Archive for the ‘Personal Injury’ Category

Oregon Chipotle Corporations Must Be Held Accountable for E-Coli Sickness and Injury

Wednesday, November 4th, 2015

Thankfully, Oregon is known to have a robust health department and many clean and sanitary restaurants.  Despite these safety measures, at least 40 people recently have become sick due to apparent e-coli outbreaks at the popular Chipotle food chain.  E-coli must be taken seriously; the bacteria can result in organ failure and other life threatening or permanent injuries.  Children and elderly tend to be especially vulnerable to severe health consequences from e-coli. According to Oregon Live, a teenager remains hospitalized from eating at a Chipotle just a few miles from here in Lake Oswego.  When the food protection net fails us, the Oregon legal system levies strict liability against corporate food conglomerates for the harm caused by their unsafe and contaminated food.

 

 

Tractor-Trailer Speeds Wrong Way Down Interstate

Monday, March 18th, 2013

Oregon Live has reported a tractor-trailer was speeding 85 m.p.h. the wrong way down the freeway when it crashed into an oncoming vehicle during the early morning commute.  The tractor-trailer operator is being detained by Portland Police while the investigation continues.  Under Oregon and federal law, tractor-trailer operators and their employers are held to strict safety standards to try to prevent tragedy and punish misconduct.  The massive size and weight makes big rigs like “moving bombs” on our roadways.  Our concern and sympathy goes out to the victim and his or her family as the driver of the vehicle slammed into by the tractor-trailer is reportedly in the hospital has been hospitalized.  Here is a link to the Oregon Live article.

PERSONAL INJURY UPDATE: HIT BY DRUNK DRIVER?

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Under Oregon law, an injured victim of a drunk driver is entitled to recover “punitive damages” from the drunk driver in addition to appropriate compensation for medical bills, future care costs, lost wages, and out-of-pocket expenses.  ORS 31.730 et seq.  Over the years, I have helped numerous injured people recover their full damages under law caused by a drunk driver.  CALL TODAY FOR A FREE CONSULTATION IF YOU HAVE BEEN INJURED BY A DRUNK DRIVER (503) 675-4370.

 

Summer Travel Almost Here – Tips on Child Travel Safety

Wednesday, May 9th, 2012

The summer travel season is almost here.  Whether traveling by automobile or airplane this summer, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) provides a lot of useful information for parents traveling with young children.  Here is where to find the NTSB website.  Keep kids safe, avoid injury, and have a great summer!

 

Listeria, Cantaloupe, and Who to Call

Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

If you have cantaloupe sitting in your house, check the updated FDA Recall Notice here.  If the source of your cantaloupe is in doubt, then it is recommended to discard the cantaloupe without consumption.  After doing so, you may wish to call the farm where the contaminated cantaloupe has been sourced–Jensen Farms in Colorado.  Jensen Farms set up a contact email and phone number to address questions Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.  Here is the contact information published on by ABC news:  email at email hidden; JavaScript is required or phone (800) 267-4561 Monday through Friday between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Of course, if you or someone you know has suspects having contracted listeria or any other foodborne illness by eating contaminated food, never call the at-fault party directly.  Immediately call your doctor and your local health department to protect your health, and call a qualified personal injury attorney to protect your legal rights.

Lake Oswego Teenager Recklessly Injures Passenger in Weekend Street Race

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Over the weekend, a Lake Oswego teenager, Cameron Rathmanner, crashed during an illegal street race in Washington County.  The crash sent Mr. Rathmanner’s teenage passenger to OHSU with critical injuries as reported in the Oregonian. The reckless driving of Mr. Rathmanner is clearly grounds for punitive damages by his teenage passenger and her family.  While there is no amount of money that can truly compensate a victim in this type of preventable tragedy, hopefully there is enough automobile insurance coverage to pay all past and future medical expenses as well as begin to make up a little bit for the pain, suffering, and rehabilitative challenges that undoubtedly lay ahead for the young passenger-victim.  In addition, punitive damages are society’s way of deterring future reckless conduct through the civil justice system.

People Can Be Proud of the Work Done by Catastrophic Injury Attorneys

Sunday, July 11th, 2010

When people get seriously hurt by the dangerous choices of others, a chain of events follows that devastates victims and their family, friends, and even communities.  Serious personal injuries force people out of good jobs, cost families many thousands of dollars in medical expenses, strain and sometimes ruin family relationships, cause irreversible and permanent damage to lifestyle and ordinary activities, inflict daily pain and numerous personal burdens, as well as burden our community’s workforce, government services, and health care system.  Make no mistake, insurance companies have spent millions of advertising dollars to distract the public from these crushing realities that result from catastrophic and preventable injuries.  Notwithstanding the propaganda pushed by the insurance industry, it is my personal and everyday experience that a primary job of the catastrophic injury attorney is to help put the injured person’s life back together and, in turn, also help repair families and communities.  When this happens, I’m proud of the job done by my fellow catastrophic injury attorneys.  While it would be nice if the public thought so too, it doesn’t really matter as long as a dedicated and caring personal injury attorney still keeps working hard for the “little guy” who gets hurt through no fault of his (or her) own.

Ben Roethlisberger Could Face Another Personal Injury Lawsuit Under Civil Burden of Proof

Monday, April 12th, 2010

At approximately 2:00 p.m. local time, people in Pittsburgh, PA and around the country took a break from their day to learn that Ben Roethlisberger would not be criminally prosecuted for the alleged sexual assault of a college student in Georgia.  The District Attorney who made the decision not to prosecute was clear he could not prove the case against Roethlisberger, “beyond a reasonable doubt”.  That standard of proof is used universally throughout the United States as the benchmark of guilt–if someone is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt”, then they are legally guilty of a crime.  If a prosecutor can’t prove that a crime occurred “beyond a reasonable doubt”, then it would be unethical and unconstitutional to go forward with the prosecution.  Nonetheless, the facts in a case, including in Roethlisberger’s situation, may be enough to prove that he broke the law “more probably than not”.  That is the burden of proof for a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit for personal injury or sexual assault and battery.   Thus, if the alleged victim chooses to file suit, she and her attorney must do so with a good faith belief they can prove an injury, assault, or battery was committed on a, “more probable than not basis”.  In time, we will learn if the Georgia incident will result in a civil lawsuit against Roethlisberger just as the Nevada incident gave rise to a sexual assault lawsuit without criminal prosecution.  While there are many reasons why there may be a civil case but no criminal case, the different burden of proof fundamentally explains why this duality can legally occur in our justice system.