Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

In Oregon, a 97-year-old pedestrian died on Saturday after she was struck by a car that was backing out of an apartment complex parking lot. Anne Hemming sustained head injuries and was pronounced dead shortly upon her arrival at Oregon Health and Science University Hospital.

The car’s driver, 79-year-old Milwaukie resident Stanley Keltz, has not been charged with any crime related to the Oregon pedestrian accident.

NHTSA Pedestrian Accidents
• There were 4,654 pedestrian deaths in 2007.
• 903 of these victims were elderly pedestrians, age 65 and older.
• 70,000 pedestrians suffered injuries in traffic accidents.
• 6,000 of the injury victims were seniors, age 65 and older.
• 60% of elderly pedestrian deaths took place at non-intersections.

Common Causes of Pedestrian Accidents
• Driver negligence
• Drunk driving
• Motor vehicle defect
• Pedestrian error
• Speeding
• Talking/texting on the cell phone while driving
• Failure to obey traffic signs
• Driver inattention

Elderly people may have a harder time than their younger adult counterparts recovering from a broken hip, a fractured bone, a traumatic brain injury, a spinal cord injury, or another serious injury. Not only may senior pedestrians need more time to heal from their injuries and infections, but chronic illnesses, such as diabetes or heart disease, may create further complications.

Personal Injury or Wrongful Death
Even if Oregon police decide not to pursue criminal charges against the driver or another party responsible for causing a motor vehicle accident, the injured person or the family of a person killed in an auto crash may still be able to hold the responsible party liable in civil court.

Woman, 97, Dies After Being Hit By Car, KPTV.com, November 16, 2008

97-year-old Milwaukie woman hit, killed by car in parking lot, Oregon City News, November 16, 2008

Pedestrians Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Related Web Resources:
Older Population Traffic Safety Fact Sheet, NHTSA

Focusing on the Senior Pedestrian, Federal Highway Administration

Continue reading "97-Year-Old Oregon Pedestrian Dies After She is Hit by Car in a Milwaukie Parking Lot" »

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Pedestrian Accidents , Wrongful Death

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A young Oregon couple died on Tuesday when the Jeep Wrangler they were riding in was involved in a head-on crash with a 2003 Kenworth truck. Klamath Falls residents Dotsie J. Irion, 21, and Clay J. Newcomer, 23, were pronounced dead at the crash scene on US 97.

According to Oregon State Police, the large truck, driven by Ajmer Singh, sideswiped a Dodge pickup that was pulling a horse trailer driver. The pickup was able to stop safely. However, the Kenworth, which had entered the southbound lane struck the Jeep in a head-on crash, killing the young couple.

Trucker Singh sustained minor injuries in the crash. The pickup truck driver, Merrill resident Samatha Gallagher, and her horses did not sustain any injuries in the traffic collision.

Oregon State Police are continuing to investigate the case of the deadly truck crash. The roads were reportedly covered in snow and ice when the crash happened.

Frontal-Impact Crashes
Frontal-impact crashes can lead to serious injuries for victims. In addition to head-on crashes, other examples of frontal-impact accidents include:

• The front of a vehicle crashing into the back of another vehicle.
• A vehicle crashing into a nonmoving object.
• The front of a vehicle colliding into the side of another vehicle.

Common causes of head-on crashes:

• Crossing over the centerline.
• Driving too quickly into a curve.
• Losing control of the vehicle.
• Turning directly into the oncoming path of a car, truck, bus, or motorcycle.
• Not paying attention to lane markings.
• Making wide right turns.
• Drunk driving.

Head-on collision kills young couple from Klamath Falls, OregonLive.com, November 5, 2008

Klamath Falls Couple Dies Tuesday in Highway 97 Wreck, KTVL.com, November 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Head-On Collisions

Oregon State Police

Continue reading "Klamath Falls Couple Killed in Oregon Large Truck Accident" »

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motor Vehicle Accidents , Truck Accidents , Wrongful Death

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In Oregon City, a 26-year-old pregnant woman is dead and three others are injured following a high-speed auto collision on Saturday night. The deadly crash happened when a Toyota 4-Runner driven by Fernando Deanda Moreno, who was reportedly speeding, drove through a stop sign at the Davis and Linn Avenue intersection.

Deanda Moreno’s vehicle crashed into the Toyota Camry carrying Kay Blaser, who was two-months pregnant, and her fiancé, William Sargent. Sargent, who survived the crash with neck, collarbone, and back injuries was transported by air to Oregon Health and Science Center.

