Although there are many causes of car accidents in Eugene and throughout Oregon, the majority results from some form of negligence or recklessness. Negligence is a legal term for failing to exercise the reasonable care of a prudent person to avoid injury to others. Negligence may come in many forms and from many sources including:

• Product Liability: An automaker who designs, manufactures and markets a car or its component parts can be liable if a product defect in the car or its components contribute to a car accident. While negligence can be a basis for a product defect lawsuit that causes a car accident, anyone in the chain of production or distribution may be strictly liable (meaning liability without fault) depending on the circumstances. A common example might be a lawsuit involving rollovers caused by SUVs or 15 passenger vans that at are designed with a tendency to rollover because of their high center of gravity.

• Negligent Driver: The most common responsible party in a Eugene car accident is a driver who is violating traffic laws or otherwise not driving safely. The list of potential negligent driving practices may include speeding, ignoring traffic signs/signals, texting while driving, tailgating, and driving aggressively just to name a few examples.

• Poor Roadway Design: Many times poorly designed or maintained roadways contribute to serious car accidents. There are a wide range of roadway defects that can contribute to serious car accidents in Eugene including lack of barriers, debris that is not cleared, presence of oil or gravel and shoulder drop-offs among many other types of defects. Eugene auto accident lawsuits involving defective roadway design or maintenance often involve suing a public entity. Anyone naming a public entity in a lawsuit must meet special procedural and timing requirements.

Common Types of Negligence Causing Eugene Car Accidents

We carefully evaluate the circumstance of our clients’ accidents often employing the services of accident reconstruction experts. We conduct a thorough investigation including reviewing the accident scene, damage to the vehicles, the surrounding area, law enforcement accident reports, public safety records, medical records and other appropriate evidence. Our goal is to identify all potentially responsible parties and develop sound theories of liability for each possible defendant. We encourage anyone involved in a car accident in Eugene to seek immediate legal advice because evidence can disappear, witness memories fade, and time limits for making claims against public entities or filing a personal injury lawsuit are unforgiving if not met. Our law firm has over 70 years of collective experience in representing clients injured in car accidents in Eugene and throughout Oregon. Some of the most common causes of Eugene car accidents we handle include:

• Fatigue related accidents including tractor-tractor accidents (hours of service violations)
• Accidents caused by drunk drivers or hit and run drivers (DUI/DWI and DUI drugs)
• Distracted driving accidents caused by cell phones, reading or other distracting behavior (texting while driving)
• Accidents caused by impatient drivers, aggressive driving practices or road rage
• Car accidents caused by defective cars, car parts, systems or components (SUV rollovers, sudden acceleration accidents)
• Violations of law including speeding, tailgating, unsafe lane changes, running stop signs or stoplights
• Roadways that have not been maintained in safe condition or that are unsafe in their design