Portland Car Accident Lawyer

It’s common to feel overwhelmed after a car accident. Many crash survivors are not sure about their legal options or how to recoup their losses from the collision. If you were hurt in the crash, you may be unsure about your ability to work, how you’re going to make rent or your mortgage payment, and your financial future.

Portland car accident attorney Rob Kline is here to help. He’s ready to fight for you.

Rob began his legal career working for insurance companies and large corporations. He knows how these entities think and can use that to your advantage while negotiating a settlement or representing you in court. Don’t delay. For a free consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer near you, contact our Portland, OR law firm today.

Dangerous Roads and Highways in Portland

Car accidents can happen anywhere throughout the city, including along Interstate 5, Interstate 84 (the Banfield Freeway), and Interstate 205. For commuters, there’s a major risk of collisions due to heavy traffic, the presence of large commercial vehicles, and the dangers of merging and exiting.

Portland’s High Crash Network identified 30 dangerous streets and intersections that comprise just 8% of the city’s roads but accounted for 67% of all traffic fatalities from 2020 to 2024. Portland’s most dangerous roads and intersections include:

• Northeast Marine Drive

• Southeast Powell Boulevard

• Southeast Division Street

• 122nd Avenue

Yet car accidents in Portland don’t just happen on interstates, highways, and major thoroughfares. Collisions can occur around residential neighborhoods, near schools and parks, and in various commercial sectors.

As Portland’s population continues to expand, locals and new residents need to exercise caution every time they get behind the wheel, get on their bike, or go out for a walk.

How Long Do I Have to File a Car Accident Lawsuit?

There’s a limited amount of time to file a legal claim in Oregon after you’ve been in a car accident or lost a loved one in a fatal collision.

• Per Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) § 12.110, you have two years from the date of an accident to file a personal injury action.
• There is a different statute of limitations for fatal car wrecks. Per ORS § 30.020, you have three years from the date of a fatal car crash to file a wrongful death action.

Once the statute of limitations has passed, you will not be able to file a legal action. There are also exceptions to the above deadlines depending on the parties that were involved in the accident.

It’s best to speak with a Portland car accident lawyer as soon as possible after a crash. By setting up a free consultation with attorney Rob Kline, you can learn about your options and what steps you can take next to secure compensation.

You Can Seek Compensation If You Were Partly at Fault

Some people are hesitant to file a legal action because they were partly liable in a crash. Yet Oregon is a modified comparative negligence state (ORS § 31.600). This means that you can still seek compensation as long as you were less than 50% at fault. Your percentage of fault is deducted from the jury award.

For example, say that you win $100,000 in a car accident lawsuit, but the jury determined you were 20% at fault. Under modified comparative negligence, you would still receive $80,000 in damages.

Remember: you should not admit any fault in a collision to the insurance company or other parties involved. Doing so could affect the value of your claim. This is something you should only discuss with your car accident lawyer.

Why Choose Rob Kline for Your Car Accident Case

There are many car accident lawyers in Portland, OR, but few possess Rob Kline’s local focus, attention to detail, and knowledge of how the insurance industry operates.

With more than 25 years of experience practicing law, Rob provides a high level of dedication to every person who reaches out for help. He also served as the President of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association (OTLA) from 2023 to 2024.

• Recognition for Excellence as an Attorney: Rob has a 10/10 “Superb Lawyer” rating on Avvo, thanks in large part to his high level of experience in car accident litigation. He also has an AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell, which is given to attorneys who exhibit high levels of legal ability and ethical standards.
• Deep Understanding of Portland Roads and Laws: Rob has a detailed knowledge of state and local laws relevant to auto accident litigation. He authored the Oregon Pedestrian Law Guide 2.0, which is part of The OTLA Automobile Litigation Deskbook series. He is also one of the lead authors on the wrongful death and survival actions chapter in Tort Law in Oregon (2024 Edition), published by the Oregon State Bar.
• Free Case Reviews: After a serious collision, the last thing you need is another bill. Rob offers free legal consultations so you can discuss what happened and get sound guidance from a proven legal professional. We’re here to listen and to help.

If you’ve been hurt in a serious crash or lost a loved one, reach out to us today. To set up a free case review with a Portland car accident attorney near you, contact us today.

Common Causes of Car Accidents

Rob Kline and his team have worked on numerous collision cases over the years. These are some of the most common causes of car accidents in Portland.

