Oregon Car Accident Laws Designed to Help Injury Victims

According to Oregon Car Accident Laws, Innocent Victims Deserve Fair and Just Compensation for Their Losses

Driving while drunk in Oregon, or any state for that matter, is a criminal offense. In addition to being subject to penalties for the crime of drunk driving, if involved in an accident where injuries are sustained, the driver and his or her insurance company can also be held financially responsible for compensation of the damages sustained by others in the accident—an often very difficult situation to deal with.  However, Oregon car accident laws are designed to not only punish those who risk innocent lives by driving recklessly and irresponsibly, but these same laws are also designed to provide DUI accident victims and their families a means by which to obtain fair and just compensation for their losses.

Anyone in Oregon who is injured in a car accident due to the negligence of another, DUI-related or not, has the right to seek various types of monetary compensation when it comes to filing a personal injury lawsuit against the guilty driver.  Some of this compensation may take the form of:

• Payment of medical bills
• Reimbursement for wage loss and future earning potential
• Pain and suffering
• Punitive damages

Oregon juries in both civil and criminal courts tend to treat drunk drivers who injure others harshly. Consequently, in an effort to shield themselves from a hostile, often exorbitant jury awards, insurance companies of drunk drivers are typically eager to settle any pending personal injury claim outside of court before the driver’s criminal trial occurs. An experienced personal injury attorney will know how to use Oregon car accident laws to his or her advantage and gain top-dollar compensation for victims of drunk driving incidents.

Oregon Car Accident Laws Are Not Effective When Drivers Refuse to Abide by them

Designed to deter unsafe drivers from driving when they shouldn’t, Oregon car accident laws still didn’t prevent a horrific DUI-related accident that took the life a nine-year-old boy over the weekend.  Our sympathies go out to the family of this tragedy.  What began as a routine family barbeque on Saturday night culminated in a tragic car accident in which the boy was thrown from his uncle’s car when the uncle lost control of the car on Highway 16 in Purdy.

After spending Saturday evening at the family barbecue, the uncle in this tragic tale offered to drive the boy and his sister to a grandparent’s house—their mother gave the uncle her permission to do so. On the way there, the uncle succumbed to the effects of his previous alcohol consumption and marijuana use at the barbeque and crashed the car. The force of the wreck ejected the driver from the vehicle (he suffers from a broken pelvis) and resulted in fatal injury to the nine-year-old. The apparently un-harmed younger sister climbed from the wreckage and went for help.  According to police reports, the young sister stated that she and her brother had been yelling for their uncle to slow down just before the wreck occurred.

Currently on suicide watch, the uncle was reported to have a blood-alcohol level of twice the legal limit and admitted that he smoked marijuana at the barbeque, but drove anyway—both acts which violate Oregon car accident laws—will inevitably be determined to have caused the accident. The driver will be booked and charged with DUI upon release from the hospital. As for the nine-year-old nephew in this incident, the family decided to remove him from life support on Sunday as doctors verified that tests revealed that no brain activity was present.

Contact DuBois Law Group for Legal Assistance or Representation of Personal Injury Matters in Oregon

At DuBois Law Group, we offer legal assistance and representation to all types of personal injury cases. Highly-regarded in state, local, and federal judicial systems, we have the experienced and successful Portland personal injury attorneys you want on your side should you need to file a lawsuit or negotiate an insurance settlement.  If you or a loved one has been injured due to the carelessness of another and need legal advice or assistance with the filing of a personal injury lawsuit or insurance claim, we invite you to contact us for a free consultation.