Sarah Edwards is a seasoned legal writer with more than a decade of experience. Edwards has a deep understanding of advanced legal concepts and a knack for conveying complex topics in simple language. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and two children.
Sarah Edwards
Sarah Edwards is a seasoned legal writer with more than a decade of experience. Edwards has a deep understanding of advanced legal concepts and a knack for conveying complex topics in simple language. She currently resides in Southern California with her husband and two children.
Jeffrey Johnson has written novels and movies in addition to legal analyses of eminent domain and immigration law. His experience in writing engaging fiction makes him uniquely capable of making the most dry and academic legal topics interesting (or as interesting as possible).
Reviewed
Jeffrey Johnson, J.D.
Jeffrey Johnson has written novels and movies in addition to legal analyses of eminent domain and immigration law. His experience in writing engaging fiction makes him uniquely capable of making the most dry and academic legal topics interesting (or as interesting as possible).
Editorial Note: We earn a commission from partner links on Forbes Advisor. Commissions do not affect our editors' opinions or evaluations.
Just about an hour’s drive from one of the most scenic coastlines in the country, Portland is a magnificent place to spend a day riding a motorcycle. You can drive for miles along the Pacific or through tracts of nearly untouched land.
This pleasure can come to an immediate and terrifying end if a careless driver strikes your motorcycle. When that happens, you need one of the best motorcycle accident lawyers in Portland to represent you. This guide helps you find the right attorney for your case.
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Best Motorcycle Accident Attorneys in Portland
Compare Top Motorcycle Accident Attorneys
Other Motorcycle Accident Lawyers
Filing a Motorcycle Accident Lawsuit in Oregon
Motorcycle accidents are five times more likely to result in a fatality than passenger vehicle accidents. Statistics like this are why many motorcycle accidents result in complex claims or lawsuits.
While filing a lawsuit isn’t particularly difficult, winning one is. This guide helps you find a lawyer with the skills needed to seek compensation for your injuries or pursue justice after the wrongful death of a loved one.
Oregon Statute of Limitations
If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident in Oregon, you don’t have a lot of time to take legal action. The statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit. This deadline extends to three years if a loved one has been killed.
Some exceptions will extend the timeline, such as if the responsible party flees the state or an injured party is mentally disabled. Since these exceptions are rare, it’s best to consult a lawyer as soon as you can after the accident.
Oregon Laws for Motorcycle Drivers
Most of the rules of the road that apply to car drivers also apply to motorcycle drivers. But motorcycle drivers also need to obey the following laws:
- Helmet. Motorcycle operators must wear a DOT-compliant helmet at all times. Passengers are also required to wear a DOT-compliant helmet.
- Lane sharing. Up to two motorcycles can ride side-by-side in a lane.
- Lane splitting. It is illegal to split a lane (pass another vehicle along the dividing line in a multilane road) in Oregon
- Headlight. A motorcycle must have a white headlight on at all times while it is being operated.
- Red light law. If a vehicle sensor at a red light fails to identify a motorcycle, the operator of the vehicle may proceed as though the light were flashing red after waiting a full cycle for it to change.
Identifying Fault for a Motorcycle Crash
Oregon uses modified comparative negligence laws to determine compensation in personal injury cases. Comparative negligence means that before a jury can award compensation, it needs to determine how much each party was at fault for the injuries suffered. The jury will assign a percentage between 0% and 100%.
This value matters for two reasons. First, if the plaintiff is 51% or more responsible, they can’t be awarded any compensation. Second, the final award is prorated by an amount equal to the percentage that the plaintiff was responsible for. Thus, if the defendant was 90% responsible and the jury awarded the plaintiff $100,000, the plaintiff only gets $90,000.
How Can an Attorney Help You?
There is an old adage: “If you are your own lawyer, you have a fool for a client.” Even someone with legal training should never handle their own case unless they have no other choice. This is especially true for motorcycle injury lawsuits, where a qualified lawyer may potentially add significant value to the case.
An experienced attorney knows the process for filing a motorcycle accident lawsuit like the back of their hand. They know which documents to file, where to file them and what deadlines apply to the case. Motorcycle injury lawyers also understand what evidence is required to support a case and have the resources to collect that evidence quickly.
