Oregon Accidents Dictionary

Legal and insurance terms explained plainly

ORS 746.230 lists unfair claim settlement practices in Oregon, and when an insurer crosses that line, the cost can be very real: delayed medical payments, lowball offers,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

day-in-the-life video

Insurance companies and defense lawyers may argue that a recorded video of an injured person's daily routine is staged, selective, or designed to exaggerate limitations. They...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

defensive driving course credit

Can taking a safe-driving class actually count for something? Yes. A defensive driving course credit is the benefit a driver receives after completing an approved...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02

delta-v

This is the estimated change in a vehicle's speed during a crash, used to describe how much force was involved in the impact. A lot of people mistake it for the car's speed...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

driver's license suspension

Can the state temporarily take away your ability to drive? Yes. A driver's license suspension is a government action that removes a person's legal driving privilege for a set...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02

driving abstract

Think of it like a report card for a driver: not a full life story, but a summary of what the state has on file about driving privileges, violations, suspensions, and sometimes...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

driving privilege card

Failing to understand this can lead to driving on the wrong kind of credential, getting cited, or learning after a crash that a card allowing limited driving is not the same as...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-02

equal protection analysis

Miss this issue, and a government rule that singles people out can slide by untouched. That can mean unequal treatment in policing, licensing, benefits, school discipline,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

federal preemption

The part that confuses people most is that a state law does not have to directly conflict with federal law to be pushed aside. Federal preemption happens when federal law...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

Fifth Amendment privilege

The right to refuse compelled answers that could help the government prove a crime against you. "Privilege" matters because it is not a blanket right to stay silent about...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-26

First Amendment rights

What protections does the Constitution give for speech, religion, the press, assembly, and petitions to the government? First Amendment rights are the freedoms guaranteed by...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

Fourteenth Amendment

The part people miss most is that this amendment is not just about equality - it is one of the main constitutional limits on state and local government power. Ratified in 1868,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

Fourth Amendment protections

Limits on government searches, seizures, and arrests. "Searches" means police or other government officers usually need a valid warrant, a clear legal exception, or real...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

freedom of speech limitations

The biggest trap is thinking free speech means you can say anything, anywhere, without consequences. It does not. Freedom of speech protects people mainly from improper...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-24

general damages

Insurance adjusters and defense lawyers sometimes use this phrase to make real harm sound vague, optional, or hard to prove. They may argue that because there is no receipt for...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

graduated licensing program

You just got a letter that says a teen driver must complete Oregon's graduated licensing program before getting full driving privileges. That means a step-by-step system for...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

habitual traffic offender designation

Not a label for someone who just gets a few speeding tickets, a habitual traffic offender designation is a formal finding that a driver has built up a serious pattern of...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

hedonic damages

Money awarded for the loss of enjoyment of life after a serious injury or death is commonly called hedonic damages. They focus on what a person can no longer do, experience, or...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

intermediate scrutiny

This can change whether a law, workplace rule, or government policy survives a court challenge - and that can hit your case outcome hard. If a judge uses intermediate scrutiny,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

learner's permit restrictions

You just got a letter that says your teen can drive with a permit, but only under certain conditions. That means there are legal limits on when, where, and with whom a new...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

license compact agreement

An agreement between states that lets motor vehicle agencies share driving records, traffic violations, and license status so one state can act on information from another. A...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

license plate confiscation

You just got a letter that says your vehicle registration is suspended and your plates must be turned in. That is license plate confiscation: the government takes back,...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

license reinstatement hearing

A formal review to decide whether suspended or revoked driving privileges can be restored. "Formal review" means more than a quick visit to the DMV counter. It is usually an...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-01

loss of earning capacity

Not the same as lost wages, which are the paychecks or work hours missed while recovering. Loss of earning capacity is the reduction in a person's ability to earn money in the...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

mitigation of damages

A claim can lose value if an injured person lets avoidable losses pile up. That can mean a smaller settlement or verdict, even when someone else clearly caused the accident. At...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

motor vehicle record

What trips people up most is the idea that a motor vehicle record is just a list of traffic tickets. It is broader than that. A motor vehicle record, often called an MVR or...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

moving violation vs non-moving violation

Insurance companies and defense lawyers may lean on this distinction to suggest a driver was generally careless, especially when a crash report or driving record shows prior...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-31

non-economic damages

Money awarded for intangible harm - such as physical pain, emotional suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, inconvenience, and loss of companionship - falls under...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-23

procedural due process

Losing benefits, a job, a license, or a legal claim because the government moved too fast or shut you out can hit your finances hard. When a decision affects your rights or...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

rational basis review

Like checking whether a workplace rule at a large Hillsboro chip plant has any sensible connection to safety or efficiency, this standard asks only whether a government action...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-29

right against self-incrimination

A person cannot be forced by the government to provide statements that could be used to help prove they committed a crime. "Cannot be forced" means the protection applies when...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-24

ripeness and mootness

You just got a letter that says your case may be dismissed because it is "not ripe" or because it is "moot." Those are two rules courts use to decide whether there is a real...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

separation of powers

Think of a farm with three different jobs that should not be handled by the same person: one group makes the rules, another carries them out, and a third settles disputes when...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-30

standing to sue

A person or organization has standing to sue when they are legally entitled to bring a case because they were directly affected by the dispute and the court can potentially...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

state sovereign immunity

What catches many people off guard is that this is not a rule saying the government can never be sued. It is a legal protection that generally shields a state and its agencies...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27

Stowers demand

A bad miss on this issue can leave an injured person underpaid and a policyholder personally exposed for a judgment far above the insurance limits. A Stowers demand is a...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-22

strict scrutiny

Not the same as a court simply looking at a law very closely or being skeptical of government action in general. Plenty of challenged laws survive ordinary review. Strict...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-25

substantive due process

Not the same as procedural due process, which is about fair notice and a fair hearing. The idea here is different: some government actions are unconstitutional not because the...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-28

tort claim notice

After a crash with a city vehicle on I-205 in Portland or a sheriff's SUV on Highway 22 near Salem, missing one piece of paperwork can cost you the whole case. Even when your...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-21

traffic school dismissal

Keeping a ticket off a driving record can save money on fines, insurance, and, in some cases, the way a later injury claim is argued. A traffic school dismissal is an...

DICTIONARY 2026-04-03

unreasonable search and seizure

People often mix this up with probable cause, but they are not the same. Probable cause is a standard officers may need before searching, arresting, or getting a warrant. An...

DICTIONARY 2026-03-27