If you live or work in Downtown Portland and just got into a car accident, this page is for you. We’re an independent, clinician-owned chiropractic practice focused entirely on auto-injury recovery, located a few minutes across I-405 from the heart of downtown — a 5-minute drive or a 2-stop streetcar ride from Pioneer Square.
I’m Dr. Mike Kam, owner of Crash Care Clinics. Our office is at 407 NW 17th Ave, Suite 5, Portland, OR 97209 in NW Portland’s Alphabet District (also called the Northwest District). The building is on NW Flanders between 17th and 18th, with the closest corner at NW 17th & Flanders. From most addresses in downtown, you can be in our exam room in less than 15 minutes door-to-door.
Need to talk to us right now? Call (503) 567-2981. New auto-injury patients are seen same-day or next-day in almost every case.
Where we are relative to Downtown
We’re not technically in downtown — we’re a few blocks west of I-405, in NW Portland’s Alphabet District. We have a private parking lot and we’re right off I-405, so the trip from downtown is quick and easy.
Distance from common downtown landmarks:
- Pioneer Courthouse Square — 5 minutes by car (1.4 miles), or take the Streetcar NS Line west from the SW 11th & Alder stop
- Portland State University (PSU) — 7 minutes by car, or Streetcar NS Line straight north
- Tom McCall Waterfront Park — 7 minutes by car (2 miles)
- Old Town / Chinatown — 5 minutes by car (1.5 miles)
- The Pearl District core — 4 minutes by car or a 4-block walk from our western edge
- Burnside Bridge approach — 4 minutes by car
- Convention Center (across the river) — 10 minutes via the Steel Bridge
Transit access: the Portland Streetcar NS Line runs between downtown and our neighborhood in NW Portland. The closest stops to our clinic are NW 18th & Lovejoy (northbound) and NW 18th & Northrup (southbound) — both about 2 blocks from our front door. From downtown stops, you’re typically a 6-10 minute streetcar ride away.
Parking: we share a private parking lot with Portland Wellness Collective (the wellness practice we’re co-located with) and have reserved spots for patients. No need to find a meter or pay for a downtown garage.
Hours: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, closed Sunday.
Who we treat in Downtown Portland
Downtown produces a few specific kinds of crashes, and we see all of them:
Pedestrian-vehicle collisions in the Park Blocks, around PSU, and along the Burnside corridor. Downtown has the highest pedestrian density in the city. PIP applies to pedestrians struck by vehicles even when no auto policy is yours — the at-fault driver’s insurance covers it.
Bike-vehicle accidents. Downtown has high bike commuter share, and the Naito Parkway, Broadway, and Salmon Street corridors generate predictable conflicts. PIP and UM/UIM both apply for cyclists hit by motor vehicles in Oregon.
Streetcar and MAX-related collisions. Tracks change driver behavior, and the intersections where MAX crosses surface streets — especially around the Steel Bridge approach and the Pioneer Square area — generate T-bone and side-swipe crashes.
Burnside Bridge approach crashes. Both eastbound and westbound, the Burnside approach handles a lot of merging traffic and produces frequent rear-ends and lane-change collisions.
I-5 and I-405 ramp accidents. The downtown freeway loop has off-ramps at NW Everett, NW Glisan, SW Salmon, SW Madison, and Naito that funnel traffic at unpredictable speeds. Rear-ends in slow-moving on-ramp traffic are common.
Rideshare pickup and drop-off zone crashes. Pioneer Square, the Convention Center stops, and the hotel district produce a lot of stopped-vehicle and pull-out collisions involving Uber and Lyft drivers. (If your crash involved a rideshare, our rideshare crash guide walks through the insurance side.)
Downtown commuters who got rear-ended on the way home — most of these crashes happen on I-5, I-405, or Highway 26 once people leave downtown, but the patients work downtown and need a clinic that’s reachable from a downtown work calendar. We schedule late afternoon and Saturday slots specifically for that pattern.
What to do in the first 72 hours
The full sequence is in our 8 Steps After a Car Accident in Oregon cornerstone, but the short version for downtown residents:
- Get checked. ER first if there are red flags (loss of consciousness, severe headache, chest pain, numbness in arms or legs, abdominal pain). Otherwise, see a chiropractor or urgent care within 72 hours. Soft-tissue inflammation peaks 24-72 hours post-impact, and the documentation gap if you wait longer can hurt your eventual claim.