Finally, hiring an attorney puts the insurance company on notice that the claimant is willing to sue if necessary. Typically, this makes the insurance company more amenable to negotiation, resulting in a fairer settlement offer.
How to Find the Best Motorcycle Accident Lawyer in Portland, Oregon
When you have been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident, you need every dollar possible to fully recover. Unfortunately, some insurance companies will try to deny you even a fraction of that money during the normal claims process. When that happens, you need a great lawyer with a record of winning motorcycle injury cases.
This guide helps you find the right attorney for your case. Read through it and consider the following before deciding which lawyer to hire:
- Bar admissions. Just because you got into an accident in a nearby state like California or Washington doesn’t mean you need to hire a lawyer from that state. A local lawyer who is admitted to practice in the appropriate state may be more convenient.
- Willingness to perform house calls. After being injured in a motorcycle accident, you could be homebound or stuck in a hospital bed for weeks or longer. If this is the case, you need a lawyer who is willing to meet you where you are.
- Past motorcycle case results. While nearly every attorney on this list has won $1 million or more for past clients, only some have gotten awards that high for motorcycle accident clients. If you have suffered severe injuries, look for a lawyer with a record of getting high awards for this type of case.
- Wrongful death. When filing a wrongful death case, the demeanor of the attorney matters almost as much as how much money they can get for you. Take advantage of the free consultation to get a feeling for how empathetic the lawyer is and how much support they will provide.
- Specific injury experience. Motorcycle accidents can result in specific and catastrophic injuries. You can expect more capable representation if your lawyer has worked with clients who suffered similar injuries, as this experience may help them better understand the long-term consequences of those injuries.
Methodology
To determine this list of the Best Motorcycle Accident Lawyers in Portland of 2023, Forbes Advisor considered many factors. Forbes Advisor’s mathematical analysis considers and weighs the information collected to calculate a specific rating and reviews these results to find the best attorneys in a given practice area.
Within the model, we consider factors that legal professionals and consumers value in an attorney’s qualifications. After assigning weighted scores to hundreds of data points, we narrowed the field down to our top choices based on:
- Legal experience
- Special licenses & certifications
- Ethics and bar disciplinary measures
- Legal thought leadership
- Education and employment background
- Scholarly lectures & writings
- Awards and honors
Forbes Advisory collects public data from a variety of sources, including state bar associations, court records and other published sources on the internet. This information should not be considered comprehensive, however. It might not include additional relevant information on an attorney’s legal skills and experience.
Each lawyer listed here has their own merits. Remember that our list relates to these lawyers’ legal backgrounds but does not evaluate their personalities or knowledge of the law. One attorney may be more suitable than another for your specific legal situation.
One thing that can’t be quantified, though, is the rapport you establish with your attorney. Personality goes a long way when teaming up with an attorney, especially when going through a potentially tricky legal situation. These rankings should serve as a reference and potential starting point in your search for the right lawyer for you and your legal concerns.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What type of damages can I obtain in a motorcycle accident lawsuit?
Typically, you will ask for a combination of economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover actual losses like medical bills and lost wages. Non-economic damages recompense you for your pain and suffering, including loss of companionship in wrongful death cases.
Are motorcycle accident lawsuits taken on contingency?
You must speak to your lawyer to determine their exact fee structure. However, most motorcycle accident lawsuits are taken on contingency. This means that the lawyer only receives compensation if they get you money. In most cases, that compensation is a percentage of the money they recover.
Most attorneys charge between 25% and 35% for cases that are settled before a trial begins (including if a case is resolved during pretrial negotiations). If the case goes to trial, some attorneys increase the fee to as much as 40% of the verdict or settlement.
Are motorcycle injury settlements bigger than car accident settlements?
While every case is different, motorcycle injury settlements tend to be higher than car accident injury settlements. Injuries and fatalities are more common in motorcycle accidents, and motorcycle crashes are more likely to cause severe, life-altering injuries. Therefore, motorcycle injury claims are more frequently limited by insurance caps or statutory caps than car accident claims.
