Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

Media reports over the last ten days have noted the strange case of nearly 20 Oregon high school football players taken ill after practice with a rare muscle disorder. According to the Associated Press three of the teens needed surgery “and 16 others were treated after suffering muscle damage following a fall camp.” The high schoolers are suffering from a rare condition known as “compartment syndrome” in which high levels of enzymes released after heavy exercise can, in some cases, lead to kidney failure. The constant repetition of the fact that the victims are football players, however, can obscure the fact that they are high schoolers – children, in the eyes of the law – and raises the question of what level of responsibility ought to be assigned to McMinnville High School and its football coach.

According to an article in The Oregonian, doctors familiar with the case say an intense combination of “high heat, dehydration and heavy exercise” may have led to the mass case of compartment syndrome. The doctors are also, however, “waiting for blood tests looking for the presence of creatine, a legal, loosely regulated and widely available bodybuilding supplement present in a number of weight-gain products that has been linked to an increased risk of sports-related injury.”

These Oregon child injuries, taking place at a high school sports practice, raise serious questions about the school’s responsibility – where it should start and where it should end. In particular, if creatine is found in the players’ blood that, in turn, would raise questions about whether the team’s coaches were aware of supplement use among their players and what, if anything, they may have done to warn against it.

Families struggling with questions like these in the wake of a student sports injury are strongly urged to contact an Oregon child injury lawyer with specialized knowledge of Oregon sports injuries at the earliest possible opportunity.

The Oregonian reports that even the McMinnville high school football team’s doctor has questioned the wisdom of team workouts that reportedly took place in temperatures well over 100 degrees. This is the sort of expert analysis that can be a key element of any Oregon child injury or Oregon sports injury case. An Oregon sports injury attorney can be an important guide and advisor as you consider the best path to pursue in the wake of an Oregon child injury suffered as part of school activities.

The Oregonian: Combination of intense drill, heat, dehydration may have sent McMinnville players to hospital

AP: 19 Ore. Football players treated for muscle injury

A car crash near the center of the Glenn Jackson Bridge earlier this week wrecked a semi-trailer and a Honda, sent two people to the hospital and ended with the driver of the Honda facing legal trouble in both Oregon and Washington.

The Oregon car and truck accident left 21-year old Ilya Anikin facing drunk driving charges in two states after crashing his vehicle on the bridge just inside the Oregon state line in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to The Oregonian. Police are still on the lookout for the driver of a red Pontiac alongside whom, they say, Anikin was driving recklessly as the two cars crossed the bridge headed from Washington into Oregon.

NWCN reports that the Oregon truck accident unfolded in an Oregon DOT workzone near the middle of the bridge when Anikin’s Honda swerved, hitting the semi “in the left rear axle, causing its two trailers to drive over, and somewhat flatten, the car.” The Oregonian reports that the trailers tipped over, smashing into the bridge’s center divider, blocking the road and spilling a huge amount of glue, which the truck was hauling (and which work crews struggled – successfully – to get cleaned up prior to the morning rush hour). The driver of the truck was uninjured, but Anikin and a passenger were treated at a local hospital, where Oregon police cited Anikin for DUII and reckless driving. Washington state police then arrested him and issued another, Washington State, DUI citation.

Portland car accidents, especially those involving Oregon drunk drivers, are serious legal matters requiring skilled legal representation from the outset. If you have been the victim of an Oregon drunk or reckless driver, an Oregon personal injury attorney should be one of the first calls you or your loved ones make after attending to immediate medical needs.

A police citation (or even two citations, in two different states) does not, by itself, guarantee you either justice or appropriate compensation for the pain and suffering, lost wages and medical bills and damage to your vehicle or other property stemming from an accident that resulted from someone else’s negligence or misbehavior. Prompt consultation with an Oregon car crash lawyer is the best assurance you have that justice will be served.

NWCN: Alcohol, reckless driving led to I-205 crash

The Oregonian: After night is full moon traffic accidents, Portland police looking for driver in dramatic Glenn Jackson Bridge crash

A study released last week by AAA seems certain to add to the debate surrounding distracted driving in Oregon and elsewhere around the nation. According to the survey, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, two out of every three dog owners “said they routinely drive while petting or playing with their dogs.”

