Oregon Injury Lawyer Blog

December 15, 2010

Government Study Details Shocking Increase in Hospitalizations for Dog Bites

A newly released government study examining hospitalizations resulting from dog bites lays out some attention-grabbing data: between 1993 and 2008 the number of people hospitalized nationwide as a result of dog bites nearly doubled. Reporting the data the New York Times noted that this “increase vastly exceeded population growth, and pet ownership increased only slightly during the same period.” The study was conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a unit of the Department of Health and Human Services.

As an AHRQ news release notes, those under the age of 5 or over 65 are in the greatest danger for dog bites. The most common form of hospital treatment required is for “skin and underlying tissue infection”, though in a small number of cases much more serious conditions – such as multiple fractures or blood poisoning – can develop following a serious dog attack.

The study notes that around 4.5 million people are bitten by dogs each year and that only a fraction of these incidents require hospitalization. Still, as the study’s author, Dr. Anne Elixhauser, told the Times, referencing the huge increase in injuries serious enough to require hospitalization: “It’s really kind of frightening, and, unfortunately, we’re at a loss to explain it.”

December 12, 2010

Families Face Difficult Choices in Wake of Mine Disaster

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Nine months after an explosion in a West Virginia coal mine left 29 mine worker dead, the Wall Street Journal reports that many families torn apart by the tragedy remain unsure of their next legal steps forward. Their stories contain many lessons for Oregon families thrown into similarly tragic circumstances as the result of an Oregon wrongful death or industrial accident.

As the paper reports, within days of the mine explosion the board of Massey Energy Company, one of the largest and most powerful companies in West Virginia, offered each family a settlement: $3 million in compensation for the death, lost wages and lost companionship of their loved-one, in exchange for giving up any right to sue the company. The Journal reports that, at present, only seven families have agreed to the company’s settlement, and that “in at least two cases family members are at odds and plan to let a court decide which path they should take.”

For the families the choice is a painful one. As the Journal quotes one victim’s father, himself a miner, saying: “I don’t think it’s justifiable that they want to put a dollar sign on my boy.” As the article notes, the families of workers involved in other industrial accidents often face similarly agonizing choices.

December 9, 2010

Government Safety Watchdog Slams Oregon Company Over Helicopter Crash

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A scathing statement released Tuesday by the National Transportation Safety Board cites “a series of improper actions” by a Grant’s Pass, Oregon contractor leading up to a 2008 crash that killed nine firefighters in California. According to a report in The Oregonian, the NTSB’s chairwoman found some actions by the company, Carson Helicopters, “so distressing that the NTSB has alerted the Department of Transportation’s inspector general to investigate in more detail, looking for possible criminal wrongdoing.”

The NTSB statement (see link below) paints a devastating picture of corporate negligence and deception. Referring to Carson, whose helicopters were contracted out to the US Forest Service for firefighting purposes, the NTSB writes: “The contractor’s actions included the intentional alteration of weight documents and performance charts and the use of unapproved performance calculations.”

Though the NTSB also found fault with actions by both the Forest Service and the Federal Aviation Administration, “Carson’s actions were so egregious – so egregious – that they have to go first,” NTSB member Robert Sumwalt told The Oregonian.

December 6, 2010

State Officials Highlight Growing Problem of Oregon Elder Abuse

by Matthew D. Kaplan

With recent statistical reports demonstrating that elder abuse is a rising problem here in the United States, media reports here in Oregon indicate that officials at the state Department of Human Services fear our state may have become part of this disturbing trend.

According to a recent article published in The Daily Astorian, “national studies estimate 3 to 5 million seniors, aged 65 and older, have experienced abuse – but only 1 in 5 cases are reported.” Adult Protective Services agents are asking family members to keep an eye out for signs of trouble, particularly as we enter the holiday season.

Elder Abuse can take many forms, and need not be physical in nature. As an information page at the Oregon Department of Human Services’ website (see link below) outlines, Oregon elder abuse can take many forms. These may involve Oregon medical malpractice or nursing home neglect, but can also include financial exploitation or psychological and emotional trauma.

December 2, 2010

Oregon Car Accidents Up Significantly Over Holiday Weekend

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A post-holiday news release from the Oregon State Police notes that the state recorded three Oregon fatal car crashes over the just-concluded Thanksgiving holiday weekend. The statement notes that this represents an increase over the same period during the last two years. Only two people died on Oregon’s roads over the 2009 Thanksgiving weekend, an identical figure to 2008. The statement noted, however, that the number of Oregon car crashes troopers responded to skyrocketed this year: “troopers reported responding to over 300 traffic crashes, nearly 2-1/2 times the number reported during last year’s Thanksgiving holiday period,” the statement said.

The statement noted that icy road conditions, particularly in Eastern Oregon, were a factor in all three of the state’s fatal holiday weekend accidents. The unusually high number of non-fatal crashes, however, are a special cause for concern as the vast majority of them cannot be attributed to bad weather.

In Gearhart, for example, a 21-year-old driver was cited by police on Thanksgiving Day for his role in a two-car accident that left one person seriously enough injured to require medical evacuation to Portland.

November 30, 2010

Corvallis Wrongful Death Issues Raised by Oregon Truck Crash

by Matthew D. Kaplan

The death of a young Corvallis man on Thanksgiving Day as the result of an Oregon motor vehicle accident involving an armored car was a sad reminder of the dangers of driving on holiday weekends and has left a number of legal questions potentially unresolved.

