OTLA Trial Lawyer Spring 2021

11 Trial Lawyer • Spring 2021 determination would contradict the holding in Snodgrass v. General Tel. Co. , 275 Or. 79, 82 (1976). In Snodgrass , the court held the plaintiff ’s cause of action for loss of consortium is likewise inde- pendent because the injuries sustained by the plaintiff were separate and inde- pendent form her husband’s personal injuries. The Snodgrass court further held an independent loss of consortium claim need not be joined for the “complete determination of controversy” between a personally injured spouse and the defendant. Id. at 82. Outcome We ultimately defeated the driver’s summary judgment motion. After sev- eral months of negotiations, the driver’s insurer agreed to pay Jeff his own $100,000 per person limit under the driver’s policy. Upon resolution of that matter, we proceeded to file an underin- sured motorist claim on behalf of Jeff that resulted in additional recovery for Leslie and Jeff, and their family. Although it is not common to pursue a stand-alone loss of consortium claim, practitioners should not be dissuaded from doing so as it is a supported inde- pendent claim. The analysis and strategy of litigating the independent claim may also depend on insurance coverage avail- ability. Although we did not experience coverage limitations in this case, one should carefully consider whether pursu- ing derivative injuries as separate claims could improve one’s recovery. In Jeff ’s case, it was a positive outcome for him and his entire family. Melina Martinez specializes in personal injury, profes s ional negl igence and construction defect law. She contributes to OTLA Guardians at the Rising Star level. She is an attorney at Richardson Wright LLP, 805 SWBroadway, Portland, OR 97205. She can be reached at 503- 546-4632 or melina@richardsonwright. com.