Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

Two months ago I wrote about “Textecution”, a smartphone application available for phones using Google’s Android operating system. At the time I noted that the application’s approach – using a phone’s GPS capabilities to determine whether the user is in a moving vehicle and, if so, to turn off some or all of a handset’s functions – seemed to be the wave of the future.

Sure enough, barely eight weeks later, New York Times technology columnist David Pogue has published a detailed review of four similar applications, all of which seek to address the growing problem of distracted driving. Textecution was not among the applications reviewed this week by Pogue. All of the ones he did look at, however, take a similar approach.

As Pogue notes, iZup, tXtBlocker, CellSafety and ZoomSafer approach the problem of Oregon distracted driving in differing ways but seem to be aimed at the same market: parents of teenagers (or perhaps to bosses who fear that employees on the phone while using the company vehicle will cause an Oregon car accident leading to a lawsuit). Aside from ZoomSafer, all of the applications reviewed require a monthly subscription fee. Purchase prices range from free (for iZup, though, again, there is a monthly fee) to $25.

A useful chart at the Times website compares the features of the four applications, some of which allow calls from certain numbers (such as the user’s parents) through even when others are blocked. tXtBlocker even allows users to specify a “no-phone zone” causing the phone to go dead when, for example, a teenager is on school grounds. The applications also take different approaches to what has been called the passenger problem: if the application uses the GPS to tell when the car is in motion, where does that leave people who are in the car but aren’t behind the wheel? Cellsafety and ZoomSafer allow the block to be bypassed if one solves a timed puzzle (presumably one that no one actually driving would be able to handle).

In the months since Oregon’s ban on texting and the use of hand-held phones by drivers went into effect more and more attention has been paid to technological solutions such as these. If you have been the victim of an accident involving a Portland distracted driver, however, the time has come to turn away from technology and seek the assistance of an Oregon distracted driving attorney. It is important to select an attorney skilled in the nuances of this rapidly-developing legal field, one who is up on the latest legal developments both in our state and elsewhere.

New York Times: Your Phone is Locked. Just Drive.

Relatives of an elderly Canby couple who died after their vacation home caught fire are seeking $3 million in damages as part of a Multnomah County wrongful death lawsuit, according to an article published earlier this week in The Oregonian.

The newspaper reports that the suit targets the companies that installed a propane stove and its accompanying gas lines in Clinton and Kenda Schultz’s vacation house in Sumpter, near Baker City in Eastern Oregon. The couple died in September 2008 when their cabin caught fire.

According to the newspaper, the suit alleges that the companies that installed the stove and its related piping failed “to obtain permits, notify building inspectors… or have the work inspected for its integrity. The suit claims that the Valley Metal employee who installed the stove and interior piping was 18 and didn’t have a required license from the Oregon State Fire Marshal.”

This tragic story is a reminder of the important role an Oregon personal injury attorney can play in the wake of an Oregon wrongful death or a similar tragic incident. Those left behind after an incident like this struggle to understand the circumstances behind their loved-ones demise. In such situations a skilled Oregon wrongful death attorney can be an important ally in the battle to achieve the justice to which families and survivors are entitled.

The Oregonian: Family of Canby couple killed by propane explosion sue companies that installed the stove and gas tank

A Portland bus accident late Saturday night left two young women dead and three other people injured – one critically – after the group was struck by a bus. According to The Oregonian, police are still working to reconstruct the details of the Oregon fatal pedestrian vehicle crash. The incident took place in downtown Portland as the group of pedestrians left a local comedy club.

According to the paper, the accident occurred at the intersection of Northwest Broadway and Glisan Street. “The bus was westbound on Glisan as it turned left onto southbound Broadway and struck the westbound pedestrians,” the paper reported. The five victims, including a newlywed couple and a brother and sister, all knew one another and were traveling together. According to police, the bus had a green light at the time of the accident and the pedestrians had a walk signal. The bus was out of service at the time and was not carrying passengers.

The Oregonian quoted police saying that neither speed nor alcohol initially appears to be a factor in the accident.

Fire and rescue crews arrived to find several of the victims still pinned underneath the bus and remained on the scene for nearly five hours. According to the paper it was the first fatal accident involving a Portland TriMet bus since February 2008.

Once the initial shock of an Oregon bus accident such as this wears off, it is critical that survivors and their loved ones make contact with a Portland motor vehicle accident attorney to discuss the ways in which justice can best be served. The law provides mechanisms to protect victims following an Oregon fatal or injury bus accident. An Oregon personal injury attorney can be an indispensible guide through the complex world of the law and our court system, protecting your interests while working to establish accountability.

