Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

Family and neighbors in Northwest Portland are breathing sighs of relief after a six-year-old boy survived a fall from a second story window without serious injury, according to television station KGW.

It goes without saying that an accident like this could have led to a far more serious Oregon child injury, and will have to serve as a wake-up call for both family members and for many people concerned with kids’ safety. As KGW notes, many parents can easily forget that screens are designed to keep bugs out but are not strong enough to stop even a small child from falling through them.

Teaching children the importance of safety around windows is as crucial as teaching them the dangers of electrical sockets. The link below to the Campaign to Stop Window Falls contains a number of simple safety tips. Many of these amount to basic common sense, such as the group’s admonition to “only allow windows to open 4 inches” by inserting a window stop or similar device into the window track, and a reminder to keep windows locked when they are closed.

According to KGW, “each year 50 children in Oregon are admitted to hospitals after falling out of second story windows.” Two children have died from such falls since 2009.

In the wake of an injury as a resulting from a window fall it is also important that parents speak with a Portland child injury attorney who can help them examine the particulars of the accident and the circumstances surrounding it. I often write about justice issues in this blog, but where children are concerned it is equally, if not more, important to ensure that dangerous situations that have already injured one child are not allowed to continue and to place more children in danger. An Oregon personal injury attorney can help parents improve unsafe situations in the hope of preventing future injuries.

KGW: Boy survives fall from window in NW Portland

The Campaign to Stop Window Falls

Early reports that an Oregon industrial accident in North Portland left a worker critically injured have proven to be premature, according to The Oregonian. The newspaper, quoting an emergency services spokesman, reported that it was originally believed an explosion at SiC Processing had left a worker there with life-threatening injuries.

Several hours later it became clear that the victim was expected to make a “full and rapid recovery,” the paper reports.

The fact that the worker’s injuries were not as serious as was originally thought is a relief. But as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigates what the paper reports was a hydrogen blast a number of potential legal questions need to be considered.

Workplace explosions can often fit the legal definition of an Oregon industrial accident, especially when a third party (such as a vendor supplying the explosive material) is found to be at fault. People who handle dangerous chemicals or who operate heavy equipment for a living need to know not only that their employer has taken every proper precaution to ensure their safety, but that the equipment and materials they work with are also properly manufactured and maintained.

Failure to do these things often lies at the root of Oregon industrial accidents, particularly when explosions are involved. Contacting a Portland industrial accidents lawyer as soon as possible in the wake of a workplace explosion can be a critical first-step for victims trying to put their lives back together and get a better sense of their rights.

The Oregonian: Man injured in North Portland explosion expected to recover fully

A 25-year-old Oregon woman has been sentenced to a fine and a diversion program and also had her license suspended after pleading guilty to Oregon drunk driving, according to The Oregonian.

The short article, published earlier this month, is a useful reminder both of the serious consequences of Oregon drunk driving and the tough sanctions that even a first offense can entail. The article does not detail how Lauren Thomas came to be driving drunk when she caused an Oregon car crash in I-5 in Tualatin, but notes that she “drifted out of a lane of traffic and crashed into a flatbed pickup.” The truck’s driver was not injured in the accident.

Thomas, the paper reports, must attend treatment sessions and has lost her driving license for 90 days. She will also have to pay a fine and during this period “cannot consume or possess alcohol, or enter bars or liquor stores.” She will also have to read a book on the consequences of drunk driving and submit a report on it to the presiding judge in her case.

All of this stems from a single incident in which no one was hurt, and that is a good thing. Our legal system has, over the years, come to take drunk driving more and more seriously. Victims of accidents such as this one, however, need to know that the criminal side of our court system may not always be able to address all of their concerns and provide them with the justice they deserve.

When that happens, a Portland drunk driving victims’ lawyer can help victims and their families put their lives back together. The consequences of reckless driving can be severe, and we all need to do what we can to see that justice is done when others act irresponsibly.

The Oregonian: Woman who crashed into the back of flatbed in Tulatin admits to drunk driving

Aviation officials are investigating the circumstances of a plane crash that killed three people in Eastern Oregon earlier this month. The small plane was traveling from Dallesport, Washington to Cody, Wyoming when it crashed southeast of Ukiah, according to The Oregonian.

According to television station KPTV, the aircraft carried a pilot and two passengers – two men from Klickitat, Washington and a woman from Hermiston, Oregon. The station reported that the US Forest Service was cutting a makeshift road into the remote area of the crash to facilitate investigations by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Small plane crashes almost always leave a number of questions in their wake. One must ask, of course, about the weather. But those mourning a loved one in the aftermath of an Oregon small plane crash also need to ask sometimes difficult questions concerning the pilot’s health, alertness level and training. The aircraft itself also bears close scrutiny. Was it properly built and maintained? If the aircraft was being used for business or professional purposes these questions could become especially important in considering whether the specifics of a particular Oregon plane crash meet the standard for an Oregon industrial accident.

Contemplating issues like these in the wake of a personal tragedy is never easy. An experienced Oregon personal injury lawyer can, however, help grieving families gather and examine the evidence and can ask the tough questions on their behalf. Air crash victims and their families deserve justice just as much as any Oregon car or truck crash victim or someone dealing with the consequences of medical malpractice.

KPTV: 3 killed in E. Ore. Plane Crash in Mountains

The Oregonian: Three killed in eastern Oregon plane crash identified as woman from Hermiston, two Washington residents

Chalk one up for Orange County, California in the quest for innovative ways to combat drunk driving. According to a recent article in the Orange County Register a recent student assembly in the San Clemente High School gym featured “an actual court session and sentencing of a DUI defendant.”

