It is a frightening scenario that many Oregonian drivers know well: you are carefully driving down a snowy road when you notice a vehicle moving in your direction too fast given the winter conditions. Loss of control in this context is as probable as an accident. In Oregon’s mountain towns like Bend, shortened winter days mean reduced hours of sunlight and poor visibility on roadways. Winter weather makes low-visibility roads even more dangerous: snow, slush, and especially black ice transform familiar roads into potential death traps during the winter months. This is especially true for Oregonian towns at high elevation.
A new client recently came to Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC after getting hit in a winter auto collision. She had been driving slowly and responsibly on a snowy overpass when another driver traveling in the opposite direction lost control of his vehicle and collided with her after sliding into her lane of travel. The force of this collision injured seriously our client’s back and she immediately sought out medical attention for her accident-related injuries. Our client underwent non-invasive treatment, following her doctors’ orders, but still experienced pain at the end of her initial treatment period. At this point, her physicians recommended that she undergo corrective back surgery.
Our client has a conservative approach to medicine and was reluctant to have this surgery done when it was first suggested to her. She is only comfortable undergoing surgery as a last resort and she remains undecided about whether or not she ultimately wants to be operated upon. Nevertheless, she wanted to settle her case and needed the help of an expert car injury lawyer to make sure that she settled with the adverse insurance company for the greatest amount possible given her ongoing accident-related injuries and the anticipated cost of her eventual back surgery.
Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC first approached our client’s main doctor to get clarification of his medical recommendations for her. This doctor confirmed that he recommended back surgery for our client and that this surgery was needed because of injuries that she had sustained in the winter-road auto collision. We then obtained documentation of the cost of the surgery that was recommended for our client as evidence of future medical expenses that she could be expected to incur as a result of the accident, in case she decided to get the surgery at some future time. After several rounds of negotiations with the at-fault driver’s insurance provider, we were able to secure a generous settlement package for our client that included the cost of her possible future surgery. Our client was very happy to have selected Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC as her expert car injury advocates in this personal injury claim.