Don Hooton

I am an avid outdoorsman and enjoy boating, fishing and hunting. I have been representing injured workers in Oregon since 1988. Between March 1992 and June 1993, I served as a Board Member on the Oregon Workers’ Compensation Board, which is the appellate body charged with reviewing the orders of administrative law judges in workers’ compensation cases. In addition to my workers’ compensation trial practice, I have established a prolific appellate practice before the Oregon Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. Over the last three decades or so, I have made substantial contributions advancing not only the interests of my clients, but also the interests of all injured workers in this state through a number of significant legal victories at the appellate stage. (Please visit Our Notable Cases page.) As an older son in a large, poor Midwestern family, my working life began as early as age 14. At that young age, I witnessed my father struggling with his health and at times completely unable to work. These early experiences gave me a deep perspective on the hardships and needs of injured workers during periods of illness or injury. I enlisted for military service in 1972, where I trained as a medical corpsman, including training in laboratory medicine and as a pathology assistant during autopsies. After the military, and prior to my legal education, I worked in a hospital clinical lab and also as a claims adjuster in the health insurance industry. These professional experiences added to my understanding of injury and disease processes, and how claims involving these matters are addressed by the insurance industry. In addition to my workers’ compensation practice, I also represent disabled individuals before the Social Security Administration.