Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

A medical journal study released this month offers alarming evidence about the long-term prospects for stroke victims and raises broader questions about the way hospitals treat them. The study, originally published in the medical journal Stroke, and reported on by a number of mainstream media outlets, found that, as summarized by Bloomberg Businessweek: “within a year of having a stroke, almost two-thirds of Medicare patients die or wind up back in the hospital.”

According to Businessweek, the study looked at data covering over 91,000 Medicare patients at 625 hospitals nationwide. It covered the years 2003 to 2006 and found no change in the rates of rehospitalization or death over that period. One caveat, noted by outside experts interviewed by the magazine, is that a study like this – one focusing on older patients – can have a difficult time controlling for other medical issues the patients may be experiencing.

The study uncovered a death rate of 14.1 percent within the first 30 days after a stroke and 31.1 percent within a year. More alarmingly, “61.9 percent of stroke patients were readmitted to hospital or died within a year of their stroke,” Businessweek notes.

The results raise complex questions about wrongful death and medical malpractice both here in Oregon and elsewhere. Does this extraordinarily high rehospitalization rate indicate that the medical profession may not be handling stroke victims – especially those on Medicare – in the best way possible? Is a failure to question ‘standard’ practices leading to worse outcomes form patients?

As the medical profession begins to grapple with these questions the study’s findings are something loved-ones should keep in mind in considering whether a companion or relative has received the best and most appropriate treatment when hospitalized following a stroke. Consulting with a Portland medical malpractice and wrongful death attorney is a key first step toward protecting your family’s rights and ensuring that justice is done following a stroke or other medical tragedy.

Bloomberg Businessweek: Health Risks Rise for Medicare Patients in Year After Stroke

WebMD: Study Gives ‘Striking’ Snapshot of Stroke Prognosis

Resource:
Centers For Disease Control & Prevention – Stroke Information Page

As we head into the New Year’s Eve weekend one of the nation’s largest cellphone companies is taking a proactive stance against distracted driving. AT&T has released an 11-minute video documentary, entitled “The Last Text,” to raise awareness of the dangers of texting behind the wheel as we head into the final weekend of the holiday season.

The video can be viewed at both of the source links below, as well as on YouTube. It is part of a broader anti-texting publicity campaign sponsored by AT&T under the umbrella title “It Can Wait.” The documentary “features stories about people whose lives were adversely affected by texting behind the wheel,” according to a report in USA Today.

Oregon, of course, has had a distracted driving law in place for almost exactly one year. That law makes texting by drivers illegal under pretty much any circumstances but, as I noted in a post just last week evading the ban is relatively easy and the fine for getting caught ($90) is relatively low. The Oregon distracted driving law is still too new for any significant body of data to have been gathered concerning its enforcement.

That leaves education as one of our most important tools in cracking down on this outrageously dangerous practice. The AT&T video is the latest in a series of signs that the electronic communications industry realizes that it has a stake in urging people to use its products and services responsibly.

When education fails, however, the court system can provide another effective means of deterrence. The criminal fine for violating the Oregon distracted driving law may be low, but paying it does not exempt drivers from broader liability for the damages stemming from their reckless actions. A Portland distracted driving attorney can be an essential ally for victims seeking justice beyond that offered by our criminal courts. AT&T is to be congratulated for stepping up this New Year’s Eve – but drivers bent on continuing their dangerous conduct need to know that a sterner rebuke than a YouTube documentary awaits them if they flaunt the Oregon and Portland distracted driving rules.

PC Magazine: AT&T Releases Anti-Texting while Driving Documentary

USA Today: AT&T documentary takes on texting while driving

In looking at ways to contain the ever-rising cost of health care in America tort reform – a fancy way of saying ‘making it harder to sue bad doctors’ – is often cited as a quick fix. A recent article in the New York Times, however, underlines in the most harrowing ways possible the consequences that can arise when a legislature lets the urge to cut doctors costs outrun its concern for patients rights.

As the article details, in 2003 Texas changed its tort laws with the goal of making it “more difficult for patients to win damages in any health care setting, but especially emergency rooms.” The state’s big idea was to cap damage awards with the goal of bringing down doctors’ insurance rates: noneconomic damages in Texas are now limited to $250,000 from each health care provider and $750,000 overall.

