Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

A newspaper’s detailed account of a teenage girl who suffered brain damage and eventually died because of negligence during what should have been a routine outpatient procedure was presented to Congress last week by patients rights advocates, according to an account in the Sacramento Bee.

The girl suffered brain damage during what should have been a routine procedure at a Los Angeles area hospital operated by UCLA. She never regained consciousness and died shortly after her parents authorized the removal of her respirator. What is truly shocking about this case, however, is the lengthy battle the girl’s parents had to go through just to get the hospital to level with them about what happened – and the difficulties they experienced in finding a medical malpractice attorney willing to take the case because of statutory limits on medical malpractice damages.

Hospitals and doctors claim such limits are necessary to curb frivolous lawsuits. In many states, however, the effect has been to shield the medical industry from accountability for negligence, particularly negligence leading to wrongful deaths here in Oregon and elsewhere around the country. Relatively low damage limits, in particular, can create an incentive for hospitals to stall families and their wrongful death attorneys with the goal of making the case too expensive for a personal injury or medical malpractice lawyer to pursue.

Additionally, the wide variance of medical malpractice law from state to state can make it especially difficult for bereaved families to know where they stand.

For all these reasons it is especially important that families who believe they may have been the victim of medical negligence here in Oregon to contact a Portland medical malpractice attorney at the first possible opportunity. Justice is best served by making the proper enquiries as soon as possible after the damage is done.

Sacramento Bee: Parents assail malpractice caps after daughter’s death at UCLA hospital

Two children are dead and four people, including a child, injured following an Oregon car crash near Mt. Angel last weekend. According to the Salem Statesman-Journal the police are still investigating the circumstances of the accident, which took place at the intersection of Dominic and Meridian Roads in the town, which lies between Salem and Portland.

According to the newspaper, the Salem fatal car accident appears to have occurred when a Saturn traveling east on Dominic Road “was struck broadside by a 1998 Dodge Stratus traveling north on Meridian Road.” It noted that the intersection of Dominic and Meridian has stop signs in both directions.

Two boys, ages 9 and 12, who were traveling in the Saturn were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident while their father, the Saturn’s driver, was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Police said that “a Silverton couple and their 9-year-old daughter in the Stratus were also injured.” None of the injury victims’ exact medical status was available at the time the newspaper went to press. The newspaper reported that crisis counselors were being sent to the schools attended by the younger victims.

The fact that so much destruction could result from a single collision at a single intersection is, indeed, sobering. Regardless of where police eventually determine the fault to lie, this terrible accident is a clear reminder of the importance of safe motoring and the need to hold reckless drivers accountable for their actions. A Portland or Salem car accident lawyer can help victims and survivors alike work through the trauma of a serious auto accident and offer valuable guidance and advice as they seek justice following tragedies such as these.

Salem Statesman-Journal: Two killed, four injured in crash near Mt. Angel

The issue of Oregon traumatic brain injuries and sports has been covered in this space on a number of previous occasions. I have noted in the past that while Portland is not an NHL city, the increased attention being paid to head injuries and concussions in the hockey world merits our attention.

Last spring I wrote about the serious concussion suffered by Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard in a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Savard, one of the team’s stars, was knocked unconscious by a check to the head and taken off the ice on a stretcher. He returned briefly during the playoffs about two months later but was clearly far from 100% and was placed back on the disabled list soon afterward. Partly because of the injury to Savard (one of several especially serious head injuries in the latter part of last season) the league revised its rules on hits to the head before the current season began in October.

Savard himself missed the first two months of the current season. After playing well over the last six weeks, however, he is once again spending time with doctors, rather than on the ice in the wake of yet another blow to the head and yet another possible concussion in a game against Colorado last week, according to the Boston Globe.

