7 Common Mistakes That Can Wreck Your Oregon Accident Case

Date: February 18, 2010
Location: Oregon 6 (NW Wilson River Highway) near Banks, Oregon
Names: Joseph Romero, Mark Hanson

Two drivers were seriously injured in a head-on collision between a FedEx van and a pickup truck February 18, 2010, on an icy stretch of road on Oregon 6 (NW Wilson River Highway) near Banks, Oregon, according to The Oregonian.
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Date: December 24, 2009
Location: Highway 20, between Corvallis and Albany, Oregon
Names: Sudhakar Thakillapati, Trashana Hanumantha Rao, Silvamari Thakillapati, Sushma Thakillapati, Bindu Lumen, Stevie Simpson, Andrea L. Logan, Andrew Scott Tokstad

Oregon State Police are looking for witnesses to a three-car highway crash caused by a wrong-way driver, in which nine people were injured. The accident happened December 24, 2009, around 6:30 PM, on Highway 20 between Corvallis and Albany, Oregon.

With three vehicles involved, and multiple injuries of various severity, media reports had conflicting details, but the information in this article was reported by both The Oregonian and Salem-News.com.
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Date: December 2, 2009
Location: Highway 99W & SW Bell Road, Sherwood, Oregon
Names: Grace C. Throckmorton, Michael D. Backman

Grace C. Throckmorton, 23, of Portland, Oregon, died December 2, 2009, after she pulled her car into the path of a Jeep Cherokee driven by Michael D. Backman, 27, of Dayton. The accident occurred around 4:15 PM.

According to Salem-News.com,Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputies said Throckmorton had been driving east on SW Bell Road, and was stopped at Highway 99W, trying to cross the highway.

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Date: October 17, 2009
Location: Highway 97 north of Madras, Oregon
Names: Kesar Bhatti

According to an Oregon State Police press release, Kesar Bhatti, 51, of Stockton, California, was seriously injured around 3 PM, October 17, 2009, when his commercial truck and trailer, loaded with apples, left the road on Highway 97 about three miles north of Madras, Oregon.

Bhatti was pinned inside the truck with serious injuries. Fire personnel extracted Bhatti from the truck, and Air Link helicopter ambulance transported him to St. Charles Medical Center – Bend. According to KTVZ.com, Bhatti was in fair condition.

Bhatti was driving a 2004 Freightliner truck and pulling a utility trailer southbound on the highway. On a downhill slope near NE Elm Lane, the truck and trailer left the road and crashed into a nearby farm field. The trailer split open, spilling apples on the field and in the southbound lane of the highway. The truck also leaked several gallons of diesel fuel, which was contained by fire personnel.

Responders included Madras Police Department, Oregon Department of Transportation, Smaf Environmental, Jefferson County Rural Fire Protection District, and Jefferson County Emergency Medical Services.

The southbound lane of Highway 97 was closed until around 4:35 PM, with flaggers directing traffic. As of October 17, state police from Madras and Bend were continuing to investigate the crash.

Many accidents are difficult to understand, but this one involved a man who drove for a living. He had logged more miles on the road than most of us, and had acquired some expertise. What happened? Perhaps this was a dangerous stretch of road. Maybe it was mechanical failure. Or maybe Bhatti took his eyes off the road for a second. We may not ever know exactly what occurred, but we do send Bhatti our best wishes, and we hope he’ll be out of the hospital soon in good health.

If you have been in a crash where the details are unclear, it is especially important to talk to an experienced personal injury attorney, who can conduct a thorough investigation and let you concentrate on your recovery. Some cases, on the other hand, can be settled without an attorney, and our free information can help. If you have more questions, please let us know.

Shulman DuBois, LLC, is located in Portland, Oregon, and serves clients in all Oregon cities and counties, including: Portland, Beaverton, Multnomah County, Hillsboro, Gresham, Lake Oswego, West Linn, Tualatin, Troutdale, Sellwood, Corvallis, Salem, Eugene, and Albany.

Date: October 15, 2009
Location: 10138 Donald Road NE, Donald, Oregon
Names: Cassandra Westgate, James Cothern, Shawn Stearns

According to a Marion County Sheriff’s Office press release, an Aurora man was charged with driving under the influence of intoxicants and two counts of assault October 15, 2009, after an early-morning car crash injured his two passengers.

At 5:53 AM, Marion County Sheriff’s deputies responded to reports of a crash at 10138 Donald Road NE in Donald, Oregon. They found an overturned Ford Explorer, and determined that the driver, Shawn Stearns, 20, of Aurora, was intoxicated.
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Date: October 15, 2009
Location: SW Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, Oregon
Names: Ronald Earley

(Photo courtesy Portland Police Bureau)

According to The Portland Tribune, alcohol and speeding were factors in an early-morning truck crash October 15, 2009, that killed a 24-year-old man. The fatal accident occurred around 2:50 AM, as Ronald Earley, of Portland, Oregon, was driving a Ford Ranger pickup truck east in the 4500 block of the Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway. Earley’s truck left the road and slammed into a steel column, seriously injuring him; he died at a local hospital.

A major crash team from the Portland Police Bureau was investigating the crash as of October 15. Detectives told The Oregonian that excessive speed and drunk driving contributed to the fatal collision.

Some drivers may not know that “speeding” can mean either driving in excess of the posted limit, or driving too fast for conditions. In fact, a driver can be within the speed limit and still be speeding, depending on the roadway, weather, or other conditions.

A fact sheet from the Oregon Department of Transportation points out that speeding is the top contributor to deaths and injuries in Oregon, accounting, on average, for half of all traffic fatalities. In fact, speeders kill more innocent Oregonians than drunk drivers. In 2008, among crashes caused by excessive speed, 40% of deaths were passengers or other innocent victims, not the speeding drivers themselves.

Late for work or an appointment? Don’t take a deadly chance by speeding. The time you save, if any, will be negligible, especially compared with the risk. It is far, far better to be a few minutes late than never to arrive at all – or to risk the same on someone else.

We encourage people to educate themselves on the law of drunk driving in Oregon, and we provide free information to help you settle your lawsuit without an attorney. But when a drunk driver is involved, the law becomes very tricky, and you should contact an experienced Oregon injury attorney.

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