Personal Injury Cases
That Bring Change
Results, Verdicts & Settlements
When Don Corson was a young attorney in the 1980s, one of the first major product liability cases he worked on involved a recreational vehicle that had a “fuel geysering” defect. After the driver pulled up to the gas pump, he got out of his RV, walked back, and started to unscrew the fuel tank cap. Gasoline suddenly gushed out, covering him and the surrounding area, caught fire, and burned the man so severely that he died a day and a half later. After notifying the RV company, the manufacturer promptly sent out replacement gas caps. But the real problem was in the engineering of the fuel system, which took more litigation and analysis to figure out, but later led to safer recreational vehicles. The experience made a strong impression on the young attorney: lawsuits help make us all safer.
It took much longer for him to more fully appreciate that the almost invisible web of safety rules that protect our communities work only when rules are enforced. Safety rules and principles don’t do much good if they just gather dust. Cases are not just about compensation, but about making sure that substandard policies are changed, good policies and practices are followed, and defective products are made safe. The fact that Oregon’s legal system can enforce those rules at any time results in a society where most of the safety rules are followed most of the time. As a result, we and our families are safer.
These principles are expressly recognized in Oregon law, as described by the Oregon Supreme Court. “[N]egligence law itself like all law is a part of a state’s public policy.” Donaca v. Curry County, 303 Or. 30, 35, 734 P.2d 1339 (1987). “It is axiomatic that public policy favors the deterrence of negligent conduct.” Bagley v. Mt. Bachelor, Inc., 356 Or. 543, 572, 340 P.3d 27 (2014). “[T]he ‘prophylactic’ factor of preventing future harm has been quite important in the field of torts. The courts are concerned not only with compensation of the victim, but with admonition of the wrongdoer.” Bagley v. Mt. Bachelor, Inc., 356 Or. at 551.
What the courts call the “prophylactic factor” is simply the effect that the court system has in discouraging unsafe behavior that violates society’s safety rules. Every case has this helpful effect.
But some cases go further, to create positive safety change. Sometimes a company continues to do it “the way we always have done it,” even when times and standards have changed. Sometimes an industry writes standards to benefit itself, not the safety of the public. Sometimes a corporation’s cost-benefit analysis favors its benefits over the cost to others. Sometimes laws or regulations need to be changed to keep up, but the need for that is not recognized until the facts come to light in a lawsuit. In a lawsuit, people can be required to testify under oath, subpoenas can be issued to find hidden documents, and light can be shined on dark corners that need a good cleaning.
Examples of Cases That Bring Change Can Be Seen Below
Keeping Insurance Companies Honest
$17 Million Jury Verdict
Hospital System Failure
Causes Father’s Severe Brain Damage, $12 million jury verdict.
Dangerous Lawn Mower Design Amputates Toddler’s Leg
$12 million jury verdict.
PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM DEATH AND PARALYSIS:
Making Child Car Seats Safer
ASSAULT BY BAR STAFF
$1 Million Recovery; Bar Later Loses its License
DISCOURAGING “MURDER BY THE BOOK”
What to do about co-conspirators to murder for hire?
WHITEWATER DROWNING DEATH
Case Leads to Improved Safety Laws
PROTECTING WORKERS IN HIGHWAY CONSTRUCTION ZONES:
$2.8 million verdict
See More Personal Injury Cases Below
Brain Injury Cases
Defective Farm Equipment Causes Brain Damage
Workplace Brain Injury, $4 million jury verdict.
Brain Injury Survivor Fights Insurance Company
Brain Surgery After Rear-end Collision: $1 million jury verdict.
School Bus Crash
Causes Brain Damage
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect Cases
Nursing Home Resident Dies From Improper Care
Patient’s family wins arbitration hearing.
Multiple Nursing Home Residents Abused
Numerous nursing home residents were subjected to neglectful and abusive care.
Improper Care Leads Death of Young Alzheimer’s Resident
Family loses otherwise healthy man: Confidential settlement.
Car Accident Injury Cases
Road Rage Crash
ODOT pickup truck nearly kills Eugene man; $1.5 million.
Elderly Driver Causes Highway Crash
$917,423 resolution during trial
Wrongful Death Caused by Exhausted Tow Truck Driver
$800,000 to Help the Surviving Children.
Spinal Cord Injury Cases
Partial Paraplegia: Record Josephine County Trial Result
Workplace Injury Leads to Partial Paraplegia: $2.285 Million Verdict.
Lower Spinal Cord Injury
VA System Failures Injures Marine Corps Veteran: $3.25 million.
Accidental Shooting Quadriplegia
Confidential Settlement
Motorcycle Accident Cases
Kevin's Case: Gravel Truck Hits Motorcyclist
Wrongful Death: $1,000,000.
Farm Truck Crashes into Motorcyclist
$900,000 Recovery.
Motorcyclist’s Trial Against Log Truck
Trial proves log truck fault for motorcyclist’s injuries: $561,467 jury verdict.
Truck Accident Injury Cases
Larry's Case
Truck Crash Causes Total Blindness.
Professional Trucker Injured in Truck Crash
Trucker Injured by Negligent Trucking Companies, $766,000.
18-Wheeler Improper Loading
Results in the Death of Commercial Truck Driver, $869,000.
Drunk & Impaired Driver Caused Injury Cases
Janos' Case: Paraplegia
Impaired Driver causes permanent paralysis from chest to toe.
Tavern Over Serves Intoxicated Customer
Resulting in death of local woman.
Bar Over Serves Drunk
Wrongful Death, Confidential Settlement.
Pedestrian Injury Cases
Child Killed
Pickup Truck and Dangerous Parking Lot combined to cause death.
SUV Illegally Backs Up
SUV backs into mother with young children: $1.3 million.
BLM driver hits pedestrian in crosswalk
Federal Court case settled.
Bicycle Injury Cases
Bicycle-Car Collision: How Ryan Fought Back
Confidential settlement.
Drunk Kills Bicyclist
Drunk SUV driver kills UO student bicyclist; policy limits settlement.
Negligent Driver Injures Bicyclist
$264,650 Settlement in Federal Court Case
Workplace Injury Cases
Log Truck Driver Suffers Permanent Injuries from Defective Mill Equipment
Confidential settlement with mill.
Improper Equipment Moving Causes Loss of an Eye
$600,000 settlement.
Wrongful Death Cases
Allergy Medication Kills Healthy Woman
Jury verdict $925,000.
Improperly Installed Propane Gas System Kills Couple
Case settled during litigation for $1.7 million.
Unsafe Product Cases
Defective Truck Design: Confidential Settlements for Two Oregon Workers
Unsafe Truck Design Results in Tragic Injuries.
Defective Automobile Tire: Wrongful Death
Oregon widow and her four children win $1.4 million federal wrongful death trial.
Hospital Negligence Cases
Shelly's Case
Multiple hospital errors cause loss of limb.
Hospital’s Staffing Company Nurse Switches Tubes
Hospital errors kill patient: Confidential Settlement.
Hospital Fails to Follow Physician Orders
Confidential settlement for causing man’s death.
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If you would like to speak with a member of our legal team, please call us at 541-484-2525 or contact us using the form. There is no charge for this initial consultation. We offer Free Virtual Consultations using Zoom. Please fill out the contact form to request an initial consultation.
Please keep in mind that we can only help a limited number of people at one time, and that we try to focus on serious cases where we think we might be able to make a meaningful difference in a person’s life. We will promptly follow-up and be in contact with you.
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