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Matthew D. Kaplan

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A routine road trip turned into an unthinkable tragedy on the afternoon of April 6, 2026, when a California family’s SUV slammed into a stalled semi-truck on Interstate 5 in Douglas County, killing an 18-year-old and seriously injuring his father and twin sister.

According to Oregon State Police, Brenden Larry Christensen, 61, of San Diego, was driving a white Freightliner commercial motor vehicle hauling a loaded trailer northbound on I-5 near milepost 90 near Canyonville when the truck stalled on an uphill grade in the outside lane. Investigators determined that the truck’s speed had dropped below 12 miles per hour as it struggled to climb the grade before stalling completely just before impact.

A young man of 18 from El Sobrante, California was driving an SUV with his father and twin sister as passengers, along with a family friend, when the collision occurred. The impact caused both the Honda and cargo from the truck to catch fire. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. His father and twin sister were airlifted to area hospitals with serious injuries. The family friend was transported by ground ambulance with minor injuries.

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Workers arrive each day facing a real risk of an on-the-job injury. They rely on others’ diligence to ensure their workspaces are safe. When an employer, or others whom an employer hires, fail to live up to their duties, workers are placed at risk and, too often, are hurt.

When a worker is injured in Oregon, they may have multiple ways to seek recourse. One, of course, is workers’ compensation. That, however, is not necessarily the only avenue. Many workers may also be entitled to compensation through a 3rd-party industrial accident lawsuit. In these circumstances, having representation from an experienced Portland industrial accident lawyer is essential.

One way workplace safety is enhanced is through regulation and oversight by federal and state agencies. However, some are concerned that federal enforcement is waning. Recently, internal data from the U.S. Department of Labor showed a sharp decline in work-site inspections conducted by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration in 2025 compared with 2024. According to a New York Times report, data released by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren showed “a 20 percent decrease in work site inspections” carried out by OSHA “during a six-month period last year compared with the same period in 2024.”

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Auto accident fatalities are, as Portland Mayor Keith Wilson recently pointed out, a “fully preventable cause of death.” Optimized highway and roadway safety requires cooperation and collaboration between drivers and government authorities — the former must observe safe driving practices, while the latter must ensure safe infrastructure. Among the most devastating outcomes of these crashes are head injuries in car crashes, which can result in traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, and long-term cognitive impairment. Even as state and local leaders work to improve roadway and highway infrastructure, auto accidents — and their tragic consequences — are still a serious problem.

If you have lost a loved one as a result of a fatal auto accident, or if you or a family member has suffered serious harm such as a head injury in a car crash, you have many pathways you will need to navigate to get the financial recovery you deserve. This may include interactions with the civil justice system, insurance companies, and more. As you work through this process, having legal representation from a skilled car crash injury attorney can be integral to holding the responsible parties accountable and recovering everything you are owed. An experienced personal injury car crash lawyer understands the full extent of these damages — including medical bills, lost wages, and long-term rehabilitation costs — and can fight to protect your rights.

Portland’s Traffic Fatalities Hit a Low Point

Earlier this month, OregonLive reported on some good news regarding fatal auto accidents in this area. The Portland Bureau of Transportation recently announced that last year the city logged 39 traffic deaths, a 38% decline from the average of the last four years.

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OregonLive recently reported on a significant change that could be coming to Portland’s streets and highways. If House Bill 4085 becomes law, companies like Waymo would be allowed to deploy driverless vehicles on Oregon roads, offering delivery services and passenger rides. The potential of self-driving vehicles on Portland’s streets raises many questions, ranging from their safety to the amount of insurance coverage they will carry… and more. Driverless vehicles would represent just one more challenge for users of Portland’s roads. For those who have already suffered serious harm in a Portland crash, regardless of who was (or was not) behind the wheel, the impacts are many. Whether your case requires court action, insurance claims, or both, having an experienced Portland auto accident lawyer by your side can enhance your odds of getting what you need from your claims.

Waymo already offers self-driving vehicles in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Miami, Orlando, and Atlanta. It has also announced plans to expand to San Diego, Las Vegas, and Detroit this year and is “eyeing Portland as it rapidly expands to more states,” according to the OregonLive report.

House Bill 4085, as written, would limit how cities, including Portland, could regulate entities like Waymo. The current version of the bill prevents municipalities from banning self-driving cars. It also bans the imposition of taxes or fees that do not also apply to other ride providers like Uber or Lyft, OregonLive has reported.

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Workers who operate heavy industrial equipment, handle volatile materials, or work near highly pressurized containers face the risk of catastrophic or fatal accidents every day. They deserve to work in safe conditions. Sometimes, however, a defective device, improper installation, or other negligence jeopardizes that safety. If you have been injured on the job in Oregon, an industrial accident lawsuit may be an integral part of your overall solution. For answers about how these cases work and whether one may help you, reach out right away to speak to an experienced Oregon industrial accident lawyer.

Students and teachers at two schools in Clackamas County got an unexpected day off earlier this month for reasons wholly unrelated to the weather. Earlier this month, an explosion at a commercial building blew the roof off and triggered “Level 3” evacuation orders from county authorities.

