Category Archives: Lawsuits Against the State
Woman Crashed into Patrol Car Making a U-Turn to Chase Speeding Vehicle
Date: May 9, 2012
Location: Highway 38, near milepost 53, east of Drain
Names: Heather McDonald, Charles Mapes
A young Drain woman was injured when a Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputy made a U-turn in front of her to chase a speeding vehicle on Highwy 38. OSP is conducting a crash investigation into the incident, which occurred Wednesday morning around 8 a.m.
The report on OregonLive.com said Heather McDonald, 20, from Drain, was driving a 1999 Honda Prelude northbound on Highway 38, about four miles east of Drain. McDonald was following a patrol car being driven by DCSO Deputy Charles Mapes, 46.
When Deputy Mapes spotted a speeding southbound vehicle, he pulled onto the right shoulder, then attempted a U-turn across the two northbound lanes, but Mapes was unable to avoid the patrol vehicle. The two vehicles collided, and the Honda’s airbags deployed.
Mapes was not injured in the collision, but McDonald was transported to Cottage Grove Community Hospital for treatment of what were described as minor injuries.
We would like to wish Heather McDonald a full and speedy recovery from her injuries after this unfortunate accident.
As Portland car accident attorneys, we know that filing an insurance claim can be extremely complicated and stressful. After a crash like this, any injured person can seek compensation through the at-fault driver’s insurance policy, or through their own uninsured motorist coverage.
Steps to Take for Filing an Insurance Claim after an Oregon Accident:
- Get medical treatment. If you’ve been injured, waiting to seek medical treatment can greatly affect the value of your claim.
- Right after the accident, write down any details you remember.
- Contact your insurance company and get a copy of your insurance policy if you don’t have one. Talk to your adjuster about using your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage for medical treatment, lost wages, etc.
- Determine the amount of property damage done.
- Start keeping good records. Get the police report, copies of medical bills, pictures of your car before and after repairs, etc.
- If you are considering hiring a lawyer, talk to the lawyer before you talk to the other driver’s insurance company.
- If you know you are not going to hire an attorney, contact the insurance company for the other driver yourself. Be honest, but do not give a recorded statement and do not admit any liability.
- Get all correspondence with both insurance companies in writing.
- Do not sign anything until you are done treating and are medically stationary.
- Check the statute of limitations on your claim. For most car accidents in Oregon, the time limit is two years, but this is not true for all cases. In some cases, you will only have 180 days – speaking to an attorney can clarify your time limits.
- Discuss your case with a car accident attorney in Portland who offers free consultations to start understanding the laws that affect your case and your rights as an accident victim.
But before you speak to the insurance adjuster or an attorney, you can learn more about the Oregon insurance claim process in the very helpful book, 7 Common Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Oregon Accident Case.
SW Jefferson St. Tree Injured Portland Woman Walking By
Date: March 21, 2012
Location: Southwest Jefferson Street, Portland
Name: Sabrina Vanriette
A Portland woman is in fair condition at OHSU Hospital after being struck by the branches of a massive tree that fell down on Southwest Jefferson Street Wednesday afternoon. The tree also took out at least four windows of the church tower at St. James Lutheran Church. Some of the windows date back to 1907.
The report in KATU.com said Sabrina Vanriette, 52, was walking on the sidewalk near the church at about 4:40 p.m., when the tree simply fell over, and the branches crashed down all around her. Portland Fire and Rescue spokesman Paul Corah said Vanriette was examined by emergency responders called to the scene and then taken to OHSU Hospital, where she is listed in fair condition. Vanriette’s brother said she suffered a broken collarbone and is lucky to be alive.
The tree that fell appeared to be either a large elm or oak tree, more than three feet in diameter, about 75 feet tall and probably about 100 years old.
We would like to wish Sabrina Vanriette a full recovery after her frightening ordeal, and we hope she is out of the hospital soon.
If a city, state, county, or other public body is being sued, a Tort Claim Notice must be received by the entity being sued within 180 days of the injury. Don’t miss this deadline! ORS 30.275 contains the details. If you cannot figure them out by yourself, please call us. We are happy to help.
