Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

November 29, 2009

Portland trails raise liability issues

A fascinating article in The Oregonian last week spotlights an oft-overlooked Portland premises liability issue. The article details how a local non-profit group, Southwest Trails, has spent years creating walking trails throughout the Portland area. Most of the time these trails run along streets. In a few cases, however, they cut through city owned easements behind houses.

When the trails go through an easement they are not supposed to be improved (by, for example, adding a staircase) without both a city building permit and the permission of the adjacent property owners. Property owners could, according to the paper, incur Oregon property liability for accidents on a staircase or path abutting their homes. As the article details, however, it has recently emerged that Southwest Trails often failed to obtain the necessary clearances for its work – and that until recently the city never enforced the requirement for permits.

The issue is an especially serious one because of the liability issues to which property owners might be exposed. When someone is injured on public property, or on a public easement, a Portland premises liability attorney should be consulted immediately to see whether a case exists under Oregon personal injury law.

November 27, 2009

Highlighting Oregon Distracted Driving Dangers

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

November 25, 2009

NFL’s traumatic brain injury policies and Oregon’s new laws

by Matthew D. Kaplan

The New York Times reports today that the two doctors leading the NFL’s study of concussions and other head injuries have quit following charges that they do not take evidence of mounting long-term brain injuries among professional football players sufficiently seriously. It is a development with resonance for those battling Oregon traumatic brain injuries.

As the paper notes, one of the doctors, Ira Casson, has been a member of the league’s committee on brain injuries since 1994 and has co-chaired the committee since 2007. According to the paper, “Casson has been the league’s primary voice discrediting all evidence linking football players with subsequent dementia.” He has recently been criticized both by the families of former NFL players and by members of Congress.

At issue, and of interest to those of us outside the world of professional football, is whether the accumulation of repeated, more minor, head injuries can add up to a traumatic brain injury over time. One need not take the sort of punishment football players endure every week to be in a situation where the sum of many concussions is greater than the damage done by the individual parts.

November 21, 2009

Oregon AG Urges End to Medical Malpractice Exemption

by Matthew D. Kaplan

An obscure provision being debated today in the US Senate could have a major effect on Oregon medical malpractice. If approved, it could become easier for Portland medical malpractice attorneys to help clients win the compensation they deserve.

The proposal, championed by Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, would repeal the WWII era McCarran-Ferguson Act, which exempts both health insurers and medical malpractice insurers from antitrust law. Though the proposal has received little publicity, it recently got a boost when ten state attorneys general, including Oregon’s John Kroger, wrote Leahy (who chairs the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee) urging approval of the repeal. When debate on the health care bill began in the Senate Saturday morning Leahy was among the first speakers and devoted his remarks to the proposal.

According to Leahy, and the attorneys general, repeal of the exemption would allow the government to crack down on “flagrant anti-trust violations, including price-fixing, bid rigging and market allocations.” The attorneys general’s letter called for repeal of the exemption to make “antitrust enforcement the same here as for virtually all other industries, enhancing competition to the benefit of consumers.”

November 18, 2009

Teen Drivers Still Texting, Despite Bans in Oregon and Other States

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

November 16, 2009

FDA Targets Alcoholic Energy Drinks

by Matthew D. Kaplan

The federal government is taking aim at energy drinks that mix alcohol and caffeine, a move that might have an effect on Oregon personal injury lawsuits. As reported by both the New York Times and the Associated Press, the Food and Drug Administration recently sent letters to 30 drink manufacturers challenging them to prove that their products are safe, or else it will “take appropriate action to ensure that the products are removed from the marketplace.” The government is giving the drink makers 30 days to demonstrate that their products are safe.

The FDA was acting in response to a letter of concern signed by 17 state attorneys general, the Attorney General of Guam and San Francisco’s City Attorney. Oregon’s attorney general was not among the signers, but a federal move to pull the drinks from shelves would effect the entire country and could create product liability in Portland and elsewhere in the state under Oregon’s personal injury laws.

According to the Times, FDA scientists worry that the drinks can lead to increased risks of serious injuries among their users, who skew heavily toward college students. The drinks mixture of alcohol (usually malt liquor) and caffeine can lead users to underestimate just how drunk they are. The drinks often provide, as the newspaper put it, “a false sense of confidence that they can perform tasks they are too impaired to undertake.”

November 13, 2009

Oregon Wrongful Death Claim Filed in Portland Hunter’s Shooting

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Following up a story I blogged about last month (see my October 22 entry), developments in the Oregon shooting death of Portland hunter Frank Means have led his family to announce that they will initiate an Oregon wrongful death claim against his killers.

Means was found shot to death near the town of Fossil, along the John Day River, on October 8. The Oregon State Police became involved in the investigation after Means’ widow criticized the conduct of the local sheriff’s office. Investigators eventually concluded Means’ death was the result of a dispute with other hunters. According to a report in The Oregonian Means, who had been drinking (an autopsy put his blood alcohol level at 0.24 percent), believed another hunting party was attempting to steal a deer he had shot. Means threatened the other hunters with a handgun, shot back when they attempted to disarm him, and was then killed by gunshots from at least two of the other hunters. Last week, a Wheeler County grand jury refused to hand down charges against Means’ killers, ruling that they acted in self-defense.

Oregon Public Broadcasting reported afterwards that Means’ widow was “devastated” by the news and has hired an Oregon wrongful death attorney, intending to file a civil Oregon wrongful death lawsuit. “I just can’t understand that when somebody is shot five times that a grand jury could find that it was justified,” Jackie Means told OPB. “My husband was a wonderful guy, and he may have been drunk out there, but he was in his own campsite. I am having a real difficult time with this.”

November 11, 2009

Salem bicycle accident shows how crucial helmets are

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

November 6, 2009

Hillsboro Pedestrian Accident Spotlights Parking Lot Dangers

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

November 4, 2009

Portland pedestrian accident kills woman

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.