There are around 160,000 registered motorcycle riders in Oregon, but any experienced rider will acknowledge that Portland offers some amazing routes. Top of the list for any motorcyclist should be a day trip along the Columbus River Gorge, the Clackamas River Highway, or the Nestucca River Road.
Every motorcyclist also knows that with the freedom of the road comes great risk.
There are roughly 1,000 collisions with motorcycles on Oregon roads every year, and around 100 of those collisions result in a fatality. If another driver’s reckless actions caused you to spin out while riding your motorcycle, you shouldn’t have to pay for any related bills.
All your medical expenses and bike repairs should be paid by the at-fault driver. Making sure you get that compensation is the job of a skilled Portland motorcycle accident lawyer.
The personal injury attorneys at Dozier Law Group have helped many motorcyclists secure the maximum settlements they are entitled to in the aftermath of an accident.
Even though you might be able to walk away from a crash with a car, you should still see a doctor. Whether that first visit is to an urgent care, ER, or your doctor, the bills start to accumulate. When you add in the repairs to your bike, it can create a huge financial burden.
If your accident was caused by another driver’s reckless actions, you should not be out-of-pocket for any of those expenses.
In order to seek reimbursement for your medical expenses, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering, you and your attorney need to build a strong case. It begins by documenting everything related to the accident. That includes a pain journal of how your injuries have impacted your life.
You’ll also want to avoid a fast settlement before you know the full scope of your expenses. Insurance companies are notorious for offering lowball settlements in the hopes that you’ll cash the check just to have money in hand. The problem is that if you’re hit with a medical bill or have to stay out of work longer than anticipated, you won’t be able to go back and ask for more money.
That’s why you want to confer with your attorney to make sure what you’re asking for is correct.
With years of specialized expertise in Portland and throughout Oregon, our team navigates motorcycle accident laws effectively. We hold negligent parties accountable, ensuring justice for injuries and damages. Trust our dedicated representation to navigate the complexities of your motorcycle accident case with proven results.
On a sunny Friday in June, deckhand Tyler Turner hopped on his motorcycle for a quick ride to the Post Office. He’d been living in Gresham attending Mt. Hood Community College, but with the recreational fishing season in full swing, Turner was back on the coast, and needed to change his mailing address. He never made it. He was a few blocks into his errand when a car pulled out in front of him.
“I impacted the driver door,” Turner, 26, recalled. “When I came to on the pavement, I knew it was going to be a lifelong injury. I couldn’t feel anything from my chest down. I knew it was paralysis.”
He broke his T4, T5, and T6 vertebrae. The T4 break impinged his spine, causing the paralysis. In addition to his spinal injuries, his sternum was snapped in half, and his lungs bruised. It would be two months of hospitalization and rehabilitation before he could go home – ample time to consider his life.
In this motorcycle accident, our client Tyler Turner contended that defendant Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) had contributed to the accident by negligently failing to correct hazardous conditions at the highway intersection where he was injured. In a summary judgment motion, ODOT claimed immunity from liability under ORS 30.265(6)(c), a provision of the Oregon Tort Claims Act, ORS 30.260 to ORS 30.300, that immunizes governmental entities from tort liability for “the performance of or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty.” ODOT’s claim of immunity rested on the theory that, because it has a policy of seeking highway safety improvement funding from the legislature only for the most crash-prone sites in the state highway system, ODOT’s omission of the crash site from its appropriation requests amounted to a budget-driven, discretionary policy decision not to make improvements at the site. Plaintiff opposed the motion with evidence that ODOT employees knew that the intersection was dangerous but had neglected to make improvements by using ODOT’s other mechanisms for evaluating and funding low-cost highway safety improvements.
One of the most common excuses from a driver involved in a motorcycle crash is the assertion that they didn’t see the motorcycle that rode up fast on them. However, as long as the rider is following the applicable laws pertaining to motorcyclists, the “I didn’t see them” excuse will not hold any weight.
You and your motorcycle accident attorney need to establish the four core elements of negligence. Those are the duty of care, the breach of duty, the causation, and the damages.
Essentially, this is the link between the responsibility of the driver, how they broke that responsibility, and how that caused your injuries. Those elements need to be backed up by the following essential evidence:
That might seem like a lot of work to gather all that evidence. Fortunately, the lawyers at Dozier Law Group understand what is required to prevail in an accident claim and can help collect the relevant information, including securing the surveillance footage.
As you and your attorney prepare to present your accident claim, you need to detail how the crash happened. Here are some of the most common accident causes riders see in Portland and across Oregon:
Whether your collision was with a car or truck, zeroing in on the cause of your accident will help identify the at-fault party.
When you file a motorcycle accident claim, you are entitled to seek compensation for your damages, but there are limits when you make that claim through an insurance company. Oregon law mandates minimum insurance requirements.
If the driver who caused your accident only purchased the minimum requirements, that would be the most you can receive from the insurance company. What happens if your medical bills are higher? That’s when you would need to file a civil complaint and sue the at-fault driver to fill in the gap.
While there are no caps for compensatory damages, such as medical expenses and lost wages, there are caps in Oregon for your non-economic damages in a wrongful death claim.
Surviving family members of a motorcyclist who lost their life due to another driver’s negligence are only entitled to a maximum of $500,000.
In Oregon, the statute of limitations for motorcycle accident claims is generally two years from the date of the crash. If you fail to file within this window, it will usually result in the loss of your right to seek compensation. It is vital to consult a lawyer early to make sure that all deadlines and notice requirements are met.
As of current Oregon law, lane splitting is generally illegal, though ‘lane filtering’ under very specific low-speed traffic conditions was recently debated and updated. Because these laws are complex and evolving, if you were involved in a filtering accident, you should have an attorney review the specific circumstances to determine liability.
Most Portland motorcycle accident attorneys, including Dozier Law Group, work on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay $0 upfront, and the firm only receives a percentage of the final settlement or jury award. If we do not win your case, you do not owe any attorney fees.
Motorcyclists often face unique challenges after a crash that drivers of passenger vehicles do not. The first impression by most insurance companies is that a motorcyclist is inherently reckless and responsible for the crash. This is a kind of “biker bias” that makes it harder to recover the full compensation you deserve. Retaining the services of experienced legal representation can change that.
The attorneys at Dozier Law Group have helped many motorcyclists who were injured because of reckless drivers. We understand the devastating physical, emotional, and financial consequences you face after a serious collision. That is why we’re focused on results. We want to help our clients secure the settlement they are due in the shortest amount of time possible.
We achieve that goal by preserving critical evidence and using that to negotiate with insurance companies. If that insurance company is not being reasonable and wants to shift the blame onto you, you might suggest filing an official civil complaint. It will mean taking the insurance company and the at-fault driver to court. That can be a game-changer in terms of what you can receive in a settlement.
You do not have to take on insurance adjusters or navigate Oregon’s complex injury laws alone. If you were injured in a motorcycle accident caused by someone else’s negligence, reach out to the Dozier Law Group for a free consultation. The sooner you get your questions answered, the sooner you’ll be able to move forward towards a resolution.
