2016 – A Year In Review Oregon and Washington Personal Lines

Smith Freed Eberhard Partner Josh Hayward discusses major cases of the past year in Oregon and Washington with a focus on the impact these cases will have on personal lines claims management. In this one hour presentation, Josh will discuss recent developments in Oregon and Washington law, including:

• (OR) Changes in the Oregon approach to claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress;
• (OR) Oregon’s cap on noneconomic damages and its impact on high-value claims;
• (OR) How to avoid losing the protections of a safe harbor letter;
• (WA) How to evaluate whether a party improved its position during trial de novo following an arbitration award;
• (WA) Developments to Washington’s dog bite laws under a premises liability theory; and
• (WA) Whether multiple collisions in the span of seconds can constitute a single “accident”