The defendant in this matter lost control of his vehicle, side-swiped another vehicle, and collided with our client head-on. This collision totaled our client’s car and left her with serious injuries. She was immediately rushed to the local hospital, where her examination revealed a number of severe injuries. These included a cracked and bruised sternum, … Read More
Generous Insurance Settlement Reached Despite Low Policy Limits
The details of another successful Dwyer Williams Cherkoss PC car accident injury settlement are as follows: our client, a young and able-bodied Central Oregonian woman, was having trouble starting her car. She popped the hood and manually opened it while waiting for another motorist to pull forward and help her jump-start the car. This motorist … Read More
Issues At Trial In Impairment of Earning Capacity Claim
This post is part two in a three-part trial report. The judge in our case was the recently retired Honorable Stephen N. Tiktin from Bend. He was excellent, as usual. The Defense Counsel was Barry Goehler, head of Nationwide Insurance’s in-house firm. He did a fine job and was very easy to work with. The main … Read More
What is Impaired Earning Capacity?
Much confusion surrounds the claim of impairment of earning capacity. While this claim used to be an element of noneconomic damages (“pain and suffering”), it has since become an element of economic damages (“out of pocket losses”). However, proving the claim can be difficult. Because of that difficulty, I submit the following in my Trial … Read More
New Car Accident Case Resolved in Arbitration
It’s every car buyer’s worst nightmare – being involved in a car wreck in your new car before it’s added to your insurance policy. That’s exactly what happened to our Portland, Oregon client. He had purchased a new vehicle and had owned it for three days when he was injured in an accident before he … Read More
Lost Wages Central Issue in PIP Case
Once an active mother with two small children, our client’s life changed dramatically when she was injured in a Portland, Oregon auto accident. Her extensive medical care nearly exhausted the $15,000 in personal injury protection (PIP) benefits she had available. Despite her efforts to recover, the demands of the job she had always enjoyed became … Read More