Personal Injury Law Update

Cell Phone Tower Worker: Deadliest Job in America

According to a story in this week's RCR Wireless News, the deadliest job in America is constructing, upgrading, and repairing cell phone towers (which can be hundreds of feet tall). The fatality rate for cell phone tower workers is currently 183.6 deaths per 100,000 workers, making it more dangerous than other risky jobs such as ranching, fishing, logging, and ironworking.

Five tower workers died during one 12-day span earlier this year alone. 18 tower workers died on the job in 2006. An investigation into the rise in fatalities in this industry has yet to trace the increase to any specific cause.

Fireworks Safety for July 4th in Oregon and Washington

As a public service for July 4th, we'd like to remind all of our readers to practice common sense when it comes to fireworks. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, fireworks caused an estimated 9,200 injuries that required treatment in U.S. hospital emergency rooms in 2006.

The culprit, according to Dr. Tim Stout, an ophthalmologist with Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland, Oregon, is often the natural predisposition for kids is to make the biggest bang in the most cleverly engineered ways possible. "They try to set up big explosions, and those are the kinds that can cause serious injury."

The National Council on Fireworks Safety offers several tips for safe fireworks use. There are also fireworks safety videos that you can view.

Woman Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Deaths in Oregon Drunk Driving Accident

An Oregon woman, Fivea Sharapoff, was recently sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison after being convicted of killing two Eugene, Oregon women in a car crash. Sharapoff had been driving under the influence of alcohol (three times the legal limit) in the wrong direction on Interstate 5 when she struck a vehicle that carried the women. Another female passenger in the car was injured.

The conviction for first degree manslaughter and second degree assault falls under Oregon's Measure 11, which means there will be no early release.

New Helmet Designed to Reduce Risk of Spinal Cord Injury in Sports Accidents

Last week the Canadian media reported progress by researchers and engineers at the University of British Columbia designing a new helmet that will reduce the risk of spinal cord injuries in head-first collisions during sports activities. Called the "Pro-Neck-Tor," and designed for sports such as hockey and football, the helmet has an inner shell that will guide the head to tilt slightly forward or backward on impact, and thereby reduce the load on the neck during impact. The reduced weight on the neck, in turn, would lower the risk of spinal cord injury from a collision.

Engineers working on the helmet said it is still in the design stages and, depending on how fast testing progresses, could take between three to 10 years to become available commercially in the sporting goods market. Researchers anticipate that the helmet would be marketed first to hockey players due to the relatively higher incidence of spinal cord injuries suffered by players in that sport.

New York City Buildings Department to Propose New Crane Safety Rules

After two tragic crane accidents in New York City (see prior posts here and here), the New York City Buildings Department recently announced it will propose a series of new crane safety regulations within the next few weeks.

The department is studying various models of crane regulation and conferring with safety experts including those at the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration to develop the proposals.

California is widely believed to have the toughest crane regulations in the country, including a requirement that all tower cranes undergo an annual complete mechanic inspection by an independent firm.

Construction site accidents and injuries sustained on the job injure or kill thousands of Americans every year.  Many terrible personal injuries are caused by poor safety procedures, negligence, faulty equipment, poor supervision – and most could have been prevented.  Often times injury or death occur because a negligent company is more interested in profit than safety.

If you or a loved one has been injured at a construction site in Oregon or Washington by a crane collapse or other negligent act, contact the Oregon and Washington construction accident lawyers at D'Amore & Associates for a free consultation.

Deadly Highway Collision Cause Parents to Sue

Last week, Rob Blanck and Lorie Shaddix of Camas, WA filed a lawsuit against Golden Star Restaurant and Lounge in regards to their daughters’ deaths last year.  Jessica Blanck and Kristyne Shaddix both died when hit by Therese Nickelby, who was driving intoxicated after leaving the restaurant.

