PORTLAND OREGON PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEY
Mr. O’Rourke is an experienced Portland Personal Injury Lawyer and
experience makes a difference.
Mr. O’Rourke has practiced law as a Personal Injury Lawyer in Portland,
Oregon since 1978.
During his career, Mr. O’Rourke has represented hundreds of persons in
personal injury cases in Multnomah County, including Portland and
Gresham, Oregon.
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 Portland and
Gresham in Multnomah County, Oregon.
Personal injury cases which occur in Multnomah County or in which a
defendant can be served or is doing business in Multnomah County are
filed and go to trial in Portland, Oregon at the Multnomah County
Courthouse.
Mr. O’Rourke gets good results for his clients in Portland and they
appreciate the way he represents them.
Portland is the largest city in Oregon. Portland has an estimated
population of 582,130. The Portland Metropolitan Area * has an estimated
population of over 2,000,000 people. Gresham is the fourth largest city
in Oregon in terms of population which was estimated to be 101,221 in
2008. Multnomah County the largest county in Oregon in terms of
population which was estimated to be over 760,000 in 2009.
Portland has the reputation of being a very competitive place to
practice law and the city where many of the best personal injury
attorneys in Oregon practice. Mr. O’Rourke has
practiced law as a Portland Personal Injury Lawyer since 1978.
THE MULTNOMAH COUNTY COURT SYSTEM
The Oregon Revised Statutes including The Uniform Trial Court Rules and
the Oregon Rules Of Civil Procedure, and the Oregon Evidence Code generally
govern personal injury and wrongful death case litigation. All courts throughout
the State of Oregon are required to follow these rules.
In addition each county enacts its own Local Supplementary Court Rules
which set forth how each county will manage personal injury cases
initiated in that county. The main differences between the Counties’
Local Supplementary Court Rules which affect personal injury lawsuits
are the rules relating to Mediation, Arbitration, Judicial Settlement
Conferences and the setting of trials and assigning trials to particular
judges.
Every Portland injury lawyer needs to know these local rules and how
to use them to assert and protect the rights and interests of the client.
LOCAL SUPPLEMENTARY COURT RULES FOR MULTNOMAH COUNTY
Local Supplementary Rule 7.075 requires that the parties to a personal
injury case attempt to resolve the case other than by trial within 270
days after the filing of the lawsuit.
The Alternate Methods of resolving cases are Arbitration, Mediation and
Judicial Settlement Conference.
To get a Multnomah county case set for Mediation, the parties select and
hire a private mediator who is knowledgeable about personal injury
lawsuits in Portland. After picking a mediator the parties set a
mediation conference.
To get a Judicial Settlement Conference in Multnomah County, the parties
select and contact a judge who is knowledgeable and experienced with
personal injury and wrongful death cases and set a conference date. The
Judge will set a deadline fo reach party to submit their confidential
settlement conference memorandums.
On the scheduled day, the parties and/or their insurers and lawyers will
appear at the Judge will attempt 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 so settle the case.
Unless the parties specifically agree otherwise, the settlement
conference judge will not be the trial judge.
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 Multnomah county a party cam file 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.
Local Supplementary rule 7.075 (4) provides that
(4) The court may impose sanctions pursuant to UTCR 1.090 against
any party who fails to comply with subsection (2) of this rule, or who,
(a) fails to attend a scheduled mediation session, arbitration hearing
or judicial settlement conference;
(b) fails to act in good faith during the mediation, arbitration or
judicial settlement conference;
(c) fails to submit on a timely basis paperwork required as a part
of the mediation , arbitration or judicial settlement conference
process; or
(d) fails to have a principal necessary to approve the resolution of
the case present or readily available, by telephone or other means, at
the time of the mediation, arbitration or judicial settlement
conference, unless, in advance, the court grants the party or attorney
leave from compliance with this subsection of the rule.
GETTING A TRIAL DATE
In Multnomah county, it is expected that a personal injury case will go
to trial within one year of the date of the filing of the complaint –
commencement of the lawsuit.
When a lawsuit is filed, the case is given a first trial date
approximately 6 months from the filing date. Most trials are postponed
to a later date while the parties participate in the alternate methods
of dispute resolution and prepare for trial.
After the case is filed the parties have 270 days to complete the
Alternative Dispute Resolution Process.
JURORS
Most personal injury cases in Portland are tried to the Jury. There are
12 Jurors. In most personal injury cases in Portland, the Jurors must
decide issues of fault and damages.
Portland is often described as a “big little city”. Juries in Portland
are often composed of working people, office workers, and people in high
tech fields. Portland is considered a sympathetic jurisdiction for
plaintiff’s cases. The highest jury verdicts in the state have been
awarded in Multnomah County.
JUDGES
There are 38 full time judges sitting in Portland. Of those judges,
approximately onf half preside over personal injury and wrongful death
cases.
The Local Rules provide that complex cases and selected cases can be
assigned to a judge who presides over the case from the beginning all
the way through trial. 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 Multnomah County, most personal injury cases are tried to a jury
rather than to the Court. That means that most plaintiffs prefer to have
a jury rather than a judge decide the issues of fact, who was a fault
and the amount of damages, if any, to be awarded to each plaintiff.
There are many knowledgeable and experienced personal injury and
wrongful death trial judges in Multnomah County.
THE COURTHOUSE
At present all Multnomah County, Portland and Gresham state court
personal injury and wrongful death trials and related court proceedings
are held in the courthouse in downtown Portland. There are plans to
build a courthouse in Gresham in the near future.
CONTACT INFO FOR THE COURTHOUSE
 |
The Multnomah County Courthouse is located at1021 S.W. Fourth Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97204-1123 The Web Address for the Multnomah County Courthouse is http://courts.oregon.gov/Multnomah |
FREE CONSULTATION
We understand the problems and feelings and frustration you and your family are experiencing due to your injuries and the claim process. We know how to address your problems and concerns.
For a free consultation with a Gresham Oregon Personal Injury
Attorney
call 503-667-8437
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 web site may be considered
Advertising under the Oregon State Bar Rules.
We would like to hear from you, but please be aware that messages sent
by e-mail may not be secure. Accordingly, if you send confidential
information by e-mail there is a chance that the information may be read
by a party for whim it was not intended. Correspondence by email does
not create a lawyer client relationship.
* The Portland Metropolitan Area includes the following counties and
cities: Clackamas County, Columbia County, Multnomah County, Washington
County, and Yamhill County, Portland, Gresham, Fairview, Troutdale,
Milwaukie, Clackamas, Oregon City, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tigard,
Beaverton, Hillsboro, Tualatin, Aloha, and Forest Grove.