Although Tel-Law information is periodically reviewed, it is important for you to realize that changes may occur in this area of law. This information is not intended to be legal advice regarding your particular problem, and it is not intended to replace the work of an attorney.
If you do not have an attorney, the Oregon State Bar Lawyer Referral Service can help you. Online Lawyer Referral Service information and a fill-in form is available. Or you may contact the service by phone: The number to call from the Portland area is 503-684-3763 or toll-free from anywhere else in Oregon, 1-800-452-7636.
The following information regarding uninsured drivers is brought to you as a public service by the lawyers of the State of Oregon. The material presented is general legal information intended to alert you to possible legal problems and solutions.
The law requires that a driver be insured if operating a vehicle in Oregon. If you own a vehicle, you must certify that you have insurance before you can renew your registration.
If you drive a vehicle that is registered in Oregon without you or the owner having insurance, then you have committed the offense of driving uninsured, which is punishable by a fine up to $250. Also, you will be required for a period of three years to file proof of insurance with the Department of Motor Vehicles. Failure to do so will result in the suspension of your driver's license.
If you are involved in an accident, and you and the owner of the vehicle are uninsured, then you have committed the offense of driving uninsured with a fine up to $250 and a one year suspension of your driver's license. Further, for an additional three years, you must provide proof of insurance or your license will be suspended.
If you cause an accident and you are uninsured, then you can be sued for money damages by any injured person. If they receive a judgment against you for damages, and you do not pay within sixty days, your license can be suspended until the judgment is paid.
If you are injured in an accident that is the fault of an uninsured motorist, then you may have the following insurance protection.
You will be protected by Oregon’s no-fault insurance, known as Personal Injury protection or PIP if: you are insured, a private passenger motor vehicle you were in is insured, or if you are a pedestrian struck by an insured private passenger motor vehicle. No matter who was at fault, the insurance will pay up to $10,000 for reasonable medical, hospital, dental, surgical, ambulance and prosthetic services incurred within one year after the accident. If you are disabled and cannot work for at least 14 days, you can receive 70% of the loss of income from work up to a maximum of $1,250 per month for a period of 52 weeks. If you are not employed but are disabled for at least 14 days, you can receive $30 per day for a maximum of 52 weeks for essential services you would have performed during the period of disability until you are reasonably able to perform those essential services. Such essential services might include: house cleaning, child care and cooking. If you are a parent of a minor child and need hospitalization for a minimum of 24 hours, you can receive $15 per day for child care until you are able to return to work or, if you are not employed, until you can return to performing essential services. The maximum amount paid for child care is $450. If your insurance policy and a different policy insuring the vehicle both apply, you may be entitled to benefits under both policies.
If a person is killed in an accident, the PIP benefits will pay $2,500 for reasonable and necessary funeral expenses. What many people do not understand, is that your own insurance may provide additional coverage, over and above your medical bills, in the event you have been injured through the negligence or fault of either an insured or an uninsured driver.
Every insurance policy issued in Oregon requires that the insurance company provides Uninsured Motorist Coverage, or UM coverage. This means that if you are injured in an accident through the fault of an uninsured driver, whether you were driving or were a pedestrian, your own insurance will provide coverage up to the limits of your UM policy. This provides substitute coverage when the driver at fault did not have any insurance.
Your own insurance will enable you to recover noneconomic and economic damages in any amounts, up to your UM policy limits, that you would have been entitled to recover from the uninsured driver. Economic damages include medical expenses and wage loss. Noneconomic damages include pain and suffering, interference with normal activities, and permanent injury.
You may obtain the benefit of your UM coverage not only in a situation where the other driver is uninsured, but also in a situation where there is a hit-and-run accident, and you are unable to identify the other vehicle. This also applies when a "phantom vehicle" causes an accident, even though no actual contact was made between the vehicles. In the case of a "hit-and-run" or "phantom vehicle," the injured party must report the accident to the police or Motor Vehicles Division within 72 hours and notify his or her insurance company within 30 days of the fact that a claim will be made for damages. An independent witness must corroborate the injured party’s testimony about the "phantom vehicle."
You may have Underinsured Motorist Coverage, or UIM coverage, if your UM limits are greater than the minimum limits required by law ($25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident). Under UIM coverage, you may be entitled to the difference between the limits on your policy and the limits on the policy for an insured driver who caused your injuries in the accident. For example, if a negligent driver injures you and has the minimum requirement of $25,000.00 worth of coverage and your own policy has UM limits of $100,000.00, then your policy would provide you with UIM insurance. The amount of UIM benefits available to you is determined by subtracting the amount recovered by or on your behalf under other liability insurance policies from the UM limits. The liability insurance must be exhausted or offered in settlement before UIM coverage applies.
The law requires that you sign a statement if you want your UM limits to be less than the liability limits of your policy. In other words, if the liability limits on your insurance policy are $100,000.00, your UM limits must also be $100,000.00 unless you have elected in writing, lower limits.
You can also purchase uninsured motorist coverage to pay for damages to your vehicle or property. This coverage is not required by law, but must be offered to you by your insurance company as an option.
If you have been injured by an uninsured or underinsured driver, and you and your insurance company disagree about the amount you are entitled to recover as noneconomic and economic damages from the uninsured driver, you and the insurance company may agree to resolve the dispute by arbitration. Arbitration is a procedure where the dispute is resolved without going through the litigation process or a formal trial. Arbitration may involve the selection of one arbitrator, which both sides agree upon, or a panel of 3 arbitrators, in which both sides select one arbitrator and those two arbitrators select a third. Your own insurance policy may have provisions indicating how the arbitrators are to be selected.
The arbitration hearing is generally held in the offices of the arbitrator and allows both sides to present evidence on the issues in question. Rules of evidence are relaxed somewhat, and the proceedings are not as formal as a trial at the courthouse. The arbitrator(s) will decide all of the issues involved, including whether the damages you sustained were caused by the negligence of the uninsured driver and the amount of damages you are entitled. If you and the insurance company have elected arbitration, the decision of the arbitrator(s) is final and binding upon both sides.
You also have the right to a jury trial if you do not want to arbitrate your dispute.
This information is from the Oregon State Bar's Tel-law service, a collection of recorded legal information messages prepared by the lawyers of Oregon. In addition to being online, the Tel-law service is accessible by telephone at 503-620-3000 or toll-free in Oregon only, 1-800-452-4776. A touch tone phone allows direct access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. To receive a free Tel-law brochure listing the subjects available call 503-620-0222, ext. 0.