ACLU vs. NSA: Protecting Rights to Privacy

Everyone’s talking about Edward Snowden’s recent revelations of the extent to which the NSA has been tracking U.S. citizens. If you haven�t heard (where have you been?), Edward Snowden is a former National Security Administration contractor who, after leaving the NSA with classified surveillance information, has been leaking said information to show Americans how the NSA has violated their rights to privacy.

And I’ve been asked several times some variation of “You’re a lawyer, can anything be done to protect our privacy, from a legal standpoint?” My stock answer is that this is a political issue, not a legal one. But then I saw the ACLU’s lawsuit and now I’m rethinking my stance.

There have been many legal problems with prior lawsuits against government monitoring, but one of the difficulties is that you need to show actual harm, not just a theoretical possibility of harm, in order to bring a lawsuit. This means you have to show that whoever you are suing has DEFINITELY negatively affected your life, not just that they COULD. (more…)

It Pays to Dig Deeper: Investigating Single-Car Crashes

I bet that 90% of lawyers would have made a $9 million mistake on this case. Before I explain, let me walk you through the scenario.

Imagine that you’re a personal injury lawyer, and someone calls you up and tells you this story: “I live in California, but I was on a car trip in Mexico to visit my mother. My buddy was driving my car and I was in the passenger seat. Suddenly, he lost control of the car, which rolled. I broke my neck, got a brain injury that leaves me depressed, out of control of my moods, and makes it really hard for me to work, probably impossible. In fact, my family has to take care of me now. I mean, I can eat and get around and all that, but I’m always getting confused. I’m 51 years old! I had to get skin grafts because of all the damage to my head and arms. It was really bad. The medical bills are a few hundred thousand dollars already. Can you help me?”

Most lawyers in this situation would advise suing his friend who was driving, but that’ll probably only yield $25,000 or so, depending on the insurance policy limit. Since he has a few hundred thousand in medical bills, $25,000 won’t help much. What to do? Here�s the common thinking: It’s a single-car rollover. Nobody is to blame, except maybe the driver. Accidents happen. Sometimes it’s nobody’s fault. (more…)

Want to Save 1,800 Lives This Year? Lower the BAC Limit

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is calling for states to reduce the legal blood alcohol content level from .08 to .05.

When Australia dropped the legal limit for blood alcohol content while driving from .08 to .05, provinces there reported a drop in fatalities of 5% to 18%. Every state in the U.S. currently has a legal limit of .08, and we have about 10,000 drunk-driving deaths per year, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration drunk driving statistics. If reducing the limit from .08 to .05 saved 18% of those lives, we could save 1,800 lives per year with this one simple change. (more…)

Bringing Such a Small Case to Trial Would Be Silly

I teach a class to paralegal students one evening per week. On last week’s midterm exam, I asked them to write an essay outlining possible tort claims that could be brought on behalf of a fictional woman who sprained her ankle slipping on water in Fred Meyer. In her answer, one of the students wrote a great analysis of all the lawsuits that could potentially be brought against Fred Meyer, and then wrote “of course, bringing such a small case to trial would be silly; it’s just a sprained ankle and so it will certainly settle.”

Sometimes it’s hard to get justice for small claims, but Oregon trial attorneys can help.

Ah, the innocent na�vet� of the student, not yet exposed to the real world of insurance companies.

At our law firm, we get cases all the time that “should settle.” It is crystal-clear who’s fault it is, and the injuries are completely documented in the medical records. And we know from other similar cases in the past that the case is worth, let’s say, somewhere between $10,000 and $30,000. So we have a private conversation with our client, who decides she is willing to settle if she can get $20,000 or more. We explain to her that if she’s not willing to settle for less, like $15,000 or so, we may have to go to trial. After much thought, she decides that she will take any offer above $15,000, but that is her bottom line. (more…)

Little Known Law Creates Injustice for Workers Injured on the Job

�Whatsoever you have done unto the least of these men, you have done it to me.�

I learn new things every day. Today I was taught something by a 25-year-old man with broken bones in his back who has required three surgeries so far. His medical bills are about $500,000 so far, and he’s not done yet. He was driving his car when he was hit by a snowplow that was driving in the wrong lane. It’s an open-and-shut case. But not the way you think.

This is a story about Workers� Compensation and the Oregon Tort Claims Act. Quick background first: Workers Compensation insurance will pay your medical bills (and a small amount for any permanent disability) if you are hurt while on the job, and it doesn’t matter who’s fault it is. Your employer has been paying the insurance premiums for this. In return, you are not allowed to sue your employer for your injury.

The Oregon Tort Claims Act allows you to sue the state of Oregon (and cities, counties, municipalities, etc.) if a public agency or employee negligently injures you. But tort claims have some conditions, some traps. For example, even though the statute of limitations in Oregon is supposedly two years, if you sue the state you have to get a “tort claim notice” to the entity you are going to sue within 180 days of your injury. Or you can lose your claim forever. (more…)

Should a Drunk Driver Be Allowed to Sue the Bar That Overserved Her?

The fearless lawyers at Pickett Dummigan brought an unusual lawsuit a while back regarding a drunk driving accident. They represent Ashley Schutz for extremely serious injuries that she received after she drank way too much alcohol and then caused a car crash. The suit is complex and has multiple defendants and causes of action, but in this post, I’ll be focusing on one small and very interesting part of the case, which involves part of Ms. Schutz’s claim against La Costita, the bar that served her the alcohol.

I can already hear the question: “But it was Schutz’s fault that she drank and drove; how could she sue the bar for a crash that was her own fault?” Read on, intrepid blog-reader!� (more…)

Six Months for Cracking Man’s Skull and Leaving Him to Bleed

I wrote about the hit-and-run that left Ryan Hendrix with a cracked skull and bleeding near the brain back on December 13, 2012. The driver who hit Mr. Hendrix as he was crossing the street was finally sentenced recently: to six months in jail, three years probation, and one year without a driver’s license.

Ronald Jacko drank whiskey and three beers at a Blazer’s game, according to the passenger in his car, then sped through a yellow or red light (details are still unclear), cut off a car, then ran into Mr. Hendryx (who was also drunk, and crossing the street outside a crosswalk). Henryx�s location, however, does not excuse Jacko�s reckless driving, or the fact that he then left the scene.

Jacko fled, got his cracked windshield replaced, and then finally turned himself in several days later, when it looked as though he would be tracked down anyway. As the sentencing judge said, he decided to cover up the incident the next day, in the cold light of day, when he was completely sober. This is worth more than six months in jail and one year � one year! � without a license. (more…)