Recent Blog Posts
TRIAL BY AMBUSH: ONE BIG WAY OREGON’S CIVIL CASE PROCESS DIFFERS FROM WASHINGTON’S
Because our firm handles personal injury cases in Washington and Oregon, we are well-versed in how both states’ civil court rules operate. There is much that is the same between the two states. However, there are some major differences, and maybe none as major as this: the amount of pre-trial discovery the parties are… Read More »
ARE YOU REALLY SURE YOU ARE COVERED? HOMEOWNER’S AND RENTER’S INSURANCE POLICIES AND DOG BITES
Are you a dog owner? If so, it might be a good idea to read or re-read your insurance policy. As our prior blogs have discussed, even the nicest dogs occasionally bite, and when they do, the results can be ugly – including not just the original wound, but from the potential for complicated… Read More »
OLD PEOPLE, THEY JUST GROW LONESOME
There is the beginning, the middle, and the end. One way to look at life, anyway. At age 63, I am not exactly in the middle, but not yet at the end (I am certainly not at the beginning). As a son, a father, and a grandfather though, I do have a courtside seat… Read More »
THE OTHER DRIVER’S INSURANCE IS SAYING THE ACCIDENT WAS MY FAULT, WHAT CAN I DO?
All over the country, car accidents happen. In many of those cases, it is relatively clear whose fault it was, like when a person is rear-ended while stopped at a red light. Insurance companies will typically admit fault in those cases. In other cases, in my experience commonly involving multiple cars or questions about… Read More »
SCHAUERMANN THAYER ATTORNEYS VOLUNTEER FOR LOCAL 2019 TRIAL LAWYERS CARE EVENT
Bill Thayer, Brad Thayer, Ben Melnick, and Scott Edwards, pictured with the group. On Tuesday, June 4, Schauermann Thayer attorneys participated in the Southwest Washington effort of the Washington State Association for Justice’s (WSAJ) “Trial Lawyers Care” program. Scott Edwards, Bill and Brad Thayer, and Ben Melnick all worked with other personal injury attorneys… Read More »
IF I HIRE A LAWYER, CAN THE INSURANCE COMPANY STILL CONTACT ME?
Once an insurance company learns that a person is represented by an attorney, in practice the adjuster no longer contacts the person directly. All future communication goes through the attorney. This is something we state in all letters we send to an insurance company notifying them of our involvement. There are good reasons for… Read More »
ON GYMNASIUM WALL PADDING
Next time you walk into a gymnasium with a basketball court, take a look down towards the baselines, behind the backboards and hoops. How much distance is between the gym walls and the baselines? Are the walls behind the baskets padded? If so, how far out towards the sidelines does the padding extend? If… Read More »
SHOULD COMPANIES THAT DEVELOPED THE TECHNOLOGY INVOLVED IN INSTANCES OF DISTRACTED DRIVING BE HELD RESPONSIBLE?
A recent article in the business section of the Oregonian, entitled “Distracted Driving, Courts: Apple doesn’t have to use safety tech”, addresses several test cases that have been or are being pursued in the courts. The question is an interesting one – Since Apple patented “lockout“ technology in 2008, can and should it be… Read More »
WILL MY CRIMINAL HISTORY AFFECT MY PERSONAL INJURY CASE?
Lady Justice is blindfolded because justice is supposed to be blind. A person’s past run-ins with the law do not make him or her any less injured, and that same past does not make the at-fault person any less responsible for the harms caused. So why should it affect your case? In most cases,… Read More »
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL ME ABOUT HOW TO HANDLE MY POTENTIAL CASE IF I WAS YOUR FAMILY MEMBER?
I was still in bed on the morning of March 31, 2014, when I got the text message everyone fears. My brother-in-law texted me only this: “Kimberly and I were in a really bad car accident this morning. They are taking Kimberly to the SICU, she had a broken leg and a crushed spleen,… Read More »
