Archive for February 15th, 2011

Enterprise Products issue press release on explosion that killed Rick Shaw

Fortune 500 company Enterprise Products issued a press release (click here to view the press release) on February 9, 2011 regarding the explosion and fire at its Mont Belvieu, Texas gas plant that left contract worker and father of two Rick Shaw dead. In the press release Enterprise Products does not identify Rick Shaw by name and the company extends its: “…condolences to the family and friends of the worker and will be working closely with authorities to determine the cause of the fire.”

The bulk of Enterprise Products‘ press release went on to explain that the explosion did not damage certain key components of the gas plant and that Enterprise Products‘ operations were minimally impacted. Assuredly the explosion has had more than a minimal impact on Rick Shaw’s 12 and 13-year old daughters and other family members.

If you or a loved one have been seriously injured at work, including in a plant explosion, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for advice on your legal rights.

Comcast worker accused of raping 14-year old girl

Comcast worker Jose Torres was charged on Friday with aggravated assault of a child, and Houston police are looking for him. Torres is accused of raping a 14-year old girl 2 days after visiting her home. Torres visited the family’s home last summer trying to sell them cable service from Comcast, according to investigators. The girl told police that 2 days later Torres returned to her family’s trailer, broke in while she was sleeping and held a knife to her throat. The 14-year old later identified Torres from a photo spread; Torres had left his business card at the home.

KPRC Local News Channel 2 called the number on the business card Monday afternoon and spoke to Torres who told their reported Phil Archer that he is cooperating with law enforcement and that the accusation of rape is due to mistaken identity. Torres told the reporter that he met with police and submitted his DNA, however police say no testable DNA was recovered from the scene. A Comcast spokesman said that Torres worked for a Comcast contractor, that he passed a criminal background check and that he was fired shortly after a police investigation.

Generally an employer is responsible for the actions, including negligence, of its employees provided the employee’s actions were within the course and scope of employment.  This is known as vicarious liability and also known as respondeat superior.  Put another way, an employer will answer for the wrongs of an employee provided what the employee was doing at the time was part of the employee’s typical work duties. On the other hand if the employee did something well outside the course and scope of his/her employment, the employer is probably not responsible. Under certain circumstances an employer may be responsible for an employee’s acts that are outside the course and scope, for example if the employer negligently hired the employee, negligently trained them, or negligently retained them. One example would be if an employer knew an employee would have access to vulnerable members of the public, such as children, yet the employer failed to do a background check on the employee or respond to complaints about the employee behaving inappropriately toward children.

If you or a loved one have been injured by the negligent or intentional acts of a company employee, call or email the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a no charge consultation and review of your case. Large companies put their resources to work right away when they believe they are facing a legal problem: let the attorneys at Smith & Hassler advise you of your legal rights as soon as possible.

Comcast employee Jose Torres is facing rape charges after allegedly assaulting a 14-year old Houston girl in her family's trailer.

Rollover wreck in Southwest Houston kills teenager

Police say a 17-year old driver died in a rollover car accident at around 11:50am on Sunday February 13th. The teenager was driving a white-colored Honda Accord in the 10400 block of the Southwest Freeway. Investigators said the driver lost control while exiting on the service road near Beltway 8. When the car slid and overturned, the driver and a rear seat passenger were ejected from the car, according to detectives. Police say the driver died at the scene and the ejected passenger and one other passenger were transported to Ben Taub, reportedly with minor injuries.

What the Toyota sudden acceleration and resulting injuries and deaths have reinforced is that single car accidents are not always due to driver error. Sometimes a vehicle defect may either be responsible for the initial accident, or may may injuries or death more likely due to design, manufacturing or warning defects for which the vehicle manufacturer is responsible. If you or a loved on have been seriously injured in a car accident and believe a failure on the part of the vehicle may have contributed to serious injury or loss of life, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your potential products liability case.