By using a strained interpretation of the PIP statute, GEICO has saved thousands of dollars in Oregon over the last few years by denying PIP benefits to persons driving GEICO insured vehicles with the owner’s permission who were injured in motor vehicle accidents. Permissive driver situations include lending your car to a friend, a co-worker or a family member who does not reside with you. This even includes using a designated driver – someone to driver your car if you have consumed alcohol. Fortunately for Oregonians, the Court of Appeals did not agree with GEICO’s argument. The law is now clarified. Permissive drivers who are operating Oregon insured vehicles and who are involved in motor vehicle collisions are entitled to PIP coverage as a matter of law.

If you were a permissive driver, vehicle owner or passenger who was injured in any kind of accident, including an automobile collision caused by another driver’s negligence, I represent clients in the Portland, Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties and throughout Oregon. To learn more, call Travis Mayor at (503) 288-8000, ext. 109 for a free consultation.

ORS 20.080 applies to all torts, which are civil wrongs that cause injury, loss or damage.  Torts can arise from either intentional or negligent conduct, and include personal injuries and property damage.  One of the most common and effective ways a personal injury victim can use ORS 20.080 to their advantage is in motor vehicle collisions involving bruising, whiplash and soft tissue injuries.  If the resulting injuries from the collision or auto accident are the type that are typically treated by a chiropractor or physical therapist and of the kind where an insurance company will try to downplay and minimize them, ORS 20.080 provides the injured person a tool to make the insurance company and negligent person make serious settlement offers.  If they do not, then they are exposing themselves to attorney’s fees.  In sum, ORS 20.080 makes smaller injury cases worth pursuing for personal injury clients and their attorneys.  For more on how this statute works, see my blog called “The Power of 20.080.”

Also, while the increase in damage limit from $7,500 to $10,000 does not go into effect until January 1, 2012, it applies to claims where the person was injured prior to the effective date.  That means that someone who was injured in 2011 can make a written demand on the at-fault person and his/her insurance company for $10,000 under ORS 20.080 after January 1, 2012.

If you were injured in any kind of accident, including an automobile collision caused by another driver’s negligence, received soft tissue injures, and underwent physical therapy or chiropractic treatment; your case might be perfect for ORS 20.080.  I represent clients in the Portland, Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties and throughout Oregon.  To learn more, call Travis Mayor at (503) 288-8000, ext. 109 for a free consultation.

The personal representative in an Oregon wrongful death claim can seek compensation for expenses related to the wrongful death, including medical bills, burial and memorial expenses, and lost wages during the period between injury and death.  The Oregon wrongful death statute also allows the personal representative to recover money for the loss of future income the decedent would have earned throughout his or her life, lost medical insurance, pensions and other pecuniary losses.  The decedent’s beneficiaries can also be compensated for the loss of society and companionship of the decedent in an amount not to exceed $500,000.  Punitive damages may be recoverable under certain circumstances when the decedent’s death is caused by the severe recklessness, egregiousness or intentional conduct of the at-fault person or persons.

The statute of limitations on wrongful death claims in Oregon is three years, which means the claim must be settled or a lawsuit must be filed within that time period to preserve the claim.  Only the personal representative of the decedent’s estate may settle or file a wrongful death claim and the personal representative must be appointed by the court in the county in which the decedent died or resided.  Timing is of the essence when it comes to appointment of a personal representative to pursue the wrongful death claim or action.

The loss of a loved one is not only emotionally devastating, but it can be financially devastating as well.  This is especially true if the decedent was a financial provider for the family.  For these reasons, exploring your rights and potential wrongful death claim under Oregon law is critically important.

If your family member was fatally injured by another person’s negligence, recklessness or intentional conduct, then the decedent’s estate and beneficiaries likely have a civil wrongful death claim under Oregon law.  To learn more, call Travis Mayor at (503) 288-8000 for a free consultation.  I handle wrongful death cases in the Portland Metropolitan region and throughout the State of Oregon.

The general rule in Oregon is “at-will employment,” which means that an employer may ordinarily discharge an employee at any time for any reason.  The exception to this general rule lies in the common law tort of wrongful discharge. Oregon courts consider a termination to be wrongful when the employee was (1) discharged for exercising a job-related right of important public interest, or (2) discharged for complying with a public duty.

Under this framework, the following are examples of instances when Oregon courts have found terminations of employment to be wrongful:

• Employee discharged for resisting sexual harassment in the workplace;
• Employee discharged for resisting discrimination in the workplace;
• Employee discharged for filing a workers’ compensation claim;
• Employee terminated for serving on jury duty;
• Employee terminated for threatening to make good-faith report of patient abuse in a nursing home to Oregon health division;
• Employee terminated for refusing to sign false and potentially defamatory statement about co-worker;
• Employee was terminated for making good-faith report to state of dangerous conditions and potential physical abuse in care center for developmentally disabled residents.

