This action was filed on behalf of the estate of Kathryn Rickson, who was killed when she was struck on her bicycle by a right-turning truck at SW 3rd and SW Madison in downtown Portland. After six da...ys of trial, defendants settled the case for $700,000. For more information about this case go to http://www.oregonherald.com/oregon/local.cfm?id=6030 and http://koin.com/2014/02/26/fatal-portland-bike-crash-suit-settled-700k/.
Medical malpractice
Patient v. Emergency Room
Jan 01, 2013
OUTCOME: Confidential 7-figure settlement
This case involved a confidential 7-figure settlement shortly before trial on behalf of a 34-year-old undocumented worker, wife and mother of three, who suffered a stroke which doctors did not diagnose... for over 12 hours. After the patient collapsed at home paramedics rushed her to a local emergency room. Within minutes, doctors ordered a CT scan of her head, which was read as negative for stroke. Over the next several hours, the emergency room doctor worked her up for infection, pregnancy and seizure, and did not call a neurologist until the permissible time for giving t-PA (clot busting medication) and surgical clot removal had passed. After they diagnosed the stroke, doctors told the family there was no treatment, requested permission to discontinue life support and asked them to donate her organs. The family declined. Doctors discharged her home with a tracheostomy and grim prognosis. Months later, without medical insurance or other assistance, the patient's tracheostomy tube was removed and with home therapy she learned again to walk and talk. STCN counsel argued the initial CT was not dispositive, that doctors should have ordered a follow up CT angiogram and called the consulting neurologist earlier, and that hospital staff delayed obtaining later tests and delivering test results. Defendants argued they met the standard of care because the first CT was negative for stroke and because a stroke is extremely rare in a patient this young. They also argued that given the extent of the stroke, earlier diagnosis would have made no difference in the patient's outcome.
Car accident
Cyclist v. Driver
Jan 01, 2011
OUTCOME: Policy limits settlement
In this case, a minivan driver's carrier paid full benefits to our client, a cyclist struck when the driver made an unwitnessed left turn into her driveway in the West Hills. The automobile insurance c...arrier paid the bodily injury limits, personal injury protection ("PIP") medical and wage loss benefits and full property damage (bike and helmet) to the cyclist, a senior data base engineer at Nike. Struck while cycling home from work, he sustained a comminuted clavicle fracture, requiring surgery for plate and screw fixation. The comprehensive settlement was concluded within six months of the collision. STCN attorney Cynthia Newton, who handled the case, also negotiated the health insurer medical lien and resolved the issue of coverage for future accident-related medical expenses with the health insurer's counsel.
This case was brought on behalf of a journeyman electrician in his 50's who fell from a ladder when the employee of another subcontractor backed a forklift into it, causing him to fall onto his outstr...etched arm, dislocating and seriously injuring his shoulder. His shoulder had been dislocated previously in an unrelated incident. STCN workers’ compensation specialist Christine Frost separately obtained for him workers’ compensation benefits.