The Oregonian: Tri-Met bus strikes group of pedestrians, killing two, critically injuring a third

Following up a story I blogged about earlier this month, the news broke late last week that an Oregon jury has awarded the victim $18.5 million in punitive damages in a high-profile Oregon child sexual abuse case involving the Boy Scouts, according to media reports. Earlier this month the Oregon jury awarded $1.4 million in compensatory damages for pain and suffering. The victim in this case, now 38, sued after determining that a scoutmaster had abused him in the 1980s.

As I’ve previously written, this case has attracted national attention. The New York Times noted that the case marked a rare instance in which the Boy Scouts’ confidential files on alleged sexual abuse and other inappropriate behavior by scout leaders were available to a jury. According to the Times: “Known variously as the “perversion files,” the “red flag files” and the “ineligible volunteer files,” the documents have been maintained for more than 70 years at the Scouts’ national office in Texas.” According to The Oregonian, the case marked only the second time that the records had been available to a jury.

Still to be decided by the judge is whether the files seen by the jury will now also be opened for public scrutiny. According to The Oregonian the Boy Scouts currently have about 2.8 million members, supervised by 1.1 million adult volunteers. The organization began running criminal background checks on volunteers in 2003, the paper reports. Numerous media reports have indicated that the precedent set by opening the Scouts’ files may unleash a flood of litigation nationwide.

This high profile case in our own community has been an ongoing reminder of the importance of having a Portland child sexual abuse attorney on your side. The tragedy of Oregon sexual abuse is never easy to deal with, but a Portland abuse lawyer can help you make your way through our complex and confusing legal system to obtain the justice you deserve.

The Oregonian: Portland jury awards $18.5 million in punitive damages in Boy Scout sexual abuse case

New York Times: $18.5 million in liability for Scouts in abuse case

An area man has received a national award for saving a neighbor from a vicious Oregon dog attack. According to a recent article in The Oregonian, Chuck Monnier of Molalla rescued 23 year old Christopher Friesen from a serious attack by two loose dogs early on Christmas morning 2008. He has now been honored with a Carnegie Medal, “one of 22 awarded across the country this year by the Carnegie Hero Fund,” the newspaper reports.

Monnier told The Oregonian he heard Friesen’s cries for help and began to call 911 before deciding the situation could not wait. Handing the telephone to his wife he rushed outside, grabbed a shovel and used it to drive the attacking Clackamas dogs away. The Oregon dog attack left Friesen with serious injuries to his head, left calf, the back of his right knee and his left arm.

According to the newspaper, the Molalla police located the dogs the following day. The animals were “placed in quarantine. After an investigation, the dogs were euthanized and their owner was cited for maintaining a dangerous dog.”

Oregon dog attack victims have the right to receive justice for the injuries they have suffered through dog owners’ negligence. A Portland or Clackamas County dog attack attorney should be your first, and most important, contact after immediate medical needs are satisfied.

Monnier and Friesen’s story ends well. Friesen has recovered, the men are now friends and Monnier says he thinks of Friesen “as a grandson who just happened to have been born in another family.” Not all Oregon dog attack stories end this happily, however. A Eugene, Salem or Portland dog attack lawyer offers your best chance of holding irresponsible pet owners to account and receiving the justice you deserve.

The Oregonian: Molalla hero cited for saving man from dog attack

An Oregon wrongful death lawsuit has been filed in federal court in the wake of last year’s death of a 30 year old Salem man who had been subdued by police officers using tasers. The family of Gregory Rold is seeking $1.5 million in compensatory damages and $4.5 million in punitive damages from the City of Salem, four of its police officers and 10 other municipal employees, according to the Salem Statesman-Journal.

According to the Statesman-Journal, Rold died last May after being taken into custody by the Salem police following a trespassing complaint. When he resisted arrest, police subdued Rold with batons and the taser, according to the newspaper. Shortly after being taken into custody, however, Rold stopped breathing. Paramedics took him to a Salem hospital where he was pronounced dead. A Marion County Grand Jury later cleared the officers involved of wrongdoing, ruling that “police officers were justified in using physical force to arrest Rold,” the newspaper reported. A state medical examiner ruled the death accidental.

In an article distributed by Courthouse News Service, Rold’s mother says her son was schizophrenic, and that officers used the tasers on him for a full 2 minutes and later knelt on him as he lay face-down. According to the Statesman-Journal, the family’s Oregon wrongful death lawsuit “claims that Rold’s civil rights were violated, that police officers were negligent in causing Rold’s death and excessive force was used against Rold.”

The Rold family’s Salem wrongful death suit offers an important reminder for families who believe a loved one has died after mistreatment by police or other authorities: official investigations are not the end of the matter. An Oregon wrongful death attorney can help surviving family members seek justice through the courts, even if an official investigation has initially cleared the law-enforcement officials involved.

