I practiced workers’ compensation law in Portland for over 40 years. 

In 2012 I was retained by a 36-year-old man who sustained severe injuries, including the loss of both hands, as a result of having been electrocuted while working as a lineman for a power company in Oregon.  Since I was planning to retire in 2015 and the battle over the extent of his permanent disability was just beginning to heat up, I looked for another attorney to associate with and take over the case if necessary.  After speaking with Chris Frost, I concluded that she was the right choice and my client agreed. With her help, we were then able to achieve a very desirable result for our client in a relatively short period of time.  Chris and her staff have the reputation of being the best workers' compensation firm in Oregon and my client and I were fortunate to work with them.  I am pleased to recommend her.

I practiced personal injury law in Portland for most of my nearly forty-one-year career.

In 2012 I was retained by a 31-year-old husband and father of two who had been catastrophically injured - including being permanently blinded in both eyes - when he was run over by a piece of construction equipment in a work accident in Clark County, Washington.  In on-the-job accidents, a worker may not sue his employer for negligence and this was one of those cases where any case against other contractors on the job would be expensive, legally complex and technically challenging.  I decided, after conducting many hours of research and investigation, that a case could be made but it would be a long and expensive undertaking.  While continuing to work on the case, I began looking for help from another firm.  I talked with a number of lawyers but each of them thought that the case would be too expensive and difficult to take on. Then a trial lawyer friend of mine recommended Ray Thomas and his firm. I had known Ray for many years and called him up and gave him an overview of the case. He was aware of the difficulties but felt the case had merit, so he and his partner Cynthia Newton filed a Freedom of Information action and obtained access to all of the thousands of pages of documents for the construction project. The documents revealed that the other contractors on the job site had failed to provide a job site plan for safe movement of equipment and traffic, despite the fact that run over, backing and pinch point injuries and deaths are extreme dangers for workers on jobs like this one. Their partner, Jim Coon, filed the personal injury and loss of consortium lawsuit in both Oregon and Washington, and he fought to obtain the necessary legal rulings to go forward with the case. After many depositions and other preparation for trial, the case was finally settled shortly before trial, in February 2017, in a confidential settlement that included satisfaction of a large Washington Labor and Industries lien.

I believe that the work done by Ray, Jim, Cynthia and their staff was pivotal to obtaining an excellent result for our client, and also delivered the important message that job traffic control safety is important. Without their strong work it is unlikely that such favorable results would have been obtained.

Thanks Chris and Aaron for the great work you did with my Workers’ Comp case.

You handled everything so well, I was happy with the settlement amount and the turnaround time. I’m definitely referring people to you, you were great.

When I fell at work

and got a concussion, I was surprised by how many serious symptoms I was having. I had not known what a “mere” concussion can really do to someone. Then, to add insult to injury, my workers compensation claim did not go smoothly. Luckily, though, I called Swanson, Thomas, Coon & Newton, and spoke with Stephanie Bales, Christine Frost’s assistant. She was like a ray of sunshine for me: someone who listened to me, took me seriously, and made me feel as if there was someone out there ? besides my doctor ? who was on my side. That meant a lot to me.

We had another lawyer

who was retiring and told us we needed to find another lawyer. We talked with Chris who was the first person who actually took the time to sit down and talk to us about what was happening and explained how the workers’ comp system worked and helped us very much in deciding what to do about our case. Chris was amazing, and a fountain of information and we could tell she really knew what she was talking about.

I had a worker’s comp claim

and was nervous about getting a lawyer, but I am glad I did. Chris and her staff were great about explaining things. They sorted out my time loss rate and got me a good settlement.

I am a registered nurse

who had a very complex workers’ compensation case and had basically lost hope. Chris Frost took this case even though 5 years had already passed and there was a large volume of documentation to sift through. She was thorough and creative and won my case! Her staff was great to work with. I highly recommend Chris Frost to anyone needing help with a Worker’s Compensation matter.

My name is John Gray

and as a former and extremely satisfied client of Swanson Thomas Coon and Newton I would like to briefly convey my experience. The firm has represented me from the onset of my Work place accident, through the hurdles of the Oregon Worker’s Compensation system, Third Party Liability, all the way to Social Security Disability. The specialized representation I received has made my life better in too many ways to share. My education by my attorneys on all the pitfalls of each claim type and area, meant knowledgeable communication by myself and my attorneys, resulting in a positive resolution on all counts.