Legal Question in Personal Injury in Oregon

You didn't do anything wrong in connection with the accident. Oregon law can, subject to some exceptions, deprive you of pain and suffering damages if you had no insurance, but you weren't injured physically, so YES, the opposing insurer should pay for the damage to your car, plus some money for "loss of use," which can be simply a rental car while yours is being fixed, or sometimes, I've seen insurers make payment to a friend for use of their car, although using it for hire COULD void the car's insurance. You'd have to check. Be sure to discuss this with the insurer, since the rental companies typically make you pay at least $10 a day to insure the rental.

The other issue which COULD come up is a license suspension. Make sure that the Oregon DMV has your current address, so you receive NOTICE if your license is suspended for having had an uninsured accident. IF you are so notified, read the papers carefully as soon as you get them, and follow the procedure to request a HEARING on the suspension. Your argument is that you were not driving the car at the time, it was parked. If there's a police report or a witness, bring them. You can hire a lawyer for such a hearing, or just go to it and see what happens. The other common defense is if you can prove that in good faith, you thought you did have insurance. Tough to prove, and if you knew, of course, then that defense isn't available.

But again, the woman whose car hit you IS liable for the damage, up to the fair market value of the car, and you should bring the car to a body shop of your choice. Let the insurer know the car is at your shop, and have the shop and her insurance company deal with it.

Good luck!

-- Sam