Salem Statesman-Journal: Wrongful-death lawsuit targets Salem officers

Courthouse News Service: Cops Tasered Disabled Son to Death, Mom Says

About 50 people, including Portland’s mayor, gathered last week to mark the unveiling of a unique spot: a shrine dedicated to Portland bicyclists by St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, along with the introduction by the church of a formal ‘bicycle liturgy’, according to a recent article in The Oregonian.

Central to the shrine is a ‘ghost bike’ covered in flowers and dedicated to the memory of a young Portland cyclist who was struck by a car and died in an Oregon bicycle accident in 2007. Mayor Sam Adams told those attending the service that “out of the great tragedy of (Tracey) Sparlings death emerged the city’s bike boxes, designed to prevent more right-hook turns like the one that killed” her, the newspaper reported. According to the church publication Episcopal Life, Sparlings was struck and killed by a cement truck which failed to see her while turning. The driver of the truck was not prosecuted.

The event was a reminder that even in Portland – often regarded as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the country – riders often find themselves endangered by drivers who are not keeping an eye out for cyclists.

According to Episcopal Life the Portland bike shrine is believed to be the only one of its kind. The liturgy used for the first time last week refers to it as “a place of prayer and memory in support of those in our community who travel by bicycle and in supplication for the safety of everyone on our streets.”

Bicycles have a right to be on our roads, just as much as do cars and trucks. Similarly, riders injured in an Oregon bicycle accident have the same rights to justice as victims of Oregon auto accidents. A Portland bicycle accident lawyer familiar with the ins and outs of Oregon’s traffic laws and how they apply to cyclists can help you determine the best way forward after a Portland bike and car accident. Oregon cycling injuries, especially those resulting from an auto accident, can cause both mental and physical trauma. Holding irresponsible motorists to account is one of the best things we can do to help make the streets safer for everyone.

The Oregonian: Portland church develops bicycle liturgy to roll with bike shrine

Episcopal Life Online: OREGON: Portland church unveils bicycle liturgy

A leading expert on child sexual abuse says a Portland court’s verdict holding the Boy Scouts liable for the Oregon child sexual abuse of one of their scouts in the 1980s has the potential to set loose a flood of litigation, similar to what the Catholic Church has experienced in recent years, according to a recent report in The Oregonian.

That analysis comes in the wake of a $1.4 million Oregon jury verdict against the Boy Scouts of America and their local affiliate, the Cascade Pacific Council. The victim, now 38, was molested by a scoutmaster in 1983 and 1984, according to a report in USA Today. In an interview with The Oregonian the victim said he had come forward after so many years because he only recently realized how seriously the mental trauma of the molestation had affected his later life. Changes to Oregon’s sexual abuse laws enacted last year have extended the period of time after an incident of abuse in which an alleged victim can bring suit.

A statement posted on the Boy Scouts of America’s website described the organization as both “gravely disappointed” in the verdict and “saddened by what happened to the plaintiff,” The Oregonian reported. The Scouts now face a second phase of the trial in which punitive damages will be considered. The victim is seeking $25 million.

At a moment when child abuse scandals involving the Catholic Church have been making headlines for weeks the timing of the verdict was, from the Scouts’ perspective, particularly unfortunate. Like many church cases, the Oregon child sexual abuse case turned on the question of whether the organization had sought to cover up cases of abuse in an effort to protect its reputation.

If you believe you were molested as a child, or have reason to believe your child has been the victim of a sexual predator, contacting a Portland child abuse lawyer is the key first step on the long road to justice. This most traumatic of crimes can be as difficult to prosecute as it is to confront. Let an experienced Oregon child injury attorney become your ally as you work to expose and punish those who have violated the trust of children and parents alike.

The Oregonian: Portland sex abuse verdict leaves Boy Scouts vulnerable to more lawsuits

USA Today: Boy Scouts found negligent in Oregon sex abuse

Four members of a Canadian family were injured in a serious Oregon truck accident last week when what police describe as a “large truck” crossed the median on I-5 near Eugene and collided with an oncoming car, according to a report by local TV station KMTR.

According to the Eugene Register-Guard, the truck, which police describe as “rental style”, was headed south on I-5 at the time of the accident. The truck’s 73-year old driver reportedly strayed across the interstate’s grassy median before colliding with the Canadian family’s northbound pick-up truck. All four family members were taken to area hospitals. None of their injuries are thought to be life-threatening. The southbound truck’s driver was more seriously injured. According to the Register-Guard she was airlifted to hospital, after being pulled from her vehicle by fire department personnel.

