Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

January 16, 2011

Central Oregon Car Crash Leads to Drunk Driving Arrest

A dramatic Oregon car accident near Redmond landed a 25-year-old Prineville woman in prison on suspicion of Oregon drunk driving, according to the Bend Bulletin.

The newspaper reports that Deneice Tebbits “was driving south a few miles south of Redmond shortly before 7 a.m. (last Wednesday) when she attempted to pass a line of cars and spun out of control, crossed three lanes of traffic, and struck a northbound vehicle.” According to MyCentralOregon.com neither Tebbits nor the driver of the car she hit were injured, but Tebbits was arrested at the scene and charged with suspicion of Oregon DUII.

If there were ever a case that illustrates the many dangers of Oregon drunk driving this has to be it. Based on media reporting of the case, we allegedly have an impaired driver (at seven o’clock in the morning!) endangering both herself and a significant other number of motorists.

January 14, 2011

Three Injured in Walterville Crash

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A local fire department official had to be rescued by his own colleagues after causing an Oregon injury car wreck near Walterville, the Eugene Register-Guard reports. The Oregon car accident took place on Highway 126 last Sunday and resulted in three injuries, one of which was described as “serious” in media reports.

The newspaper, quoting witnesses and the local police, reported that a Toyota driven by Michael McCall was “weaving in and out of its lane and traveling in the opposing lane before it crashed into an oncoming Ford Taurus occupied by two Eugene residents.”

McCall, described as “a volunteer lieutenant with McKenzie Fire & Rescue” had to be rescued from the wreck by his fire department colleagues. He was transported to a hospital in Springfield and treated for serious injuries following the Oregon head-on collision. The driver and passenger in the Taurus were transported to a different Springfield hospital with injuries that were described as non-life threatening.

January 12, 2011

Federal Study Ranks Oregon #1 in Seat Belt Use

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A study released last week by the federal government’s Centers for Disease Control & Prevention ranked Oregon first among states in seat belt use, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. According to the CDC an admirable 94% of Oregonians said they always wear seat belts. California came a close second in the survey at 93.2% while Washington was third at 92% (in case you are wondering, North Dakota came in last at 59.2%). These figures compare with a national average of 85%, according to the CDC.

The results testify to the effectiveness of seat belt laws here in Oregon and elsewhere on the West Coast, and serve as a reminder of the importance of responsible driving habits. Seat belt use is required by law in every state except New Hampshire (48th on the seat belt use table – ahead of only the two Dakotas).

As the CDC’s Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden, noted in a statement announcing the study findings, “1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip. If everyone in the vehicle buckled up every time, we could further reduce one of the leading causes of death.”

January 10, 2011

Back-to-Back Oregon Pedestrian Accidents Highlight Continued Traffic Dangers

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Two serious Portland pedestrian accidents only hours apart – one of them fatal – highlight the danger pedestrians continue to face here in northern Oregon, despite a renewed public focus on the issue in recent months.

The first accident took place last Monday on Southeast 82nd Avenue where a 27-year old pedestrian was hit by a car and run over by not one but two vehicles, according to a report in The Oregonian. The victim is hospitalized in serious condition. According to an OSP spokesperson, the Oregon pedestrian car accident began when she was struck while crossing 82nd Avenue in a marked crosswalk Monday afternoon. A pick-up truck traveling behind the car that hit the pedestrian ran over her as it attempted to drive around the first car. The driver of the first car, apparently startled, then moved her vehicle – in the process running over the victim a second time. Neither driver was cited in the incident, according to The Oregonian, but an investigation is still under way.

The second Portland car accident took place Tuesday evening. Unlike the first accident, where both drivers are cooperating with police, this was a hit-and-run, and a reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of the driver, according to The Oregonian. The accident, on Southeast Division St, led to the death of a pedestrian who was struck “as he crossed the wide road”, the newspaper reports. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

January 7, 2011

McMinnville Truck Crash Kills One

by Matthew D. Kaplan

New Year’s Eve and the days leading up to it are always among the most dangerous times to be on the road be it here in Oregon or elsewhere in the country. This year was no exception. According to the Salem Statesman-Journal one death and a serious injury resulted from an Oregon truck crash near McMinnville in the hours before the New Years festivities kicked off.

According to the newspaper the wreck took place in the early hours of December 30 when a car “crossed the centerline and collided with a semi hauling a tanker trailer in the other direction” on Highway 18 northeast of McMinnville. As a result of the accident and subsequent investigations the highway was closed for most of the day, the paper reported.

Attempts by the semi to avoid a Central Oregon truck crash with the car, a Hyundai, caused another semi to be involved in the crash. As it rolled off of Highway 18’s eastbound lane the first semi also caught fire. According to the Statesman-Journal, neither of the truck drivers was injured. A passenger in the Hyundai, however, died of his injuries shortly after being transported to a local hospital. The Hyundai’s driver was hospitalized with what police described as serious injuries.

January 5, 2011

FTC Urged to Investigate Football Helmets

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Senator Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) is making headlines this week as the man leading efforts by Senate Democrats to reform rules governing filibusters. As the New Year begins he also, however, is emerging as the congressional point person for a very different issue: traumatic brain injuries, specifically those sustained while playing football.

