Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

Contracts between the Pentagon and defense contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root grant the company complete immunity in Iraq for harm its employees may cause to either Iraqi civilians or American and other coalition soldiers.

That immunity – cited by KBR in defending itself against an Oregon workplace injury lawsuit – has prompted Rep. Earl Blumenauer, a Democrat who represents much of the Portland area, to demand an explanation from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, according to The Oregonian. In his letter to Gates, Blumenauer called the blanket liability exemption “mind-numbing”.

The newspaper reports that the exemption came to light as part of a lawsuit filed by 26 Oregon National Guardsmen who served in Iraq in 2003. The troops were assigned to guard KBR employees undertaking reconstruction work. The guardsmen claim that “the contractor knowingly or negligently exposed them to a cancer-causing chemical” the newspaper reports. A similar suit is also being considered by courts in Indiana.

The company has argued that the exemption – which was originally kept secret – immunizes it from any liability concerning injuries the soldiers may have suffered while guarding its activities.

This case is a reminder of the important role an Oregon personal injury lawyer can play in resolving claims related to Oregon workplace accidents – especially those which may have resulted in a wrongful death. Consulting with a Portland industrial accident attorney can be an important first step in determining what recourse you may have following an industrial accident – particularly one whose origins can be traced to negligence on the part of the company. Holding powerful private-sector companies responsible for the damage they cause is one of the most important functions with which a Portland industrial liability lawyer can assist you.

The Oregonian: Blumenauer demands that Pentagon explain KBR immunity deal

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Posted In: Industrial Accidents , Personal Injury , Wrongful Death

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A 69 year old Salem man died Thursday in an Oregon car accident just as the holiday weekend was getting underway. According to The Oregonian, Rodney Kamppi was headed for a Fourth of July camping trip with his daughter, son-in-law and the younger couple’s two daughters when the driver, Kamppi’s son-in-law, lost control of vehicle near La Grande.

The family was traveling in an SUV, and was towing a large camper. According to the newspaper, quoting an Oregon state trooper, “the SUV flipped over, separated from the trailer and slid about 100 feet down an embankment before hitting a tree.” Kamppi died at the scene of the accident, the newspaper reports, despite the best efforts of two nurses who were passing by and stopped to offer assistance, including CPR. The remaining members of the family were taken to a local hospital. The OSP told The Oregonian that all occupants of the SUV were wearing safety belts.

In the wake of accidents like this one it is an unfortunate fact that grieving and injured families often require the assistance of an Oregon personal injury lawyer in what becomes a fight to receive all of the insurance benefits to which they may be entitled.

Insurance companies will often look for small technicalities in a bid to avoid paying claims, even when several members of the same family – including children – are injured through no fault of their own. A Portland car crash lawyer who is experienced in dealing with insurance companies can help you fight for everything to which you are entitled after a Portland, Salem, Medford or La Grange car accident.

The Oregonian: OSP troopers respond to fatal crash in I-84 near La Grande

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury

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The Oregon Supreme Court sided with cigarette giant Philip Morris last week in refusing to reinstate a $100 million punitive damage ruling issued by a lower court in 2002. That earlier ruling was overturned by a state appellate court in 2006.

It is important to note that one part of the Oregon product liability and wrongful death case still stands: the original Oregon jury award of more than $164,500 in “economic losses, pain and suffering” is not affected by the ruling regarding punitive damages, according to The Oregonian. Moreover, the Supreme Court ruling does not mean that the case is finished or that punitive damages have been disallowed: merely that the issue of Oregon punitive damages must be reargued before a lower court.

The case concerns a Salem woman who died in 1999 after decades of regular smoking. According to The Oregonian, she switched to low-tar cigarettes in 1976, after a dozen years of smoking, believing that low tar cigarettes would be less problematic for her health. Oregon personal injury attorneys representing the woman’s family argued that Philip Morris possessed study data showing that smokers of low-tar cigarettes tended to inhale longer and more deeply, thus negating the alleged benefits of the product. The company, however, did not disclose this information to consumers.

The state appellate court threw out the $100 million Oregon punitive damage award on the grounds that the trial judge had incorrectly instructed jurors as they began their consideration of the verdict. From an Oregon personal injury attorney’s perspective this seeming legal technicality could prove to be of great use to clients over the course of time. Smokers seeking to gain justice after suffering decades of harm can take comfort from the fact that the Supreme Court’s ruling turned on the manner of the judge’s instructions to the jury, rather than on the substance of the claim that cigarettes can cause extensive damage to smokers and people around them.

