MOTOR VEHICLES
Motor Vehicle Crash
The West Coast including Oregon, Washington, and California experience more traffic accidents than in any other state in the U.S. because of the high traffic volume on the state highways. The higher volume of vehicles on the roadways in urban areas, including Portland, Tualatin, Beaverton, Clackamas, Tigard, Bend, and Sherwood in Oregon; Vancouver, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Bellevue, Bellingham, and Olympia in Washington; And, Los Angeles, San Diego, the Inland Empire, Ventura County, Orange County, the San Joaquin Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, results in an especially high crash and injury rate in those locations. If you are involved in an accident, getting the help of an accident lawyer may make a huge difference in the outcome of your claim.
The number of people who are injured or killed each year in motor vehicle crashes is incredibly high. Because of the high numbers of cars on the road in urban areas and the lack of mass transit systems, a majority of these accidents happen in and near major metropolitan areas such as Portland, Bend, Seattle, Tacoma, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Inland Empire, and Orange County.
Some of the most common types of accident scenarios include rear-end collisions, unsafe lane changes, which cause multi-vehicle collisions, failing to stop at red lights, which cause T-bone accidents, drunk driving, which leads to wrongful deaths, driving while texting, and many other examples.
Common Car Accident Injuries
Injuries in accidents happen because of the physical forces that are released in collisions.
The most common injuries that result in automotive accidents include the following:
- Back injuries, including strains, sprains, herniated discs, bulging discs, lumbar injuries, thoracic injuries, cervical injuries, and spinal cord injuries
- Head injuries, including concussions and traumatic brain injuries
- Neck injuries, including whiplash, cervical disc nerve impingements, sprains, and cervical fractures
- Body injuries, including fractures to the ribs, shoulders, feet, legs, and arms
- Internal injuries, including abdominal injuries, internal bleeding, injuries to organs, and collapsed or punctured lungs
Many injuries can take a while to manifest after a car accident. Some injuries, such as whiplash, may not show symptoms for hours or even days after an accident. In a rear-end collision, neck and head injuries can occur due to sudden jerks forward that force the body backward. The backward movement may cause the person’s neck to be overextended, leading to tears, strains, pulls, and damage to the bones and tissues of the neck and shoulder. Whiplash may be minor or debilitating. More serious cases of whiplash may leave people suffering from chronic pain and other problems for many months after the accidents.
You must document everything that has to do with your injury and your activities if you can't return to your normal activities after an injury. Keeping accurate notes of your appointments, follow-up care, and how your injuries affect your day-to-day will help you to prove your case.
You can ask your doctor for copies of all of your medical reports so that you can have them available if you need them. The same information will also be required by your insurance company.
Damages a Victim of a Car Crash May Recover
The damages that may be available following an accident will depend on several things, including the extent of injuries, facts of what happened, whether the injured person shared a percentage of fault, a person’s age and earning capacity, and other situational factors. Experienced lawyers may assess a case to determine a range of values of damages.
Under the law, the potential damages that may be recoverable include the following:
- Past and future medical expenses, including surgery, ambulance transportation expenses, physical therapy, rehabilitation, and chiropractic care
- Related expenses for prosthetic devices, braces, walkers, and crutches
- Past and future lost wages
- The repair costs or fair market replacement value of property losses
- Current and future physical pain and mental suffering
- Losses for the reduction of the enjoyment of life
- Disfigurement and physical impairment
- Anxiety, grief, humiliation, and emotional distress
- Loss of consortium for spouses
- Reasonable funeral and burial costs in wrongful death claims
We serve clients throughout Oregon including Multnomah County, Portland, Gresham, SE Portland, NE Portland, SW Portland, and Gateway, Washington County, Hillsboro, Tigard, Beaverton, Lake Oswego, Sherwood, Cooper Mountain, Marion County, Bend, Clackamas County, Clackamas, and Oregon City.
We serve clients throughout California including Los Angeles County, Antelope Valley, Lancaster, Palmdale, Beverly Hills, Glendale, Los Angeles, Torrance, San Gabriel Valley, Baldwin Park, Covina, Glendora, West Covina, Bakersfield, Orange County, Huntington Beach; Riverside County, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, San Bernardino County, Ontario, San Diego County, Chula Vista, and San Diego.
Wrongful Death
What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit in California?
A wrongful death lawsuit may be brought to the civil court under Oregon, Washington, and California law when a victim dies due to the negligence, recklessness, or otherwise wrongful actions of another party (whether it be a business or another individual).
Only survivors of the victim can file a wrongful death claim. The victim's surviving parents or siblings, their children, grandparents, and any other person who may have been a dependent of the wrongful death victim. Only these heirs of the victim may file a wrongful death claim, though they may do so either jointly or separately.
Only survivors of the victim can file a wrongful death claim. The victim's surviving parents or siblings, their children, grandparents, and any other person who may have been a dependent of the wrongful death victim. Only these heirs of the victim may file a wrongful death claim, though they may do so either jointly or separately.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Wrongful Death?
A wrongful death claim can be filed for a number of different reasons, but they are all the result of a careless and largely preventable choice. Wrongful deaths can occur on the road, at work, even at a doctor's office. The most common causes of wrongful death are as follows:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Most wrongful death cases result from car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, and pedestrian accidents. Motor vehicle accidents caused by speeding, dangerous or reckless driving, distracted driving, and DUI are some of the most common causes.
Workplace Accidents
Whether it's a slip and fall accident or using defective products or equipment, the workplace is another common place where a fatal accident may occur.
Medical Malpractice
Another common cause of wrongful death, medical malpractice includes situations such as when a doctor fails to properly diagnose a condition like cancer, or a medical professional commits medical negligence by administering an improper medication or dose.
What Money Can I Recover in a Wrongful Death Claim?
In cases where another party is negligent and causes the death of a victim, the survivors of the decedent suffer economic and non-economic damages. It can be painful to lose a loved one and experience the emotional stress that follows. The loss of love, companionship, comfort, affection and guidance that your loved one provided is just one of the damages a wrongful death lawyer from E.L. Law Firm can help you recover.
Survivors of the victim may additionally recover wrongful death damages based on:
Survivors of the victim may additionally recover wrongful death damages based on:
Loss of Future Earnings of the Victim
You could be eligible to recover damages if you can demonstrate financial dependence on the deceased.
Lost Benefits
You may also be eligible for compensation if the victim was set to receive future medical benefits, a pension, or other potential benefits.
Fixed Expenses Such as Medical Bills and Funeral Costs
In the wake of a wrongful death, fixed expenses can accumulate, including medical expenses before the death and funeral expenses after the death.
Who Can File A Wrongful Death Claim?
In the states of Oregon, Washington, and California there are strict regulations surrounding who can and cannot file for wrongful death.
The following are those who are most entitled to the lawsuit claim:
- Spouse - If your spouse or domestic partner was the victim of wrongful death, you are legally entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit and seek compensation for the loss. As the surviving spouse, you are likely entitled to many economic and non-economic damages.
- Children - If you have lost your biological or adoptive parent, you are entitled to seek compensation. There are also several additions to this category.
- Parents - If you are the parent of the deceased, you are entitled to file for a wrongful death claim. This only applies if your child was a minor at the time of death, or was an adult with no descendants.
- Other Heirs - If there can be found no spouse, child, or parent to be considered the survivors of the victim, another surviving family member may be found to be the "heir". Heirs are people who can be found to legally and logically inherit the property of the deceased person, assuming that the victim passed without a viable will in place.
