From Oregonlive, here’s an update on HB 2726, the bill that would require chain restaurants to disclose calorie and nutrition information to consumers. The bill reportedly passed out of committee. Here’s the interesting thing. It passed out of committee on straight party lines. All the D’s voted in favor, and all R’s voted against.

Next stop, the House floor. I don’t have any idea what the vote count looks like on this one.

I have to go back to my original question on this. How could anyone oppose giving consumers more information so that consumers can make informed food choices? After all, we’re told that people need to take responsibility for their own decisions. I get that. But for every mouth that’s uttered those words, tell me how voting against more information for consumers helps accomplish this?

I’m listening for answers.

David Sugerman

It’s a bit hard to read about the details of Bill Coultas’ injuries from a helicpoter crash, but doing so gives good insight into why we need a fair and open justice system. Mr. Coultas suffered profound injuries in the helicopter crash. No wonder that survivors and relatives of those who died are pursuing claims arising out of the crash.

The talking heads who criticize the civil justice system mouth stock phrases like, “frivolous lawsuits” and “McDonald’s coffee.” If you’ve heard or uttered those words, you should take a look at Mr. Coultas’ story, as it explains in detail what we mean when we talk about profound injuries.

I don’t know anything about Mr. Coultas’ situation other than what is reported in the linked article. Still, it’s a good read for crticis of the civil justice system.

David Sugerman

Saw this report over the weekend about the newly filed wrongful death case on behalf of one of the families that lost a son in the recent helicopter crash.  As I often observe–and by way of caveat–news reporters sometimes get reports about lawsuits wrong, and I offer that at the front end.  Even so, I’m a bit taken by a major difference between Oregon and California lawyers.

In Oregon, we don’t file cases simply to find out if someone made a mistake. Our courts require Oregon parties and lawyers to have a basis for the lawsuit.  In other words, the family and its lawyer need to have a good faith basis for claiming that someone did something wrong before filing the lawsuit. To be sure, you wind up learning a lot through the process of a lawsuit, but it’s not supposed to be a process of suing without knowledge.

Having said that, my heart goes out to the family. Most of us who are parents have some inkling of the profound heartache that comes of losing a child.

I suppose it easy to be critical of this tragically wounded family. But at bottom, they only dare to want to call someone to account for wrongfully killing their child.   In that respect, the scorn being heaped upon them seems to me to be callous and mean.  To be sure, most Oregon lawyers would have acted differently. But if it were my case and I found fault, I would surely advise the family of their options.

Some of the scorn seems particularly harsh to my ear because of the current financial crisis. But that’s just me talking, I guess.

David Sugerman

It’s just coming out, but The Oregonian is reporting that Oregon lawyers Keith Dozier and Aaron Baker obtained a jury verdict for $19 million in federal court here in Portland on behalf of four Thomason Toyota employees who suffered racial discrimination on the job. Keith is one of my favorite younger lawyers in Portland. He’s committed to doing things the right way. He’s kind of quiet and obviously committed to his clients. I don’t know Aaron, but I imagine he’s talented, too.

Verdicts of this size reflect outrage with a Big O.  I’ll keep an eye on this one and be posting about it as I learn more. In the meantime, if anyone out there knows about the case, I would appreciate your comments and would be happy to learn more about the case.

Congrats to the gentlemen who stood up for what’s right and their lawyers who obviously did a great job.

David Sugerman

So it should be no surprise that Bill Sizemore, Racketeer gets lots of money, but  according to this, his funding comes from Loren Parks, an out-of-state donor who has pumped $8 million into Oregon initiatives.  The Oregonian article does a fairly decent job of tracking the money, as Mr. Parks finances Bill Sizemore, Racketeer and Kevin Mannix. In the mix, also, is Russ Walker who is connected to the Washington, DC anti-tax, anti-lawyer group, FreedomWorks.

The Oregonian missed background on Mr. Parks. He’s an…uh…interesting–yeah, that’s the ticket–character. While he is not a licensed physician or mental health therapist, Mr. Parks provides services to women including sexual therapy. I haven’t gone into the links here, but it appears that Mr. Parks purports to provide some form of hypnotherapy to women suffering from sexual problems.

Seems like this stuff could only come from Hollywood. Sad to say that it’s not fiction. Sadder still,these are the people who have hijacked Oregon’s cherished initiative system.  I think we should all demand better.

David Sugerman

So this is an interesting piece on medical errors in Oregon. According to a summary on Oregon Live, 83 reported medical mistakes killed at least 24 people in Oregon hospitals in 2007. By all accounts, the numbers underreported. The numbers have increased since the 2006 report (65 cases reported).

The mistakes range from medication errors to wrong-site surgeries to objects left in patients during surgery. Of the reported errors, 30 resulted in serious injury, though “serious” is not defined.

Perhaps the biggest concern is the increase in numbers. While the numbers look low, the number of reported mistakes increased by 25 percent. Perhaps this means only that more are being reported. Still, you have to hope that we’re getting better at identifying and eliminating causes of preventable error.

The good news is that reporting systems can help increase patient safety, as long as they are properly used. Let’s hope that the reporting process starts to take the trend of cases downward.

David F. Sugerman

I have to say that Steve Duin’s column in today’s Oregonian (24 January 2008) is a breath of fresh air. Here is the link: www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf?/base/news/1201137918314500.xml&coll=7&thispage=1

The back story is that the Oregon Supreme Court ruled recently that Oregon Health Sciences cannot cap a child’s damages at $200,000 when OHSU’s negligent treatment causes profound brain damage.

Rather than take responsibility, OHSU started up the scare machine. We were treated to a parade of horribles. OHSU will be forced to limit or cut care, it will be closing clinics, and it will be laying off many people all because of–they claimed–Jordaan Clarke.

Steve Duin’s column debunks the myth. I mean, for crying out loud, can you say, “Aerial tram”? And don’t even get me started on the OHSU waterfront developments. Or how about the recent loss of the biotech research group to Florida? The reality is that OHSU hides from public scrutiny by claiming to be private and hides from market reality by claiming to be public.

The best part of Steve Duin’s article is this quote from Sen. Walker (Eugene): “They’ve finally found a way for people to overlook years of financial mismanagement,” state Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene said, “and it’s Jordaan Michael Clarke. It’s a great PR move, but it’s ridiculous. And it’s a snow job.”

Couldn’t agree with her more.

David F. Sugerman