• Speeding and Reckless Driving: Speeding is a major cause of car accidents nationwide. Reckless driving refers to other actions that could harm people sharing the road, such as refusing to yield the right of way, failing to signal, frequent lane changes, tailgating, and street racing.
• Distracted Driving: There are numerous dangers associated with distracted driving, which refers to actions that divert attention away from the road or cause drivers to remove their hands from the steering wheel. Examples include texting while driving, making a call without a hands-free kit, looking up directions on a mobile phone, eating while driving, and rubbernecking.
• Drunk and Intoxicated Driving: Driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) can impair a person’s decision-making, motor skills, and reaction times. Our team can help you seek compensation if you were involved in a drunk/intoxicated driving accident.
• Driver Fatigue: Driver fatigue is a contributing factor in many accidents involving semi-trucks. When drivers spend long hours behind the wheel, they may experience dangerous lapses in attention and could fall asleep while driving.
• Driving at Night: Low light and poor visibility are major causes of car wrecks as well as pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. In fact, Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) reported that 70% of all traffic fatalities in Portland were due to low-light conditions.
• Poor Road and Weather Conditions: Rain, fog, and other bad weather conditions can adversely affect visibility and traction. Similarly, potholes, debris in the road, poor lighting, and a lack of signage could make driving conditions extremely dangerous.

Potential Injuries in a Car Accident

The injuries in an accident can be severe. Some of the most common injuries people experience in car wrecks include:

• Head Trauma and Neck Injuries: Car accidents can cause head trauma, whiplash, facial injuries, and other kinds of harm to the head and neck.
• Broken Bones and Joint Injuries: Fractured bones and damage to the joints can take months of recovery, followed by long-term effects on strength, range of motion, and limb function.
• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): A major blow to the head can cause a concussion or brain contusion. Serious brain injuries can potentially affect a person’s memory, mood, speech, and motor skills.
• Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI): Damage to a person’s spinal cord can lead to paralysis. People who become paraplegic or quadriplegic from a car wreck will need a wheelchair for mobility for the rest of their lives.
• Internal Organ Injuries: The force of impact in a car crash can cause major injuries to internal organs. Such injuries can have a lasting impact on overall health.
• Loss of Limbs: Some car wrecks can mangle or crush a person’s limbs. There are also accidents in which a limb is so severely injured that doctors recommend amputation.

Injuries to Children in Car Accidents

Rob and his team take special care with all cases that involve accidents that injure children. Oregon has unique laws on when the statute of limitations tolls for accidents involving minors. If your child got seriously hurt in a car crash, our team will approach your case with the urgency and sensitivity it requires.

Fatal Car Accident Cases

If you’ve lost a loved one in a fatal car wreck, you have our sincerest condolences. When you feel ready to speak with an attorney about what happened, Rob can discuss filing a wrongful death lawsuit and what steps you need to take next.

Remember that you have three years from the date of the fatal accident to file a wrongful death action, but it’s best to speak with our car accident lawyer in Portland as soon as possible.

Compensation After a Car Accident

When you are involved in a car accident, there is a lot on the line. The goal of a personal injury claim is to make a person “whole” again after such an accident. To do that, you need full and fair compensation for all the losses you have suffered.

When you work with car accident lawyer Rob Kline, our Portland law office will help calculate economic and non-economic damages related to the collision.

Economic Damages in a Car Accident

Economic losses are intended to restore the injured person to the position they were in prior to the accident. Examples include:

• Bills for medical care you have had to date
• The projected cost for medical care you will need in the future
• A life care plan if future medical needs are extensive and complex
• Lost wages to date
• Other vocational losses, including impaired future earning capacity
• Damage to your vehicle and personal property, such as mobile phones and clothing
• In wrongful death cases, compensation can include the savings that would have been accumulated over the decedent’s lifetime, and the value of monetary support the decedent would have provided to their family

The value of economic damages to date is usually relatively easy to calculate. However, future medical and vocational needs can be more complex to estimate. This requires input from medical doctors, nurses with expertise in the cost of future care, economists, and vocational experts.