In Oregon, property owners are responsible for making certain their property is maintained safely, without any unreasonable dangers. Despite laws intended to protect people, many accidents still occur due to dangerous conditions.
Common types of premises liability cases include inadequate maintenance; for example when the property owner—in this case the City of Portland–fails to maintain a premises, like when a falling tree branch injures a passerby because it has not been properly trimmed.
If you have received injuries due to negligence by a property owner, contact a premises liability lawyer in Oregon to help you investigate, handle your case, and allow you to begin recovery.
Hubbard Man Killed in Rollover Crash
Date: February 26, 2012
Location: Whiskey Hill Road NE, east of Shank Road NE, east of Hubbard
Name: Jered Wayne Nichols
Just after 9 p.m. on Sunday, a motorist spotted a vehicle upside down in a ditch with its emergency flashers on and notified the police. When Marion County Sheriff’s Sergeant Don Sweet arrived on the scene and checked the vehicle, they discovered the Jeep’s sole occupant still inside. The report on Salem-News.com said Jered Wayne Nichols, 21, of Hubbard, had died from injuries sustained in the crash.
Investigators believe Nichols was eastbound on Whiskey Hill Road and failed to negotiate a slight bend. As the Jeep left the pavement, it straddled a guy wire attached to a power pole and flipped, landing in the ditch.
We would like to send our most sincere sympathies to the friends and family of Jered Nichols at this tragic time.
When a person tries to correct the wheel while driving, a car should skid, not roll over. It should be very difficult to make a car roll over. However, it’s an unfortunate truth that there are some models and makes of vehicles that roll over very easily. These makes and models are well known and there have been successful lawsuits against the companies who build, sell and profit from these vehicles. When a vehicle rolls over it may be entirely driver error or it may be partially driver error and partially poor design. The difference is that the driver error is to be expected. We all know that drivers sometimes make errors and sometimes a quick correction is necessary, for example, when a deer runs in the road or even a cow. A driver should be able to jerk the wheel, make a sudden maneuver around an obstacle or to correct a drift without the car flipping over and killing everyone inside it.
In addition to being more stable and less likely to roll over, a car should be designed so that if it does roll over, there is enough strength and stability in the roof that the people inside don’t get crushed. Whenever there’s a rollover crash like this one causing serious injury or even death it may be easy to blame the driver. But there is another very important factor. And that is the companies who are making this car who know very well that the car is dangerous but who do nothing to correct it because it would cut into their bottom line.
Woman Pulled from Car Seconds Before It Caught Fire
Date: February 21, 2012
Location: Highway 47, near Pebble Creek Road
Name: Andrea Hammond
A Milwaukie woman was pulled from her car by an alert Washington County employee seconds before her car was engulfed in flames. The accident happened Monday afternoon on Highway 47, near Pebble Creek Road.
Andrea Hammond, 22, was driving south on Highway 47 in a 1996 Toyota Camry, when the car left the highway while negotiating a curve. The car went down a 40-foot wooded embankment, rolling at least twice, and the car started to smoke. Moments later, Larry Elverud, 32, a utility worker with the Washington County Land Use & Transportation Department, was passing by and noticed the smoke at the side of the highway. He and his crew pulled over, and when he investigated, he found Hammond was still in the car. Elverud pulled her out of the driver’s side window, then he and two other motorists got Hammond back up the embankment. Within moments, the Camry was engulfed in flames.
Hammond was taken by ambulance to OHSU Hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries, according to the report in The Portland Tribune.
We send our best wishes to Andrea Hammond for a quick recovery, and we would like to congratulate Larry Elverud for his quick thinking and bravery, which may very well have averted a tragedy.
While accidents like this one can seem black or white, a closer investigation will sometimes turn up a surprise. Many will assume that Hammond was driving too fast or stopped paying attention for some reason. And perhaps that is exactly what happened. But there are many other possibilities as well. Poor road conditions may have caused this wreck – for all we know, there may have been a large pothole that has already caused three accidents. This accident took place on a curve in the highway, maybe there was no warning sign. If that is the case, there may be a lawsuit available against the city/county/state.
