What Happens to Your Car Accident Claim If the Other Driver Was Uninsured in Oregon?
The crash was clearly not your fault, but the driver who hit you has no insurance at all. Does that mean your claim just evaporates along with any hope of compensation? So long as you yourself had an active Oregon auto insurance policy, the answer is no. This is because Oregon lawmakers anticipated exactly this situation, and it built in a specific answer for what happens next.
Oregon Requires Every Policy to Include This Protection
Oregon law requires every auto insurance policy issued in the state to include uninsured motorist coverage, commonly called UM coverage. The minimum required amounts are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, matching Oregon’s minimum liability insurance requirements (i.e. whatever your personal liability limits are). This coverage exists specifically because, at any given time, roughly one in ten Oregon drivers carries no insurance at all, according to industry estimates cited by consumer resources statewide. When you are hit by one of those drivers, your own UM coverage steps in to take the place of the insurance the at fault driver should have had.
Being Uninsured Does Not Mean the Other Driver Escapes Responsibility
Here is something worth understanding clearly. Just because the at fault driver has no insurance does not mean they have no legal responsibility for the crash. You can still pursue a personal injury claim against that driver directly and seek a judgment against their personal assets. In practice, this route almost universally produces little to no actual financial benefit, since drivers who choose to go without insurance frequently lack significant assets to collect against in the first place. That reality is exactly why your own UM coverage typically becomes the more realistic and reliable path to compensation.
Also, the other driver is subject to criminal consequences for failing to drive without insurance. However, this punishment is up to governmental officials (e.g. police and the district attorney) and is outside of the work a personal injury lawyer can do.
How Your Own Insurance Steps Into the Gap
Once you file a UM claim, your insurance company effectively takes on the role the uninsured driver’s insurer would have played. This coverage can apply to a range of losses connected to the crash, including:
- Current and future medical expenses related to your injuries
- Lost wages if you missed work during your recovery
- Compensation for pain, suffering, and the overall impact the injury has had on your life
- Punitive damages for the uninsured driver’s conduct
Notably, this coverage also extends to hit and run accidents where the at fault driver is never identified at all, treating an unidentified driver the same way it treats a known uninsured one.
Why Your Own Insurer Is Not Automatically on Your Side
It feels counterintuitive, but once you file a UM claim, your relationship with your own insurance company shifts. You are no longer simply a paying customer. You are a claimant, and your insurer now has a financial interest in minimizing what it pays out. Insurers frequently dispute UM claims by questioning the severity of injuries, challenging whether treatment was necessary, or disputing the value of the claim entirely, using many of the same tactics an opposing driver’s insurer might use in a standard case.
Need Help? Contact Us Today
Being hit by an uninsured driver in Oregon does not have to mean you are left covering your own losses. Our Portland uninsured motorist attorneys know how to push back when an insurance company undervalues or disputes a UM claim. Reach out to our team at Rosenbaum Law Group, PC for a discussion on how we can help you.
Source:
oregon.public.law/statutes/ors_742.502
