Articles Posted in Motor Vehicle Accidents

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A timely reminder for this holiday weekend comes from USA Today travel columnist Bill McGee. His headline says it all: “Distracted While Driving? Pull Over!” The law, as he notes, is only part of the issue. Oregon is among the growing number of states that have banned texting and use of hand-held cellphones while driving. But it is worth remembering that aside from endangering yourself, your passengers and everyone else on the road distracted driving can leave you open to a significant Oregon personal injury judgment if a court finds you liable for an Oregon personal injury accident. As I’ve noted elsewhere on this blog, such a finding can take place even if the police do not issue a citation at the scene of the accident.

McGee cites some sobering statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, such as the fact that “distraction was a factor in 12% of all fatal crashes in 2004, but rose to 16% in 2008.”

The good news is that recognition of the problem is widespread. An Insurance Information Institute survey last summer found that 80% of respondents supported a ban on texting while driving. For handheld cellphone use the figure was 67%. Even allowing for the fact that an insurance industry survey might be tilted toward a ban (texting leads to more crashes; more crashes lead to more claims), the logic behind the data is hard to argue with.

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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.

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An Oregon bicycle accident last week is the best reminder in a long, long while of why a helmet ought to be essential biking gear. The Salem bicycle injury accident took place when an 18 year old swerved to avoid an SUV pulling out of a fast-food restaurant. The Salem bike rider was thrown over her handlebars as she tried to avoid the SUV, which then ran over her head with its rear tire, according to a detailed report in The Oregonian, quoting Marion County law enforcement officials.

The newspaper reports that the cyclist was taken to a hospital but released a short time later without serious injuries. Her helmet, however, “was pretty much crushed” according to a Marion County sheriff’s office spokesman. Oregon law requires helmets for riders 16 and under. In this case it is clear that wearing a helmet saved the 18 year old bike rider, sparing her serious personal injury or death as a result of her Salem bicycle accident.

Even when cyclists take every necessary precaution, however, Portland personal injury accidents involving bicycles and cars can be especially serious. While this story had a happy ending, it also highlights the importance of wearing a bike helmet at all times. When injuries do occur as the result of an Oregon bicycle accident involving a car or SUV, consulting a Portland bicycle injury attorney should be near the top of your post-accident priority list. Collisions, especially those involving negligence, may entitle the victim to compensation for medical bills, long-term care, damage to property, lost wages and pain and suffering.

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A 29-year old woman was involved in a Hillsboro pedestrian accident recently while making her way through the parking lot at Sunset Esplanade. The Hillsboro auto accident took place in the late afternoon moments after the victim had exited a bus and as she was heading across the parking lot on the shopping complex’s north side, according to a report in the Hillsboro Argus.

The car struck the woman as she moved through the parking lot at what a police spokesman later described as “a jogging pace”. The woman was thrown onto the hood of the car, hitting its windshield. The police spokesman told the Argus that the victim of the Oregon car and pedestrian collision was taken to an area hospital with a broken back, but that she was not paralyzed as a result of the accident.

Parking lots, with their restricted sight lines and drivers who are not always proceeding as cautiously as they should, can be especially dangerous for pedestrians. Portland traffic accidents in parking lots can lead to serious injuries, or death. If you have been struck by a car in a parking lot consulting with a Portland personal injury lawyer should be a top priority.

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A Portland traffic accident left one woman dead and another in critical condition over the weekend, according to a report from local TV station KGW. The Portland fatal accident took place at the corner of SE 80th Street and Foster Boulevard early Sunday evening, according to police.

The TV station, quoting police sources, reported that the two women were hit while crossing the street at a poorly-lit intersection that has a dangerous reputation among area residents. Police say the two women were in a clearly marked crosswalk, but that the driver probably had trouble seeing them in the dark. The driver is reported to be cooperating with police.

An accident like this can give rise both to Oregon wrongful death claims and to Oregon personal injury claims for surviving victim. Consulting with a Portland wrongful death lawyer who is also experienced in Portland personal injury law is essential at the earliest feasible moment after an accident.

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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.

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A history of Oregon highway accidents along several roads linking the Willamette Valley to the North Coast is raising concerns among residents and activists who believe the number of North Coast car wrecks has become excessive.

A recent report in the Daily Astorian focused on US-30 car crashes, US-26 car crashes and US-101 car crashes, noting that one particular section of 101 has been nicknamed “slaughter alley” by local residents. The situation along these roadways obviously merits extreme caution. If an accident does occur the skill and local knowledge of a Portland personal injury attorney with experience in North Coast car crashes can be invaluable.

Police and Oregon Department of Transportation officials say many of the problems stem from drivers who are not sufficiently alert or who are traveling too fast. Local activists, however, say passing lanes should be more carefully located along all of these roads. An August Clatskanie car crash that killed four teenagers on US-30 led to calls for a passing zone to be changed to a no-passing zone. ODOT officials, however, say statistical data shows the area to be safe for passing, and note that their job requires prioritizing safety upgrades throughout the state.

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A Springfield pedestrian death is drawing new attention to an especially dangerous stretch of road. The Springfield Oregon auto accident took place last week when 49 year old Harold Leroy Singleton was hit by a car while crossing Main Street according to the Associated Press and other media outlets.

The accident occurred last Saturday evening. The AP quoted police saying their initial investigations indicate Singleton was not paying attention when he stepped out into the street, initiating the Springfield fatal accident. Singleton was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center in River Bend, where he died a short time later.

No charges have been filed against the 78-year old driver of the car that hit Singleton. The incident, however, highlights the especially dangerous reputation of Springfield’s Main Street. The AP reports that over the last 12 years at least eight pedestrians have been killed and 40 injured on Main Street in Springfield.

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A Eugene car crash involving eight vehicles sent two women to the hospital Thursday and snarled traffic on Interstate-5 according to police and media reports. The women’s injuries were not life-threatening.

According to Oregon State Police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings, the incident began early Thursday afternoon when a car stuck in traffic on the Willamette River Bridge was rear-ended by a van. The van’s impact pushed the car into the vehicle in front of it, setting off a chain reaction that eventually left a total of eight vehicles damaged, including two commercial trucks. State troopers on the scene blamed the crash on congested traffic on the bridge.

The Oregon injury crash closed northbound traffic on the bridge for about 20 minutes and slowed it for another hour when a single lane was initially re-opened. Rubbernecking by drivers also slowed traffic in the southbound lane to a crawl for a time.

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Two Nevada men died in an Oregon truck accident Friday. According to police, the Oregon motorcycle deaths occurred north of Chiloquin on Highway 97 when an SUV hit the riders as it tried to overtake a truck.

Police identified the victims as John Lyman Howell, 65, and James Scott, 49, both of Reno, Nevada. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Redmond resident Gary Couch, 63, was driving the SUV and sustained minor injuries. He was taken to a hospital in Klamath Falls by ambulance. His wife Susan, 68, who was riding in the SUV’s passenger seat was more seriously injured and had to be airlifted to the hospital.

According to investigators at the scene of the Oregon motorcycle accident, the Couch SUV was traveling north on Highway 97 early Friday afternoon. It struck Howell and Scott, who were traveling in the southbound lane, while trying to overtake a commercial semi-trailer truck. The driver of the truck, identified as 53-year old Alan Galloway of Idaho, was uninjured. The highway was reportedly closed for more than three hours while police cleared the debris and conducted investigations at the Oregon accident scene.

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