Most drivers take their obligation to be insured seriously. State and local authorities do their best to ticket and take uninsured drivers off the road. Despite the best efforts of socially responsible drivers and government safety and law enforcement officials, many Oregonians still drive uninsured.
We sometimes take the practical importance of auto insurance for granted. Auto insurance isn't just a strict rule that must be obeyed for fear of serious consequences. Auto insurance is a system designed to provide money compensation to people who have been injured in auto accidents.
That does not mean, however, that if you have been seriously injured in an accident caused by an uninsured driver that you have no right to compensation. Oregon has designed a system to ensure that motorists (or pedestrians or bicyclists) who have been injured by an uninsured driver can nevertheless received compensation for their injuries.
The mechanism is called uninsured motorist coverage. Under Oregon law, every auto policy must contain a minimum of $25,000 in uninsured motorist coverage. That means if you've been injured in a car accident, in Portland, for example, you will need a Portland lawyer to look into the other driver's insurance coverage. If the at-fault driver had no insurance coverage, your policy kicks in up to $25,000. If you have been seriously injured, $25,000 in uninsured motorist coverage likely will not fully compensate you for your injuries-medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. That is why I always encourage my Portland personal injury clients to purchase increased uninsured motorist coverage.
If your insurance company refuses to pay your uninsured motorist claim, you may be forced to file a lawsuit against your own insurance company. Juries do not like insurance companies who refuse to pay out on a policy that the car driver paid money for-sometimes for many years without a claim. These cases can be explosive and result in large damage awards. Oftentimes, the insurance company will ask to arbitrate these claims to avoid angry juries. Arbitration carries with it its own benefit in terms of cost and speed.
Another important type of insurance coverage is known as "underinsured" motorist coverage. In Oregon, this type of coverage kicks in when the driver who caused the car accident injuries has less than $25,000 in insurance coverage. In that scenario, your underinsured motorist coverage will kick in to help compensate you for your injuries.
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage are two of the least understood but most important concepts in Oregon car accident law. In fact, they can also apply to injuries suffered by a pedestrian or bicyclist. If you were injured by someone with little or no insurance, all is not lost. You need to contact a Portland car accident lawyer for assistance in maximizing your recovery via every avenue, including making an uninsured or underinsured insurance coverage claim. If your insurance company refuses to pay, you need an aggressive Portland car accident attorney to hold the insurance company accountable. After all, you've spent years paying into a system so that when the day comes, you will receive the compensation you're entitled to.
Sarah Nelson is a highly-rated female Portland car accident injury lawyer. She offers free same and next day legal consultations to those who have been in a Portland car accident and need a lawyer. Sarah also practices personal injury and car accident law throughout Oregon in Salem, Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, Corvallis, Oregon, Central Oregon (Madras, Redmond, Bend, Prineville, Sisters, Sunriver, Black Butte, Deschutes County, Jefferson County), the Oregon Coast (Seaside, Astoria, Gearhart, Cannon Beach, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Newport, Clatsop County, Lincoln County, Polk County), and Yamhill County (Newberg, McMinnville).