The aforementioned examples are not a complete list of every type of discharge that would be considered “wrongful” under Oregon law. Further, certain discharges and terminations might directly violate Oregon and/or Federal statutes giving rise to a statutory claim in addition to or in lieu of a wrongful discharge claim.  For employees who were terminated from their jobs governed by an agreement with the employer, their remedy lies in an action for breach of contract.

If you were terminated from your job in the Portland Metropolitan area for exercising a job-related right or because you were complying with the law, please call me for a free consultation at (503) 288-8000 or e-mail me at travis@mayorlaw.com.

Under the new ORS 20.080, a personal injury claimant must make a written demand for damages, up to $7,500, on the at-fault person and the at-fault person’s insurance company, if known. The demand must cite to ORS 20.080, include proof of damages (i.e., medical records, medical expenses, bills, etc.), and provide the at-fault party thirty days to settle.

If after thirty days the person who caused the accident does not respond or refuses to settle, the personal injury claimant can file a lawsuit against the at-fault party. Then, if the injured person recovers anything (even one dollar), the at-fault party must pay the amount awarded by the arbitrator as well as the injured party’s court costs and attorney’s fees. If the at-fault party responds with an offer to settle that is less than what was demanded and the injured party files a lawsuit, the personal injury claimant must beat the offer at arbitration to receive his or her attorney’s fees.

It is the risk of having to pay the injured person’s court costs and attorney’s fees on top of the damage award that makes insurance companies and their insureds takes claims made under ORS 20.080 seriously. While ORS 20.080 applies to all torts, it is commonly used in motor vehicle accidents involving whiplash, soft tissue injuries, or property damage. Perhaps more importantly, ORS 20.080 gives personal injury attorneys an economic incentive to take on these smaller cases and provide representation to the injured victims.

If you were injured in a car accident by another driver’s negligence, received soft tissue injures, and underwent physical therapy or chiropractic treatment; your case might be perfect for ORS 20.080. To learn more, call Travis Mayor at (503) 288-8000 for a free consultation

The ban applies to talking and texting while the car is moving and stopped.  If caught, the violation will cost the offender $142.  However, hands-free devices are permitted.  Unfortunately, driving with a hands-free device may not be any safer than driving with a hand-held cell phone.

Research shows that drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a collision when they are using a cell phone.  Research also shows that hand-free devices are not more safe because the conversation itself creates the distraction.

A few months ago the New York Times ran a series of articles about the danger of driving while using a cell phone and the federal government’s knowledge of the danger, which it withheld from the public until recently.  For more information, go to http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/technology/19distracted.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/technology/21distracted.html

While driving and talking on a cell phone is very convenient and perhaps a way of life for many people, it is highly dangerous and now illegal in Oregon.  Please consider the risks when you get behind the wheel and drive safely.

Most people take their auto insurance for granted. Oftentimes auto insurance becomes another monthly, quarterly or bi-yearly expense we must pay. But when was the last time you looked at your motor vehicle insurance policy to assess if you are properly insured? Do you know how much coverage you currently have on your vehicles?

Oregon law requires drivers to purchase a minimum of $25,000 in auto liability insurance. However, in many cases, this minimum coverage is not nearly enough to protect you in the event you are involved in an accident caused by another driver. It does not take much of a collision for your damages for medical expenses, lost wages due to injury, future medical expenses and pain & suffering to surpass the $25,000 minimum insurance requirement. That is why you cannot count on other drivers to be adequately insured. There are too many drivers on the road with the minimum required insurance coverage and some who drive without insurance.

For this reason, you should increase the amount of UM/UIM coverage on your own auto policy. UM/UIM stands for Uninsured (UM) and Underinsured (UIM) motorist coverage. UM/UIM coverage protects you when an accident is caused by the negligence of another driver who either has no insurance or has insurance coverage that is too low to cover your damages. If you are injured in an accident through the fault of an uninsured/underinsured driver, whether you were driving or were a pedestrian, your own insurance company will provide coverage up to the limits of your UM/UIM policy. Underinsured (UIM) insurance is the same as Uninsured (UM), except that the money is paid in addition to the negligent driver’s insurance, if the negligent driver’s insurance coverage is not enough to pay your damages.

For example, if you are injured by a negligent driver who has the minimum requirement of $25,000 in liability insurance and your own insurance policy has UM/UIM limits of $100,000, then your policy would provide you with coverage up to $100,000. If you recover the full $25,000 from the at-fault driver, you have an additional $75,000 of coverage under your own policy to compensate you for your injuries.