The legislature also, however, sought to provide extra protection to emergency room doctors, on the grounds that they must often make split-second life-or-death decisions and, thus, should be insulated from frivolous lawsuits. It is a laudable goal in theory: reform that makes life easier for the hardest-pressed doctors and, in the process, lowers their insurance rates. To achieve this, however, the legislature used sweeping language, declaring that emergency room doctors cannot be sued at all unless a victim can show the doctor acted with “willful and wanton negligence”. In practice, as the Times notes, that standard has proven virtually impossible to meet.

Doctors’ insurance rates have, indeed, dropped – but as the newspaper details, many victims of what would be deemed gross negligence virtually anywhere else today find themselves with little or no legal recourse in the state of Texas. In effect, Texas law now protects incompetent doctors from the consequences of their actions unless the doctor was actively trying to harm a patient – and the patient can prove it.

Mercifully, this is not the way we do things here in Oregon. Under our laws, victims of medical malpractice have a full range of options to consider, and, if their case is sufficiently strong, can fight for a truly just settlement with the help of a Portland medical malpractice attorney. We can all agree that America’s medical system has its problems – but denying victims what they are rightfully due is not the way to fix them.

New York Times: State’s tort reform makes lawyers wary of taking on patients

Earlier this month New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed wide-ranging legislation designed to protect student-athletes in his state. As reported by the website Safe Kids New Jersey, the bill will require the state’s Department of Education “to develop an interscholastic athletic head injury safety training program to be completed by school physicians, coaches and athletic trainers” in both public and private schools.

The website goes on to note that the New Jersey program will include teaching school personnel how to recognize “symptoms of head and neck injuries,” how to judge when an athlete should be allowed to return to the field and when someone requires further treatment, including hospitalization. As the organization notes, “currently, there is no uniform method of handling suspected concussions in interscholastic sports.”

As I have noted in previous posts looking at both football and hockey, concern over concussions and other traumatic brain injuries at all levels of competition is rising here in Oregon and nationwide. Parents as well as coaches and trainers are becoming more and more aware of the dangers improperly diagnosed or treated head injuries can pose, especially to younger athletes. Below you’ll find a link to an especially helpful checklist of questions every parent should know to ask when talking to a doctor treating a child for a suspected head injury (the list is compiled by the federal government’s National Institutes of Health).

The issues surrounding Oregon concussions and other traumatic brain injuries are serious, and it is good to see them drawing more attention both here and nationwide. Legislation is a good first step but, ultimately, both parents and the justice system must remain vigilant to ensure that responsible adults act appropriately, particularly when caring for our children. Consulting an Oregon traumatic brain injury attorney can be an important step for parents wondering whether a sports-related injury could, or should, have been avoided.

Safe Kids New Jersey: Governor Christie Signs Comprehensive Concussion Safety Bill to Protect New Jersey’s Student-Athletes

National Institutes of Health: Concussion – what to ask your doctor – child

A crowd turned out on Barbur Boulevard last night to remember Angela Burke, according to an account posted on the Bike Portland website. Burke, 26, was killed last week by what The Oregonian, quoting police and witnesses, described as a speeding car (reportedly doing 75 in a 35 mph zone) traveling barely on the edge of control.

The Oregonian reports that the driver who allegedly struck Burke was arraigned last Friday “on allegations of negligent homicide and driving under the influence of intoxicants.” He was reported to have significant amounts of both alcohol and marijuana in his system at the time of his arrest, shortly after the Portland fatal pedestrian car crash that killed Burke. The suspect has another court date scheduled later this week.

As both the newspaper and Bike Portland noted, the stretch of Barbur where Burke died is notoriously difficult for Oregon pedestrians and cyclists to cross safely, especially at rush hour. Even those going to last night’s vigil were urged to take safety precautions.

There is a certain irony in the fact that Portland – a city known nationwide for its friendliness to bicyclists and pedestrians - has seen such a rash of fatal bike and pedestrian accidents over the last few years. The very stretch of Barbur where Burke died last week was the site of a similar Portland fatal traffic accident just two months ago.