Non-Economic Damages in a Car Accident

Non-economic damages are designed to make up for the human losses suffered by the injured person. Non-economic damages do not follow a formula and are more susceptible to disagreements with insurance companies. Examples include:

• Pain
• Mental suffering and emotional distress
• Humiliation
• Inconvenience and interference with normal daily activities
• Loss of quality of life
• Loss of consortium
• In wrongful death cases, the loss of society and companionship suffered by the surviving family members
• Other subjective nonmonetary losses

Punitive Damages in Car Accident Cases

There are some situations where you may be entitled to recover punitive damages. Punitive damages are designed to punish the at-fault driver for wrongful conduct that is malicious, intentional, or reckless. Cases involving road rage or DUII can fall into this category.

How Our Car Accident Attorney Can Help with Your Case

Rob Kline’s goal is to provide you with sound and transparent information about your car accident case. If you agree to work with our legal team, you can count on us for the assistance and insight you need to move forward.

Below are just a few ways our law office in Portland can help with your car accident case.

Gathering Key Accident Evidence

We want to understand all of the details in your accident case, including who caused it and why it happened. Our initial investigation often includes:

• Locating and obtaining statements from eyewitnesses
• Obtaining video footage from cameras in the surrounding area
• Getting photographs of the vehicles and the crash location from witnesses and the insurance companies
• Obtaining vehicle repair estimates, invoices, and photographs
• Downloading data from airbag control modules, event data recorders, and other devices on the vehicles
• Sending letters to vehicle owners (especially those involving commercial vehicles) commanding the preservation of data, records, and other evidence
• Obtaining 911 calls and police reports, including photographs and crash reconstruction analysis
• Getting information from the prosecutor, especially in cases that involve driving under the influence of intoxicants and other vehicle-related crimes
• Engaging crash reconstruction engineers who have a mastery of physics and vehicle dynamics

The more information we have, the better. Portland car accident attorney Rob Kline will work to uncover all available information and data.

Determining Who Is at Fault

Fault in a car accident isn’t always cut and dry.

In some car wrecks, the other driver is the only party responsible for the crash. Other times, a shoddy repair job or defective vehicle design could be to blame. There are also situations in which a company is responsible for an accident due to negligent hiring, training, and supervision policies. Local road authorities can be held accountable for poor road conditions that cause or contribute to an accident.

As Rob and his team investigate your car accident case, we want to identify all potentially responsible parties.

Evaluating How Much Your Claim Is Worth

One of the most common questions our clients have is, “How much is my case worth?”

To determine this, our team will gather information about what happened to you and the harms and losses you have suffered. This will include a detailed review of all of the economic and non-economic damages you have suffered, the potential for punitive damages, and whether partial liability in a car accident will affect how much you will receive in compensation.

Calculating damages on your own isn’t so easy. When you work with Rob and his Portland legal team, we will meticulously evaluate the ways the wreck has impacted your life. We will help you get a sense of the true value of your claim.

Negotiating with the Insurance Company

After we fully understand the full scope of your losses and what your future looks like after the accident, we submit a detailed settlement demand package to the responsible party’s insurance company. Because the burden of proof is on our shoulders, we have to provide compelling evidence of what is owed, why it is owed, and why it should be paid at this level.

• The demand package starts with breaking down what happened in the accident, and why the other driver was engaged in dangerous behavior and not following the rules of the road that everyone is expected to obey.
• Next is a detailed summary of the arc of your medical care, with supporting records and billings. We frequently include X-rays, MRIs, and photographs of your injuries where appropriate. In some cases, we use medical illustrations that help reveal internal injuries and explain complex surgical procedures.
• Next, we provide a narrative description of the human losses you have suffered as a result of your injuries, including photographs of you before and after the accident.

Portland car accident lawyer Rob Kline is highly skilled at negotiating with insurance companies. Our team will provide powerful evidence that is hard to refute and designed to maximize the compensation you receive. As the process unfolds, we can let you know if you should accept a settlement offer from the insurance company.

Filing a Lawsuit Against the At-Fault Party

We try to settle your case whenever possible. Settling can save you time, avoid the expenses of litigation, and enable you to move on with your life sooner.

Unfortunately, insurance companies can engage in unfair and abusive tactics. This is part of their zeal to pay you the least amount of money possible.

When that happens, Rob and his team will not hesitate to go to court to fight for the compensation owed to you after a serious or fatal car accident.

Contact an Experienced Portland Car Accident Attorney

If you’ve been hurt or lost a loved one in a major car accident, don’t go it alone. Rob Kline and his team are here to provide the support and guidance you need.

To get a free case review from an experienced and trusted car accident lawyer near you, contact our Portland, OR law firm today.