Eugene injury accidents such as this can be difficult and costly affairs for the victims and their extended families. Bills for medical treatment, rehabilitative services and even counseling can flood in at a time when accident victims, or loved ones forced to leave work to care for them, are further burdened with emotional distress and the possible loss of wages or salaries.

At times like these, the assistance of a Eugene truck accident lawyer can be essential. The justice you need and deserve in the wake of an Oregon injury car accident can often be achieved only through the courts. An Oregon personal injury lawyer can help you get everything to which you are entitled.

KMTR.com: Truck hits pick-up on I-5, several hurt

Eugene Register-Guard: Investigation continues into I-5 crash that injured family of four

With Oregon distracted driving on the minds of many motorists as the state’s new ban on the use of hand-held cellphones and texting by drivers takes effect, a court case in California last week became the latest important legal decision to remind everyone how serious an issue this is.

According to the Associated Press, a 42 year old California man has been sentenced to four years in prison following a car accident in which he struck and killed a pedestrian. Martin Kuehl was texting as he drove through the southern California city of Newport Beach in August 2008. According to the AP, “prosecutors argued that he had an unobstructed view of the crosswalk” where he struck and killed the pedestrian, but “failed to slow down or break in any way.”

Interestingly, the accident took place one month before California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation banning texting behind the wheel throughout the state. That fact is an important reminder that the consequences of Portland distracted driving can go far beyond those directly related to the Oregon distracted driving law.

The criminal penalties mandated by the new Oregon distracted driving law are relatively mild compared to the civil and criminal sanctions that could result from a serious Oregon auto accident. If you, or a loved one, have been injured in a Portland, Salem or Eugene car crash the assistance of an Oregon car crash injury lawyer is a crucial part of your struggle to achieve a just outcome after falling victim to a tragedy.

AP in the San Francisco Chronicle: OC Driver Gets 4 Years for Fatal Texting Accident

San Francisco Chronicle: California bans text messaging while driving

Oregon State Police are working with officials from the Marion County Medical Examiner’s office to investigate an Oregon accidental death in Silver Falls State Park, near Silverton and Salem.

According to the Salem-News, a 22 year old man died last week when he “fell Saturday afternoon from an edge overlooking the Drake Falls area” of the park. The paper quotes the OSP saying state troopers and EMTs were summoned to the park immediately after the accident, but the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are also looking for what the paper describes as “an unknown hiker” who may have witnessed the Oregon fatal accident.

Any Oregon fatal accident raises questions about liability. Just because a death is an accident does not mean that, as a matter of law, no one is legally responsible. Indeed, seeking legal advice is always a good idea in the wake of a Portland accidental death. An Oregon personal injury lawyer can advise accident victims and their families on the details of Oregon’s wrongful death laws, and help determine whether a particular accident leaves justice waiting to be served.

Negligence is often a contributing factor, if not the direct cause, of wrongful deaths. It places victims and their families in the unenviable position of having to turn to the courts to get the justice they deserve. A Portland wrongful death attorney can be your most important ally in this emotional and complex undertaking.

Salem-News: Accidental Death Investigation – Silver Falls State Park

Oregon State Parks Home Page

The New York Times reported recently on efforts by the federal Department of Transportation to tighten rules governing distracted driving in Oregon and elsewhere in the nation. According to the newspaper, the department wants to make a temporary ban on texting by long-haul truckers permanent. Safety advocates, however, say those rules do not go far enough.

According to the Times, the real concern among highway safety groups focuses on the in-cab computers that have become standard equipment in much of the nation’s trucking fleet. “We want the department to continue down this road of looking at the devices that are highly distracting and take action to curb those as well,” the paper quoted Judith Stone, president of Advocates for Highway Safety, saying.

The department is currently gearing up to take public comments about making the texting rule permanent, but is reported to be receptive to input on a broader ban. Onboard computers are a common sight in the cabs of large trucks. These often combine the features of commercial GPS units with links to dispatchers at a trucking or shipping company’s headquarters.

With concern rising nationwide about distracted driving, Oregon motorists are finding there are simply more and more things to worry about when considering the other drivers on the road. If you have been involved in an accident with an Oregon distracted driver, prompt consultation with a Portland distracted driving lawyer is imperative. There are many activities (such as operating an onboard computer in the cab of a speeding semi-truck) that fall outside the scope of the Oregon distracted driving law that went into effect last January. The fact that some forms of distracted driving are legal does not, however, mean that a reckless, distracted driver cannot be held responsible for his actions. An experienced Oregon distracted driving attorney can advise you on the remedies you may have depending on the exact nature and circumstances of your Oregon distracted driving car crash.

New York Times: Banning Texting in Truck Raises Other Questions