Portland, OR asked in Car Accidents for Oregon

Q: I was involved in a car accident where the guy backed into my company van.

It happened in a bank parking lot and I was waiting behind him to go threw to park my van on the street since the bank didn’t allow parking in their parking lot before 6 pm. It was around 4:30. Do I fill out the accident report for the dmv or does my employer?

Related Topics:
1 Lawyer Answer
Joanne Reisman
Joanne Reisman
Answered
  • Personal Injury Lawyer
  • Portland, OR
  • Licensed in Oregon

A: I would coordinate filling out and filing the accident report with your employer. Just make sure it gets done if it is required under Oregon Law. Note: note very accident requires the filing of an accident report with Oregon DMV. Accidents with very little or no damage to the vehicles and no injuries do not require that a report be filed, but it never hurts to file a report if you aren't sure.

What is extremely important is to report that accident to the insurance company that insures the vehicle and also report it to your personal auto insurance company. This should be covered by your employer's insurance but you want to make sure that both insurance companies have notice of the accident because failure to timely notify an insurance company can result in a denial of coverage.

You don't mention being injured but if you were, and you were driving for your job at the time of the accident, you will need to open a worker's compensation claim. You can still have a private claim for personal injury and hire you own attorney but the medical side of your claim will be a worker's comp claim.

Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.

The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.

Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.