Though smoking lawsuits can be particularly long and complex, that does not mean that people injured by tobacco companies should not consider pursuing them. Justice can be a long and trying road. With the assistance of an Oregon personal injury lawyer it is, however, a goal you can attain.

The Oregonian: Oregon Supreme Court says Philip Morris doesn’t have to pay $100 million for smoker’s death

Businessweek: Philip Morris $100 million punitive verdict reversed

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Products Liability , Wrongful Death

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One of the stranger stories of the week comes from Minnesota where a fatal crash involving two cars and two semi-trucks Monday not only killed two people, but also released a swarm of millions of bees.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, rescuers responding to the fatal car-truck crash had to fight their way through dark clouds of bees released from one of the trucks, both of which were hauling bees that had spent the winter in Mississippi to North Dakota for the summer. The cars were reportedly crushed between the two trucks. Police are still investigating the cause of the fatal car-truck crash, according to the Star-Tribune.

The bee-laden semi-trailers collided with two cars on Interstate 35 closing what the Star-Tribune described as a five-mile stretch of the interstate for several hours. The paper quoted a fireman who was one of the first rescuers on the scene saying; “I saw this big black cloud… I opened up my door and got stung in the face by a couple of bees.”

Car and truck crashes like this one serve as a reminder for Oregon drivers that the consequences of an accident can extend beyond the damage to the vehicles themselves. I wrote a few days ago about a man in Maine killed while tending his own yard sale when a pick-up and a camper crashed into his front yard. When accidents kill bystanders – or release a cloud of potentially dangerous insects – the people responsible for the damage need to be held to account. An experienced Portland personal injury lawyer can advise clients on the best way to obtain justice if they have been damaged by another person’s Oregon reckless driving or negligence.

USA Today: Firefighters battle thousands of bees released in highway crash

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: Rescuers battle bees in deadly I-35 pileup

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury , Truck Accidents

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The videos on The Oregonian’s website are arresting: a table saw stopping abruptly as it comes into contact with a hot dog (standing in for a human finger as part of a demonstration), leaving the hot dog barely nicked. The technology, called “Saw Stop”, was developed by a Portland lawyer (with a PhD in Physics) whose Tualatin-based company now manufactures its own table saws after failing to sell industry leaders on the technology. It represents a dramatic leap forward in safety: something that could decrease the number of Oregon amputations significantly were it to come into wider use.

The lawyer/inventor/physicist, Stephen Glass, designed a technology that allows the saw to distinguish flesh from things it ought to be cutting (such as wood or metal). When the blade senses it is in contact with flesh it stops and retracts, Glass claims, 10 times faster than an airbag deploys in an Oregon auto crash. Glass and his partners set up their own company to sell saws using their technology after the country’s leading tool manufacturers refused to license it, deciding, Glass said, that “safety doesn’t sell.” This, he says, despite an estimated 60,000 table saw injuries each year in the United States, about 3000 of which lead to amputations.

What may change this equation is a recent Massachusetts jury decision against Roybi, a large table saw manufacturer, awarding $1.5 million to a man who mangled his hand while working with one of the company’s table saws. The Oregonian reports that 60 similar cases have already been filed nationwide. Since Glass believes the tool companies were uninterested in his technology because they had not previously been held liable for the injuries their products can cause, the evolving legal landscape may lead to a change in the business environment.

Until then, however, victims of Oregon power tool accidents should consult immediately with a Portland personal injury attorney after suffering an injury while using a table saw or other power tool. In his interview with the Oregonian Glass recounts arguments against the adoption of his technology that are eerily similar to ones the auto industry made in the 1960s against making seat belts standard in cars (arguments it repeated in the 1980s in reference to air bags). Whether this technology will someday be as universal as seat belts are today, remains to be seen.

The Oregonian: Saw-safety invention pits Oregon firms against giant manufacturers

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Posted In: Amputation , Personal Injury

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A man from Prospect, in southern Oregon between Medford and Crater Lake National Park, has filed an Oregon personal injury lawsuit against the US Forest Service and a local lumber company for injuries sustained because the government allegedly failed to remove a dangerous tree. According to The Oregonian, as well as wire service reports, Bert Fernandez claims he was permanently injured, and that his vehicle was severely damaged, when a 32-foot tree fell on his car as he drove through the Rouge River National Forest. The accident took place in February, 2008.

