With December news of some adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine, Oregon employers may be starting to consider the legal liability of those vaccine reactions in a workplace setting. The simple answer is it depends: if medical causation is established, whether a vaccine reaction should be covered under an Oregon workers’ compensation claim turns on…

Clark County Superior Court has made some adjustments to the Superior Court jury trial process to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. Steve Reinisch participated September 14, 2020, in one of the first two cases that utilized the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds for the jury selection. The venue was chosen to allow social distancing during…

We previously brought you news regarding the 2018 Washington law that created a presumption of causation of an occupational disease for workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Under this law, if a person who worked at least one shift at Hanford develops any number of illnesses known to be linked to exposure to chemical gases…

The confidentiality of communications between attorneys and their clients, commonly referred to as attorney-client privilege, is a fundamental and critical aspect of the American legal system. Federal and State Courts consistently protect the sanctity of exchanges between attorneys and those they represent. In doing so, the Courts have described the attorney-client privilege as the bedrock…

For those of you who may have heard rumblings that “preponderance IMEs” will no longer be permitted, recent statutory amendments in Senate Bill 6440 signed into law by Governor Inslee on March 27, 2020, confirm that the circumstances under which an independent medical examination (IME) can be requested will change to some degree. Effective January…