Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

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The last few months have brought a rash of deadly bicycle crashes here in Oregon, including at least two this month (one in Clackamas County and one in Polk County.) The tragic stream of fatalities is a reminder of the extreme dangers bicyclists face when they’re on the road — be it here in Portland or a rural area. Discovering the truth about the bicycle crash that took the life of your loved one can sometimes be a complex, challenging process. An experienced Oregon bicycle accident lawyer can help you both with amassing the factual evidence you need, and utilizing that proof in an appropriate legal action.

Sometimes, the facts regarding a crash can be fairly straightforward. In the recent Clackamas County accident, the mountain manager of the Mount Hood Skibowl died in a two-vehicle collision just east of Government Camp. According to the Oregon State Police, the 48-year-old bicyclist was headed southbound on Highway 173 when the 71-year-old driver of a Hyundai SUV, who sought to turn left from Highway 173 onto West Leg Road, failed to yield the right of way and turned into the bicyclist’s path.

The impact was so powerful that it launched the bicyclist from his bike and into the roadway. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Pedestrian accidents are unique in certain ways. Unlike vehicle-versus-vehicle accidents, many vehicle-versus-pedestrian accidents leave little or no physical evidence at the scene. There may be a complete absence of skid marks or broken glass. In fact, the vehicle may endure no significant damage of any kind. That is one reason why retaining the right Oregon pedestrian accident lawyer to handle your case is so important. Once you’ve retained counsel, if that kind of proof isn’t available, your attorney can immediately get started pursuing other forms of evidence to make your case, like security camera footage, cell phone recordings, or other video/photographic evidence of the crash.

Recent news reports show that pedestrians are facing greater risks on Portland roads than ever before. City records revealed that 16 pedestrians died in 2019 and 18 in 2020. Last year, though, that number shot up to 28.

Shortly after midnight yesterday, another vehicle accident claimed the life of a pedestrian here in Portland. The incident represented the 44th traffic death in Portland this year. Of those 44, 14 have been pedestrians, according to OregonLive.com.

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A commercial truck can weigh anywhere from 17.5-40 tons (35,000-80,000 pounds.) When you compare that to passenger vehicles, which weigh only about 1-3 tons (2,000-6,000 pounds,) it is easy to see how an accident involving a big rig can do massive — and often fatal — damage. If you’re hurt — or a loved one killed — in a commercial truck accident, there may be multiple parties with potential liability, ranging from truck drivers to trucking companies to a host of insurance companies. Complex civil cases like these often are ones where a skilled Oregon truck accident lawyer can be especially helpful.

A Willamette Valley crash was one of the most recent examples of just how devastating the results can be when a trucker operates his vehicle unsafely. Due to the complexities and amount (and severity) of the injuries involved, this case will likely take years to conclude and for families to get closure.

The trucker was traveling on Interstate 5 between Albany and Salem and, according to prosecutors, “had been weaving on and off the road” as he headed northbound. As he approached the Santiam River Rest Area, he allegedly veered onto the east shoulder of the highway and slammed into a Ford Econoline passenger van, crushing it between the trucker’s rig and a parked semi. The Oregonian reported that seven van passengers died. In addition, four more van passengers were transported to a hospital via ambulance.

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Even as legislative bodies strengthen laws and police ramp up enforcement, people behind the wheel dividing their attention between driving and text messages, phone calls, email, social media, and so forth remain a very real problem in Oregon and across the country. Too often, the results are serious injuries or deaths. When you or your family is harmed by someone driving while insufficiently attentive, you owe it to yourself to contact an experienced Oregon distracted driving lawyer to discuss your circumstances.

Sometimes, no one is hurt as a result of drivers’ inattention and the stories can seem a bit ridiculous — like the Washington County driver who was sufficiently distracted by a cell phone last fall that they left the road, crashed their pickup truck into a silo, and pushed that silo into a nearby barn, or the driver spotted by the Oregon State Police on Interstate 84 with not one but two hands on their cell phone while they drove.

Too many times, though, the outcome is tragic rather than absurd. Distracted driving crashes resulted in 3,500+ deaths nationwide in 2021. Here in Oregon, the state logged more than 15,500 crashes with more than 24,000 injuries from 2016-2020, according to the Oregon Department of Transportation.

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Auto insurance coverage can be a huge benefit when your insurer performs as it should. Unfortunately, court dockets and opinions are full of instances where insurance companies refused to do what they should, either in violation of the contract they signed or in violation of the law. When you have suffered severe or catastrophic harm in a motorcycle accident, getting the full benefit of your insurance coverage can be crucial. When your insurance company isn’t performing as it should, an experienced Oregon motorcycle accident lawyer can provide invaluable aid.