Fernandez charges that the tree had been marked by the Forest Service for removal and that the logging company failed to cut it down within the timeframe agreed in the company’s contract with the government. He is alleging negligence on the part of the logger for failing to cut down the tree, and on the part of the Forest Service for failing to hold the loggers to their contract.

While unusual in some respects (people more commonly get sued for cutting down a tree improperly rather than for failing to cut it down in the first place), at its core this is a familiar sort of Oregon personal injury case: one that seeks to recover damages caused by alleged negligence on the part of the government and a private company.

Anyone involved in a Medford injury accident is well-advised to consult an Oregon personal injury attorney as soon as possible. An experienced Portland accident lawyer can advise you on the best course of action after considering your particular circumstances, including whether you may be entitled to damages to compensate for medical bills, pain and suffering, damage to your property or lost wages or salary.

The Oregonian: Here’s a twist: southern Oregon man sues Forest Service for not cutting a tree

AP from the Sacramento Bee: Oregon Man Sues Over Tree that Fell and Hurt Him

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Posted In: Personal Injury

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Cars and cellphones have been the media’s main focus when discussing Oregon’s new laws, but the distracted driving bill was not the only significant piece of legislation which came into force on January 1, 2010. Several new measures change state insurance regulations in ways that stand to benefit consumers in significant ways.

Among the most important is a new law raising the ceiling on income replacement benefits from $1250 to $3000 per month. These are benefits paid by your insurer if you are unable to return to work because of an injury. It goes without saying that for many people the old monthly rate of $1250 – essentially a minimum wage salary – fell far short of actually replacing lost income.

The same bill also increased the required level of motor vehicle liability insurance for damage to others from $10,000 to $20,000 (that increase, in turn, bumps up the minimum level of optional uninsured motorist coverage for property damage that companies must offer their customers. This level also goes from $10,000 to $20,000).

The income replacement benefit is especially important not only because it ought to help injured consumers in these tough economic times, but also because it may put pressure on insurers to offer more generous benefit levels. If you are locked in a dispute with an insurance company over income replacement benefits and their appropriate level this would be a very good time to consult with an Oregon personal injury attorney to get a better sense of the new law and how it may benefit you. Experienced Portland severe and catastrophic injury attorneys take the time to examine all legal and regulatory changes like these and give careful consideration to how they may effect your situation. Even at $3000 per month, income replacement will fall short for many people. A careful and compassionate Oregon injury lawyer can help you explore your options should this situation arise.

State of Oregon Insurance Division: 2009 Legislative Summary

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Posted In: Personal Injury

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Police in Gresham, just east of Portland, have arrested a suspect in a hit-and-run Portland auto accident that injured four people, three of them from the same family. According to a report in The Oregonian, a 26-year-old Gresham man has been charged with two counts of felony hit-and-run, one count of reckless driving, four counts of reckless endangering, three counts of criminal mischief and with driving without a license. The paper quotes Gresham police saying the man has confessed to the crime.

The Portland injury crash took place at the corner of SE Stark and 181st St last Friday. According to the Salem News, the suspect rear-ended a vehicle carrying a family of three that was stopped at a traffic light, forcing that car into the one in front of it. All three people in the first car as well as the driver of car it was shoved into had to be transported to area hospitals for treatment. The driver of the pick-up fled, but police arrested him later that evening.

After an accident like this prompt consultation with a Portland traffic accident lawyer should be a top priority. The criminal charges filed against the alleged driver of the pick-up truck are separate from, and do not address, civil liability. Put another way: in a situation like this the criminal charges may take a reckless driver off the road, but they will not pay the victims’ hospital bills or compensate them for lost wages or pain and suffering.

All of these are elements of Oregon hit-and-run cases that an experienced Oregon hit-and-run accident attorney can help you sort through and address. Prompt action following an accident can be a key step in protecting your rights and obtaining the compensation to which you may be entitled.

The Oregonian: Suspect arrested in Gresham hit-and-run crash

Salem News: Hit-and-run crash sends family of three and another motorist to hospital

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury

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This may not come as a huge surprise, but a new survey indicates that teens are still texting while driving, despite a rising number of state bans across the country, including a newly enacted one here in Oregon.