Deanda Moreno and one of the two passengers riding in his SUV were also injured in the crash. According to the Clackamas County Major Crime Teams, the 22-year-old motorist was driving drunk when the accident occurred. Following his release from the hospital, Deanda Moreno was arrested on charges of Assault and Manslaughter. Bail was set at $750,000.

Drunk Driving
Drunk driving is negligent driving that can cause serious injuries or deaths. Examples of the effects of alcohol on a driver:

• Reflexes are slowed down, which can slow a motorist’s reaction time
• Blurred or impaired vision
• Decrease in ability to concentrate
• Drowsiness
• Decrease in ability to assess distances between other vehicles and lanes
• Impaired coordination
• Decrease in ability to make decisions

Passengers injured by a drunk driver and the loved ones of victims killed in drunk driving accidents may be entitled to receive Oregon personal injury or wrongful death compensation.

Victim identified in fatal Oregon City accident, OregonLive.com, October 12, 2008

Man faces manslaughter, DUI in crash that killed pregnant woman, NWCN.com, October 13, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Driving and Alcohol, West Virginia University

2007 Alcohol-Impaired Driving Fatalities, NHTSA (PDF)

Continue reading "Pregnant Woman Dies in Oregon City Drunk Driving Accident" »

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Wrongful Death

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In Oregon, two former Gateway Care and Retirement Center workers were found guilty of felony criminal mistreatment related to the death of a 60-year-old nursing home patient who was dropped while being transferred from a wheelchair to her bed. Linda Ober broke her legs in the fall, which took place at the nursing home on October 29, 2006. She died five days later after she was finally taken to a local hospital. Ober’s daughter, Sarah Cunningham, has already filed a $3.5 million wrongful death lawsuit against the nursing home.

The two former Gateway Care employees are Suzanne Ruddell and Cammy Elaine Nye. Ruddell, a former supervisor, reportedly failed to get Ober medical help even though she kept crying out and staff members kept saying that something was wrong with her. Ruddell also told a nurse not to complete the incident report about the fall and waited to order an X-ray for Ober until after she was told that the patient had a bone sticking out at a weird angle. Ruddell then went to the beach.

Nye, a certified nursing assistant, was found guilty of misdemeanor reckless endangerment for carelessly placing Ober in a sling right before she fell. Another nurse, Verna Colleen Heide, has already pleaded guilty to one count of criminal mistreatment. It was Heide who determined that Ober’s condition was fine after the fall.

Wrongful Death
Nursing homes and their workers are required to provided residents with proper care and supervision. When nursing home neglect, abuse, or failure to provide that care results in the death of a patient, the family of the deceased may be able to file an Oregon wrongful death claim against the home and its workers.

Cunningham’s Oregon wrongful lawsuit, filed in December 2007, alleges negligence and wrongful death. Cunningham says staff members told her mother that the pain was in her mind and the accident never occurred. Cunningham did not know her mother had been hurt until after she was notified of her death.

Gateway nursing home workers found guilty of criminal charges in death of 60-year-old patient who was dropped, The Oregonian, October 6, 2008

Closing arguments in Oregon nursing home death, KGW.com, October 6, 2008

Family Claims Wrongful Death In Nursing Home Lawsuit, KPTV.com, December 14, 2007

Related Web Resources:

Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect Resource Center

Gateway Care and Retirement Center

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Nursing Home Abuse and Neglect , Wrongful Death

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In Oregon, a former North Bend High School football coach died on Friday from injuries he sustained in a motor vehicle crash. Howard Johnson, 72, was declared dead at the accident scene located on Highway 138W near Sutherlin.

Johnson, who is said to be the longest tenured football coach in the school’s history, and Boyd Bjorkquist, the high school’s athletic director, were headed to Sutherlin to watch the team play when the driver of a 2005 Jeep Wrangler lost control of her vehicle and crashed into the 1999 Cadillac Seville that Johnson was driving.

Bjorkquist sustained minor injuries from the crash, and he was treated at Mercy Medical Center for his injuries. The Jeep’s driver, 33-year-old Jennifer Sines, and her two-year-old son were taken to the same hospital for treatment of their non-life-threatening injuries.

