Oregon State law requires within 72 hours you file a DMV report in these situations: (1) Damage to your car exceeds $1500 (2) Injury no matter how minor (3) Death in car accident (4) damage to any one person’s property exceeds $1500 (5) Any car involved in accident and is towed away. DMV accident forms are available at any DMV office in the state of Oregon. Filling out forms is no fun especially if you are injured and its not your fault so call us at Peterson Law Offices and request that we send you a DMV form and we will do so at no cost to you.

One of the most traumatic life events is the loss of a loved one. When this loss is due to the negligence of another, it is even more devastating. In fact, it is sometimes so overwhelming, the family does not pursue its rightful legal remedies and neglects to collect the proper compensation from insurance companies.

We know the last thing one wants to do under these trying circumstances is to undergo a battle with insurance lawyers.

Many accidents occur every day involving large commercial trucks. Typically, there will be witnesses and evidence that clearly establish who is at fault in the accident. When there is direct evidence showing the actual cause of the accident, a negligence lawsuit can be a relatively easy thing to win. Sometimes however, there is no direct evidence of the cause of the accident—there’s no easy way to tell who is at fault. In cases where there’s no direct evidence in an accident involving an 18-wheeler or semi, sometimes the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies.

Res ipsa loquitur literally means “the thing speaks for itself.” The idea is that an inference of negligence can be found despite a lack of direct evidence as to the cause or fault of the accident. The doctrine applies when the thing that caused the accident is shown to have been under the exclusive control or management of the defendant in a case. In addition to showing exclusive control, it must also be proven that the accident is the type that would not have occurred if due care had been exercised—in other words, the accident could not have occurred if the defendant had not been negligent.

The basic theory is that the injury itself is sufficient evidence to support recovery (winning a lawsuit) in the absence of any explanation on the defendant’s part showing that the accident occurred for some other reason than his own negligence. Really, there are three factors, and all three are necessary to win based on res ipsa loquitur: (1) the thing that caused the accident must have been under the exclusive control of the defendant; (2) there cannot be more than one inference drawn as to whose negligence caused the accident; (3) the defendant must be the only person possibly responsible for the accident.

Res ipsa loquitur is a tough theory to win on, but occasionally the facts of a case allow a plaintiff to recover based on it. One example was the case of Neace v. Laimans where res ipsa loquitur applied when a wheel and axle combination detached from a truck, fell off onto the highway and struck a following car. Although there was no evidence as to why the wheel and axle had fallen off, because it was in the defendant’s exclusive control and the only possible explanation was that the defendant had somehow negligently attached (or failed to attach) it in the first place, an inference of negligence was appropriate based on res ipsa loquitur.

Most often in accidents involving trucks the doctrine is applied when things like wheels become detached from the truck and hit other vehicles. Accidents that meet all the requirements of res ipsa loquitur are rare, but they are an almost guaranteed win for the plaintiff.