FAQs

Get to safety and call 911 if anyone may be injured. Seek medical attention promptly if you are injured or concerned about symptoms, and follow the treatment advice you receive. Gaps in treatment can weaken a claim. Photograph the vehicles, the scene, and anything relevant while you can. Exchange information but do not discuss who was at fault. Report the crash to your own insurer (Oregon also requires a DMV collision report within 72 hours for crashes involving injury or significant damage; a police report does not replace it), and keep every document. Then, before you talk to the other driver’s insurance company, get legal advice. The consultation costs nothing.

Talk to a lawyer first. The other driver’s insurer may call quickly and ask for a recorded statement, but you generally are not required to give one, and it rarely helps your claim. A statement taken before your injuries are fully diagnosed may later be used to dispute the claim. Your own policy is different and usually requires reasonable cooperation with your insurer, but you can consult a lawyer first. Talk to a lawyer before giving any recorded statement.

For most Oregon injury claims the limit is generally two years from the injury, but treat that as a starting point, not an answer. Some claims carry their own longer limits, others require formal notice within months, and exceptions run in both directions. Evidence also fades long before any deadline arrives. The reliable rule: get advice early, even if you are still treating and nowhere near ready to decide anything.

It means the attorney fee is contingent on recovery: we are paid an agreed percentage of what we recover for you, and if we recover nothing, you owe no attorney fee. The percentage and how case costs are handled are explained in plain language, in writing, before you sign anything, so there are no surprises at the end. You pay nothing up front, and you never receive an hourly bill.

Your own coverage usually pays first. Standard Oregon auto policies include personal injury protection (PIP), which pays medical bills from a crash regardless of fault; health insurance typically applies after PIP is exhausted. The at-fault driver’s insurer generally pays through a settlement rather than paying bills as they arrive. Do not ignore bills while waiting. How payments and reimbursements are handled affects what you keep, and it is part of what we address.

Honestly, not always. If you were not injured and the claim is only vehicle damage, you can often handle it yourself. A lawyer earns their fee when there are real injuries, disputed fault, multiple insurers, or an offer that does not match your losses. Insurers often price claims differently when a firm that tries cases is involved. A free consultation will tell you which situation you are in, and we will say so plainly if you do not need us.

You talk with the office about the crash, your injuries, and your insurance, in English or Spanish. Bring what you have (crash report, photos, insurance cards, medical paperwork), but missing documents are not a problem. You leave with a plain assessment: whether you likely have a claim, what its challenges are, and what happens next if you hire us. There is no fee, no obligation, and no pressure; the decision stays yours.

The biggest factor is medical: a claim should not settle before your recovery, and any permanent effects, are understood, because a settlement generally cannot be reopened. Beyond that, disputed fault, multiple insurers or defendants, and insurers that will not offer fair value all add time, and filing a lawsuit adds its own schedule. A faster settlement is usually available; it usually means accepting less, because early offers price the unknowns in the insurer’s favor. We will tell you honestly which timeline your case is on.

Yes, every step of it. Luis Martinez is fluent in written and spoken Spanish, his lead assistants are bilingual, and the office routinely handles cases entirely in Spanish, from the first call through settlement. Documents are explained in the language you are most comfortable in, and nothing important is left to a family member to translate. The office handles every stage of a case in English or Spanish.