The paper reports that the County Superior Court session was moved to the school for part of one day as a way of emphasizing the seriousness of drunk driving and its consequences. Placing the session in the school allows anti-drunk driving activists to demonstrate this directly to teens – a group who have traditionally both been at extremely high risk for drunk driving injuries and fatalities while also being unusually difficult to reach in effective ways.

A session later in the day at the same school featured “an Orange County deputy district attorney (discussing) family consequences from a teen DUI or DUI-related crash.”

On one level the court session and later panel discussion may seem like a bit of a stunt, but with drunk driving continuing to be an epidemic here in Oregon and elsewhere around the country our neighbors to the south ought to be applauded for their innovative attempt to get the message out.

Here in Portland it is also important that bar owners and shops selling alcohol understand that the Oregon dram shop laws can make them liable for the damage caused by an Oregon drunk driver, above and beyond the potential licensing consequences of selling to minors. A responsible Oregon drunk driving attorney can assist victims and their families in the difficult process of coping with the consequences of an Oregon teen drunk driving crash, helping to explain the legal system and its intricacies and to chart a family’s path toward achieving justice in our courts.

Orange County Register: Teen-DUI Seminar to include court session at high school

It is one of the things we all most fear – and over which we have the least control – when entering the hospital: preventable errors. Recently, Portland’s main newspaper has been reporting on an equally disturbing problem related to preventable errors and Oregon medical malpractice: the fact that because some of the reporting hospitals do regarding their mistakes seems to be coming up short. As a result, there is not as much data available to doctors and medical administrators as there should be. That, in turn, may mean that some hospital errors are going unaddressed because word of them is not making its way through the state health system.

The issue was brought to light by a recent article in The Oregonian. The paper noted that “at least 34 patients died as a result of preventable mistakes in Oregon hospitals last year.” The real issue, however, is that fully one-third of Oregon’s hospitals “chose not to report a single error in 2010.” As the paper notes, “this strains credulity.”

Hospital reporting is an issue I’ve addressed before – and one that should command a lot more public attention than it does. It is, of course, natural that few people like to acknowledge error, but when reporting data could lead to better procedures and, eventually, a drop in Oregon hospital deaths we have entered a realm where pride has no place.

As the head of Oregon’s Patient Safety Commission told The Oregonian: “The truth is, the culture of patient safety is not where it needs to be.” That is a sad analysis to hear from a government official charged with ensuring that professionals do something that, frankly, they should not need to be told to do.

That is why, regrettably, our legal system also has a role in medical practice. A Portland medical malpractice lawyer can help families coping with the tragedy of a preventable Oregon medical error. Justice, in such situations, can be hard to fight for. So it is important to know that you have experienced, compassionate legal help when you need it most.

The Oregonian: Oregon hospitals reported 136 preventable errors last year, 34 resulting in death

The Oregonian: Avoiding errors by reporting them

Resource:
Oregon Patient Safety Commission

A class action lawsuit filed in Salem is taking aim at a perhaps surprising target. According to area television station KDRV the lawsuit alleges that a major insurance company has been “fraudulently denying claims after car crashes.”

The target? USAA, a banking and insurance giant that deals exclusively with current and former members of the military and their families. Because of its focus on the military community USAA has long cultivated a customer-friendly, service-oriented image far removed from that of most commercial banks and insurance companies.

The Oregon suit, however, charges the company with “using medical reports by physicians to say treatment for injuries suffered in car crashes were not medically necessary. Plaintiffs allege in their suit that the insurance medical reviewers of their cases never even talked or consulted with them.” The station’s report said USAA “declined to comment on the lawsuit.”

The seriousness of the allegations in this Oregon lawsuit is a reminder of the important role Salem and Portland personal injury attorneys play in our legal system. When confronted with red tape and a large, powerful and inflexible insurance bureaucracy many ordinary Oregonians often feel they have no recourse. It is an unfortunate fact of American life that many of us must buy insurance to cover our basic needs in times of crisis – knowing full well that many insurance companies will do everything they can to avoid meeting their obligations at the moment when, for us, it matters most.

Whether you are fighting an insurance company to get the claims and treatment you deserve in the wake of an Oregon auto or motorcycle accident, a traumatic brain injury, severe burn, spinal cord injury or an industrial accident, it is important to know that Portland personal injury attorneys are available to help you navigate the often intimidating world of the court system in your search for justice.

KDRV.com: Oregon lawyer files suit against USAA

Insurance Networking News: Class Action Suit Brought Against USAA

This is not necessarily an honor we will want to advertise here in Portland, but our city made the US Postal Service’s list of top ten cities for dog bites, according to a recent article in USA Today.

Houston was number one on the list with 62 incidents of dogs biting postal employees. Portland, with 35 incidents, came in at #10. More worrying, perhaps, is a related fact. Despite all of the popular culture focus on dogs and mailmen, postal employees are not the number one category of dog bite victims in Oregon or elsewhere: children are, followed by the elderly.

Dog bite injuries to children are especially worrisome. Mail carriers have professional training in dealing with hostile animals as part of their work. The elderly, at least, know how dangerous unsupervised animals can be. Children, however, cannot be counted upon to understand the possible dangers posed by dogs. Make no mistake, those dangers are real. According to USA Today “last year, 33 people died from dog bites” nationwide.

The link at the bottom of this page offers a number of useful tips for avoiding dog bites. When these strategies fail, however, victims – especially the parents of young victims – should consult a Portland dog bite lawyer regarding the particular circumstances of the attack.

Every case is different, and it often requires the specialized expertise of an Oregon dog attack attorney for victims to understand the legal options that may be open to them in their search for justice. Negligent pet owners need to know that their actions (or lack thereof) have consequences. If you or a loved one are an Oregon dog bite victim speaking with an experienced dog attack lawyer is an essential first step toward closure in the wake of an attack.

USA Today: Dog bite prevention tips: Spaying helps