Archive for September, 2011

Car crashes into ambulance on I-10 East at Sheldon sending 6 to the hospital

Channel 2 News is reporting a collision between  a car and an ambulance that sent six injured people to the hospital. The crash happened just after 9:00am on Wednesday September 14 at the intersection of the Interstate 10 East feeder and Sheldon Road in Houston. A silver-gray Dodge Charger car crashed into the ambulance as the ambulance was responding to a call for another car accident. According to deputies, the car had the right-of-way in the intersection but the ambulance was responding to an emergency and had lights and sirens activated. Sergeant Mauro Alvardo with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said that every other car stopped at the intersection to allow the ambulance through the intersection, however the gray car proceeded through on a green light. A total of six injured people had to be transported to the hospital including three medics in the ambulance and a 4 and 5-year old. The driver of the gray car received a citation for failure to yield the right of way to the ambulance. The ambulance was broadsided in the accident and flipped over onto its side. ABC Channel 13’s story is available here.

A car accident is a very disruptive event for most people.  A damaged vehicle may mean you cannot get to work, grocery shop, take your kids to school or sporting events, and so on.  Injuries may mean you are unable to work, hence unable to support yourself or your family due to lost wages.  And not only are you missing income because you are unable to work, but you now have unexpected debts for medical treatment, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars.  Dealing with all of these challenges at once can feel overwhelming, particularly if you have never been involved in an accident before.  If the at-fault driver had insurance, you are probably dealing with requests for information from the insurance company too.  Smith & Hassler firmly believes that the earlier in the process you get sound advice from an experienced personal injury attorney who is willing to listen to you, answer your questions and provide you guidance, the better.  The insurance company will press you early on to give a recorded statement about the accident, your injuries, your medical history and more: don’t do it, the statement is for their benefit, not yours.  You can call or email Smith & Hassler any time for a free consultation on your car accident injury claim.

Why does Rick Perry want to kick trial lawyers out of Texas and how does that help Texas families?

Candidates for the Republican nomination to run for President in 2012 debated last night, September 12, 2011 and Texas Governor Rick Perry had some interesting commentary on trial lawyers. Governor Perry told the audience that 1 million jobs had been created in Texas under his watch, during which time he implemented tort reform and “kicked trial lawyers out of the state.” As a matter of fact, Gov. Perry specifically told the other candidates (which include two currently sitting governors) to kick the trial lawyers out of their states.

What an interesting philosophy. Trial lawyers are the mechanism through which Texas families have access to the courthouse and the ability to redress their grievances against infinitely more powerful and wealthy foes such as giant corporations or insurance companies with billions of dollars in revenue. It can fairly be said that the right to a jury trial and the ability of a regular citizen to access the courthouse is a cornerstone of American democracy. Why does Gov. Perry want to kick out all of the trial lawyers and how does that help Texan families? The answer to part of that questions is that it doesn’t help Texan families, it hurts them.

The answer to the other part of the question is probably a lot more complex. To help you understand what might motivate Governor Perry to clean house of trial lawyers, you might read Patti Hart’s September 10, 2011 article in the Houston Chronicle documenting the history of the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).  Houston home builder Bob Perry of Perry Homes (not related to Gov. Rick Perry) has donated more than $2.5 million to Gov. Perry during his tenure as Governor of Texas. Bob Perry was a major advocate of the TRCC during its existence from 2003-2010. One month after Bob Perry donated $100,000 to Governor Rick Perry’s campaign, an attorney named John Krugh, General Counsel for Perry Homes, was appointed to serve on the TRCC. Criticism of the TRCC was plentiful and many viewed the organization as little more than a barrier to the courtroom for Texas families dissatisfied with shoddy building work.

15 most dangerous cities for driving in the United States

CNBC recently released the list of the 15 most dangerous cities for driving in the US based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fortunately Texas fared quite well, only Lubbock is among the top 15.