According to KATU TV, the company that occupied the building at 301 South Redwood Street was in the business of “heat treating metal parts under high pressure.” The incident occurred when one of the facility’s two tanks exploded. According to the company’s website, the Canby facility “launched with two of the company’s largest [Hot Isostatic Pressing] vessels at the time (each 46 inches in diameter) capable of processing large castings” for the aerospace and defense industries.

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Drunk driving is a substantial problem in Oregon. Drunk drivers cause countless amounts of harm to people and property across the state. In addition to possible criminal penalties for the drunk driver, a person hurt by a drunk driver may have the possibility to pursue a civil lawsuit against the establishment that served alcohol to the drunk driver. If you have been injured (or lost a loved one) as a result of a drunk driving accident, an experienced Oregon drunk driving accident lawyer can advise you regarding your civil justice options.

According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk driving is a problem that is getting worse in Oregon. In 2014, Oregon had 166 fatalities involving an alcohol-impaired driver. By 2023, that number was up to 327.

Recent events further bear this out. A few days ago, KPTV reported on a Portland family who awoke just after 2:00 a.m. to the sound of a loud crash. That sound was the front end of an SUV slamming through the exterior wall of the home’s living room. The vehicle missed an occupied bedroom (belonging to the couple’s 13-year-old son) by just a few feet, according to the report.

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According to a new report, fatal and serious injury crashes are a significant problem in East Multnomah County. The report outlines an action plan with the stated goal of reducing fatal and serious accidents to zero within 10 years. Steps designed to reduce or eliminate serious and fatal accidents should be applauded because, as the report stated, “one traffic death is too many.” For now, though, these crashes remain a very real problem, and if you have been harmed by one, you should talk to a knowledgeable Oregon auto accident lawyer about your situation.

As noted above, the problem in East Multnomah County is worsening. In 2013-2020, east Multnomah County logged 396 serious or fatal crashes, averaging 49.5 per year. In 2021, there were 75. In 2022, that number was 116.

The committee’s plan would target improvements in locations like Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview, and Wood Village. The committee behind the report identified 10 traffic corridors, which it labeled “priority safety corridors,” and targeted specific proposed steps for those areas. These 10 included important thoroughfares like Stark Street, Halsey Street, Burnside Street, 181st Avenue, 182nd Avenue, and 223rd Avenue.

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Multi-vehicle accidents can lead to serious or fatal harm, such as what happened in a late November crash in Aurora. Crashes like this fatality are a reminder of both the profound importance of driving with care and safety, and the many types of harm that can result when negligent driving leads to a chain-reaction crash. If you are the one harmed by this kind of collision, you need to understand that multi-vehicle crashes can involve many permutations. That is why you need an experienced Oregon auto accident lawyer on your side to get to the bottom of exactly what happened. That way, you can hold accountable all those who were responsible and get everything you deserve out of your auto accident case.

In the Aurora accident, according to the Oregon State Police, a 39-year-old Portland man driving a Dodge van rear-ended a Hyundai SUV driven by a 36-year-old Aurora man. The OSP’s report stated that the impact between the van and SUV pushed the southbound SUV into the northbound lane of Highway 551. A northbound Toyota van, driven by a 55-year-old from Happy Valley, crashed into the passenger side of the SUV.

A 38-year-old woman who was a passenger in the SUV died as a result of her injuries. Several others were injured and taken to a nearby hospital.

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Crashes involving big rigs are highly likely to result in severe or fatal injuries. Because the harm is substantial, obtaining a fair outcome in a civil lawsuit requires careful investigation to identify everyone who should be held accountable. To ensure you do that, you need an experienced Oregon truck accident lawyer by your side to help you with every step of the investigation process.

A terrible crash in Deschutes County is a reminder that a stopped truck can be just as dangerous as a moving one if it is in the roadway and other drivers are not adequately warned.

R.K., a trucker from Fresno, Cal., jackknifed his rig on U.S. Highway 20 about 50 miles east of Bend on the night of Dec. 1, 2025. The semi-truck’s cab faced eastbound, but the trailer faced south, positioned perpendicular across both the east- and westbound lanes. A young couple was driving westbound on Highway 20 shortly after the trucker jackknifed his rig. Police suspect that, because of “a lack of active emergency warning equipment,” the couple did not see the rig and slammed their Subaru SUV into the trailer, killing both of them.

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Workers, including those who work around dangerous and volatile chemicals and equipment, are entitled to a safe workplace. Too often, though, their workplaces are not safe. When that lack of safety is the result of negligence and that negligence leads to serious injury or death, the injured worker (or the worker’s surviving family) may be entitled to hold those negligent parties accountable through a civil lawsuit. These lawsuits are often complex and nuanced, requiring the unique skills and knowledge of an experienced Oregon industrial accident lawyer.

One such workplace type is one that uses vessels whose contents are under pressure. On Nov. 12, 2025, friends, family, and coworkers marked the one-year anniversary of the massive tank explosion that killed two workers at a manufacturing facility that produced cosmetic and food colorings.

Back in mid-November 2024, investigators from the Chemical Safety Board swiftly pinpointed the cause of the explosion. A container — cooking vessel number 6 — blew up.

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50 SW Pine St 3rd Floor Portland, OR 97204 Telephone: (503) 226-3844 Fax: (503) 943-6670 Email: matthew@mdkaplanlaw.com
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