Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

February 7, 2010

Discussion of Brain a Reminder of Oregon’s New Laws

The venerable CBS Sunday morning show Face the Nation took a break from politics today to talk, with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell as the program’s main guest. Among the topics on the agenda: traumatic brain injuries, a subject that has been much in the news here in Oregon with the recent enactment of laws aimed at lessening the number of Oregon traumatic brain injuries sustained through youth sports, including football.

This is an issue I have written about before (see this post from last November), and one which has caused the NFL a certain amount of public relations trouble in recent months. On CBS, Goodell rejected any suggestion that the NFL has been, as host Bob Schieffer put it, “late to recognize” the seriousness of concussions and brain injuries as a problem at the professional level. The commissioner said the league has been on top of the issue “since the mid-90s”; adding: “Medical science is still trying to determine what are the long-term effects of concussions. How do you treat these?”

This is a position with which some might take issue. As I noted in November, the league is working to counter accusations it ignored or downplayed the seriousness of concussions in football for years. When Schieffer pointed out that the NFL’s own studies show that football players are five times more likely than members of the general population to suffer brain injuries or memory loss and that among 30-49 year olds that figure rises to 19 times the average, Goodell was quick to dismiss the very NFL studies he had been touting as examples of League responsibility a few minutes earlier. “This wasn’t a medical survey,” he said.

February 5, 2010

Corvallis Accident Kills Child in Stroller

by Matthew D. Kaplan

In what is, perhaps, one of the strangest and most senseless Oregon traffic accident deaths in recent memory, a two year old boy was killed this week after the jogging stroller in which he was riding was struck by a truck near Corvallis.

According to local media reports the Oregon fatal accident took place at the intersection of Highway 99 and Highway 34 just east of Corvallis. The truck reportedly hit the stroller as it was making a turn onto Highway 99 after stopping at a red light. Television station KPIC, quoting state police officials, reports that the toddler’s mother “may have received some minor injuries to her hands and arms” during the accident. Exactly how the stroller came to be in the intersection at the moment the commercial semi-trailer truck was turning is still under investigation.

This unusually tragic Oregon fatal truck accident raises a number of potential legal questions relating to Oregon child injuries, including a potential Corvallis wrongful death claim. Beyond any criminal issues that law enforcement officials may pursue, situations such as this can also give rise to civil claims. Anyone involved in an accident of this type should consult a Corvallis child injury and wrongful death attorney at the earliest possible time following the tragedy.

January 31, 2010

Oregon is a National Leader in New Laws on Concussions

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A recent New York Times article highlights an area where Oregon and other Pacific Northwest states are leading the nation: laws and policies recognizing the growing seriousness of concussions and other brain injuries in sports.

As the paper notes, “last year Washington and Oregon passed the first concussion-specific laws covering scholastic sports.” As I have previously noted (see this blog entry from November), traumatic brain injuries are increasingly being acknowledged as a problem, particularly in professional football. The Times notes that Florida Governor Charlie Crist is trying to use the fact that the Super Bowl is being played in his state this week to spur his own legislature on to passing brain injuries legislation. The Oregon brain injury laws, however, are among the first in the nation to acknowledge the extent to which this problem also exists in college, high school and even youth sports. The Times notes that traumatic brain injury laws focusing on student-athletes are currently being considered by legislatures in Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York, as well as Florida.

The Winter Olympics, due to begin February 12 in Vancouver, Canada, may also bring some of these issues into focus. As a recent Los Angeles Times article recounts, several top American snowboarders have recently been seriously injured, including Kevin Pearce, widely considered a possible gold medalist in half-pipe but hospitalized in Utah since December with a severe brain injury sustained during training.

January 30, 2010

Eugene Wrongful Death Questions Raised by State Report

by Matthew D. Kaplan

An Oregon state report has raised questions about the conduct of state officials prior to the death of a Eugene teenager.

15 year old Jeanette Maples was killed December 9, according to an Associated Press report republished by TV station KMTR. Her parents have been charged with aggravated murder (they have pleaded not guilty). In the wake of the incident state officials began investigating whether their agencies failed to act in a timely manner that might have prevented the teen’s death. This week’s report by the Oregon Department of Human Services is critical of the state agency’s conduct. AP reports the document says Maples’ case “was not adequately investigated or referred for assessment despite four separate calls alleging abuse and neglect over four years.”

Though Maples’ parents are already facing criminal charges in connection with her death, the report raises the possible of additional legal sanctions against the state or its officials if they are found negligent in connection with an Oregon wrongful death.

January 28, 2010

Three Injured in Alleged Medford Drunk Driving Incident

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A 50-year old man “with a history of driving under the influence” is being held by Medford police on suspicion of drunk driving. In a Southern Oregon drunk driving accident last Saturday the man allegedly injured three people, all of whom had to be hospitalized.

