Practice Area
Jobsite Injury
When is a Landowner Allowed to Delegate the Duty of Care to an Independent Contractor to Ensure Others’ Safety?
Legal Alert
From the Desk of Brian Schiewe: In a recent Washington State Supreme Court decision, the Court affirmed that a landowner may delegate to a qualified independent contractor its duty to invitees to remediate known or obvious dangers.  In premises liability…
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Wednesday January 3, 2024 By: Brian Schiewe
Commercial Lines in Washington: 2022 Year in Review
Webinar
Join Smith Freed Eberhard Partners, Kyle Riley and Ashley Nagrodski, as they discuss significant commercial lines cases from 2022 in Washington with a focus on the impact these cases will have on commercial lines claims management. Webinar Available On-Demand Webinar…
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Wednesday May 10, 2023 By: Firm Authorship
Delegating a Duty of Care: When Can a Land Owner Delegate a Duty to Keep Others Safe to an Independent Contractor?
Legal Alert
From the Desk of Brian Schiewe: In premises liability claims, a landowner has the duty to exercise reasonable care in making their premises safe for invitees, which include independent contractors that are on the premises to perform a job. A…
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Thursday October 20, 2022 By: Brian Schiewe
What Risks Are Assumed in Construction Work and When Can It Bar Recovery?
Legal Alert
From the Desk of Kyle Riley: A plaintiff’s recovery can be barred if the plaintiff consents to the risks of a specific hazard before encountering that hazard. In this case before the Washington Court of Appeals, defendant Spee West claimed…
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Monday October 3, 2022 By: Kyle Riley
Maintaining Safe Workplaces: Whose Duty Is It?
Legal Alert
From the Desk of Partner Gordon C. Klug: Developing your land or contracting for someone to work your land can often be a large undertaking. When you hire a general contractor, and they begin hiring subcontractors it can quickly become…
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Wednesday August 31, 2022 By: Firm Authorship
Premises Liability: The Impact of the “Going or Coming” Rule on Tort Liability
Legal Alert
Listen to Our Legal Alerts on the Following Platforms: From the desk of Jeff Eberhard: In Oregon, workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy against an employer, which means the employee cannot pursue civil litigation against that employer. Therefore, knowing how…
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Wednesday May 19, 2021 By: Jeff Eberhard
The Briefing: Premises Liability: The Impact of the “Going or Coming” Rule on Tort Liability
Podcast
Welcome to The Briefing - a legal podcast by Smith Freed Eberhard. We will provide insight and analysis on new Oregon and Washington case law, litigation innovation and technology, the insurance marketplace, and firm news. In this week's episode, Justin…
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Wednesday May 19, 2021 By: Jeff Eberhard
Four Smith Freed Eberhard Attorneys Recognized as 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.
Award & Recognition
Smith Freed Eberhard is proud to announce that 3 of our attorneys have been recognized as 2020 Super Lawyers and Rising Stars. Each year, Super Lawyers selects attorneys through a multi-phase selection process based on peer nominations, evaluations and independent…
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Thursday February 20, 2020 By: Firm Authorship
An $18,000,000 Dismissal
Success Story
Claims Alleged: Personal Injury Injuries Alleged: Quadriplegia Amount Claimed: $18,000,000 The Background Plaintiff was a general contractor on a commercial building project. One of his subcontractors was injured on the job and rendered a quadriplegic. When the injured worker sued…
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Friday December 20, 2019 By: Firm Authorship
Top 10 Things to Know About Discovery in the Information Age
White Paper
  Whether or not you viewed our webinar, Discovery in the Information Age, you'll want to download our complimentary cheat sheet that summarizes the key takeaways from the webinar about how you can better use technology to more effectively defend…
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Tuesday November 26, 2019 By: Jeff Eberhard
Oregon Case Update: Oregon Supreme Court Determines that the Noneconomic Damages Cap Does Not Apply in Any Case Involving Workers’ Compensation
Legal Alert
Oregon Case Update: Oregon Supreme Court Determines that the Noneconomic Damages Cap Does Not Apply in Any Case Involving Workers’ Compensation From the Desk of Ryan McLellan: Oregon’s $500,000 noneconomic damages cap purports to limit the amount of noneconomic damages…
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Thursday April 25, 2019 By: Ryan McLellan
2018 – Year In Review – Commercial Lines in Oregon
Webinar
Webinar Available On-Demand Enter your email below to request more information on this webinar. > Smith Freed Eberhard Partner Bill Taaffe discusses major cases of the past year in Oregon. In this one hour presentation, Bill focuses on the following…
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Thursday November 8, 2018 By: William Taaffe
Washington Case Law Update: Jobsite Owner Not Entitled to Reduce Liability by Allocating Fault
Legal Alert
Washington Case Law Update: Jobsite Owner Not Entitled to Reduce Liability by Allocating Fault From the desk of John Kreutzer: As with many other states, Washington law allocates fault among all entities that caused the claimant’s damages. But when one…
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Thursday March 30, 2017 By: William Taaffe
Oregon Construction Case Law Update: Retaining Right to Control Safety Measures Will Lead to Contractor Liability
Legal Alert
Oregon Construction Case Law Update: Retaining Right to Control Safety Measures Will Lead to Contractor Liability From the desk of Smith Freed Eberhard: Oregon’s Employer Liability Law (“ELL”) imposes nearly strict liability for owners, contractors, and subcontractors who are responsible…
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Thursday August 25, 2016 By: Firm Authorship
Oregon Case Law Update: High-Low Settlement Agreements Do Not Necessarily Resolve Dispute
Legal Alert
  Oregon Case Law Update: High-Low Settlement Agreements Do Not Necessarily Resolve Dispute From the desk of Jeff Eberhard: A high-low settlement agreement is a settlement in which the settling defendant agrees to pay a minimum amount and the plaintiff…
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Tuesday August 2, 2016 By: Jeff Eberhard
Oregon Case Update: Worker Can Sue if Employer Deliberately Causes Injury
Legal Alert
  From the desk of Jeff Eberhard: Normally, the Workers’ Compensation Act is a worker’s exclusive remedy for injuries sustained while on the job.  However, the Act provides an exception for circumstances where the employer deliberately causes injury to the…
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Thursday June 23, 2016 By: Jeff Eberhard
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