Nickelby’s blood alcohol level after the crash was at 0.118. She later plead guilty to vehicular homicide and is serving 4 ½ years in prison.

Blanck and Shaddix are now pursuing $4 million dollars for each daughter in damages from the restaurant, alleging that they had knowingly overserved Nickelby who was “visibly intoxicated” before leaving the restaurant.

You can view more about this story in The Oregonian.

If you have been injured by a drunk driver in a Washington car accident, contact D’Amore & Associates, P.C. Trial Lawyers today to discuss your rights.

Oregon man killed due to Road Rage

On May 24, 2008, Nathaniel Ward was a victim of road rage. He and his friends were passengers in a Taxi in San Diego, CA. After getting out, they were confronted by Sam Bonsu, 35, about a near-accident between him and the taxi driver. Bonsu then punched Ward in the temple, knocking him to the ground. Another one of his friends was also punched. After one week in the hospital, Ward died. Sam Bonsu turned himself in to authorities and now faces murder charges.

More about this story can be heard on KGW News.

This blog is sponsored by D’Amore & Associates, P.C. Trial Lawyers contact them for a free consultation regarding your personal injury claim.

$1.5 Million dollar lawsuit filed after Garbage truck kills cyclist

In October, 2007, Brett Jarolimek was riding his bicycle in the bike lane when struck and killed by an AGG Enterprises garbage truck driver. He was killed when the driver went to turn right on North Interstate to Greeley Avenue in Portland, Oregon.

Last Wednesday, Jarolimek’s family filed a $1.5 Million dollar lawsuit against the company and driver, stating that the garbage truck was unsuitable for driving. It alleges that the right side mirror was broken and only attached to the truck by a bungee cord. The claim also alleges that AGG Enterprises should not have had the driver as an operator of the garbage truck because of previous drug convictions and driving violations.

Because of Jarolimek’s death, city officials are planning to install “bike boxes” around Portland, which are designed to avoid these types of accidents.

See this full article in

The Oregonian

United States Supreme Court to Review Punitive Damage Award Against Philip Morris in Oregon Smoker Case for Third Time

We previously blogged about the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Philip Morris v. Williams addressing the propriety of a $79.5M punitive damage award to the family of a long-time Oregon smoker. Procedurally, the U.S. Supreme Court's earlier decision remanded the case back to the Oregon Supreme Court to reconsider and reassess its earlier holding that due process did not require a trial court to give a particular proposed jury instruction requested by the defendant; namely, to instruct the jury that it was NOT to use an award of punitive damages to punish a defendant for harms to persons who were not parties to the litigation.

On January 31, 2008, the Oregon Supreme Court issued a new opinion reconsidering and reassessing the issue posed by the U.S. Supreme Court, and concluded that the proposed jury instruction proposed by the defendant was flawed for other reasons that it did not identify in its earlier opinion. It therefore reaffirmed its prior conclusion that the trial court did not err in refusing to give the instruction.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it will review the $79.5 million punitive damages judgment against Philip Morris for the third time. This time around, the justices will consider only whether the Oregon Supreme Court in essence ignored the Court's earlier ruling, not whether the amount of the judgment is constitutionally permissible.

Arguments are scheduled for the fall. We will keep our readers apprised of new developments in the case.

Holiday Weekend Traffic Fatalities in Oregon at its Lowest

According to Oregon State Police and the Oregon Transportation Department, fatal accidents were at it’s lowest over Memorial Day weekend since keeping track of such statistics began in 1970.

This year, there was only one fatality caused by a motor vehicle accident. In this incident, the driver strayed off a highway and ran into a tree.

Even though fatalities were at an all time low, there was an increase in accidents at 127 this year. This is an increase from 107 during the 2007 holiday. Citations also were an issue this holiday weekend, where Troopers statewide handed out over 2,000 speeding tickets.

To find more on this topic, click on the following link.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a car accident in Oregon, contact the attorneys at D’Amore & Associates today to discuss your options.