Oregon Injury Attorney Blog

In 2007, Social Security launched the "Wounded Warriors" program, an outreach effort for service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress recently asked the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") to assess the program, and measure its success.

VA data, the report explains, shows that out of 200,000 potentially eligible Vets, only 10,000 have applied for Social Security disability. Another fact: 92% of fully disabled Vets receive VA disability only. There are many possible reasons cited for this disparity.

The Department of Defense estimates there are about 34,000 wounded Veterans potentially eligible for benefits, but VA numbers the GAO reviewed estimate 500,000 Veterans. One out of every three suffers from a mental or cognitive based problem, which may explain troubles navigating through Social Security's phone system, and its forms. This makes even more sense when comparing the percentage of Vets suffering mental impairments compared to civilians seeking disability benefits. According to the report, 60% of disabled Vets suffer from mental or cognitive disabilities, whereas 23% of the civilian population include those with mental issues.

Other Links:

Wounded Warrior Project

Social Security: Wounded Warrior Information

Oregon Department of Veteran's Affairs Wounded Warrior Resources

I have been working on a few issues involving my clients' PIP in the past few days. I find it especially frustrating because the PIP carrier is my client's insurance company, but you would never know it when dealing with the PIP adjuster.

In Oregon, unlike Washington, auto insurers must provide PIP, which is short for Personal Injury Protection Benefits. The two most commonly used coverages are medical benefits and disability. As with any insurance claim, an adjuster requires documentation. So, if you are disabled, the adjuster will want your wage earning records, and a note from the doctor taking you off work. Fair enough.

Recently, an adjuster for my client has been holding up disability benefits because he cannot get the employer on the line to confirm that my client is unable to work. The off work note and the x ray showing the broken bone is not enough. In the meantime, my client is waiting for her disability income to pay bills, and buy groceries. I bet the insurance company would not allow coverage to remain if an insured had a good reason to skip a month paying premiums.

When this happens, you have some options. One is to contact the State of Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services Insurance Division, and file a complaint. This may get the attention of the adjuster. The other is to ask for arbitration, or even file a lawsuit in the local Court. Depending the situation, we are often able to get the insurance company to do what it needs to do.

Other Resources: Oregon's Unfair Claims Practices Rules

The Oregonian reports that a safety sweep of 245 commercial trucks entering Oregon resulted in removal of 37 trucks and 40 drivers for "critical safety violations" for the trucks, and other safety violations involving the drivers. If this were a valid sample of all the trucks in Oregon, you could say that about 15% of commercial trucks in Oregon have some "critical safety" problem. That is alarming. Even more frightening is the fact that three of truck drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

This week, the US Department of Transportation is hosting a conference to discuss the growing problem of distracted drivers. The trucking industry is fighting to keep in cab computer use out of any regulations. The trucking lobby's argument is that the screens are bigger, and the trucker pulls over to use the computer. My favorite quote in the article comes from a trucker, an honest trucker:

“We’re supposed to pull over, but nobody ever does.”

Other Links

Federal Highway Commission Truck Safety Research

Truck Safety Coalition

Public Citizen Auto Safety Campaign

The Daily Astorian recently reported on the multi-car collision in Clatskanie that sent one driver to the hospital in critical condition. The collision may have been caused by a motorist who was swerving to miss a deer. The Oregon State Police issued a press statement giving motorists tips on dealing with animals in the road:

• Stay Alert. Avoid driving with other distractions.

• Slow Down to increase your reaction time.

• Scan Ahead and watch for movement along roadsides.

• Look for more animals after you see one animal - they often travel in groups.

• Brake. Don'ts Swerve.

• Be ready for animals to change direction.

• Be watchful and obey traffic signs, including wildlife warning and speed limit signs.

At night:

• Watch for shining eyes.

• Use high beams to improve visibility when there's no oncoming traffic.

• Slow down on blind curves.

• Pass with care.

If you hit an animal:

• If you cannot stop in time, it is usually safer to hit the animal than to swerve. Swerving may land you in the path of another car or off the road in a ditch.

• Pull over and call the Oregon State Police or 9-1-1 to report the accident.

As we know, there's a health care reform debate raging in Washington, D.C. Along with it comes a lot of information, some true, some not. Everybody agrees on one thing: there is a problem, and something has to happen.

My clients often deal with access to care issues. It's less and less that a client comes in to see me with the option of getting care through a private health plan. We've had more than one experience where a disabled client seeking Social Security disability benefits is more concerned about Medicare coverage than the actual disability benefit itself. To say that these issues sometimes involve issues of life and death is no overstatement.

Reuters recently reported on a study that concluded 45,000 people die each year in part because they do not have health insurance that would provide access to proper care. This is more than drunk driving deaths and homicide combined.

A few interesting trends: It's getting worse. The article cites an older study showing an increase in the number of uninsured Americans. Also, there is less access. In larger cities, public hospitals and clinics are shutting doors are limiting available services.

Check out this NPR story about a medical "camp," and the number of people who showed up looking for care care.

This comes up a lot during the initial consultation with my clients.

