Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

October 30, 2009

Avoiding Oregon Child Injuries this Halloween

State officials are urging parents to take extra precautions to avoid Oregon child injuries this Halloween. The state Fire Marshall, Randy Simpson, told the Wilsonville Spokesman that “an increase in candle use, combined with decorations, costumes and children adds up to increased fire risk.” The paper noted that 125 Oregon fires causing over $2 million in damage have been recorded over the course of the last four Halloweens.

As much-anticipated as Halloween often is by children and adults alike, it can also be a dangerous holiday. Recommendations for safe trick-or-treating and avoiding Portland child injuries have been issued by the Oregon State Police in cooperation with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. These include having older children trick-or-treat as a group, making sure younger children are accompanied by an adult at all times and making sure that kids wearing masks can see and breathe properly.

Fire-prevention tips issued by Simpson’s office include purchasing only flame-resistant or flame-retardant costumes, avoiding costumes that drag behind the wearer on the ground (these are more likely to come into unintended contact with a lit jack-o-lantern) and not letting lights and other electrical decorations overload extension cords and electrical sockets.

October 28, 2009

Salem Hospital Death Case Reopened by Police

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Oregon State Police are reopening their investigation into the Salem Hospital Death last week of a patient at the Oregon State Hospital. Moises Perez, 42, was found dead in his bed earlier this month, according to a report in the Salem Statesman-Journal.

A county medical examiner initially ruled that Perez’s Oregon hospital death was from natural causes, but late last week the authorities announced they would be revisiting the issue. “We are going to look at it a little bit more and make sure that we haven’t missed anything,” a state police spokesman told the Statesman-Journal. The spokesman added that the move is “not necessarily that uncommon,” but the paper noted it came only in the wake of pressure from mental health advocates and some hospital patients around the state.

Though Perez was a convicted criminal – he had been confined at the state mental hospital since 1995 when he was convicted of murder but judged insane – the Oregon hospital death raises questions about conditions and treatment that are unrelated to the crimes that had landed Perez in a mental institution. Patient advocates expressed satisfaction with the state’s decision to reopen the case.

October 26, 2009

North Oregon Highway Accidents Raise Safety Concerns

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

October 24, 2009

Springfield Pedestrian death spotlights dangerous intersection

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

October 22, 2009

Portland Hunter’s Death Spurs Involvement of Oregon State Police

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Oregon State Police have joined the investigation of the mysterious Wheeler County hunting death of a Portland hunter. The family of Frank Means, 61, has been critical of the Wheeler County sheriff’s office and its handling of the incident. Police officials have released relatively little information, leaving it unclear whether Means’ demise was an Oregon wrongful death, an accident or something else.

According to The Oregonian the three-man Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office initially declined an offer of help from the state police. After reversing that decision, the sheriff’s office will remain the lead agency on the investigation, but will now receive assistance in the form of extra investigators as well as forensic and medical examiner services. The paper quoted Means’ widow, who had been critical of the conduct of the sheriff’s office, as expressing “relief” at the development.

The story of Frank Means Oregon hunting death began to unfold on October 8 when his body was found near the town of Fossil, according to television station KGW. Investigators say they are looking for potential witnesses, but no one has been taken into custody. An official from the sheriff’s office told Means’ widow her husband had been killed in “some kind of hunting dispute,” the television station reported.

October 20, 2009

Lane County jury sides with mower company in toddler injury lawsuit

by Matthew D. Kaplan

After a ten-day trial, a Lane County Oregon jury cleared John Deere company and a local distributor of liability in a 2006 Oregon riding mower accident that caused a toddler to lose her leg. The Eugene child injury took place when Kurt Norton accidentally backed over his daughter Isabelle, then age 3.

Isabelle and her family sought $11 million in damages, arguing that poor design made the John Deere riding mower unreasonably dangerous. By a series of 9-3 votes the jury did not agree.

Government and academic studies show lawn mower injuries to be surprisingly common, with riding mowers alone accounting for 37,000 injuries each year, according to a government study. The Consumer Product Safety Commission report examined data from the years 2003-2005. A broader study, conducted by Ohio State University, looked at 15 years of data noting that an average of 9400 children were injured each year over the survey period. The researchers concluded that “injuries related to lawn mowers are an important cause of pediatric morbidity” for which “current prevention strategies are inadequate.”

October 19, 2009

Silverton man’s death in Paris raises questions

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A 21-year old Oregonian’s apparent murder while on a visit to Paris has shocked friends and family here at home, but it also highlights complex – if all too common – Oregon wrongful death issues that most families can only tackle with the assistance of an experienced Silverton wrongful death lawyer.

Portland TV station KPTV, quoting the victim’s family, reported that a homicide investigation is underway in France with both the FBI and the US embassy in Paris assisting local police in the French capital.

French police say Justin Little was killed by one or more blows to the head with a cinder block as he sat on a park bench in Aulnay-sous-Bois, a slum-like suburb that lies north-east of Paris on the road to Charles de Gaulle International Airport. The area is well off Paris’ beaten path, and it remains unclear why the young traveler had ventured into a neighborhood few tourists ever visit.

October 17, 2009

Oregon boating death raises safety concerns

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A Savage Rapids boat accident that left one person dead and three injured highlights the necessity of talking to an experienced Oregon personal injury attorney when pleasure excursions go wrong and result in an Oregon boat accident.

Jeff Bradley, 39, a member of a boat racing team, died last Friday in an Oregon jet boat accident when his boat flipped over as he was guiding his 12-year old son and two other passengers through Savage Rapids on the Rogue River in southern Oregon. All three passengers were thrown clear of the Savage Rapids jet boat accident, but Bradley was pinned underneath the boat and dragged 300 yards down the river. The accident occurred near the site of the Savage Rapids Dam, which workers recently breached as part of the process of removing it from the river.

Whenever tragic accidents like this happen it is best to consult immediately with an Oregon boat accident lawyer. Legal consul can be essential both to exercise your responsibilities for legal reporting and to protect your rights if someone else may be even partially at fault for the accident. This is particularly the case if you believe the accident may have resulted in an Oregon wrongful death.

October 12, 2009

8 Vehicle Eugene Crash Injures Two People

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.

October 5, 2009

Oregon Motorcycle Crash Kills Two

by Matthew D. Kaplan

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.