Oregon Injury Attorney Blog

I have never kept count, but a lot of people who come to see me after they are injured in an auto wreck chose not go to the emergency room. Sometimes the adrenaline is running, and they do not think they are hurt. Other times, they are concerned about the cost of medical care. Either way, it's a good idea to get checked out if you have been in any kind of significant wreck.

Recently, a Cave Junction man died three days after he was in a one car wreck. After losing control, the driver flipped his truck. The driver refused medical treatment at the scene, but three days later, died in the hospital.

Would immediate care have saved his life. I don't know. However, I have had clients of my own refuse care, only later to end up at the hospital in serious condition. It makes sense to be safe, and get checked out.

A professional nursing association recently gave high marks to the state governments of Oregon and Washington for preventing auto accident injuries. On their web site, the Emergency Nurses Association(ENA) looked at roadway safety laws in all fifty states, using a thirteen point criteria to rank the effectiveness of each states' ability to prevent traffic injuries. Factors include seat belt use, child passenger safety, graduated driver licensing for teens, and how much authority state authorities have to maintain and evaluate a state trauma system. Oregon and Washington were the only states to receive a best possible score of thirteen.

Past reports from this organization have had positive results. In 2006, Arizona was at the bottom
of the list, but emergency room nurses worked with state legislatures to enact laws aimed at making Arizona a safer place to drive. With over 40,000 traffic fatalities a year, this is important work.

For quite a few years, Oregon Workers Compensation insurance companies have been using a tool to deny claims mid-stream, leaving many injured Oregonians without the resources they need to return to work, or train for another occupation.

It's the combined condition denial. For about ten years or so, Oregon Workers' Compensation law allows an insurer to deny claims when a "pre-existing condition" combines with an on the job injury, and the pre-existing condition becomes the main cause of the injured workers' need for treatment. Sounds crazy? A lot of doctors will confide to me that there is no way to know when two medical conditions combine. A lot of injured workers have a hard time understanding how some finding on an x ray that never caused any pain is now responsible for their medical problem months after a serious on the job injury.

There are options, however. An injured worker can appeal a combined condition denial, and sometimes can argue that the two conditions never combined, or that there was no pre-existing condition. We review claims files looking specifically at these issues.

Here is something for Oregon parents to check out this holiday season.

Last year, 45 million toys were recalled in the United States. Congress acted, but the the standards will not take effect until next year. Even after the new standards go into effect, some toys may still potentially harmful chemicals. Some folks have taken matters into their own hands, creating a blog that parents can check to make sure their kids' toys are safe.

If you are concerned about a toy, and whether it is free of dangerous chemicals, be sure to look at this site.