Luis Martinez spent nearly five years inside the insurance industry before he ever represented an injured person. As a claims adjuster for State Farm, he evaluated injury claims the way insurers evaluate them: what a case is worth, where it is weak, and what it takes to settle for less. Since 2002, he has used that experience to represent injured people.
That background shapes how he builds a case. Luis knows what adjusters look for, how they value medical treatment, and where they expect to find gaps. He prepares claims that answer those questions before they are asked, and he prepares every case as if it may need to go to trial.
His practice focuses on people injured in crashes they did not cause: drivers, passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists. Based in Salem, he represents clients throughout Oregon and travels anywhere in the state when a case calls for it. He also handles a problem many injured people do not see coming, improper denial of personal injury protection (PIP) benefits by their own insurance company. Reviewing PIP denials was part of his work as an adjuster. Now he challenges them.
Luis is from Salem. He graduated from McNary High School, earned a degree in finance and economics from the University of Oregon, and analyzed injury cases for a plaintiff’s firm before law school. At Willamette University College of Law he graduated cum laude, in the top ten percent of his class, and served on the Willamette Law Review.
Most of his clients have never needed a lawyer before. Luis explains where you stand in plain language, tells you what to expect at each step, and handles communications and negotiations with the insurance company so you can focus on getting better.
The office works in English and Spanish. Luis is fluent in written and spoken Spanish, and his lead assistants, Ariadna Hernandez and Jennifer Pacheco, are bilingual as well. Every step of a case, from the first call to the final settlement, can happen in the language you are most comfortable speaking.
Outside the practice, Luis served three years on the board of the Public Defender of Marion County and is active in the Salem Chamber of Commerce.
A consultation is free, and there is no fee unless the firm recovers money for you.