- File the DMV report. Oregon Form 735-32 is required within 72 hours for any crash with injury or property damage over $2,500. You can file it online with ODOT.
- Open a PIP claim with your auto carrier. This is the fastest way to get medical bills paid. We can help you do this if you haven’t yet — bring your insurance card.
- Document everything. Photos of the cars, the scene, the in-app trip if it was a rideshare, plus a daily symptom log starting now. We give every patient a template.
How Oregon PIP works for Downtown Portland residents
Oregon law (ORS 742.524) requires every auto policy in the state to include Personal Injury Protection (PIP) — minimum $15,000 per person in medical coverage with a 2-year coverage window, no fault required. That means if you have an Oregon auto policy and you were hurt in any crash — your fault, the other driver’s fault, hit while crossing a downtown intersection, or hit on your bike — your PIP pays for chiropractic, physical therapy, massage when medically necessary, imaging, and more.
We bill PIP directly. You don’t write a check at the front desk. Most of our downtown patients pay nothing out of pocket for their care.
If you don’t have an Oregon auto policy (downtown has plenty of car-free residents who got hit as pedestrians or cyclists), the at-fault driver’s insurance is the relevant coverage. We bill that too, and we can help you navigate the claim. For the full coverage explanation, see our Oregon PIP guide.
How we work
A few things to know about how we work:
- Independent and clinician-owned. I’m in the building. I see patients. Clinical decisions get made by clinicians.
- Auto-injury is what we do. Not just “we accept PIP” — we built the practice around post-MVA care. Our notes are written knowing they’ll be read by an insurance adjuster or an attorney. Our treatment plans match the typical PIP timeline. Our front desk knows how to handle an open claim.
- Same-day or next-day for new patients. The 72-hour window matters. Late afternoon and Saturday slots available for downtown workers.
- No money out of pocket. PIP billed direct. If your case gets handed to an attorney later, we coordinate with them and send the records they need without you having to play middleman.
- Multiple modalities under one roof. Chiropractic adjustment, soft-tissue work, Class IV laser, shockwave therapy, rehabilitative exercise. We match the tool to the phase of healing instead of treating every patient with the same protocol. (More on how we choose between modalities is in our shockwave vs laser guide.)
If you want to understand what walks into our office on day one, our first-visit guide walks through the actual sequence: paperwork, exam, imaging decisions, treatment plan, billing.
How to book a visit
The fastest path is to call us: (503) 567-2981. New auto-injury patients usually get scheduled within 24 hours.
Bring with you:
- Your driver’s license
- Comfortable clothing for the exam
If you’d rather book online or send a message first, the contact form on our site goes directly to our front desk and is checked throughout the day.
Where exactly are you, and how far is that from downtown? We’re at 407 NW 17th Ave, Suite 5, Portland, OR 97209 — in NW Portland’s Alphabet District (also called the Northwest District), just west of I-405. From Pioneer Courthouse Square it’s a 5-minute drive (1.4 miles) or a 6-10 minute Streetcar ride on the NS Line. The building is on NW Flanders between 17th and 18th; the closest corner is NW 17th & Flanders.
Where do I park? We share a private parking lot with Portland Wellness Collective with reserved spots for patients. No need to deal with downtown garages or meters. Street parking around NW Flanders is also generally available on weekdays.
Do I need a referral to be seen for an auto injury? No. Oregon PIP does not require a referral. You can call us directly and be seen the same day or next day in almost every case.
I was hit as a pedestrian crossing the street downtown — does PIP still apply? Yes. Oregon PIP applies to pedestrians struck by motor vehicles. If you have your own auto policy, your PIP applies first. If you don’t, the at-fault driver’s insurance covers your medical care. We bill either one directly.
I was hit while biking — same question. Yes. PIP and UM/UIM both apply for cyclists struck by motor vehicles in Oregon. Your auto policy covers you on a bike too. If you don’t have an auto policy, the driver’s insurance is responsible.
My crash involved an Uber or Lyft — is that different? Yes — rideshare crashes have a more complicated insurance picture (three different periods of coverage with different dollar amounts). Our rideshare crash guide walks through who pays in each scenario.
How much does it cost if I have PIP? For most patients with an Oregon auto policy, nothing out of pocket. We bill PIP directly. PIP minimum coverage is $15,000 per person with a 2-year window from the date of the crash.
Do you take walk-ins? We take same-day appointments for new auto-injury patients in almost every case. Calling first is faster than walking in — we can prepare your intake paperwork and have it ready when you arrive.
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