FAQs

Personal injury is the area of law that is concerned with both physical and emotional injury to a person due to the wrongful act of another. Car accidents are the most common type of personal injury case, but there are countless other ways people accidentally or intentionally hurt one another.

The goal of personal injury law is to ensure a fair result between the two parties when accidents and other unfortunate events happen.

In a nutshell, I handle most cases where the person was harmed through the negligence of another. This includes:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Dangerous and defective products
• Premises liability
• Wrongful death
• Dog bites

My fee is contingent. This means that I only take a fee if I am able to acquire compensation for you. Then, I simply keep 33% of the proceeds. I have found that clients typically prefer contingency fee agreements because they don’t have to pay anything out of pocket.

Yes. I’ll even meet with you in your home.

I’m afraid I have to give you a classic attorney answer here – it depends. I’ve had cases that I’ve been able to resolve within a month or two, and I’ve also had cases that took years. Of course, there are some factors that tend to prevent cases from settling quickly. This includes:

• Severe injuries
• Lengthy recovery time
• The victim was partially at fault for the accident
• Stubborn insurance adjusters

Oregon allows accident victims to still recover for their injuries, even if they are found to be partially at fault. However, if the victim is more than 50% at fault, they will be denied all recovery.

In jury trials, it is the jury who decides the fault of the parties. The judge then reduces the victim’s final award by the percentage of fault that was assigned to them.

Probably not. Insurers typically open up negotiations with very low settlement offers, especially when the victim is not represented by an attorney. These lowball offers won’t even cover the cost of the victim’s medical bills, let alone their pain and suffering. Insurance companies do this because many people just take the money rather than go through the hassle of speaking to an attorney.

Don’t allow yourself to be taken advantage of. You deserve to be fairly compensated for your injuries. If you’ve recently been made an offer by the insurance company, I will gladly review it for you for free and advise you on whether or not it’s reasonable.

You can learn more about this and other topics in my free book Top 10 Ways Accident Victims Sabotage Their Own Case.