Such a lawsuit would allow the injured person to receive compensation and hopefully prevent future accidents on that stretch of road. Maybe the car was recently brought in for a tune-up, and the mechanic replaced the steering mechanism carelessly, and the car lost steering. These things happen, and when someone is seriously injured, a competent Oregon personal injury attorney can investigate and find out what happened. Usually at no cost. For more information on what to do in the case of an Oregon accident, contact our office or read 7 Common Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Oregon Accident Case.
Woman Hit by Tri-Met Bus in Tigard is in Critical Condition
Date: February 16, 2012
Location: Oregon 99W, north of Walnut Street, Tigard
Name: Zoe Ann Mead
A 51-year-old Tigard woman is in a critical condition in OHSU Hospital after being struck by a Tri-Met bus Thursday night. The woman’s mother witnessed the accident and told reporters her daughter’s condition is now “touch and go.”
A Tigard Police Department spokesman told KATU.com that Zoe Mead was walking with her mother when she ran across Highway 99W to get something from a convenience store. It was when Mead was returning from the store that she was struck by a Tri-Met bus that had turned left from Walnut Street onto Highway 99W. It was dark and Mead was reportedly about 10 to 15 yards north of the crosswalk when she was hit.
Emergency responders rushed Mead to OHSU Hospital with severe and life-threatening injuries. As of Friday morning, she remained in a critical condition.
The bus driver, a six-year Tri-Met veteran, has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation continues. She will be checked for drugs and alcohol, and the bus will be checked for mechanical faults, but police say none of these things appear to be factors in the accident.
We would like to send our most sincere and heartfelt best wishes to Zoe Mead, her mother and the rest of her family at this worrying time. Our thoughts are with you.
If a pedestrian is hit in a crosswalk, it is generally considered the driver’s fault. However, just like everything in the law, there are exceptions. If the pedestrian was wearing dark clothes, and it was dark, the driver can sometimes escape prosecution. Or if a pedestrian darts out unexpectedly into an intersection, the law may take the driver’s side too. This is a tricky case. It’s unclear exactly how near Zoe Mead was to the crosswalk, but all cases are different, of course, so contact a knowledgeable lawyer if you have any questions about your case.
Police Car In Crash on I-205, Three Hospitalized
Date: February 16, 2012
Location: I-205, near milepost 9, Abernethy Bridge
Names: Deputy Travis Hill, Justin Morey, Michell Morey
The old adage “It could happen to anyone” certainly came true Thursday morning, when a chain reaction of collisions was triggered by a Clackamas County Sheriff’s deputy’s car on Interstate 205. Three people were hospitalized after the accident, which occurred at around 7 a.m. on the Abernethy Bridge, near West Linn.
According to the report on Fox 12 Oregon, Deputy Travis Hall, 34, was southbound in the left lane when he approached the back of a Nissan Altima that had come to a virtual standstill due to traffic congestion. Hill was unable to stop in time to avoid the Nissan, but in his attempts to do so, he also veered left and crashed into the center concrete barrier. The initial impact with the Altima caused that car to crash into the back of a Volkswagen Bug directly in front of it.
When emergency responders arrived on the scene, they transported Hill and two passengers from the Nissan, Justin Morey, 35 and Michell Morey, 34, both from Oregon City, to local hospitals for treatment of injuries which were not deemed to be too serious. No one in the Volkswagen was injured, and a full investigation into the accident is continuing.
Many questions arise out of a car crash. And unfortunately, our minds don’t often focus on recovering; they usually go directly to the financial – medical bills, insurance policies, lost wages. How will the Moreys and the other people affected by this accident get through it? Who is responsible for the damage to the Volkswagen in a case like this? Fortunately, victims have resources. The first thing you should do after getting the medical help you need is to go to our website – not to give us your business, but to read our free tips, download helpful documents, or request a free copy of our book. And if that’s not enough, you can always contact us to ask us any questions.
If a city, state, county, or other public body is being sued, a Tort Claim Notice must be received by the entity being sued within 180 days of the injury. Don’t miss this deadline! ORS 30.275 contains the details. If you cannot figure them out by yourself, please call us. We are happy to help.