Auto insurers can violate the law in several ways. Two common ones involve refusing to pay a claim that the policy required them to cover and writing a policy that violates state law. A recent motorcycle accident case from our local area is an example of the latter, and how the legal system was able to help.

S.C. was a Portland man who had just acquired a motorcycle. Eight days after making that purchase, S.C. fell victim to a circumstance that occurs to many motorcyclists: a vehicle driver negligently making a left turn into his path. The accident left the motorcyclist with severe injuries. As is often the case in serious motorcycle accidents, the totality of the harm S.C. suffered was greater than the liability limits of the other driver’s auto insurance policy.

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A motorcycle ride offers many benefits, including the release of endorphins (a/k/a “happy” hormones.) Unfortunately, riding a motorcycle carries some drawbacks, including a substantially higher risk of severe injury or death if you’re involved in a crash. That means that the harm your crash inflicts may permanently alter the trajectory of your life and/or those of your loved ones. If you have been seriously hurt (or a loved one killed) while aboard a motorcycle, you need the services of a knowledgeable Oregon motorcycle accident lawyer to ensure you receive restorative justice.

Less than a week into 2023, a motorcyclist in neighboring Clark County, Washington, lost their life. According to a KOIN report, investigators believed that the driver of a sedan in Vancouver “was turning southbound… from a parking lot when it collided with the motorcycle.”

A few weeks later, another motorcyclist died near Portland. This time, the site was Washington County. The crash involved a motorcycle and one other vehicle on an overpass to Highway 26 in Beaverton.

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As the number of pedestrians killed on Portland’s streets continues to mount, we’re reminded that fatal pedestrian accidents can occur for many reasons. Sometimes a pedestrian makes an unwise and unsafe decision to cross a street. A lot of times, though, these tragedies are the result of negligence on the part of others. If you’ve lost a loved one because of unsafe road conditions or a vehicle driver’s unsafe driving, then your family needs the aid of a Portland pedestrian accident lawyer who can help to hold those responsible accountable for their actions (or inaction) and get you the recovery you need.

In just a two-day span last week, Southeast Portland saw a pair of fatal accidents involving pedestrians. The more recent one occurred around 10:15 pm on January 24 when a 2007 Mitsubishi SUV collided with a 59-year-old man. The accident took place on Southeast Powell Boulevard at Foster Road.

Powell Boulevard is notoriously dangerous for pedestrians and bicyclists, with multiple fatal accidents occurring along the road, as this blog has covered on numerous occasions.

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Each January, Americans pause to reflect upon the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On multiple occasions, Dr. King counseled new college graduates and other audiences that “the time is always right to do what is right.” At Kaplan Law LLC we strive to do exactly that as we pursue justice on behalf of our clients.

And, as of this month, we’ve been doing it for 20 years.

During those two decades, we have represented a lot of victims and their families in catastrophic injury (and death) cases, including high-profile ones like Jed Hawk Myers. Myers died in the Yamhill County Jail after his pleas for medical attention — 19 times across five hours, to be exact — were ignored.

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In what can only be considered a bit of depressing irony, OregonLive recently reported on a bicyclist struck and injured… while on his way to a rally “to demand safer streets” for bicyclists and pedestrians. This bicyclist’s injuries were, thankfully, not severe. They nevertheless highlight that much work needs to be done to ensure that everyone using Portland’s streets and roads can do so safely. Part of that process often involves holding accountable those responsible for unsafe conditions. That is also where an experienced Portland bicycle accident lawyer can provide you with invaluable assistance.

According to the OregonLive report, a van driver ran a red light and slammed into the bicyclist as the bicyclist crossed the street inside a marked crosswalk.

As this accident reflects, some crashes involve significant driver negligence or recklessness, and safety improvements can only do so much to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from those drivers. For those injured bicyclists and pedestrians, the law allows them to recoup economic and non-economic damages from the at-fault driver. If the driver was driving recklessly, the injured bicyclist or pedestrian may also be entitled to recover punitive damages.

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Oregon is home to some of the finest opportunities to enjoy the outdoors on a bicycle. What that also means, though, is that Oregon is also a place where bicyclists who live far from here run the risk of suffering injuries in a crash. When that happens, it’s reasonable not to know where to turn. You should start by getting in touch with an experienced Oregon bicycle accident lawyer who can help you with the correct next steps.

When you suffer injuries in an accident close to home, it may seem easy to know what to do — call your regular local attorney and seek advice. When you’re far from home, that same attorney may be unable to represent you. Knowing what to do and doing it in a timely fashion is very important because you only have a limited time before the statute of limitations runs out.

Fortunately for a Canadian couple who were injured while bicycling in Oregon, they recognized what to do and did so within the deadline period.

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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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