Need I mention that this is not a very safe practice?

In fact, according to Fox News (reporting on the same AAA study), an unrestrained animal in a moving car poses the same degree of distracted driving danger as texting. Texting while driving is, of course, illegal in Oregon and a growing number of other states. That is somewhat ironic since, as the Tribune notes, “there are no state laws requiring drivers to buckle up their pets or prohibiting them from holding animals on their laps.” The paper quotes a AAA spokeswoman saying the auto club considers this situation “an increasingly big problem.”

It should be said that the mere fact that no law requires a driver to restrain his dog does not exempt motorists from driving safely and responsibly. A driver who hits you because they were distracted by a dog in the car may not, technically speaking, have broken Oregon’s distracted driving law, but that does not give them a pass on what would otherwise be considered reckless or negligent driving.

The Tribune, citing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration figures, reports that approximately 6000 people “died in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver in 2008 and more than 500,000 were injured.” If you have become the victim of such a crash or Oregon car accident you have rights, regardless of whether or not the Oregon distracted driving law comes into play. Prompt consultation with a Portland car crash lawyer is an essential first step toward protesting your rights in the wake of any Oregon auto accident.

Fox News: We’re driven to distraction when Fido is Co-Pilot, study finds

Chicago Tribune: Dogs distract drivers, AAA warns

A new study from Tufts University, published last week in The New England Journal of Medicine, has found what appears to be a link between the chronic pain disorder fibromyalgia and Tai Chi, a Chinese martial art that is most often practiced here in the United States for its health benefits rather than self-defense.

The focus on fibromyalgia makes the study especially interesting for Oregon accident victims seeking to recover from a car crash, bicycle crash or industrial accident. According to an analysis by the New York Times, the study “found that after 12 weeks of Tai Chi, patients with fibromyalgia… did significantly better in measurements of pain, fatigue, physical functioning, sleeplessness and depression than a comparable group given stretching exercises and wellness education.”

The paper notes that other medical studies have previously suggested that Tai Chi might hold benefits for other pain suffers, such as people with arthritis. These, however, are relatively well-understood maladies. Fibromyalgia is different. As the Times notes, fibromyalgia is “common”, but remains little-understood and is often difficult to treat. One doctor involved in the study is quoted by the Times attributing Tai Chi’s success with fibromyalgia victims to the discipline’s multiple components: “physical, psychological, social and spiritual.”

The study’s findings are especially good news for accident victims struggling with physical pain, in some cases years after an accident. They are also a reminder that while an Oregon personal injury lawyer can be an essential aide and ally in the legal side of your quest for justice after an Oregon car, bus, truck or bicycle accident, his services can only take you so far. The legal system can help with the medical bills and other personal difficulties that flow from an Oregon injury accident, but at a certain level recovery is also about discipline and dedication. That, it seems, is where an ancient Chinese art focused on training the body as it steadies the mind, may be able to help.

New York Times: Tai Chi reported to ease fibromyalgia

The New England Journal of Medicine: A Randomized Trial of Tai Chi for Fibromyalgia (abstract)

Luck, and his helmet, appear to have saved the life of a 13-year old Milwaukie, Oregon child injured this week in an Oregon bike accident. According to The Oregonian, the boy “survived a collision with a car”, in part because he was wearing a heavy-duty helmet received as a gift from his mother only days earlier.

The Oregon bicycle accident took place at the intersection of Southeast Thiessen and Oetkin Roads south of Milwaukie’s city center. According to the newspaper, a motorist making a left turn collided with the boy, throwing him off the bike head-first and into the car’s windshield.

The boy “suffered a broken toe, dislocated left hip and fractured femur in the crash,” The Oregonian reported, but, thanks to the helmet, has no serious head injuries. Police officers quoted by the newspaper speculated that the boy was helped by the fact that he was wearing a heavy-duty skateboarding helmet rather than a traditional bike helmet at the time of the accident. The difference in helmets may have been a factor in the boy's avoidance of Oregon traumatic brain injury.

