We often see an unfortunate pecking order in getting to and from in Oregon- cars over bikes and bicycles over pedestrian or those who walk. The reality is cars, bikes, and walkers have equal legal liabilities to each other but it depends upon where each of those are.

In Oregon, pedestrians on public sidewalks have the right of way and bikes must ring a bell or other noise maker when they pass walkers.

Who has the right of way between bikes and cars in Oregon? The traffic code limits bikes to go “no greater than a walking speed” when driving in front of driveways, cross walks, and entry ways.

Bikers also must (under Oregon law) yield to walkers who try to cross the road in a crosswalk whether marked or unmarked.

With these laws in mind a pedestrian can recover money damages from a driver but getting the money in your pocket may be difficult as many bikers don’t carry bike insurance if they injure someone. As always its best to go over your case with an injury lawyer in order to figure out where you go after being injured.

You would be surprised at the number of children who suffer broken arms and legs and serious head injuries from falls through upstairs windows. These children fall because the windows are not secured properly. There are such problems as loose screens or windows without any child fall protection safety guards such as metal railings in private residential homes and hotels.

Any injury to a child in Oregon State and Washington State is serious especially when a child falls through an open or partially opened window and lands upon the ground and is injured. To recover money damages on child fall injury cases you must be able to show that the structural deficiency of the opening to the exterior fell below the minimum safety standard in the state. A good liability investigation in any child fall injury case also would best address whether there was proper supervision of the child by whomever was supervising the child. Children under 10 years of age require adult supervision and any brief thereof and a resulting injury may be enough to get the homeowners insurance company to assume responsibility for the child’s medical bills and even for pain and suffering of the child which depends upon the severity of the case at hand.

The trend in heightened safety on child fall injury cases is a good thing and in my opinion is a result of personal injury lawsuits and the push by good injury lawyers to hold homeowners to accountability for the safety of those on their property. We now see more and more homes with window guards which really are inexpensive and prevent kinds from being injured and dying in the worst case scenario. Lets hope the safety trend in installing child restraint safety window guard continues.

I have handled ‘trip and fall’ or ’slip and fall’ cases including one where an unfortunate client fractured her arm after tripping on a hose which was extended across a sidewalk at a prison. With the summer season around the corner, it will be likely that emergency rooms in Oregon and Washington states will be seeing more and more of these kind of injuries. Recoveries for broken arm and leg cases can often be high but depends upon the unique facts of each injury fall accident case.

Every homeowner and business is liable if the owner or adult person in charge leaves a hose or other clutter on their sidewalk and they will be responsible for medical bills and pain and suffering money. Clutter may include garden hoses, children’s toys, basketballs, pieces of wood, bikes, skateboards, and/or lawn tools.

In Portland Oregon sidewalks are a public route of pedestrian travel and the law in Portland makes the homeowner liable for injuries caused by lack of periodic upkeep and clutter.

When owning a home, there comes great responsibility. A homeowner must understand that if someone is injured through neglect like leaving a hose strewn across a sidewalk or children’s toys cluttering up a sidewalk that they could end up paying for the injured parties. Portland Oregon is a city that prides themselves with great upkeep of our neighborhoods. It’s a wonder why some homeowners take such a casual approach to the great financial risk they are setting themselves up for by failing to keep our community clean.