Legal Question in Insurance Law in Oregon

Am I at fault?

a few days ago I was involved in a car accident. My licence is suspended and I do not have insurance, but the wreck happend like this... I came up behind a long line of cars waiting for a train to pass. after waiting about 5 minutes I decided to turn around and go the other way, but just as I started to turn my car a little pickup truck was comming at me going way over the speed limit ( as if he needed to get somewhare and the train was takeing too long). So just moments befor he had just done the same turn around I was attempting, but he was going so fast that when he seen the front end of my car start to pull out he locked up his brakes and slid a long ways and still hit the front of my car so hard it buckeled his whole drivers side front wheel and front fender. the truck was so damaged we could not move it off the street without the help of the tow truck. he hit the front driver side corner of my car, it broke the head light and pushed the corner of my hood up about 3/4 of an inch, but my car was able to drive away just fine. Am I totaly at fault??


Asked on 5/09/05, 4:40 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sam Hochberg Sam Hochberg & Associates

Re: Am I at fault?

Tough situation you're in. "Fault" is ultimately decided by a jury, and in Oregon, fault can be apportioned. It works more or less like this: Let's say you were awarded $10,000 by a jury, but they find that you were 40% at fault for this accident. Your $10k just became $6k, because your award was reduced by your own percentage of "fault," or in your case, more specifically, negligence. The trick is, in Oregon, if you are deemed by a jury, arbitrator or judge to be MORE than 50% at fault, then you get nothing at all. The states differ in how they analyze fault.

From your facts, I can't really tell what happened. It's the sort of thing that would have to be measured out and possibly, reconstructed, or to at least move little cars around on a desk just to explain. If your damages weren't too serious or too extensive, then it might be worth the time and the money you may have to spend to rectify the fault issue, if that's possible.

If you were injured in this, you may already know that under current Oregon law, you cannot collect ANY money for your pain and suffering, solely because you were uninsured. The law that requires this analysis is currently under appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. IF the court finds that portion of the law unenforceable, you win.

Please note that there is a TWO-YEAR statute of limitations in Oregon, on accident injury claims. This means that if the case has NOT been settled by that date, then, you may be barred forever beyond that date, unless a proper lawsuit were filed in the proper court, by that two-year anniversary. That "tolls" the statute.

Good luck!

Sam

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Answered on 5/09/05, 8:12 pm


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