Motor Vehicle Collision / Underinsured Motorist Claim (Oregon)

Our client was driving in rural Southern Oregon with a passenger and a child in the vehicle when another driver failed to yield at an unusual intersection near Fort Klamath. The collision was serious enough that our client reported a brief loss of consciousness and had little memory of what happened immediately afterward.

In the weeks that followed, it became clear this was not the kind of injury that simply shakes out after a few days. Life narrowed down to symptoms, appointments, and trying to figure out work.

The most important issue in the case wasn't whether a crash happened, it was how to fairly account for a brain injury that changed our client's day-to-day functioning and his ability to work.

As his symptoms continued, the claim became as much about proof as it was about treatment: showing the injury was real, explaining why it affected work in a lasting way, and documenting wage loss that didn't fit neatly into a short recovery timeline.

• Limited insurance from the at-fault driver. The available bodily injury coverage had to be split among multiple injured people from the same crash.
• A real injury that was hard to see. Concussion and TBI symptoms can be persistent, but they are often questioned when the recovery isn't straightforward.
• Work impact needed careful support. Our client's inability to return to full-time work and his wage loss had to be documented and explained clearly.
• Two-step resolution. We had to protect and preserve the UIM claim while resolving the underlying liability settlement first.

The at-fault driver's insurer tendered the full amount available under that policy for all claimants combined. After that underlying piece was resolved, the case shifted to our client's own underinsured motorist coverage, where the focus was on the ongoing effects of the concussion/TBI symptoms and the wage loss that followed.

The UIM claim ultimately resolved by settlement, with the insurer issuing payment in full and final resolution of the underinsured motorist bodily injury claim.

The case resolved with a combined total settlement of $420,599, made up of:

• $25,000 from the at-fault driver's bodily injury settlement (our client's portion of the split), and
• $395,599 to resolve the underinsured motorist (UIM) claim.

For our client, the result wasn't just a number. It meant he could address medical expenses and the financial hit from not being able to return to full-time work, while taking some pressure off the day-to-day decisions that follow a lingering concussion/TBI, including treatment choices, work choices, and what “normal” is going to look like going forward.