Social Security Disability Insurance, also called "DIB" is a disability insurance benefit. You earn this benefit through wage withholdings paid to the government. Those withholdings are like insurance premiums. If you pay enough premiums over the required length of time, then you are "insured" for disability. Your benefit is then calculated based on your prior earnings.

Supplemental Security Income, or "SSI" is a disbility benefit, but it is also based on financial need. A SSI applicant must prove disability, but also must meet income and resource thresholds.

Resources refers to things you own. If you have too much "stuff," you are not qualified. I think the reasoning is that SSI is a benefit of last resort, and if you really need to, you can sell off your assets to subsist. Some things are excluded when counting resources, like a house, household goods and a car used to go to doctor appointments.

Income is just that, income. Depending upon your circumstances, Social Security will offset your income against the set SSI benefit rate. There are a lot of rules and policies that apply to how this offset is calculated. Also, it's handled at your local Branch Office.

Many of my clients will have "concurrent" claims, which means that they are appealing denials of SSI and Disability Insurance benefit applications.

Here's some helpful links to the SSA website:

Understanding SSI

Getting Social Security Disability Benefits

The Oregon State Police released some statistics on traffic fatalities over the Labor Day Weekend. For only the third time since 1970, only one person lost their life on Oregon highways this holiday weekend. This is a sharp decline from the 11 deaths that occurred one year ago. There were also less drunk driving arrests. Last year, police arrested 87 people on suspicion of DUII, and this year, 72.

It's hard to know if these numbers show any trends. It may be the silver lining to higher fuel prices or the recession. Certainly, drunk driving arrests are down, especially with increased enforcement. Still, many are calling for a second look at the DUII laws.

Other Relevant Links:

Governors Highway Association

Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety article

The Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) announced recalls of millions of window blinds and shades after three child deaths involving the cords that help move the shades up and down. The companies involved in the recall include IKEA and Pottery Barn. Some of the products were sold as long ago as 1992.

A one year old child died in 2007 when he was strangled by a lift cord loop of a shade manufactured by Lewis Hyman. In another case, a child was found with his head caught between shade cords and the cloth on the shade's back side.

This is considered a hidden hazard, and the CPSC is encouraging parents to inspect shades to obtain either a free repair, or refund.

Other Helpful Links:

Baby Home Safety Tips

The Home Safety Council

Consumer Products Safety Products Toy Recalls

The Othello Outlook recently reported that the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Occupational Health and Safety Division (OSHA) fined ConAgra Foods and NW Metal Fabricators $25,000.00 for violation of health and safety regulations arising from a fatal explosion at potato processing plant in Boardman, Oregon.

Generally, even in a tragedy such as this, the injured worker or his or her survivor's are limited to Oregon Workers Compensation benefits. This is because Oregon law provides that even where an employer is negligent, even reckless, the only remedy that an injured worker in Oregon has against the employer is workers' compensation benefits. This is often referred to as the "exclusive remedy" provision.

There are exceptions. One is Oregon's Employer Liability Law. This law was proposed by initiative in 1910, and provides a higher standard of care for employers engaged in work that involves "risk or danger." Where there is an "indirect" employer, like a contractor or owner, and that person is directing the project, the injured worker or his family may have a claim against the person or entity directing the project. This is why there is more to OHSA's actions than a fine. If OSHA's violations hold true, it's strong evidence that the company directing this work failed to make the workplace safe.

Other Helpful Links:

OHSA Considers Raising Fines

Oregon OSHA Trench Cave In Training Video

I have posted more than a few times about laws and studies relating to cell phone use while driving. A recent revelation that the NHTSA withheld data exposing the dangers of driving while texting or using the phone seems to have spurred attention. Recently, CNN reported that the Obama administration is going to summit on how to address car collisions and injuries caused by distracted motorists. Apparently, truckers are 23 times more likely to wreck while texting.

Check out a summary of the study here.

The New York Times reported that the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHSTA) withheld evidence that cell phone use while driving does, in fact, raise the risk of injury. This is no large surprise, but what is really troubling is that the NHSTA withheld the study's release, citing fear of angering Congress.

Two organizations, Public Citizen and the Center for Auto Safety, filed a Freedom of Information Act request, often called a "FOIA" request, for the information. The Center for Auto Safety link provides further links to the actual studies.

I recall that detractors of the cell phone bill cited a lack of good studies supporting the notion that cell phone use while driving presents a hazard. Well . . . . . here you go.

The Oregonian ran a front page story on the striking increase in mental illness among soldiers returning Iraq and Afganistan Vets. This study, from the American Journal of Public Health , is one of the first to suggest that the higher mental illness rates are due to the fact that more of the soldiers serving in the Middle East are older, and reservists. On a positive note, increased awareness about PTSD and a willingness to discuss the issue may factor into the increase in reported cases.

I've had the honor of representing several Veterans, including Viet Nam Vets. Saigon fell when I was ten years old, and I never thought that I would be representing Veterans from that conflict so many years later. I expect that our troops will be dealing with the effects from these wars for years to come, and hope we are better prepared to offer the help they deserve.

Other Links:

Iraqi War Veteran's Association

National Veterans Association