The shortest answer to the overarching question is: yes, in Oregon and Washington personal injury cases, you can settle the property damage claims separately from your bodily injury claims associated with, for example, a motor vehicle collision. However, as with most aspects of what we do, it is not so simple. Please read on!

Ina past post, we wrote that if your case settles in the negotiations stage of a claim it “usually takes … one to two months wrap up your case and get you a check.” That seems like a long time to wrap something up that seems to be already wrapped up and many clients wonder why it takes so long. We hope to answer that question here.

When I settle a personal injury claim for one of my accident victim clients, it is common for me to have to pay some of the settlement money to other people or businesses related to the case. Of course my job is to see that as much of the settlement as is possible gets into my client’s pocket but it’s sometimes out of my hands and there is nothing I can do. This often results in my client receiving less money than the amount the client agreed to settle their case for.

One of the real advantages for personal injury claimants in Washington state is that we as attorneys are able to pursue the full measure of damages on their behalf- including medical bills and wage loss that might have already been (to some degree at least) paid by entities other than the party who did the harm.

On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, the informational series from the Clark County Bar Association entitled “Clark County Court Updates”—which started in June 2020—was again held for local attorneys on Zoom.

There are many different reasons that a personal injury case might need to move into litigation. Once that happens, the case can be delayed, and it can feel like it takes a long time to get anywhere. For that reason, we often look for ways to speed the process along. One of them is moving for a Default.

When it is appropriate to move forward with trying to resolve a personal injury claim is not always an easy decision to be made and one which must be answered on a case by case basis. That being said, there are certainly some generalities that apply across the board to virtually all clients’ cases.

WSAJ was founded in 1986 and is the oldest and largest civil justice advocacy organization in the Pacific Northwest. Schauermann Thayer attorneys have been members since that time.

After letting my oldest daughter take the wheel for her first boat driving lesson on a recent vacation, I felt compelled to fill in one more piece of the boating safety puzzle by reviewing the age restrictions on boat operators.

In our current COVID-19 situation, information about local court closures and alterations in procedures change frequently, sometimes by the day. While I can’t be sure what I write about this will be current for long, it seems likely the situation I write about will be with us for a while: namely that Clark County courts are open, but operating in a limited and altered manner for the foreseeable future.

Hand sanitizer was in high demand and short supply as the COVID-19 pandemic and public health crisis was developing, and companies struggled to meet the demand effectively. It’s now become clear that producers of alcohol-based hand sanitizers may have cut some dangerous corners or perhaps were careless in a dangerous way that we feel it’s important to highlight and publicize.

The justice system relies on attorneys, parties, and litigants following some basic and fundamental rules. Tell the truth. Give complete answers. Produce documents and answer questions when appropriate. Depositions seem to be one of the areas that is open for abuse, both from the party or witness being deposed and the attorneys participating. Attorneys can help their clients in and during depositions, but there are limits. Here, I want to review some of those limits, and some of the new areas to be watchful for given the current trend toward remote depositions.

Any little piece of good news, demonstrably true, in these strange times of quarantine, economic catastrophe, and daily infection and death counts – local, statewide, nationwide, and global – is more than welcome.

Mediation isn’t right for every case, but it’s often a key juncture and a worthwhile exercise. So how are we to do this these days, when we aren’t able/supposed to be be in the same room with non-household members? We do Zoom (or fill in your other favorite video conferencing platform).

Schauermann Thayer proudly announces its 2020 “Super Lawyers” and "Rising Stars"

In the past few months, local media outlets have reported on increases in speeding This includes reports of increases in people driving excessively fast, organized street racing, and the like.

All boat owners and operators should take time re-familiarize themselves with the necessary operational and safety rules. Although they can be a ton of fun, boats and PWC’s can also cause serious injuries when used unsafely, a fact borne out by the many boating injuries and fatalities that occur every year.

Safety is a global issue right now and although we must stay distanced from each other to remain safe, it is more important than ever that we pull together in the sense that we all try to conduct ourselves in a way that benefits the community and the greater good. A great place to start is out on the road.

This Fourth of July, in light of the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, most all community celebrations have been cancelled. Because there are no community events, many of us will turn to private parties to celebrate. Here's how to pull it off safely.

Specifically, as of early May Washington state allows restaurants with liquor licenses to serve pre-mixed cocktails to-go while restrictions on in-house dining continue. The rules are laid out in a May 6, 2020 Liquor Control Board bulletin. In order to sell such drinks, they must be purchased with a meal, and packaged in a container with a secure lid and in a manner designed to prevent consumption without removal of the lid or cap (think mason jar). Drinks having lids with holes (think coffee cups, straw holes) are not permissible for sale, nor are Styrofoam and plastic cups, even if sealed with tape or other materials. As the situation relates to “open container” laws for the driver and occupants of the vehicle, the rules promulgated by the liquor control board say that the open container laws (found at RCW 46.61.510) still apply. These drinks may not be consumed in the vehicle, or transported in any place but the trunk. When there is no trunk, the drinks must be kept in another area of the vehicle not normally occupied by the driver or passengers (this does not include a utility or glove compartment, but may include underneath a seat outside the driver’s reach).

There are often times that I marvel at just how many ways there are to get creative in what we do as personal injury attorneys. Whether it is a matter of figuring out ways to help a jury visualize the incident, to find additional insurance to help compensate an injured person, to really flush out and properly investigate the facts and circumstances of a claim, in determining which potential parties should or should not be reimbursed and under what circumstances in trying to maximize the recovery in our clients’ pockets...

There have been multiple instances when I was walking in my neighborhood, obeying all laws, and cars and trucks have “snuck up” on me. I never had this problem simply talking on the phone or using my regular, non-noise-cancelling headphones on a walk. There have been no near-misses yet, but it still got me thinking: am I being negligent by using noise-cancelling headphones on a walk?

As tired as everyone feels from talking about coronavirus, I have to recognize one good thing to come in its wake—and make no mistake, there was very little silver lining to come out of the pandemic. Every time I left my house, rain or shine, I felt a sense of community. People were on walks, riding bikes, and in their yards. They were out in the community. People were making conversation. There was, at times, a wonderful nostalgic feel to it all.