Police cited the car’s driver, a 77 year old Milwaukie woman, at the scene. The fact that her improper left turn resulted in an Oregon child injury accident is serious matter. Most families facing such a situation are well-advised to make immediate contact with a Portland, Oregon personal injury attorney with specialized knowledge of how the law treats both Oregon injuries to children, Oregon bicycle accidents and - when they occur - Oregon traumatic brain injuries. An Oregon child injury lawyer can help parents sort through the legalities of traumatic incidents such as this one and advise them on the best way to pursue justice in the wake of an Oregon injury accident.

The Oregonian: New helmet may have saved life of boy, 13, in bike accident

It was, perhaps, inevitable that distracted driving would one day be linked to the death of someone famous. Thus have celebrity watchers this week been obsessed with the Southern California car accident that claimed the life of Dr. Frank Ryan, a cosmetic surgeon well-known for operating on well-known people.

The initial reports of Ryan’s death were relatively straightforward: “The California Highway Patrol says Ryan’s 1995 Jeep Wrangler went off the side of Pacific Coast Highway near Malibu and landed on its roof Monday afternoon,” the Associated Press reported. It did not take long, however, for the nature of the story to change. Soon many media outlets were noting that California authorities are considering whether the car crash “was a result of distracted driving from texting and tweeting at the wheel,” according to a report by CBS News. According to CBS, Ryan “was sending pictures and updates to his twitter page” only “moments” before the fatal car accident.

As it is here in Oregon, texting while driving is illegal in California. Does it take the death of someone (moderately) famous to force home the message that texting while driving – even in places where it is legal (and, to repeat, that does not include either California or Oregon) is among the more insanely dangerous things one can do while also trying to operate a speeding car?

Tragedies like these are also a reminder of one of the main reasons why distracted driving laws, such as Oregon’s, exist in the first place. This accident, if indeed it was the result of distracted driving, involved only a single vehicle, but that fact is mainly a matter of luck. Oregon distracted drivers endanger everyone else on the road to almost the same extent that they endanger themselves. That is why victims of accidents involving an Oregon distracted driver are well-advised to make prompt contact with a Portland distracted driving attorney, who can help obtain the justice their injuries demand.

Part of the problem is that bans on Oregon texting and driving are relatively easy to flaunt, at least until something goes wrong while one is behind the wheel. In an ideal world, the social stigma of violating the Oregon distracted laws would, like that associated with drinking and driving, be almost as much of a deterrent to destructive behavior as the legal sanctions themselves. If the reports about Ryan’s death prove to be true, it will be a reminder of how far we still have to go before that becomes a reality.

CBS News: Did Dr. Frank Ryan die because he was tweeting?

AP: Celebrity surgeon Frank Ryan killed in car crash

A logging accident in Chehalis, Washington late last week led to one worker’s death, according to a report by the Associated Press. According to the news agency, 47-year old Michael Messner of Longview, Washington died “while operating a logging processor.”

Quoting police sources, the agency says “Messner died Thursday when a chain broke and rammed through the windshield of the processor’s cab, striking him in the throat.” Washington state officials have begun an investigation. An official of the logging company for whom Messner was working says the company is also conducting its own investigation of the workplace accident.

All of this is noteworthy for Oregonians because of the reported circumstances surrounding Messner’s death. Had a similar accident taken place here in Oregon the victim’s family would be well-advised to consult with a Portland industrial accident attorney to see whether grounds exist for an Oregon wrongful death lawsuit.

Ordinarily, workplace injuries are handled under the workman’s compensation system – legally speaking, a different topic. But the involvement, or potential involvement, of a third party changes the situation under Oregon law. In such situations an Oregon wrongful death or Oregon defective product suit may be possible. In the case of Mr. Messner, for example, an Oregon wrongful death attorney would have to ask whether defects in the machinery he was operating led to the accident that killed him. Should the chain have broken in the first place and, once it did, was it reasonable to expect the windshield to stop it?

Legal issues such as these can be complex, and often require the specialized skills a Portland, Salem, Eugene or Corvallis personal injury attorney can offer to clients. If tragedy strikes a loved one while he or she is on the job, it is important to ask whether a defective Oregon product may have been partly to blame.

AP via The Oregonian: Longview man killed in logging operation near Chehalis, Wash.