The new survey data, compiled by Pew Research, was released this week, according to the tech news website CNET. In July Oregon became the 16th state to ban texting while driving, a practice that is pretty much universally acknowledged to be extremely dangerous. Oregon car accidents leading to serious injuries or death are far more likely to occur when a driver is talking on a cellphone or texting. This includes single and multi-car Oregon auto accidents as well as Oregon pedestrian accidents.

The Pew survey indicated that one-third of 16 and 17 year old drivers admitted to texting while driving (one was quoted as saying he wears sunglasses while texting “so the cops don’t see” him looking down). A full 48 percent of passengers age 12 to 17 said they had been a car while the driver was texting. Portland car accidents involving a texting driver can be especially serious, and may expose the driver to liability even from passengers in his or her own vehicle. A Portland personal injury lawyer specializing in Oregon cellphone-related car accidents can advise on the best way to approach a car accident lawsuit.

CNET: Survey: Third of teens text while driving

Resource:
Governors Highway Safety Association

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Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury

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A Portland hit-and-run accident involving a single car and a pedicab driven by a six-foot tall orange rabbit (yes, you read that correctly) ended in a mixed Portland car accident verdict last week, according to a report in The Oregonian.

Kate Altermatt was pedaling the cab through Portland last Easter Sunday, dressed for the holiday, when a driver trying to recover a dropped cellphone hit her. Altermatt testified that the driver offered her money when she confronted him following the Portland injury traffic accident but when she smelled alcohol on his breath and refused the cash he drove away. A Multnomah County Circuit Court found Edward Cespedes-Rodriguez guilty of hit-and-run driving. He faces up to one year in jail and is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. He was cleared of a reckless endangerment charge stemming from the pedicab driver’s allegation that when Cespedes-Rodriguez hit her a second time he did so on purpose.

While a trial involving a six foot tall, pedicab driving, orange rabbit sounds like something from a TV program, the larger issues at stake are deadly serious. Hit-and-run driving is dangerous as well as illegal. Victims of a Portland hit-and-run accident should consult a Portland personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Criminal charges, such as the ones the driver faced in this case, do not address injury claims. As the victim of an Oregon hit-and-run you may be entitled to monetary damages.

Compensation for Oregon accident victims may include restitution for lost wages, damage to property, medical bills and pain and suffering. Every situation is unique, but an experienced Portland car accident lawyer can guide you through the process.

The Oregonian: Hit-and-run driver claimed he didn’t see 6-foot-tall orange rabbit on the pedicab

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury

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After a ten-day trial, a Lane County Oregon jury cleared John Deere company and a local distributor of liability in a 2006 Oregon riding mower accident that caused a toddler to lose her leg. The Eugene child injury took place when Kurt Norton accidentally backed over his daughter Isabelle, then age 3.

Isabelle and her family sought $11 million in damages, arguing that poor design made the John Deere riding mower unreasonably dangerous. By a series of 9-3 votes the jury did not agree.

Government and academic studies show lawn mower injuries to be surprisingly common, with riding mowers alone accounting for 37,000 injuries each year, according to a government study. The Consumer Product Safety Commission report examined data from the years 2003-2005. A broader study, conducted by Ohio State University, looked at 15 years of data noting that an average of 9400 children were injured each year over the survey period. The researchers concluded that “injuries related to lawn mowers are an important cause of pediatric morbidity” for which “current prevention strategies are inadequate.”

Consulting a Portland child injury lawyer is an important and crucial step to take following any Oregon lawn mower accident involving a child. An experienced Oregon personal injury attorney can help you secure your rights and appropriate compensation in the event of an injury or accident that is not your fault.

Eugene Register-Guard: Jury clears companies in lawn mower lawsuit

Resources:
Consumer Product Safety Commission: Riding Lawnmowers

National Center for Biotechnology Information: Summary of Ohio State University study

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Posted In: Injuries to Minors , Personal Injury , Products Liability

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The US Transportation Department is reporting an increase in the number of women arrested for drunk driving. Although there are still more males arrested for drunk driving than women—626,371 men were arrested for DUI in 2007 and only 162,493 women—from 1998 to 2007, there was a 28.8% jump in the number of female drunk driver arrests and a 7.5% drop in the number of men arrested for DUI.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he is surprised at the rise in DUIs involving women. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) President Laura Dean Moody says that although the reason is unclear why more women are being arrested for drunk driving now than 10 years ago, she believes that it may be because females are facing greater pressures these days, such as having to be the breadwinner while their husbands are unemployed. Moody also noted that there are television programs that portray stay-at-home moms who drink as cool.