TV station KDRV reported that 50-year old Wayne Scott Rolfe was arraigned on felony DUI charges. He has also been charged with felony driving with a suspended license. He reportedly has three previous DUI’s, and is currently being held in the Jackson County jail pending $250,000 bond.

The good news is that the three Southern Oregon drunk driving victims have been released from the hospital.

January 26, 2010

Transportation Department Bans Texting By Bus & Truck Drivers

by Matthew D. Kaplan

In another sign of the speed with which distracted driving has gone from a fringe issue to center stage, the US Department of Transportation moved Tuesday to ban bus drivers and drivers of large trucks from texting while operating their vehicles, according to media reports. The measure will exist above and beyond the Oregon distracted driving law that went into effect this month.

The New York Times reports that the ban is effective immediately and that violators will “face civil or criminal fines of up to $2,750.” Here in Oregon distracted driving, including texting and the use of hand-held cellphones behind the wheel, has been illegal since the first of the year. Similar bans exist in about a dozen other states as well as the District of Columbia. The federal government is able to go beyond these state laws because of the authority it possesses to regulate the trucking industry at the national level.

In addition to cellphones the new rules also cover the dashboard computers long-haul drivers use to communicate with their dispatchers. The move comes partly in response to an increasing body of statistical evidence of the dangers posed by distracted driving. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has been an increasingly vocal opponent of distracted driving since taking office last year.

January 25, 2010

Driver Arrested After Hit-and-Run on Cyclist

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Police in North Portland have reportedly arrested a man they believe was responsible for an Oregon hit-and-run accident involving a cyclist, according to a report on television station KATU’s website.

The Portland cycling accident took place early Saturday evening, when a biker was struck by a moving vehicle at the intersection of Willamette Boulevard and Bryant Street. The alleged Oregon hit-and-run driver was arrested about two hours later. The cyclist was taken to an area hospital and treated for injuries “that police said are not life threatening,” KATU reported.

Portland has long had a reputation as one of the most bike-friendly cities in the nation, but, as this accident reminds us, that does not mean bikers should ever let down their guard when riding the city’s streets. Portland bicycle accidents can be a serious problem, leading to traumatic injuries and even death. If you have been involved in a Portland bicycle accident, particularly one involving a car, truck or other vehicle, it is important to seek the advice of an Oregon personal injury attorney as soon as possible.

January 24, 2010

Dangerous Tualatin Valley Intersection to get traffic light following accident

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Oregon’s Transportation Commission has decided to move up installation of a traffic signal at a dangerous Tualatin Valley Highway intersection in Aloha, following a serious Oregon traffic accident there last month.

An Oregon pedestrian accident on December 20 left three young people, including a 14 year old boy, injured after they were struck by a car while crossing the road at the intersection in the dark. According to a recent report on KATU.com, the accident has prompted the Oregon Transportation Commission to revise its plan to install a pedestrian-activated crossing signal at the location. Installation of the light will now take place next year, rather than in 2012.

Any traffic accident is tragic, but accidents leading to Oregon injuries to children are especially emotional. In the Tualatin incident the 14 year old boy sustained a broken arm, two broken teeth and will require facial reconstruction surgery. He remains in intensive care, according to KATU.

January 20, 2010

Oregon Gets High Rating From Highway Safety Group

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Oregon’s new distracted driving law helped earn the state the state a ‘Green Light’ – the highest rating – in the annual report card issued by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. For 2009 the group added a ban on texting while behind the wheel to its list of recommended state-level legal and safety measures. Oregon’s distracted driving law, which bans texting, was signed into law in 2009 and came into force this year.

Overall, Advocates judged states by the number and strength of 15 different legal areas associated with highway safety. Oregon was one of ten states (plus the District of Columbia) to earn the ‘Green Light’ designation.

Rising awareness of Oregon distracted driving and other highway safety issues was a key feature of the state’s politics last year. As the new law takes effect it raises separate questions about how it will be enforced by the state’s courts and what that may mean for drivers or pedestrians injured by an Oregon distracted driver.

January 16, 2010

Gresham Man Sues Over Allegedly Defective Product

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A Gresham, Oregon man this month became the second consumer to file a product liability lawsuit against the makers of the Amby Baby Motion hammock, according to a recent report published in Insurance Journal. The August death of the man’s five month old son was the second fatality linked to the product by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The CPSC issued a recall of the Amby Baby Motion following the death of the Gresham man’s son, urging “parents to stop using Amby hammocks immediately,” according to the article. The Journal reports that, according to the CPSC, about 24,000 units of the product had been sold in the United States prior to the recall.

Defective products are a worry in all aspects of our lives, but when they injure or kill children their impact is particularly severe. These situations are tragic, and they are times when the advice and assistance of an Oregon child injury lawyer familiar with product liability issues can be invaluable. An experienced Portland or Gresham product liability attorney can help you obtain the compensation to which you are entitled to offset medical bills or funeral expenses, lost wages or salary you may have incurred in caring for an injured child and pain and suffering stemming from the accident.