All Topics

• Wrongful Death Lawsuit Still Possible For Worker's Family?

  Staff Writer | July 20, 2006 11:53 AM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  In a case involving the family of Felix Juarez, a worker at the Windsor Island Mine who died from head injuries after being struck by a backhoe bucket, the Oregon Supreme Court rejected the workers' comp suit. The justices made a unanimous decision that the Oregon Constitution did not automatically give the family the right to sue a company for negligence that resulted in its worker's death....

• Hospital Liability Cap Overruled in Medical Malpractice Case

  Staff Writer | July 19, 2006 1:15 PM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  Though a state law limits jury awards against public agencies to $200,000, the Oregon Court of Appeals ruled on July 5 that the family of a brain-damaged child could sue for millions of dollars. The family of Jordaan Michael Clarke sued Oregon Health & Science University for more than $17 million alleging their boy suffered permanent brain damage in 1998 due to medical malpractice while a...

• North Portland Car Accident Kills Man

  Staff Writer | July 18, 2006 9:43 AM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  A sixty-seven year-old Portland man was killed this weekend when his Ford Explorer rolled over during a crash in North Portland around North Chautauqua Blvd. and North Columbia Blvd.According to police, the man who was killed was slowly changing lanes when he struck another vehicle going in the same direction. The vehicle he struck ended up with minimal damage, but the man's Ford Explorer...

• Hypertension Drugs Linked to Birth Defects

  Staff Writer | July 16, 2006 1:19 PM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  Fellow blogger Denise Rubin in NY talks about the recent announcement that ACE inhibitors have been linked to birth defects in the first trimester of pregnancy, specifically problems with fetal skull development, kidney problems and growth inhibition. ACE inhibitors such as catopril and lisinopril are prescribed to treat hypertension and are popular medications used for kidney protection in...

• Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Group Home

  Staff Writer | July 14, 2006 1:02 PM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  The family of an Alabama woman who died as a result of injuries suffered during an incident at an Alabama group home has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the facility. Martha Sue Hall had been transferred from a different home to Grand Haven Group Home only three days before her death. She suffered "significant and catastrophic injuries leading to her death," the suit alleges. The Mental...

• Arizona Senator Wants Medical Malpractice Trials Sans Juries

  Staff Writer | April 24, 2006 7:25 AM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  My colleague in Phoenix, Randall Udelman, takes issue with Arizona senator Jon Kyl. Kyl wants to solve the "medical malpractice crisis" by trying with medical malpractice cases without juries. I agree with Randy that this is a ridiculous idea. Be sure to check out his comprehensive medical malpractice and tort reform section.

• Asphalt truck and car collide in Washington County

  Staff Writer | March 30, 2006 8:05 PM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  Truck vs car collisions can have serious consequences for the car occupants, like this truck accident story from kgw.com. Serious injuries and large medical expenses mean that a successful claim for personal injury is important for the car occupants' to get out of a mountain of debt. Finding the right lawyer is the best first step for protecting your rights or your loved ones' rights when...

• Hit and Run Accident with Bicyclist in Gresham

  Staff Writer | March 05, 2006 7:48 PM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  Police have arrested the suspected driver of a car that hit a bicyclist on Saturday. The Hit and run suspect turned himself in. It happened at Southeast 165th and Stark just before 3 p.m. Police say the suspect was driving a mid 1990s black Honda sedan and hit the cyclist, then drove away, hitting a truck at 162nd and Burnside. No one was hurt in that crash.Police later found the suspect car was...

• Why the Employer and Others are Responsible--Vicarious Liability

  Staff Writer | February 09, 2006 1:57 PM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  Vicarious liability is liability which the law places on someone because of their relationship to the bad actor. The basic rationale is that when a bad actor is working for another within the course and scope of his employment, then the employer is benefitting from the bad actor's conduct and has to take the good with the bad. In most cases, the employer is not responsible for the conduct of an...

• Arbitration and Mediation

  Staff Writer | January 19, 2006 11:44 AM | 0 CommentsPortland, OR

  Arbitration and mediation are forms of "alternative dispute resolution," meaning that they are alternatives to trying the case to a jury or to negotiating the case directly with the other side. Mediation is essentially a settlement negotiation with someone (the mediator) facilitating the negotiations. Neither side is required to do anything or to accept the mediator's suggestions. The...