What makes this latest injury of special interest to Oregon athletes and their parents is its repetitive nature. Unlike the brutal check Savard sustained last year, last week’s hit was not, by NHL standards, especially nasty (though it probably would have bought the checking player an ejection from a college game and would certainly have merited a penalty in a game played under international rules – such as an Olympic or World Championship game). Yet, according to the Globe, the hit has likely ended Savard’s season and may, at age 33, have ended his career. There is a lesson for Portland, Ashland, Salem and other Oregon parents here: a reminder that head injuries are particularly serious and that a nominally less severe second or third incident can build on an initial injury to cause greater damage.

These are exactly the sort of issues that victims and their families are well-advised to discuss with a Portland brain and spinal cord injury attorney at the earliest possible opportunity. Youth sports leagues, high schools and colleges have an obligation to offer their athletes adequate protection. When they fail to do so an Oregon TBI lawyer can be an essential ally for families seeking to ensure that justice is served.

Boston Globe: A win – with a catch

Boston Globe: Savard leaves hole at center

A case headed for California’s courts offers a pointed reminder that there is more to ‘distracted driving’ than cellphones. According to the Orange County Register, a man in southern California has been charged with vehicular manslaughter for causing a baby’s death because he “was distracted by a laptop sliding off his passenger seat.” In California the charge of “vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence” caries a potential sentence of a year in jail.

According to the paper, the fatal car accident took place last September. It began when the driver, as he crossed some railroad tracks, turned his attention to a laptop sitting in the passenger seat that he feared would slide out of its bag. As a result, he “did not notice that the traffic in front of him had stopped” and rear-ended the vehicle in front of him. That vehicle, in turn, lurched forward, striking an Australian tourist who was making her way across a crosswalk with her baby in a stroller as well as her 11-year-old niece and 7-year-old nephew.

The woman and the 11 year old were struck and injured by the car at the head of the chain-reaction accident. The baby was launched from her stroller, landing “approximately 70 feet away,” the newspaper reports.

Legally-speaking, this tragedy, were it to happen here in Oregon, probably would not qualify as Oregon distracted driving, a term we generally reserve for violations of Oregon’s ban on texting and the use of cellphones without a hands-free device (California has similar laws). That would not mean the victim’s family wouldn’t have legal remedies, such as an Oregon wrongful death or Oregon negligent driving lawsuit.

From this distance, and at this time, the important lesson this case offers us here in Oregon is the reminder that cellphones are far from the only distractions drivers need to be aware of when they are behind the wheel. If you or a family member have been the victim of a motorist distracted by something besides a cellphone when they should have been paying closer attention to traffic and the road, consulting a Portland car accident attorney at the earliest possible opportunity is a key first step in protecting your rights.

Orange County Register: Distracted Driver Charged in Baby’s Death

An article published in the New York Times this week indicates that cell carriers are now looking at technologies designed to prevent distracted driving. The technology is not new per se (see this blog post, and this one from last spring); what is changing is its embrace by the companies we buy cell service from. The Times notes that this may be happening, in part, because fewer and few customers pay for their calls by the minute any more. For cell carriers margins are now found, instead, in applications and other value-added services.

Call-blocking technology usually works to prevent distracted driving here in Oregon and elsewhere by linking a piece of software to a phone’s GPS function. When the software detects the phone being in motion it automatically sends all incoming calls to voice mail and texts to an archive. In some extreme versions it simply disables the phone entirely.

The technology has an obvious appeal to parents worried about teens falling victim to distracted driving while behind the wheel. There is also, the newspaper indicates, quoting a T-Mobile spokesperson, a segment of the adult population “who know they get distracted while driving and feel responsible enough to themselves that they want help.” Designers have been working to overcome potential barriers to use: notably ways for the phone to remain usable when its owner is a passenger rather than a driver, and for other applications, such as GPS-enabled directions to remain functional.

The obvious question this development raises for those of us concerned about Oregon distracted driving is why anyone would want to pay several dollars per month for a call-blocking application when several free or pay-just-once options are already out there, offered by third parties. According to the Times the potential attraction lies in the cooperation of the cellphone companies – something which might offer significant improvements in the (until now) less-than-ideal functioning of call-blocking software.