A fatal fall at a temporary ice rink has put the city of Irvine, California on the receiving end of a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit. According to the Los Angeles Times, 49-year old Cherlynn Tang died last February from injuries sustained moments after she stepped off of the ice at a temporary rink built as a winter attraction by the city.

Last week the Orange County Register reported that Tang’s family is suing the city. “The lawsuit claims that the accident was the result of melted water that had been allowed to accumulate on the rink,” according to the Register. Media accounts say Tang slipped and tumbled backwards as she stepped off the ice, striking her head as she fell. The family also alleges that there were no medical personnel at the Great Park Ice Rink, resulting in a 20 minute delay in Tang receiving medical treatment, a time period that may have been crucial in determining whether she lived or died. Tang’s family is seeking $40 million in damages from the city.

This case is a tragic reminder of how important it is for cities and towns to take special care when setting up recreational activities that, while fun, are not necessarily in synch with their surroundings. Irvine’s temporary ice rink was located inside an unused airplane hanger which was open at both ends to the warm Southern California air. At the heart of the Tang family’s suit, according to the Register, is the allegation that the city did not take adequate precautions to protect users of an ice rink in an environment where ice was far from natural.

When a loved one dies in circumstances like these, making immediate contact with an experienced personal injury lawyer is an essential first step in the fight to protect your rights. If a situation like this were to arise here in Oregon, a Portland wrongful death attorney would be able to advise you and other family members of the best way to proceed in light of the particular circumstances of your case.

Obtaining justice in the wake of an Oregon wrongful death is often a struggle. When the odds all appear to be stacked against you, an Oregon wrongful death and personal injury lawyer can be one of your most important allies.

Orange County Register: Lawsuit: Unsafe ice rink led to Great Park death

Los Angeles Times: Irvine mother dies after falling at Great Park ice rink

A Multnomah County man convicted in a drunk driving incident that seriously injured two pedestrians has already been sentenced to nearly six years in prison, but faces additional time behind bars if he refuses to cooperate with a related Oregon dram shop law case pending in civil court, according to The Oregonian.

The newspaper reports that Dallas Lawrence, now 25, struck two women after he left a bar while clearly drunk last February. His Oregon drunk driving conviction in the criminal case growing out of the incident is separate from the potential Portland dram shop law case focused on the bar that allegedly continued to serve Lawrence. That case turns on the allegation that the bar allowed Lawrence to get into his car and drive off into the night despite being so drunk that, according to The Oregonian, he “fell off his bar stool” before heading out to the parking lot.

The paper reports that Lawrence’s two victims have not yet filed suit against the bar where he spent the evening drinking. Lawrence faces an additional 2-1/2 years in prison if he does not cooperate, should a suit go forward.

Dram shop cases focus on the responsibility of bars or other alcohol vendors for the damage done by visibly intoxicated people whom they continue to serve. As The Oregonian notes, such cases “are relatively rare in Oregon, often because it’s difficult to prove in court that bar employees served a visibly intoxicated person.”

Lawrence’s case, however, would appear to offer proof that an experienced Oregon personal injury attorney well-versed in the specialized area of dram shop cases, can help accident victims get the justice they deserve. One of the women Lawrence hit was hurled 60 feet before hitting a parked car, according to The Oregonian. Conventional Portland drunk driving laws, especially those focused on criminal conduct alone, cannot make situations like these right. That is why Oregon’s dram shop laws, and the specialized Portland, Salem and Eugene lawyers who help enforce them, are so important.

The Oregonian: Portland man sentenced to six years for running down two pedestrians after night of heavy drinking

A new measure signed into law in Massachusetts this week raises questions about whether Oregon has sufficiently strong laws regarding young riders and ATVs. As outlined by Boston TV station WCVB, the measure, known as “Sean’s Law," raises the minimum age for ATV operation in Massachusetts from 10 to 14. The law is named after a 8 year old boy who died in an ATV accident in 2006.

New laws such as this are necessary because of the disturbing ways in which some ATV manufacturers market their products. Advertising materials show families using ATVs - in some cases portraying children who in many states would be breaking the law by being on one. Manufacturers downplay the tendency of ATVs to flip over and the serious consequences that can come from being pinned under one. ATVs are neither small nor light.

