OREGON CITY OREGON PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY
Mr. O’Rourke is an experienced Oregon City Personal Injury Lawyer and
experience makes a difference.
Mr. O’Rourke has practiced law as a Personal Injury Attorney in Portland, Oregon
and has represented persons in personal injury cases in Clackamas County, including Oregon City, Oregon since 1978.
Mr. O’Rourke represents people in all types of vehicle and automobile accident, animal attack
and premises liability cases, including slip and fall cases and cases involving defects and
hazardous conditions in buildings, houses and properties which cause injuries in Oregon City and
throughout Clackamas County including West Linn and Lake Oswego.
Personal injury cases which occur in Clackamas County Oregon or in which a defendant can be
served or is doing business in Clackamas County are filed and go to trial in Oregon City, Oregon
at the Clackamas County Courthouse.
Mr. O’Rourke gets good results for his clients in Clackamas County and they appreciate the way
he represents them.
Clackamas County has an estimated population of 338,397. The largest cities in Clackamas
County are Lake Oswego (36,350), West Linn (24,180), and Oregon City (29,540). Clackamas
County also includes Milwaukie, Gladstone, Canby, Estacada, Sandy, and Mollalla.
Mr. O’Rourke has practiced law as a Clackamas County Personal Injury Lawyer since 1978.
THE CLACKAMAS COUNTY COURT SYSTEM
All courts throughout the State of Oregon are required to follow the Oregon Revised Statutes
including The Uniform Trial Court Rules and the Oregon Rules Of Civil Procedure, and the
Oregon Evidence Code. These rules generally govern personal injury and wrongful death case
litigation.
Each county also enacts its own Supplementary Local Rules which provide for how that county
will manage personal injury cases. The main differences between the Counties’ Supplementary
Local Rules which affect personal injury lawsuits are the rules relating to Mediation,
Arbitration, Judicial Settlement Conferences and the setting of trials and assignment of trials
to particular judges.
An Oregon City injury lawyer needs to know these local rules and how to use them to assert and
protect the rights of their clients.
SUPPLEMENTARY LOCAL RULES FOR CLACKAMAS COUNTY
Supplementary Local Rule 6.012 (1) requires that the parties to a personal injury case participate
in a pretrial Judicial Settlement Conference.
Personal injury case are generally set for a Judicial Settlement Conference within six months of
the date of commencement of the lawsuit which is the date the complaint is filed with the court.
On the scheduled day, the parties, lawyers and insurance company representatives appear and the
Settlement Conference Judge attempts to help the parties reach a fair settlement of the case.
Each party or their insurer or attorney is required to attend the mediation. Attorneys and
insurance company representatives are required to have authority to offer money to settle the
case.
Unless the parties specifically agree otherwise, the Settlement Conference Judge will not be the
Trial Judge.
The parties may choose to participate in private Mediation instead of or in addition to a Judicial
Settlement Conference.
To get a Clackamas County case set for Mediation, the parties select and hire a private mediator
who is knowledgeable about personal injury lawsuits in Oregon City. After picking a mediator
the parties set a mediation settlement conference.
If the Settlement Conference or Mediation is not successful, the case moves on to Trial or
Arbitration.
To get a case set for Arbitration in Clackamas County a party files a request that the Court
transfer the case from the trial docket to Arbitration. If the amount in controversy is stated in the
plaintiff’s complaint to be less than $50,000.00 the case is automatically sent to Arbitration.
It is required that all parties make a good faith effort to resolve cases by Alternate Dispute
Resolution Methods.
GETTING A TRIAL DATE IN CLACKAMAS COUNTY
In Clackamas County, most personal injury cases go to trial within one year of the date of filing
of the lawsuit.
When the lawsuit is filed, the case is given a first trial date approximately 6 months from the
filing date and about a month after the date set for the Judicial Settlement Conference.
JURORS
Most Oregon City personal injury cases are tried to the Jury. There are 12 Jurors. In the majority
of personal injury cases in Oregon City, the Jurors decide issues of fault and damages.
Clackamas is the most rural of the three Portland area Counties. Jurors in Oregon City are most
often composed of working people, mill and farm workers as well as people from the more
developed and populous communities of West Linn and Lake Oswego. Clackamas County is
considered a more conservative jurisdiction for Plaintiff’s cases.
JUDGES
There are 12 full time Circuit Court Judges sitting in Oregon City all of whom are qualified to
preside over personal injury and wrongful death cases.
Most cases are not assigned to a trial judge until the day before trial. In most cases, pretrial
motions are heard by judges other than the judge who ends up presiding over the trial.
In Clackamas County, most personal injury fact issues are tried to a jury rather than to the Court.
THE COURTHOUSE
At present all Clackamas County personal injury and wrongful death trials and related court
proceedings are held in the courthouse in downtown Oregon City.
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The Clackamas County Courthouse is located at:807 Main Street Oregon City, Oregon 97045 Telephone 503-655-8447 The Web Address for the Clackamas County Courthouse is http://courts.oregon.gov/Clackamas/index.page Courthouse closure information may be obtained at http://www.newsbridge.net/Clackamas_Co_Circuit_Court |
FREE CONSULTATION
For a free consultation with an Oregon City Personal Injury Attorney, Milwaukie Personal Injury
Lawyer, Gladstone Personal Injury Attorney, Mollala Personal Injury Lawyer, Sandy Personal
Injury Attorney, Lake Oswego Personal Injury Lawyer, West Linn Personal Injury Attorney or
Clackamas County Personal Injury Attorney or Lawyer call 503-722-4032.
For a free consultation with an Gresham Personal Injury Attorney call 503-722-4032
Our Gresham Office is located at:
Suite #1
748 SE 181st Ave
Portland, Oregon 97233
Disclaimer
The materials included on this web site are intended to be for general information purposes only.
Such materials do not constitute legal advice and must not be relied upon by the reader thereof as
legal advice. The publication of the materials on this web site is not intended to create a lawyer
client relationship between the reader thereof and James F. O’Rourke, Jr. & Associates. The
materials contained on this web site are not intended to substitute for obtaining legal advice
specific to the facts and circumstances of your particular case or claim. Nothing in this web site
should be taken or construed as a promise or guarantee of any particular result in any case. This
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