The most telling comment in the article, however, comes from an official at the National Safety Council: “There is already a simple technology that prevents people from using their phone while driving – the off switch. But people aren’t using it.” Obvious, alarming, sad… but true. The simple fact is that technology alone will not make Oregon distracted driving go away. Nor, by themselves, will distracted driving laws like the one that went into effect here in Oregon a year ago. That is why the advice and assistance offered by a Portland distracted driving lawyer will remain crucial for many people in the wake of accidents caused by Oregon distracted driving.

New York Times: A Short-Circuit to Distracted Driving

A dramatic Oregon car accident near Redmond landed a 25-year-old Prineville woman in prison on suspicion of Oregon drunk driving, according to the Bend Bulletin.

The newspaper reports that Deneice Tebbits “was driving south a few miles south of Redmond shortly before 7 a.m. (last Wednesday) when she attempted to pass a line of cars and spun out of control, crossed three lanes of traffic, and struck a northbound vehicle.” According to MyCentralOregon.com neither Tebbits nor the driver of the car she hit were injured, but Tebbits was arrested at the scene and charged with suspicion of Oregon DUII.

If there were ever a case that illustrates the many dangers of Oregon drunk driving this has to be it. Based on media reporting of the case, we allegedly have an impaired driver (at seven o’clock in the morning!) endangering both herself and a significant other number of motorists.

We can take some solace from the fact that no one was injured in this Oregon drunk driving crash, but it highlights the damage a negligent and impaired driver can do. Victims of such irresponsibility are not only those physically injured in an Oregon drunk driving crash, but can include those whose property is damaged (for example, the driver Tebbits allegedly hit), and those who suffer emotional trauma as a result of the accident.

One of the most important services an Oregon drunk driving attorney can offer to victims of accidents like these is experienced and intelligent advice on the choices victims must make in the wake of a Portland, Salem, Corvallis, Redmond or Bend drunk driving accident. We all come out of incidents like these wanting to see justice served. It often requires professional advice, however, to determine the best course to take to see that this happens.

Bend Bulletin: Woman jailed in Redmond-area crash

MyCentralOregon.com: Prineville Woman Arrested After Hwy 97 Crash

A local fire department official had to be rescued by his own colleagues after causing an Oregon injury car wreck near Walterville, the Eugene Register-Guard reports. The Oregon car accident took place on Highway 126 last Sunday and resulted in three injuries, one of which was described as “serious” in media reports.

The newspaper, quoting witnesses and the local police, reported that a Toyota driven by Michael McCall was “weaving in and out of its lane and traveling in the opposing lane before it crashed into an oncoming Ford Taurus occupied by two Eugene residents.”

McCall, described as “a volunteer lieutenant with McKenzie Fire & Rescue” had to be rescued from the wreck by his fire department colleagues. He was transported to a hospital in Springfield and treated for serious injuries following the Oregon head-on collision. The driver and passenger in the Taurus were transported to a different Springfield hospital with injuries that were described as non-life threatening.

No explanation has yet been offered for why McCall was allegedly weaving across the road, leading to a head-on Oregon car crash. Incidents like this, however, are exactly the kind that cry out for prompt consultation with an Oregon car crash attorney as soon as possible following the incident. Regardless of whether drunk driving or distracted driving was a factor in the crash – even if it resulted from simple negligence and inattentiveness – it is important that those who cause Oregon car accidents be held accountable for their actions.

Eugene Register-Guard: Erratic driving seen before collision

KEZI.com: Three people injured in Head-on Crash near Walterville

A study released last week by the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ranked Oregon first among states in seat belt use, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. According to the CDC an admirable 94% of Oregonians said they always wear seat belts. California came a close second in the survey at 93.2% while Washington was third at 92% (in case you are wondering, North Dakota came in last at 59.2%). These figures compare with a national average of 85%, according to the CDC.

The results testify to the effectiveness of seat belt laws here in Oregon and elsewhere on the West Coast, and serve as a reminder of the importance of responsible driving habits. Seat belt use is required by law in every state except New Hampshire (48th on the seat belt use table – ahead of only the two Dakotas).

