Ms. P was going 35 mph southbound on SE. 82nd Ave. in Clackamas, OR in her Chrysler Pacifica when a 17-year-old going 35 mph northbound turn left in front of her in his dad’s Honda CRV and hit her head on. Ms. P herniated a disc in her neck and had to have surgery. She incurred almost $63,000 in medical expenses and her vocal cords were temporarily paralyzed due to the surgery.
Unfortunately, the 17-year-old’s dad had only $50,000 of insurance on his vehicle with GEICO. We didn’t want to ask the 17-year-old to contribute to the settlement as he wouldn’t have been able to. Instead, we convinced the dad to contribute $100,000 to the settlement as he had not adequately insured the vehicle and was liable under the Family Purpose Doctrine which in Oregon makes a parent liable for their child’s negligent driving if:
Next, we got Ms. P’s auto insurer USAA to pay $100,000 in underinsured motorist benefits. Every auto insurance policy in Oregon has underinsured motorist benefits which requires the auto insurer to pay its insured when they are injured in an accident and there isn’t enough insurance to fully compensate them.
Finally, we got USAA to waive its right to reimbursement of the $25,000 + in medical expenses it paid on Ms. P’s behalf under her personal injury protection coverage making the total amount recovered over $275,000.
Call or text G. R. Johnson Law, LLC at 541-585-2222 if you have been injured in an accident. We can help.
