Construction Accident / Third Party Action Representative Cases


During law school in the late seventies, we planned to start a law firm to represent the under-represented, working people who have been injured and are struggling to obtain fairness from the legal system. Since we began our law firm in 1981, our legal and volunteer work has remained focused on this goal. We treat our clients as individuals, and make their struggles our struggles.

Our representative Construction Accident / Third Party Action cases include:

  • Worker v. Subcontractor (2012 – Confidential Settlement) – Cynthia Newton negotiated a six-figure settlement on behalf of a 54-year-old union concrete truck driver (Teamsters) who injured both shoulders (requiring rotator cuff repairs on each) when he reached up to catch a subcontractor who fell from the worker’s concrete truck chute, preventing him from landing on the pavement below. The subcontractor contended he had climbed into the chute to clean it and was permitted to do so; the worker, and his company, contended he was not. The subcontractor argued the worker was comparatively at fault for undertaking to catch the subcontractor, when it was not necessary to do so since others had already responded. The action included general negligence and ELL claims (ORS 654.305 et seq.) against the subcontractor. The case settled shortly before trial and after defendant’s motion for summary judgment was denied. The worker had had three prior shoulder surgeries for similar conditions. STCN attorneys assisted with the case: Jim Coon on the motion work and Chris Frost on the worker’s compensation aspects of the case.
  • Electrician v. General Contractor (2010) – In this confidential settlement, reached on the eve of trial, Cynthia Newton reached a multiple six figure settlement on behalf of a journeyman electrician in his 50’s permanently disabled from his occupation. The settlement was reached with the general contractor whose insurer also served as the workers compensation benefits payor. The settlement took into account medical expenses and time loss to date and “cashed out” future lost income and vocational rehabilitation benefits. The electrician was injured on a high rise project when the employee of another subcontractor backed a forklift into the ladder on which he was standing, causing him to fall onto his outstretched arm, dislocating and seriously injuring his shoulder, which had been dislocated previously in an unrelated incident. STCN workers’ compensation specialist Chris Frost obtained the entitlement to the underlying workers’ compensation benefits.
  • Max Woodbury v. CH2M Hill (1998) – $11.5 million verdict on behalf of a field geologist rendered quadriplegic by fall at environmental hazard cleanup site. Fall caused by inadequate supervision and training by general contractor. Oregon’s largest workers’ compensation third-party jury verdict.
  • Miller v. Kamper Korner (1995) – $607,000 verdict of Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) worker hit by a truck as he removed a hazard from 1-5 traffic lane.

Over the past 20 years, our law firm has represented hundreds of injured people in Personal Injury cases.