Here in Oregon there is no minimum age for operating an ATV, though operators below the age of 30 are required to complete a safety education course (by 2014 that requirement will apply to all Oregon ATV riders regardless of age). The course can be taken either in person or online, though beginning in 2012 the “hands-on” version will be required for Oregonians 15 and younger.

The data that drove passage of the Massachusetts law, however, should lead Oregon parents to ask whether these vehicles are actually safe for younger teens and pre-teens to operate under any circumstances, and whether the resulting Oregon ATV accidents - some leading to death or Oregon traumatic brain injuries - are worth the risk. With ATV use growing the number of deaths associated with the vehicles has grown as well. Federal data shows Oregon with 124 ATV-related deaths between 1982 and 2005 – an average of 5.4 deaths per year. From 2006-2008, however, the figure jumps to 40 for only that three- year period: more than 13 deaths per year – a 247% increase.

According to WCVB, the Boston doctor who treated the fatally injured boy for whom the Massachusetts law is named, and who later became one of the new law’s strongest advocates, says he was swayed by data from Nova Scotia. There, a similar law led to a 50% drop in ATV deaths among children in the first year after it was enacted.

ATVs can be fun, but they are also inherently dangerous vehicles. If you or a loved one have been the victim of an Oregon ATV accident, immediately contacting an Oregon personal injury attorney with a specialization in Oregon ATV injuries to children is a crucial first step in protecting your rights.

WCVB.com: Young victim’s family gets ATV laws changed

Oregon Parks & Recreation Department: ATV page

Consumer Product Safety Commission: ATV Statistics Page

The Associated Press is reporting that a 24 year old Portland man involved in an Oregon fatal car crash late last year has been charged with manslaughter. According to the news agency the suspect “was arraigned Tuesday in Marion County Circuit Court in Salem.” In addition to manslaughter he has also been charged with “assault and possession of a controlled substance.”

According to the dispatch, which was published on The Oregonian’s website, the Oregon SUV driver allegedly crossed the centerline of Highway 22 near Idanha, east of Salem, on December 19 and hit an oncoming car. The Salem car accident killed a 69 year old man in the oncoming car and sent three other people in that vehicle to the hospital. The driver of the SUV was also hospitalized with what AP describes as serious injuries.

Accidents like this one are a reminder of the important distinction between criminal and civil proceedings. Just because the state has chosen to move ahead with manslaughter and other charges does not mean the alleged SUV driver cannot also be held to account in civil court for the damage he has done to the victims and their families.

Issues such as these – questions about the nature of the law and how it might affect your particular case – are best considered in consultation with an Oregon personal injury lawyer with broad experience in auto accident litigation. An experienced Portland or Salem car crash attorney can help you sort through the complex, and often confusing, specifics of the law and will fight to help you obtain the justice you deserve.

AP via The Oregonian: Ore. Man charged with manslaughter in fatal crash

An Oregon car crash near Astoria involving two vehicles sent a number of people to the hospital late last week, and has led to an Oregon reckless driving citation and six counts of reckless endangerment for the 16-year-old driver of one of the cars involved, according to the Daily Astorian newspaper.

The paper, quoting the Oregon State Police, reports that the accident took place on US-30, west of Wauna Mill. The car driven by the teenager “began fishtailing” after passing another vehicle, and then crossed the centerline into oncoming traffic where it collided with a pick-up truck. Oddly, the car’s impact mark was on the front passenger’s side – indicating that the Oregon teenage driver may have been trying to turn around at the moment of the Astoria injury car accident.

The teen driver and two of his passengers were injured in the Oregon car crash, seriously in the case of one of the passengers. The driver and all three passengers in the truck were also treated at area hospitals for injuries the paper describes as “non-life threatening.”

If you have been injured in an Oregon car accident, especially one involving a possibly reckless teen driver, it is important that you or your loved ones contact an Oregon auto accident attorney as soon as possible after the initial trauma of the Oregon car crash.

An experienced Oregon personal injury lawyer with a specialization in traffic and other car crashes can help assess the seriousness of your accident and advise you on the best ways to obtain the justice you deserve for injuries that were someone else’s fault.

The Daily Astorian: Seven injured in Highway 30 crash

KTVL: Car with teen driver, passengers crossed centerline, slamming into oncoming SUV; 7 injured