk drivers (these claims have their own short notice periods, in addition to the statute of limitations period), claims against the federal government (there are federal laws with special notice and other requirements), and wrongful death claims, in addition to various other special rules in particular cases. For any particular case, the injured person should consult with an attorney who is fully informed of the relevant facts.

Most pedestrian injury attorneys work on a contingent fee basis: they get paid for their time only if they recover money for you. Contingent fees allow anyone with a legitimate claim the opportunity to retain a capable attorney, regardless of their financial status. In Oregon, the percentage is typically a third for a pedestrian’s personal injury case that is settled a reasonable time before trial. The specific percentage in a case is what is agreed upon in writing (so long as it is reasonable).

In addition to fees that pay an attorney for their time, any case has out of pocket costs for the many expenses involved in litigation (such as investigators, obtaining medical records and other documents, and court fees). Those costs are in addition to and are not part of the contingent fee paid for legal services. By Oregon custom, the attorney or law firm advances those costs, and is paid back at the conclusion of the case, but this is also a matter for the written attorney retainer agreement.

If you were injured by a hit-and-run driver, you may still have options to recover at least compensation for your injuries and damages, even if the at-fault driver cannot be identified. In these situations, your auto insurance policy’s Personal Injury Projection (PIP) and Uninsured Motorist (UM) coverage often play a crucial role. All private auto insurance policies issued in Oregon require both PIP and UM coverage, which is designed in part to help injured survivors of hit-and-run incidents. The maximum amount of that coverage for any given insurance policy depends on the amount of coverage purchased.

PIP typically helps to a limited extent with medical bills and wage losses, although some other losses are also covered. Your UM coverage can help with damages relating to medical bills, lost income, future rehabilitation expenses, physical pain, interference with normal activities, mental suffering, and emotional distress. (This is true whether you were walking or driving at the time). While PIP coverage is on a no-fault basis, UM coverage depends on the fault of the other (here, the hit-and-run) driver.

There are special rules requiring very prompt action to preserve UM rights when you are injured by a hit-and-run driver (also called a “phantom” driver). Think of a UM claim as a claim against an adverse party, where your own insurance company is providing the defense of the adverse party and should pay for the harms they caused, up to the UM limits. In other words, your interests and your insurance company’s interests are adverse in a UM claim.

For a case involving more severe injuries, it typically takes time to find out important things such as what the medical bills have been and will likely be in the future, what kind of treatment was and will be required, how much income the injured person has lost already and to what extent their future income potential may be impaired, and the person’s level of function and activity once they have reached their maximum level of recovery. If there is sufficient insurance to cover all of the damages, that kind of a case naturally takes longer to resolve, as it takes time to determine what is fair. If the case involves contested liability that must be litigated, that kind of case also takes longer. Typically, in most Oregon counties, once a personal injury case is filed, it will have a trial date for within a year or at most two. Most cases eventually settle, although sometimes not until the courthouse steps. A very few cases are appealed after a trial, and the appeals process can add substantially to the time required.