Johnson was the Bulldogs' coach from 1971 to 1992. Following his retirement from coaching, he continued to stay actively involved with North Bend High School. The Oregon State Police, who are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident, say the road conditions were wet at the time of the crash.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, there were 455 motor vehicle accident deaths in Oregon last year—a slight decrease compared to the 478 auto accident deaths that occurred in the state in 2006.

Auto crashes are a leading cause of serious injuries and deaths in the United States. Nationally, there were 41,059 motor vehicle deaths in the US in 2007.

Former North Bend football coach dies in crash, TheWorldLink.com, October 5, 2008

Crash kills former North Bend football coach, KPIC.com, October 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

2007 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment - Highlights, NHTSA (PDF)

Oregon Department of Transportation

Continue reading "Former North Bend High School Football Coach Dies in Oregon Motor Vehicle Collision" »

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Motor Vehicle Accidents , Wrongful Death

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The family of a woman who drowned at the Astoria Aquatic Center in June 2007 is expected to settle their wrongful death lawsuit with the Oregon city of Astoria out of court.

Jung Min Kim, 34, was found unconscious at the bottom of the center’s lap pool on June 6, 2007 and died soon after. According to a police report, she may have been underwater for as long as 10 minutes before anyone noticed she was there.

Kim’s husband Joo Dong Park, who had been attending Oregon State University as a graduate school at the time of the accident, filed the Oregon wrongful death lawsuit. The complaint accuses city employees and agents of negligence that it is calling a “substantial factor” in Kim’s death.

The suit accuses the center of failing to make sure there were enough lifeguards monitoring the pool, neglecting to respond quickly enough to Park’s request that they help him find his wife, failing to provide lifeguards that were properly trained, failing to provide easily accessible lifesaving emergency equipment, and negligence when they stopped CPR resuscitation efforts prematurely.

Park had asked for $500,000 in noneconomic damages and $100,000 for economic damages, including medical costs and death expenses. His settlement with the city of Astoria was reached a few days before the wrongful death trial was about to start. A structured settlement, however, has not been publicly announced.

Astoria initially had said that Kim’s own negligent actions while swimming had caused her to hit her head on the side of the pool, become unconscious, and drown. The city had also said that government workers are immune from claims dealing with emergency medical assistance unless there is evidence proving that they violated reasonable care standards.

Oregon Wrongful Death
Losing someone you love is never easy—especially if their death was a result of an accident that was caused by another party’s negligence. In addition to economic costs, there also may be other losses, such as the loss of companionship and other traumas that come with losing a mother, father, husband, wife, son, or daughter.
An experienced Portland wrongful death law firm can help you determine whether you have grounds to file a claim for your loved one’s death.

Settlement close in pool death, DailyAstorian.com, August 13, 2008

Wrongful Death, Justia

Related Web Resources:

Tort Reform, State of Oregon (PDF)

Bills and Laws, Oregon State Legislature

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Wrongful Death

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The estate of Bend man Stephen Brenn is suing orthopedic surgeon Dr. Anthony Hinz for almost $10 million for Brenn’s wrongful death. The lawsuit has gone to trial.

Brenn died in 2006. The complaint accuses Hinz of negligence when he performed elective ankle surgery on Brenn. Brenn died just hours after the procedure.

Brenn’s estate has already reached a settlement agreement with St. Charles Medical Center-Bend. The trial now goes forward to determine whether Hinz and the nurses that gave Brenn pain medication were responsible for his wrongful death.

If your loved one has died because of what you believe was the negligence or carelessness of a doctor, a surgeon, a dentist, a nurse, a hospital, or another health care provider, you may be entitled to wrongful death recovery. Damages can include financial compensation for funeral and burial costs, the loss of a victim’s income and other benefits, loss of companionship, and other losses depending on the specifics of the case and your relationship to the deceased.

Examples of medical malpractice errors that can be grounds for a wrongful death lawsuit if the patient dies:

• Surgical mistakes
• Wrong diagnosis
• Delayed diagnosis
• Failing to provide a diagnosis
• Prescription errors
• Failing to perform the proper tests

It is important that you discuss your legal options with an experienced Portland, Oregon wrongful death law firm.

Bend doctor on trial in wrongful-death lawsuit, KTVZ.com, August 5, 2008

Wrongful Death Suit Asks for Almost Ten Milllion, KOHD.com, August 5, 2008

Related Web Resources:

Types of Medical Malpractice, WrongDiagnosis.com

Ankle / surgery, Intute

Posted by Matthew D. Kaplan | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice , Wrongful Death

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