While authorities say they are working to correct this situation many broader questions need to be considered by our community. In particular, one has to ask what sort of justice family members of Burke and victims like her can obtain in the wake of Portland pedestrian accidents such as this one. Criminal accountability does not begin to settle the accounts of a family’s pain and suffering, lost wages or companionship. It does not, in short, settle the accounts required by justice. For that we must rely on the civil court system and the assistance a Portland pedestrian and bike accident lawyer can offer bereaved family members, or victims struggling to put their lives back together in the wake of someone else’s recklessness.

The Oregonian: Vigil planned tonight for Angela Burke, struck and killed by motorist on SW Barbour Boulevard

Bike Portland: Vigil brings light to tragic stretch of Barbur Blvd

KXL Radio: Vigil Mourns Another Portland Pedestrian Death

A terrible story from California this week reminds all of us that distracted driving laws – be they here in Oregon or elsewhere – cannot, by themselves, stop some people from behaving destructively. To be effective, the laws require enforcement by police and the accountability provided by courts.

According to a report by the Los Angeles TV station KTLA, a 20-year-old Glendale woman now faces vehicular manslaughter charges “after allegedly running a stop sign and killing an elderly pedestrian while texting on her cell-phone.” The station reports that the pedestrian, an 80-year-old man, was thrown into the air and died of the head trauma suffered as he landed on the sidewalk. The accident took place in September. Police arrested the driver a few days ago after concluding a three-month investigation.

California’s laws on cellphone use by drivers are similar to Oregon’s (in some respects they are actually stronger: California explicitly bans cellphone use by school bus drivers in all circumstances, a provision the Oregon distracted driving law omits). Like California, the Oregon distracted driving law also allows for “primary” enforcement, meaning that offenders can be pulled over solely for breaking the ban on using a handheld phone or texting while driving. The question we have to ask is how often this actually happens (texting, in particular, is relatively easy to hide by simply holding the phone low enough that it is difficult or impossible for an officer glancing through the driver’s window to see).

The accountability provided by our courts is an important part of this equation. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a Portland distracted driver you owe it to yourself to speak with an Oregon distracted driving attorney at the earliest possible opportunity. The criminal and civil justice systems provide different types of accountability. For many victims a civil case may offer their best opportunity to ensure that justice is done.

KTLA.com: 20-year-old Arrested in Texting While Driving Death of Elderly Pedestrian

Governors Highway Safety Association – Table outlining state Distracted Driving laws

The City of Portland is scheduled, this week, to pay out $338,477 as part of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by an 80-year-old woman struck by a police car while crossing the street. According to an article in The Oregonian, the accident took place when the officer driving the patrol car looked away from the road to check his onboard mobile computer for messages from the police dispatcher.

The accident is a reminder of one of the loopholes in the much-talked-about Oregon distracted driving law, which went into effect nearly a year ago: the blanket exemption for on-duty law enforcement and public safety personnel. Obviously police, firefighters, EMTs and other people who protect our lives deserve our respect and support. Equally obviously, their use of computers and other on-board electronic equipment designed to help them do their jobs is a far cry from a commuter texting in downtown traffic.

That said, the suit the city has just settled is a reminder that the on-board computers that are now standard in police cars and other public service vehicles are far more complex – and potentially far more distracting – than the hand-held two-way radios of old. As The Oregonian rightly notes, “The case points to a growing tension: While police are expected to use increasing technology in the field t obtain information quicker, the distractions also have the potential to cause accidents.”

As the newspaper notes, Oregon is not the only state grappling with this issue. Similar cases have cropped up all over the country. According to the paper, Oregon’s police academy does not offer specific training “on how to use the mobile data computers in patrol cars”. We can only hope that this case will, at the very least, lead to some reconsideration of that policy.

In the meantime, citizens who believe a police officer may have acted recklessly in his or her use of a mobile computer should consult with a Portland personal injury attorney to help determine the best way to see that justice is done, even as the police continue their important task of keeping all of us safe.