Joseph Michael Pablo was riding in the back of an armored car early on the morning before Thanksgiving when the vehicle’s driver lost control, according to reports in the Corvallis Gazette-Times and the Salem Statesman-Journal. The accident took place off Highway 99W near Monmouth, southwest of Salem. The Gazette-Times reports that Pablo’s armored “truck was headed south and veered off the right side of the road, hit a tree and rolled several times before coming to rest on its roof.”

Pablo had been riding in the back of the truck as part of his job as a guard working for the company operating the vehicle. Pablo was transported to an area hospital in critical condition and died of his injuries the following day. The truck’s driver at the time of the Oregon fatal truck accident was not seriously injured and did not require hospitalization. He was cited for Oregon careless driving, according to the Gazette-Times.

November 24, 2010

New Research Confirms Dangers Posed by ATVs

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Back in August I wrote about the dangers posed to children by ATVs, and the effort in Massachusetts to cut the number of deaths and injuries to young riders through a new law banning ATV use by kids 14 and younger. Now we have even more evidence of the need for such laws, and the need for accountability among ATV manufacturers.

According to a recent article in the trade publication The Safety Record, a new study conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Injury Research and Policy looks at ATV-related hospitalizations and injuries to children between 1997 and 2006. The study found a huge spike in both categories among children during that time period. The numbers are particularly noteworthy because, as The Safety Record notes, it was during this time that a 10-year consent agreement between the Consumer Product Safety Commission and ATV manufacturers expired. Under that agreement, reached in 1988, the manufacturers offered “free training for riders, warning labels, a public education campaign and a ban on three-wheeled ATVs,” the publication notes. Once the agreement expired some manufacturers continued to honor it voluntarily, but others did not.

During the 1997-2006 period, the study found, ATV-related injuries to children (defined as 17 years old or younger) increased by 150 percent overall. Some sub-groups showed even more alarming jumps: notably 15-17 year old boys, among whom injuries increased by 260 percent. “All-Terrain vehicles are inherently dangerous to children,” the report quotes Dr. Stephen Bowman, a Johns Hopkins professor and the study’s lead author, saying.

November 22, 2010

Fatal Central Oregon Car Crash Also Injures 10

by Matthew D. Kaplan

A pick-up truck running a stop sign caused an Oregon two-car crash that left one dead and ten injured, according to a report at MyCentralOregon.com. The crash took place on Highway 361 near Culver, in Central Oregon and was serious enough to require mobilizing troopers from two separate OSP barracks as well as the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office along with emergency medical personnel from both Jefferson County and Warm Springs.

According to the website, the accident took place when a pick-up driven by 28-year-old Andrea Orozco of Madras ran a stop sign and collided with a Toyota driven by Linda Ross, 61, of Metolius. The site reports: “The impact caused the Toyota to travel west where it came to rest off the highway. (Orozco’s) Ford Expedition traveled travelled northwest and overturned before coming to rest on its side.”

A passenger in Ross’ Toyota died from injuries sustained in the Oregon car crash several hours after the accident, while Ross herself was hospitalized with what the website report describes as “serious injuries”. Orozco was carrying eight passengers – two adults and six children ages 2 to 14. She and all of her passengers were transported to area hospitals with what were also described as “serious injuries”.

November 21, 2010

Traffic Data Again Highlights Dangers for Portland Pedestrians

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Hard on the tragic death of a Portland toddler in a Portland pedestrian accident, and new statistical evidence that the danger to pedestrians is increasing here in Oregon, the Portland Tribune has published an analysis highlighting some of the metro area’s worst intersections.

According to the paper, “Northeast Marine Drive now ranks No. 1 on the city’s new list of most dangerous stretches, with 16 fatalities in the past 10 years.” It is important to note that while Northeast Marine has seen the largest number of fatalities, the worst stretch of road for crashes overall is Southeast Powell Boulevard. Though there have been fewer pedestrian deaths there over the past decade (nine, versus the 16 on Northeast Marine), the overall crash rate is significantly higher than anywhere else in the city: 5345, including a stunning 356 just at the intersection of Southeast Powell and 82nd Avenue. See below for a link to the original article, which includes the full list.

The last few weeks have provided both tragic evidence for and statistical validation of the belief that reckless drivers need to be held to account for their actions. Crossing the street should not be the dangerous and life-threatening experience it has become in some parts of Portland. In recounting the story of one accident, the Tribune notes that the busy intersection on Burnside where it took place “is nearly impossible to cross on foot, though it is, in fact, a legal crosswalk.”

November 18, 2010

Study Highlights Dangers of Portland Bicycle Accidents

by Matthew D. Kaplan

Portland takes justifiable pride in being one of the most bicycle-friendly communities in America. According to US Census figures, quoted by The Oregonian, Portland leads all larger American cities in the percentage of our population that uses bikes to commute to work or school. Bike friendliness can, however, come with a price. According to the same analysis by the newspaper, a recent study by the Oregon Health and Science University found that bike commuters are at significantly high risk for injury than drivers or more occasional riders when it comes to Oregon bike accidents.

According to the paper, an astonishing 20 percent of all Portland bike commuters report being injured in an Oregon bicycle accident during the last year. The good news is that many of those accidents were minor (so minor what the article quotes some local bike advocates complaining that the study used too broad a definition of “accident”). Fully one-quarter of Portland bike accidents, however, were serious enough to require “medical attention.”

Put another way: “Compared with auto commuters, bicyclists are 12 times more likely to be seriously injured in a crash, largely because they are far more vulnerable, the study says.” The biggest thing we can do to lower those numbers, according to the authors, is to “focus on improving the safety of the bicycle commuting environment.” Or, in plain English, we can concentrate not only on improving and maintaining the city’s bike infrastructure, but also on enforcing the traffic laws.