As the CDC’s Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden, noted in a statement announcing the study findings, “1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip. If everyone in the vehicle buckled up every time, we could further reduce one of the leading causes of death.”

Dr. Frieden might have gone further and mentioned that in the event of an accident wearing seat belts protects everyone involved – putting aside the increased risk of injury, drivers are more likely to lose control of their vehicle during an accident if they are not belted in. In safety terms, this fact gives added weight to states, such as Oregon, where seat belt laws allow for “primary enforcement” – meaning that a police officer can pull drivers over just for not wearing a seat belt. The CDC statement noted that states with primary enforcement laws have far higher rates of seat belt use than those that do not and, with them, significantly lower rates of crash-related injuries.

Ultimately, this becomes a question not just of personal responsibility but also of legal responsibility. In the event of an Oregon auto accident seat belt use by the responsible driver has the potential to effect the very nature of the accident and can help determine whether drivers and passengers in all vehicles are injured and, if so, how seriously. A Portland car crash lawyer can help victims sort through the often confusing legal and technical facts of an accident to determine whether seat belt use and other factors are legally relevant in their search for justice.

Los Angeles Times: Californians among most likely in nation to use seat belts, federal health officials report

CDC Statement on seat belt use

Two serious Portland pedestrian accidents only hours apart – one of them fatal – highlight the danger pedestrians continue to face here in northern Oregon, despite a renewed public focus on the issue in recent months.

The first accident took place last Monday on Southeast 82nd Avenue where a 27-year old pedestrian was hit by a car and run over by not one but two vehicles, according to a report in The Oregonian. The victim is hospitalized in serious condition. According to an OSP spokesperson, the Oregon pedestrian car accident began when she was struck while crossing 82nd Avenue in a marked crosswalk Monday afternoon. A pick-up truck traveling behind the car that hit the pedestrian ran over her as it attempted to drive around the first car. The driver of the first car, apparently startled, then moved her vehicle – in the process running over the victim a second time. Neither driver was cited in the incident, according to The Oregonian, but an investigation is still under way.

The second Portland car accident took place Tuesday evening. Unlike the first accident, where both drivers are cooperating with police, this was a hit-and-run, and a reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the driver, according to The Oregonian. The accident, on Southeast Division St, led to the death of a pedestrian who was struck “as he crossed the wide road”, the newspaper reports. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accidents come in the wake of months of renewed concern regarding the safety of pedestrians and cyclists on roads throughout the Portland area. As I have noted several times in recent months, public attention has repeatedly focused on the unusually high number of Oregon pedestrian accidents and Oregon bicycle accidents the city has witnessed over the last year or so.

The dramatically different behavior of these three drivers notwithstanding, both of these accidents are important reminders of the role a Portland personal injury attorney can play in the struggle for justice by Oregon accident victims and their families. Even when police decline to cite one or more drivers at the scene of an accident, that decision does not mean the end of legal responsibility for drivers. A Portland Oregon pedestrian accident lawyer can offer essential advice and guidance when victims and their families are faced with difficult choices.

The Oregonian: Authorities offer reward in fatal SE Portland hit and run

The Oregonian: Investigators confirm two vehicles hit pedestrian on SE 82nd

New Year’s Eve and the days leading up to it are always among the most dangerous times to be on the road be it here in Oregon or elsewhere in the country. This year was no exception. According to the Salem Statesman-Journal one death and a serious injury resulted from an Oregon truck crash near McMinnville in the hours before the New Years festivities kicked off.

According to the newspaper the wreck took place in the early hours of December 30 when a car “crossed the centerline and collided with a semi hauling a tanker trailer in the other direction” on Highway 18 northeast of McMinnville. As a result of the accident and subsequent investigations the highway was closed for most of the day, the paper reported.