The Oregonian: Portland to pay $338,000 to 81-year-old pedestrian struck by patrol car when officer was checking mobile computer

A newly released government study examining hospitalizations resulting from dog bites lays out some attention-grabbing data: between 1993 and 2008 the number of people hospitalized nationwide as a result of dog bites nearly doubled. Reporting the data the New York Times noted that this “increase vastly exceeded population growth, and pet ownership increased only slightly during the same period.” The study was conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services.

As an AHRQ news release notes, those under the age of 5 or over 65 are in the greatest danger for dog bites. The most common form of hospital treatment required is for “skin and underlying tissue infection”, though in a small number of cases much more serious conditions – such as multiple fractures or blood poisoning – can develop following a serious dog attack.

The study notes that around 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year and that only a fraction of these incidents require hospitalization. Still, as the study’s author, Dr. Anne Elixhauser, told the Times, referencing the huge increase in injuries serious enough to require hospitalization: “It’s really kind of frightening, and, unfortunately, we’re at a loss to explain it.”

Here in Oregon we can take some small solace from the fact that bite figures are somewhat lower for the Western US as a whole than for other regions of the country. Nevertheless, the report serves as a reminder of both the seriousness of Oregon dog bites in general and of the importance of addressing them promptly when they occur.

A particularly troubling finding is the study’s conclusion that “treating patients admitted for dog bites cost hospitals an average of $18,200 per patient.” Figures like that remind us of how important it is to establish accountability from a dog’s owner. To ensure that accountability, victims of Oregon dog attacks are well-advised to consult a Portland dog bite lawyer as soon as possible after the incident.

New York Times: Risks: Hospital admissions for dog bites are on the rise

AHRQ News Release on Dog Bite Study (contains a link to the full report)

Nine months after an explosion in a West Virginia coal mine left 29 mine worker dead, the Wall Street Journal reports that many families torn apart by the tragedy remain unsure of their next legal steps forward. Their stories contain many lessons for Oregon families thrown into similarly tragic circumstances as the result of an Oregon wrongful death or industrial accident.

As the paper reports, within days of the mine explosion the board of Massey Energy Company, one of the largest and most powerful companies in West Virginia, offered each family a settlement: $3 million in compensation for the death, lost wages and lost companionship of their loved-one, in exchange for giving up any right to sue the company. The Journal reports that, at present, only seven families have agreed to the company’s settlement, and that “in at least two cases family members are at odds and plan to let a court decide which path they should take.”

For the families the choice is a painful one. As the Journal quotes one victim’s father, himself a miner, saying: “I don’t think it’s justifiable that they want to put a dollar sign on my boy.” As the article notes, the families of workers involved in other industrial accidents often face similarly agonizing choices.

For working families, the compensation offered can seem like an overwhelming amount of money, but accepting it, and foregoing the opportunity to file a wrongful death lawsuit, can leave relatives feeling that they have traded cash for accountability.

For those left behind, there are never any easy answers when confronted with choices like these. That is why taking time to explore, and carefully consider, options makes so much sense. Talking with a personal injury or wrongful death attorney does not, in and of itself, commit you to any course of action, but can offer both information and legal insights that are crucial when making such an important decision.

Wall Street Journal: Dead Miners’ Kin Wrestle With Choice to Settle or Sue

A scathing statement released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board cites “a series of improper actions” by a Grant’s Pass, Oregon contractor leading up to a 2008 crash that killed nine firefighters in California. According to a report in The Oregonian, the NTSB’s chairwoman found some actions by the company, Carson Helicopters, “so distressing that the NTSB has alerted the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to investigate in more detail, looking for possible criminal wrongdoing.”

The NTSB statement (see link below) paints a devastating picture of corporate negligence and deception. Referring to Carson, whose helicopters were contracted out to the US Forest Service for firefighting purposes, the NTSB writes: “The contractor’s actions included the intentional alteration of weight documents and performance charts and the use of unapproved performance calculations.”

Though the NTSB also found fault with actions by both the Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, “Carson’s actions were so egregious – so egregious – that they have to go first,” NTSB member Robert Sumwalt told The Oregonian.

