Category: Personal Injury Law

Life Insurance

If your loved one had life insurance, that policy should pay separately from any wrongful death claim. People usually name specific beneficiaries in their life insurance policies. If the life insurance policy does name specific beneficiaries, then the life insurance company should pay those claims. Some people also have Accidental Death clauses added to their… read more

Insurance Policy Limits Oregon

Every insurance policy has limits. This is the maximum amount that the insurance company will have to pay. Automobile insurance limits are typically quoted as two numbers with a slash between them. For example, as of this writing, ORS 806.070 requires that an automobile policy issued in Oregon must have liability limits of at least… read more

Liability Insurance and Policy Limits

Every driver in Oregon is required to have liability insurance. Liability insurance is meant to protect you if you are legally responsible for an automobile accident. It is also a possible source of compensation in a Portland wrongful death case resulting from a car crash because the deceased person’s family can bring a claim against… read more

Choosing the Venue

“Venue” means where a lawsuit is filed. The options are Federal Court or State Court, and then within the State Court system, a particular county must be chosen. This is a complicated decision that depends upon the specific details of your case, but here’s an overview of why “where” is very important. In general, State… read more

The McDonald’s Coffee Case—A Myth Explained

There seems to be more and more criticism of personal injury lawsuits. People have tried to claim compensation for some very frivolous injuries. We hate frivolous lawsuits more than anyone. We make our living pursuing justice in the courts, and frivolous lawsuits give the courts and justice a bad name. Most personal injury suits are… read more

Damages – Economic, Non-economic, and Punitive

You will hear a lot of people talking about “damages” during a wrongful death case. “Damages” can refer to the amount of money you have lost and the suffering you have undergone as a result of the loss of your loved one, but “damages” also refers to the amount of money a jury decides is… read more

Meeting with and Choosing Your Attorney

Choosing a lawyer is of course a crucial step in the process. You should interview several lawyers, and you should ask them hard questions. Take notes, and feel free to bring a trusted friend or relative with you. But do be aware that the presence of a friend may negate the confidentiality of the meeting,… read more

Role of the Personal Representative

Even if you are not considering hiring a professional, thought still must be put into who should be the PR. For example, if a woman dies leaving behind a husband and two children, ages 19 and 21, which of the three would make the best PR? One of the children may get more sympathy from… read more

How a personal representative is chosen for an estate

The personal representative has to be approved by a judge. Usually, all of the beneficiaries will agree upon one of them to be the personal representative. There is a specific order that the law states (ORS 113.085) is the preferred way to choose a P.R. Here is the order: Executor named in a will Spouse… read more

The Myth of “Cashing In”

You should be aware that insurance companies have been engaging in a well-financed advertising campaign for over 30 years to try to convince the general public that injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits are simply about greedy people trying to “cash in” on a tragedy. They do this because it saves them millions of dollars…. read more