Attempts by the semi to avoid a Central Oregon truck crash with the car, a Hyundai, caused another semi to be involved in the crash. As it rolled off of Highway 18’s eastbound lane the first semi also caught fire. According to the Statesman-Journal, neither of the truck drivers was injured. A passenger in the Hyundai, however, died of his injuries shortly after being transported to a local hospital. The Hyundai’s driver was hospitalized with what police described as serious injuries.

This holiday tragedy is a reminder of the importance of safe driving throughout the year. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a Portland, Salem or McMinnville auto accident it is important to speak as soon as possible with an Oregon car crash lawyer. Consulting an attorney is a prudent course of action even if the police chose not to issue any citations at the accident scene. Questions of liability, responsibility and, most importantly, justice go beyond the relatively simple question of whether or not the police wrote someone up in the minutes after an Oregon car and truck accident.

Seeking skilled legal counsel is the first step toward safeguarding your rights.

Salem Statesman-Journal: Man dies after car hits 2 semitrucks

Senator Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) is making headlines this week as the man leading efforts by Senate Democrats to reform rules governing filibusters. As the New Year begins he also, however, is emerging as the congressional point person for a very different issue: traumatic brain injuries, specifically those sustained while playing football.

According to The New York Times, Udall is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to “investigate what he called “misleading safety claims and deceptive practices” among helmet manufacturers and refurbishers.”

As I noted in this post last fall, safety standards for football helmets have not changed meaningfully since the early 1970s. The Times article notes that Udall “took specific aim at Riddell, the official helmet manufacturer of the N.F.L., for its prominent claim that its popular Revolution models decrease concussion risk by 31 percent.” Udall contends that the testing standards used to evaluate helmets – along with much of the advertising based on those tests – are misleading. A spokesman for the company told the Times that Riddell welcomes the scrutiny, but hopes other helmet manufacturers will be subjected to it as well.

Perhaps the most shocking detail of this story, however, is buried far down: the fact that 4.4 million children under 18 play football in America and that they suffer around 500,000 concussions each year. Put another way: 1 in 9 youth football players suffers a concussion in any given year. In a country that is becoming more and more concerned about traumatic brain injuries in general, and TBI among children participating in sports in particular, these are sobering numbers.

Oregon parents concerned about the effect of football and the possibility of Oregon child injuries resulting from games played using inadequately tested or maintained equipment should consider contacting an Oregon traumatic brain injury attorney to discuss the effects the game may be having, especially on younger players.

New York Times: Senator calls for helmet safety investigation

A ruling late last month by a California judge could hold significant long-term benefits for Oregon accident victims. The judge struck a blow for openness and, in so doing, may make it a bit easier for accident victims across the country to obtain justice when they face off against large corporations.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the judge ruled that Toyota “cannot keep secret the terms of a settlement it made with the family of four people killed in a Lexus accident outside San Diego last year.” The paper reports that the 2009 accident was attributed to “sudden acceleration” by the vehicle. This is, in fact, the accident that touched off the multiple vehicle recalls that caused Toyota so many headaches last year.

Interestingly, both Toyota and the victims’ families had asked that details of their settlement be sealed, arguing that public disclosure could taint any subsequent legal proceedings. The judge rejected that claim, writing that “in this case, the right to know overpowers the concerns raised by the plaintiffs and the defendants.” A Toyota spokesman described the carmaker as “disappointed” in the ruling, but did not say whether the company will appeal, according to the newspaper.

The Toyota ruling is important on several levels. First, it establishes a useful benchmark for Oregon families considering legal action against Toyota in relation to last year’s recalls. An Oregon product liability attorney can help victims and their families in our state consider how their case may compare to the ones Toyota settled in California – information that might prove essential as victims and an Oregon personal injury attorney consider the best way to proceed.

More importantly, however, the California ruling strikes a blow for transparency and, in doing so, may make manufacturers of potentially dangerous products more aware of the effect their negligence can have on ordinary people and their families. The goal, after all, should be cars and other products that function as advertised – if the California judge’s decision has brought us a small step closer to that ideal, then it deserves our praise.

Los Angeles Times: Toyota can’t hide settlement terms, judge rules