Oregon Personal Injury Legal Blog

Car accidents in Oregon and around the country that take place on roadways covered in snow, ice or slush claim over 1,300 lives and injure more than 116,800 road users every year according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, but there are steps drivers can take to greatly reduce their chances of being involved in a winter crash. Motorists should obey speed limits and maintain safe distances at all times, but giving other vehicles ample room and slowing down is especially important when weather conditions are treacherous.

Drivers should also check their local weather forecasts before setting out and allow extra time to complete their journeys when road conditions are expected to be poor. When progress is slow and a late arrival is likely, motorists should resist the urge to make up for lost time if the road opens up. Tire pressures should be checked frequently during the winter months as they fall when temperatures drop below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and safety features like anti-lock braking and traction control systems should be monitored as their frequent activation is a sign that motorists are driving dangerously.

Many Oregon drivers are wary of sharing the road with teens, especially because they may drive with many friends packed in the car and be more prone to the errors of inexperienced drivers. For teen drivers to improve their skills, it is important that they get time behind the wheel to develop as experienced operators. However, there are other concerns about teens' safety while driving, and some of those are brought to attention for Teen Driver Safety Week. Teens and their parents pay higher car insurance premiums because they are more likely to have car accidents, a belief backed up by statistics.

A study was released that highlighted teens' behavior behind the wheel. Teen drivers are more likely than those in any other demographic to operate their cars while distracted. Distracted driving has sparked widespread nationwide concern and law enforcement crackdowns, especially as a growing number of serious motor vehicle collisions have been linked to people texting while driving or otherwise keeping their eyes and minds off of the road. The study examined 3,400 drivers between 2011 and 2013, relying on devices to monitor their behavior and driving activity. This provided a unique basis to study distraction without relying on the self-reported narratives in police accident reports, which are often prone to inaccuracy.

Few people in Salem likely ever anticipate being involved in a car accident. On the contrary, most may believe that their strong driving skills will help them to avoid collisions. There may indeed be some merit to that argument, yet one fact that people cannot overlook is the inability to control the actions of others. Oftentimes all it may take is a single careless decision or reckless action to lead to a chain of events that ends in a devastating accident. Such accidents often leave victims dealing with physical limitations, emotional losses and inordinate expenses, as well as uncertainty as to how they will be able to handle the financial burdens the incidents force them to deal with. 

Liability for such accidents lies with the drivers that cause them, yet how can one know for sure who is at fault? Sometimes a party's actions may indicate guilt. Take the case of an accident that recently occurred in Portland. A two-car crash left two people injured (one of whom had to be transported to a local hospital via helicopter. Witnesses to the accident reported that one of the drivers involved fled from the scene. They were located by authorities a short while later and taken into custody. Officials have yet to release why the driver fled, but they do believe that alcohol may have had a hand in causing the collision. 

The greatest concern that you and others may have in the immediate aftermath of a loved one sustaining a traumatic brain injury in Salem may be the perceived uncertainty surrounding their future. Some TBI victims are able to completely recover from their injuries in just a few days; others, however, can be left with serious physical and mental impairments that can affect them for the rest of their lives. For many of those that we here at Swanson Lathen Prestwich PC have worked with in the wake of a TBI, knowing what one's long-term prognosis may be can have a dramatic impact on any civil action taken against those responsible. 

Is there indeed a way for you to know how extensive your loved one's TBI is in those first few days after their injury? While knowing for certain can be difficult, clinicians have developed a method through which an often-reliable estimation can be achieved. It is known as the Glasgow Coma Scale, and it is based on observations made of your loved one by the clinicians who treat them immediately after having sustained a TBI. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the GCS measures responses in the following areas: 

• Verbal communication
• Motor skills
• Eye opening