The NHTSA also is providing a breakdown of how many women and men were arrested for DUI over the last two years while they were involved in deadly Oregon traffic accidents.

• In 2007, 25 of the 144 women arrested for their involvement in a fatal Oregon motor vehicle crash had d BAC’s over .08.
• 22 of the 141 women arrested in 2008 had BAC’s that were above the legal drinking and driving limit.

• Of of the 434 men arrested for their alleged in involvement in a 2007 Oregon auto accident, 108 of them had BAC’s over .08.
• 94 of the 372 men arrested in 2008 had BAC’s above the legal drinking and driving limit.

Across the nation, the number of impaired female drivers who were involved in fatal auto accidents went up in 10 US states. About 2,000 traffic deaths each year involve women who were driving drunk.

In an effort to stop people from driving while impaired, police throughout the US will increase their efforts to arrest anyone caught driving drunk beginning Friday until the end of Labor Day . Last year, 40% of deadly US traffic accidents that occurred over this long weekend involved drunk drivers. Nationally in 2008, almost 12,000 people were killed in DUI crashes last year.

According to statistics, some two million drivers who already have multiple DUI convictions are expected to drive over the Labor Day weekend. These numbers don’t even take into account other motorists who may not have prior DUI convictions but may drink too much at a party or while spending time with family and friends and decide to get behind the wheel of a car while drunk. Portland, Oregon, Injury Attorney Matt Kaplan would like to discuss your car accident case with you.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Kicks Off Nationwide Enforcement Crackdown on Impaired Driving, NHTSA, August 19, 2009

2009 Impaired Driving National Enforcement Crackdown August 21 - September 7, 2009, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:
Alcohol-Impaired Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes by, by Gender and State, 2007 - 2008 (PDF)

MADD

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Posted In: 15-Passenger Van Accidents , 15-Passenger Van Accidents , Car Accidents , Car Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury , Personal Injury

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The US Transportation Department is reporting an increase in the number of women arrested for drunk driving. Although there are still more males arrested for drunk driving than women—626,371 men were arrested for DUI in 2007 and only 162,493 women—from 1998 to 2007, there was a 28.8% jump in the number of female drunk driver arrests and a 7.5% drop in the number of men arrested for DUI.

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood says he is surprised at the rise in DUIs involving women. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) President Laura Dean Moody says that although the reason is unclear why more women are being arrested for drunk driving now than 10 years ago, she believes that it may be because females are facing greater pressures these days, such as having to be the breadwinner while their husbands are unemployed. Moody also noted that there are television programs that portray stay-at-home moms who drink as cool.

The NHTSA also is providing a breakdown of how many women and men were arrested for DUI over the last two years while they were involved in deadly Oregon traffic accidents.

• In 2007, 25 of the 144 women arrested for their involvement in a fatal Oregon motor vehicle crash had d BAC’s over .08.
• 22 of the 141 women arrested in 2008 had BAC’s that were above the legal drinking and driving limit.

• Of of the 434 men arrested for their alleged in involvement in a 2007 Oregon auto accident, 108 of them had BAC’s over .08.
• 94 of the 372 men arrested in 2008 had BAC’s above the legal drinking and driving limit.

Across the nation, the number of impaired female drivers who were involved in fatal auto accidents went up in 10 US states. About 2,000 traffic deaths each year involve women who were driving drunk.

In an effort to stop people from driving while impaired, police throughout the US will increase their efforts to arrest anyone caught driving drunk beginning Friday until the end of Labor Day . Last year, 40% of deadly US traffic accidents that occurred over this long weekend involved drunk drivers. Nationally in 2008, almost 12,000 people were killed in DUI crashes last year.

