Logging Injury, Truck Accidents, Timber Company Negligence
The logging industry is a dangerous one. Loggers cut, yard, load, and haul timber. Each aspect comes with its own unique risks of serious injury and death. Johnson Johnson Larson & Schaller, PC, has represented numerous loggers and log truck drivers, or their families, in logging related injury and wrongful death cases.
Defective Logging Equipment. One logger we represented was responsible for setting up and operating yarders to pull heavy logs up steep slopes to landings where the logs were loaded onto log trucks to be hauled to local mills for processing. Late one afternoon as he was pulling a log up with a skycar he had erected with towers and supporting cables, he heard an unfamiliar noise – an explosive crack, and then a whistle. A guy line had broken loose from its anchor and whipped past him. Tragically, but the 100 foot tower it was supporting rocked and then crashed down, crushing his leg and knocking him unconscious.
After a long investigation, we determined that the accident was caused by a defective guy line end. We held the manufacturer responsible, citing evidence uncovered by a metallurgist we employed as an expert. We also with an OSU forestry professor and medical, and life care experts. The defective products logging case was settled for a confidential amount. You may read more about this case in our Spring 2011 Newsletter.
Helicopter Crash Fatality. Helicopters are used widely in modern logging operations, but unfortunately their use comes with a risk of serious injury and death. In one JJLS Law case, an Oregon Department of Forestry fire suppression specialist, a passenger in a corporate timber company’s helicopter, was searching for water holes suitable for forest fire fighters to use if needed during the next fire season. The helicopter struck power lines suspended across the Siuslaw River, and both the pilot and our client were killed. JJLS Law’s experts conducted a detailed crash analysis and determined that the cause of the fatal accident was pilot error for which the timber company was liable.
Log Truck Driver Fatality. Loading and securing logs onto a log truck is hazardous duty. We have represented many log truck drivers over the years. In one case, we represented the family a log truck driver who was killed when a large log rolled off his truck as he was securing his load and crushed him. JJLS Law filed a wrongful death claim under the Oregon Employer Liability Law against the landing operator for failing to build the load properly so that each log was saddled and stable. The case was settled before trial, proving compensation to the loggers surviving spouse and children.
Free Consultation. These are just a few of the many cases in which JJLS Law has represented loggers, log truck drivers, and foresters or their families in personal injury or wrongful death claims. If you sustain injury, or a loved one loses their life as a result of negligent logging operations or timber company practices, call the experienced Oregon attorneys at Johnson Johnson Larson & Schaller, PC. There is no fee unless money is recovered in compensation for the loss.
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