When government investigators believe the evidence of wrongdoing to be so overwhelming, the question has to be asked: what is the best way for the victims families to obtain justice? Criminal sanctions may deter Carson or other companies from similar activity in the future, but they offer little to the families of the dead and the injured.

In the wake of the NTSB report a strong case can be made that the firefighters tragedy is grounds for an Oregon wrongful death action in civil court. Though the helicopter crash took place in California, the fact that Carson is an Oregon-based company means that the bereaved families would be well-advised to speak with an Oregon wrongful death attorney as they consider their options in the wake of this needless tragedy.

The Oregonian: NTSB lambasts Carson Helicopters of Grant’s Pass in 2008 crash that killed 9 firefighters

NTSB News Release on Carson Helicopters and the Weaverville CA Crash

With recent statistical reports demonstrating that elder abuse is a rising problem here in the United States, media reports here in Oregon indicate that officials at the state Department of Human Services fear our state may have become part of this disturbing trend.

According to a recent article published in The Daily Astorian, “national studies estimate 3 to 5 million seniors, aged 65 and older, have experienced abuse – but only 1 in 5 cases are reported.” Adult Protective Services agents are asking family members to keep an eye out for signs of trouble, particularly as we enter the holiday season.

Elder Abuse can take many forms, and need not be physical in nature. As an information page at the Oregon Department of Human Services’ website (see link below) outlines, Oregon elder abuse can take many forms. These may involve Oregon medical malpractice or nursing home neglect, but can also include financial exploitation or psychological and emotional trauma.

As the news website MyCentralOregon.com notes, “approximately 13% of Oregon’s population is now 65 years or older, with nearly 76,000 Oregonians having reached 85.” Those numbers speak to a need for redoubled vigilance on the part of the younger generation now charged with the care of aging parents.

If you feel that a loved one has been the victim of Oregon elder abuse or neglect, or of Oregon medical malpractice you owe it to yourself as well as the rest of your family to speak with a Portland medical malpractice attorney at the earliest possible opportunity. Because the definition of elder abuse can be so broad, and because medical malpractice can often be an extremely complicated charge to prove, skilled legal representation is essential at every stage of the process.

My CentralOregon.com: DHS: Elder Abuse An Underreported, Growing Problem

Daily Astorian: Abuse of elderly prompts warning

Resource:
Oregon Department of Human Services information page: Abuse & neglect of seniors and people with disabilities

A post-holiday news release from the Oregon State Police notes that the state recorded three Oregon fatal car crashes over the just-concluded Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The statement notes that this represents an increase over the same period during the last two years. Only two people died on Oregon’s roads over the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend, an identical figure to 2008. The statement noted, however, that the number of Oregon car crashes troopers responded to skyrocketed this year: “troopers reported responding to over 300 traffic crashes, nearly 2-1/2 times the number reported during last year’s Thanksgiving holiday period,” the statement said.

The statement noted that icy road conditions, particularly in Eastern Oregon, were a factor in all three of the state’s fatal holiday weekend accidents. The unusually high number of non-fatal crashes, however, are a special cause for concern as the vast majority of them cannot be attributed to bad weather.

In Gearhart, for example, a 21-year-old driver was cited by police on Thanksgiving Day for his role in a two-car accident that left one person seriously enough injured to require medical evacuation to Portland.

According to a report in The Oregonian, that accident took place when the 21-year-old, Britt Cutright of Columbia City, hit another car while attempting to make what state police described as a dangerous left turn into the northbound lane of US-101. Cutright was uninjured, as was the driver of the other car, but two of her four passengers were hurt. The one who required transportation all the way to Portland was only 18 years old.

An incident like this is a reminder that accountability for reckless drivers does not end with a police citation. Victims of accidents such as these should contact an Oregon car crash attorney as soon as possible following the incident to explore their options and discuss the best way to obtain justice in the wake of injuries, mental trauma or damage to their vehicle or other property.

The Oregonian: Serious injury accident on Oregon coast injures two, with one sent to Portland hospital

Oregon State Police News Release: Preliminary Post-Thanksgiving Holiday Period Statistics