According to statistics, some two million drivers who already have multiple DUI convictions are expected to drive over the Labor Day weekend. These numbers don’t even take into account other motorists who may not have prior DUI convictions but may drink too much at a party or while spending time with family and friends and decide to get behind the wheel of a car while drunk. Portland, Oregon, Injury Attorney Matt Kaplan would like to discuss your car accident case with you.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Kicks Off Nationwide Enforcement Crackdown on Impaired Driving, NHTSA, August 19, 2009

2009 Impaired Driving National Enforcement Crackdown August 21 - September 7, 2009, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:
Alcohol-Impaired Drivers Involved in Fatal Crashes by, by Gender and State, 2007 - 2008 (PDF)

MADD

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Posted In: 15-Passenger Van Accidents , 15-Passenger Van Accidents , Car Accidents , Car Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury , Personal Injury

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The Oregon Senate passed Senate Bill 311 this week to increase the liability lawsuit limits that a government agency can be made to pay plaintiffs. Whereas the old limits, set in 1987, placed a cap of $100,000 on noneconomic and economic damages, $50,000 for property damage, and $500,000 for all claims from one incident, the new bill proposes raising the state government’s liability lawsuit limit maximums to $1.5 million for one claim and $3 million for all claims stemming from a single incident. The distinctions between the damages would be eliminated, and the Oregon Supreme Court would deal with any challenges to the new limits.

Caps would increase $100,000 a over a five-year period. After 2015, amounts would be indexed according to inflation. All other governments in Oregon would have caps that are one-third of the state’s caps. Individual workers would also be covered against civil claims for accidents that occur while he or she is on the job. The bill now goes to the House.

In 2007, the family of young Jordan Michael Clarke sued Oregon Health & Science University and seven of its employees for medical malpractice after he suffered permanent brain damage following surgery to repair a congenital heart defect. Using the state’s liability shield, however, OHSU replaced the individual defendants named in the complaint with itself to limit liability at $200,000.

While the Oregon State Supreme Court ruled that OHSU was legally entitled to do this, it also found that the existing government caps were too low that they prevented the boy's family from receiving an appropriate legal remedy for his injuries. A $9.3 million personal injury settlement was eventually reached between OHSU and Clarke’s family.

Senate approves increase in liability lawsuit limits, Statesman Journal, February 24, 2009

Oregon may welcome higher lawsuit caps, SeattlePI.com, February 12, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Oregon Health and Science University

General information about the Oregon Tort Claims Act, OHSU.edu

Continue reading "Oregon Senate Approves Bill to Increase State and Local Government Agencies' Liability Lawsuit Limits" »

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The family of Jakobi Mulgrave, the 10-year-old boy who survived a Eugene drunk driving accident that killed his mother and three other people last month, is suing several plaintiffs on his behalf for personal injury. According to the Oregon car accident lawsuit, which is seeking approximately $13 million, Jakobi sustained a brain injury, a fractured skull, a fractured pelvis, as well as damage to his kidney, spleen, and liver. Mulgrave is being treated at a Portland hospital.

The catastrophic motor vehicle accident took place on the night of January 21 when an Isuzu Rodeo, driven by Matthew Ellmers and the Toyota Highlander carrying Jakobi, his mother Yvonne, Connie Marie Vermilyea, 34, Jaziah Vermilyea, 10, and Nima Gibba, 11, collided, causing the Highlander to turn in the air and hit a utility pole. Ellmers, who is the only other person to survive the crash, also sustained serious injuries. Police say the 24-year-old Eugene driver was driving drunk.

The Mulgrave family’s Oregon personal injury lawsuit involving injuries to minors contends that Jakobi should receive $10 million for noneconomic damages, $2.8 million for lost wages throughout his lifetime, medical expenses, and other costs.

The defendants in the case are Matthew Ellmers who is accused of negligence for causing the auto accident, Kimberly Snyder, who lent her Isuzu Rodeo to him (the lawsuit contends that she either knew or should have known that Ellmers had a history of drinking heavily and that this could result in a fatal Oregon drunk driving accident), and businesses Strike City and The Nile for serving alcohol to Ellmers, who the complaint claims was already noticeably intoxicated.

On February 3, an Oregon grand jury indicted Ellmers with four counts of assault, manslaughter, DUI, and other criminal charges. Ellmers has pleaded not guilty.

Lawsuit seeks $13 million for boy injured in crash, KVAL, February 3, 2009

$12.8 million suit filed in Eugene crash, Oregon Live, February 4, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Children, 2007 Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Deadly Oregon Motor Vehicle Accident Leaves Four People Dead and a Young Boy in Critical Condition, Matthew D Kaplan, Attorney at Law, January 23, 2009

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Injuries to Minors , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Personal Injury

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