According to The New York Times, Udall is calling on the Federal Trade Commission to “investigate what he called “misleading safety claims and deceptive practices” among helmet manufacturers and refurbishers.”

As I noted in this post last fall, safety standards for football helmets have not changed meaningfully since the early 1970s. The Times article notes that Udall “took specific aim at Riddell, the official helmet manufacturer of the N.F.L., for its prominent claim that its popular Revolution models decrease concussion risk by 31 percent.” Udall contends that the testing standards used to evaluate helmets – along with much of the advertising based on those tests – are misleading. A spokesman for the company told the Times that Riddell welcomes the scrutiny, but hopes other helmet manufacturers will be subjected to it as well.

January 3, 2011

Court Rules for Openness in Toyota Settlements

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A ruling late last month by a California judge could hold significant long-term benefits for Oregon accident victims. The judge struck a blow for openness and, in so doing, may make it a bit easier for accident victims across the country to obtain justice when they face off against large corporations.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the judge ruled that Toyota “cannot keep secret the terms of a settlement it made with the family of four people killed in a Lexus accident outside San Diego last year.” The paper reports that the 2009 accident was attributed to “sudden acceleration” by the vehicle. This is, in fact, the accident that touched off the multiple vehicle recalls that caused Toyota so many headaches last year.

Interestingly, both Toyota and the victims’ families had asked that details of their settlement be sealed, arguing that public disclosure could taint any subsequent legal proceedings. The judge rejected that claim, writing that “in this case, the right to know overpowers the concerns raised by the plaintiffs and the defendants.” A Toyota spokesman described the carmaker as “disappointed” in the ruling, but did not say whether the company will appeal, according to the newspaper.

December 30, 2010

New Study Raises Wrongful Death and Medical Malpractice Questions Concerning Strokes

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A medical journal study released this month offers alarming evidence about the long-term prospects for stroke victims and raises broader questions about the way hospitals treat them. The study, originally published in the medical journal Stroke, and reported on by a number of mainstream media outlets, found that, as summarized by Bloomberg Businessweek: “within a year of having a stroke, almost two-thirds of Medicare patients die or wind up back in the hospital.”

According to Businessweek, the study looked at data covering over 91,000 Medicare patients at 625 hospitals nationwide. It covered the years 2003 to 2006 and found no change in the rates of rehospitalization or death over that period. One caveat, noted by outside experts interviewed by the magazine, is that a study like this – one focusing on older patients – can have a difficult time controlling for other medical issues the patients may be experiencing.

The study uncovered a death rate of 14.1 percent within the first 30 days after a stroke and 31.1 percent within a year. More alarmingly, “61.9 percent of stroke patients were readmitted to hospital or died within a year of their stroke,” Businessweek notes.

December 28, 2010

AT&T Documentary Spotlights Distracted Driving

by Matthew D. Kaplan

As we head into the New Year’s Eve weekend one of the nation’s largest cellphone companies is taking a proactive stance against distracted driving. AT&T has released an 11-minute video documentary, entitled “The Last Text,” to raise awareness of the dangers of texting behind the wheel as we head into the final weekend of the holiday season.

The video can be viewed at both of the source links below, as well as on YouTube. It is part of a broader anti-texting publicity campaign sponsored by AT&T under the umbrella title “It Can Wait.” The documentary “features stories about people whose lives were adversely affected by texting behind the wheel,” according to a report in USA Today.

Oregon, of course, has had a distracted driving law in place for almost exactly one year. That law makes texting by drivers illegal under pretty much any circumstances but, as I noted in a post just last week evading the ban is relatively easy and the fine for getting caught ($90) is relatively low. The Oregon distracted driving law is still too new for any significant body of data to have been gathered concerning its enforcement.

December 27, 2010

Texas Reforms Undermine Patient’s Rights – Weaken Medical Malpractice Remedies

by Matthew D. Kaplan

In looking at ways to contain the ever-rising cost of health care in America tort reform – a fancy way of saying ‘making it harder to sue bad doctors’ – is often cited as a quick fix. A recent article in the New York Times, however, underlines in the most harrowing ways possible the consequences that can arise when a legislature lets the urge to cut doctors costs outrun its concern for patients rights.

As the article details, in 2003 Texas changed its tort laws with the goal of making it “more difficult for patients to win damages in any health care setting, but especially emergency rooms.” The state’s big idea was to cap damage awards with the goal of bringing down doctors’ insurance rates: noneconomic damages in Texas are now limited to $250,000 from each health care provider and $750,000 overall.

The legislature also, however, sought to provide extra protection to emergency room doctors, on the grounds that they must often make split-second life-or-death decisions and, thus, should be insulated from frivolous lawsuits. It is a laudable goal in theory: reform that makes life easier for the hardest-pressed doctors and, in the process, lowers their insurance rates. To achieve this, however, the legislature used sweeping language, declaring that emergency room doctors cannot be sued at all unless a victim can show the doctor acted with “willful and wanton negligence”. In practice, as the Times notes, that standard has proven virtually impossible to meet.