Oregon Driver Responsibilities After Car Wreck
The State of Oregon has great web resources, and here is another. The DMV gives you step by step instructions on your legal responsibilities after an auto accident. Boiling it down, you must stop at once, give help, exchange information, and report the wreck to the DMV.
A lot of insurance companies will give their policy holders a card with some of these instructions. One instruction says not to admit fault. This always bothered me somewhat, because sometimes it's obvious. However, there are times when a motorist may think she or he caused an accident, when in fact something else was going on around them that contributed to the wreck. It's probably good advice not to admit fault at an accident scene.
Getting information is key. If a police officer is at the scene, she will give the drivers a form to fill out, and this contains all the information that you will need. I have had cases where no information is exchanged, or if it is, it's not enough, and we will end up hiring an investigator to track down the responsible party.
After the accident, you should always file an Oregon Accident report. The State of Oregon requires reporting to enforce its mandatory insurance law, and to keep track of accidents that happen within Oregon. It's also a good idea to contact your insurance company right away, whether you are at fault or not.
