Portland Personal Injury Attorney: Holding the Negligent Accountable

That advice and advocacy spans a variety of areas of the law, including:

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Vehicle crashes are the most common cause of serious injuries and wrongful death lawsuits. After a major accident, we know you have many worries and questions. We also understand these cases are often complex and nuanced, which is why our team is well versed in Oregon and Washington’s laws regarding insurance coverage issues, legal liability, and the many potential forms of relief available. Our firm understands that the insurance companies’ business models are predicated on paying out as little as possible. Kaplan Law has the experience you need, having successfully battled the insurance industry for more than 20 years.

Drunk Driving Accidents

In both Oregon and Washington, you may have multiple means of legal recourse if you have been seriously hurt by an intoxicated driver. Besides suing the intoxicated driver, you may have a claim against the individual/business that served alcohol to the drunk driver. These claims against servers fall under Oregon’s Dram Shop and Social Host laws. If your accident caused you to suffer major injuries, a dram shop or social host action may be an essential part of getting fully compensated. In some intoxicated driver cases, you may be entitled to punitive damages, but pursuing punitive damages potentially may be unadvisable even if they’re available, which is one reason why Kaplan Law performs a detailed analysis of each client’s case to map out the best strategy.

Motorcycle Accidents and Trucking Collisions

Physics tells us when a larger object and a smaller object collide, the larger object exerts a greater force. Experience tells us that, when a commercial truck hits a motor vehicle or a motor vehicle (or semi-truck) hits a motorcycle, the occupants of the smaller vehicles usually bear the brunt of the harm. The reasons these crashes occur are numerous and varied. Many result from the driver of the larger vehicle failing to properly identify the smaller. This may be the result of that driver speeding, driving while intoxicated, driving too long or while drowsy, driving while distracted, or driving an unsafe vehicle. Motor vehicle crashes can vary significantly and involve many types of vehicles ranging from motorcycle collisions to tractor-trailer crashes. Kaplan Law possesses the knowledge and experience unique to each of those areas necessary to advise and represent these clients fully.

Wrongful Death Actions

The sudden, unexpected loss of a loved one is traumatic, but that pain is only amplified if the death is the result of someone else’s negligence. During your time of grief, you also have crucial legal decisions and actions to deal with. You only have a limited time to act and making a misstep could forever bar you from receiving essential compensation. Insurance companies may call you, urgently trying to get you to accept their low-ball settlement offer. As you work to heal, Kaplan Law is here to be your trusted legal representative handling the insurance and litigation issues your case may present. Our firm prides itself on providing client-centered representation that is equal parts compassionate, thoughtful, zealous, personalized, and knowledgeable so you get the justice you deserve.

Industrial Accidents

In Oregon, “industrial accidents” mean more than just massive disasters, such as major leaks, fires, or explosions that kill multiple workers. After your serious injury at work, you may have deep concerns, fearing that a workers’ compensation claim is your sole (and inadequate) form of recourse. That’s not necessarily true. If a third party’s (someone other than your employer) negligence contributed to your injury, you can bring an industrial accident lawsuit under the Employer Liability Law. These claims can include circumstances like a third-party manufacturer whose defective product contributed to an explosion at your workplace or a third-party contractor responsible for ensuring safety at a job site where you got hurt due to inadequate fall protection. Our firm is specifically knowledgeable and experienced in handling these often highly complex and confusing industrial accident cases (as opposed to workers’ compensation matters.).

Jail Deaths / Civil Rights

People held in custody accused of crimes often represent one of the least sympathetic groups in American society, which makes them among the most vulnerable. That reality, coupled with additional problems like rampant overcrowding and understaffing inside jails, often drives those responsible for detainee care to shirk their responsibilities. This is especially true in cases where care duties have been outsourced to private corporations whose chief goal is maximizing profit not patient outcomes. The U.S. Supreme Court has made it clear that depriving an inmate/detainee of proper medical and/or mental health care is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. The avenue for vindicating those rights is something called a federal “1983 action,” an area of the law in which Kaplan Law has significant first-hand experience. That includes successfully representing the family in the notorious case of Jed Hawk Myers, a man who pleaded for medical aid 19 times across five hours before he collapsed and died inside his Yamhill County Jail cell.

Severe / Catastrophic Injuries

In many catastrophic injury cases, the victim has suffered permanently disabling injuries. They will never be able to work again; they may never even walk again. They may require caregivers to meet their needs, even basic ones like feeding and hygiene. These injuries harm victims in a wide variety of ways, which is why victims need the strongest possible legal representation. Injury victims often have racked up massive medical and rehabilitation bills (with more to come) and have lost (and will lose) large amounts of income. They have endured (and will endure) enormous amounts of pain, suffering, and emotional distress. Because these damages often span multiple years or decades, getting justice often demands a very large settlement or judgment. At Kaplan Law, we’ve spent decades dealing with the insurance industry and the courts, so we understand how to pursue an appropriate outcome for our clients.

Injuries to Children

Children are undeniably our most valuable resource, which is one of the many reasons why a negligence-driven injury to a child is so distressing. Federal data shows that unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death in kids aged 14 and under. These injuries can occur in many ways, including auto accidents, attractive nuisances, and defective products. Attractive nuisances include things like swimming pools, trampolines, old refrigerators, and “project” cars. When the owner doesn’t properly secure their property to safeguard against a child’s access to that attractive nuisance, the owner may be legally liable. Additionally, products intended for children — like car seats and toys — may have defects that cause them to fail to perform as they should. When that happens and your child is hurt, the team at Kaplan Law can help you take the proper steps to obtain fair compensation, even if that means taking on a massive corporation.

Do you have legal questions? We have answers.

Our firm recognizes that each client is our most important client. Whether your case involves a private individual who drove negligently, a mega-corporation that sold defective products to your child plus millions of other kids, or an insurance company that is refusing to pay you the benefits you are owed on the claim you filed, we are here to help. To get the reliable information you need, we invite you to get in touch today by contacting us online or by calling (503) 226-3844 to set up your free consultation.