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…
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…
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…
A recent column in the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call highlights a potentially serious attack on patients rights here in Oregon and elsewhere, one that has received relatively little notice in the months since the new Congress convened. The focus of the piece is HR 5. Formally titled the Help…
A recent announcement that insurance giant Allstate is buying the Esurance and Answer Financial brands from the smaller, less well-known, White Mountains Insurance Group raises several troubling questions. According to an Associated Press article, Allstate expects to pay about $1 billion for the two brands. The acquisition will allow Allstate…
Fox News used to run a regular segment called “stupid criminals.” If it were still on the air the subject of today’s Oregon drunk driving blog would definitely be a candidate. According to The Oregonian, Aaron Arrell killed a woman in an Oregon fatal hit-and-run accident in March, and was…
As the National Hockey League playoffs move toward their conclusion over the coming weeks TV viewers in Canada are being offered evidence that the league is taking its responsibilities regarding traumatic brain injuries increasingly seriously. On the ice at the pro level, new regulations now require any player who suffers…
A Florida court case involving a defective car seat and a resulting severe spinal cord injury to a child can serve as an important reminder of the crucial role our courts play in holding large companies accountable for the damage they can cause in ordinary people’s lives. As outlined by…
The death of a Forest Grove resident in an Oregon explosion near Gaston raises critical safety issues. According to television station KGW, the blast at the Stimson Lumber Company also injured at least two other workers. The incident may fit Oregon’s definition of an industrial accident, depending on what investigators…
Legislators in Salem hope to close what has emerged as a significant loophole in Oregon’s year-and-a-half-old distracted driving law. As almost everyone knows by now, talking on a cellphone while behind the wheel is illegal in Oregon unless one is using a hands-free device. As The Oregonian details, however, many…