15. Oklahoma City, OK: 13.41 fatalities per 100,000 population; 74 fatalities total, 13.5% were pedestrians

14. Birmingham, AL: 13.55 fatalities per 100,000 population; 31 fatalities total, 15.2% were pedestrians

13. Tulsa, OK: 14.00 fatalities per 100,000 population; 54 fatalities total, 18.5% were pedestrians

12. St. Petersburg, FL: : 14.27 fatalities per 100,000 population; 35 fatalities total, 28.6% were pedestrians

11. Jacksonville, FL: : 14.36 fatalities per 100,000 population; 116 fatalities total, 13.8% were pedestrians

10. Lubbock, TX: : 14.97 fatalities per 100,000 population; 33 fatalities total, 15.2% were pedestrians

9. Memphis, TN: : 15.08 fatalities per 100,000 population; 101 fatalities total, 11.9% were pedestrians

8. Jackson, MS: : 15.53 fatalities per 100,000 population; 27 fatalities total, 18.5% were pedestrians

7. Chattanooga, TN: : 16.39 fatalities per 100,000 population; 28 fatalities total, 17.9% were pedestrians

6. Salt Lake City, UT: : 16.51 fatalities per 100,000 population; 30 fatalities total, 26.7% were pedestrians

5. San Bernardino, CA: : 17.12 fatalities per 100,000 population; 38 fatalities total, 15.8% were pedestrians

4. Little Rock, AR: : 17.94 fatalities per 100,000 population; 34 fatalities total, 26.5% were pedestrians

3. Augusta, GA: : 19.57 fatalities per 100,000 population; 38 fatalities total, 15.8% were pedestrians

2. Orlando, FL: : 19.95 fatalities per 100,000 population; 46 fatalities total, 10.9% were pedestrians

1. Fort Lauderdale, FL: : 22.39 fatalities per 100,000 population; 41 fatalities total, 24.4% were pedestrians

Car accident on Lloyd Bentsen Highway in Houston send four to the hospital

KHOU is reporting a serious car accident on westbound Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway in Houston last night. Three people in a gold-colored Nissan Maxima passenger car were speeding around 2:15am when the Maxima crashed into the back of a slower-moving blue Cadillac. That impact then caused the Cadillac to crash into a taxi cab that was traveling in the next lane over. A man driving the Cadillac, a passenger in the cab and two passengers in the Maxima were taken to hospital for unknown injuries. Presumably the driver of the Maxima was faulted for the collision and probably received a citation for failure to control speed causing a rear-end collision. The KHOU story did not say alcohol was involved. but given the wreck happened in the early hours of the morning and that excessive speed was involved, if it turned out drunk driving were a factor that would hardly be surprising.

Unsure of how to handle an insurance claim for personal injuries you have suffered in a car accident?  Don’t rely on the insurance adjuster handling your claim for advice…they have a conflict of interest! The less adjusters pay on injury claims, the more profitable their company remains. Insurance adjusters want to settle automobile accident injury claims as quickly as possible so they can cut-off the insurance company’s liability for additional medical bills and close their file.  Since Smith & Hassler was founded in 1989 by Michael Smith and Al Hassler, this law firm has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and has handled thousands of car accident injury cases.  Call Smith & Hassler for a free consultation AS SOON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR CAR ACCIDENT—get advice from someone with your best interests at heart.  There is no charge for an initial consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.

HPD officer escapes injury in car crash while pursuing teens in stolen minivan

Channel 2 is reporting a car accident involving a Houston Police Department officer who was pursuing two teens in a stolen minivan.  The crash happened around 10:15pm on Wednesday September 7: a woman had called police to report that her minivan had been stolen from her driveway. An officer who spotted the vehicle tried to pull it over but the minivan fled: the officer pursued but crashed at a turn at McCarty Road from Mesa. A 17-year old boy and 13-year old girl fled the van on foot but were detained shortly thereafter. Although Channel 2’s picture of the police cruiser shows pretty significant front end damage, the report indicates that fortunately the officer was not injured.

Car accidents commonly result in medical bills, lost income from work and a period of time after the accident when the injured person is in pain and is impaired from performing their normal activities. Texas law allows a person injured in a motor vehicle accident by another’s negligence to seek recovery of money damages.  Speaking to an experienced Houston personal injury attorney early in the process can make the difference between a relatively straightforward claim under the other driver’s insurance policy and a real nightmare.  Insurance companies will deny or undervalue claims if they have a reason to.  Smith & Hassler’s trial-tested Houston personal injury attorneys will provide you with a free consultation regarding your motor vehicle accident injury claim: call now or submit your case online.

13-day old baby boy tragically killed in pit bull attack at grandparents home

A 13-day old baby boy died as a result of a pit bull attack at his grandparents’ home in Cypress.  The newborn’s name has been released by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences: his name was Braydon McCollen.  According to Harris County Sheriff’s Department investigators, Braydon was asleep in a cradle in the office of his grandparents’ Cypress home when the dog, described by neighbors as a 100lb pit bull, entered the room.  Braydon’s mom was outside using the phone and watching him through the window: the dog sniffed Braydon and then attacked him. A neighbor ran inside and called 911 while Braydon’s grandfather applied pressure to the wounds, but unfortunately the wounds were too severe: Braydon was taken by life flight helicopter to Memorial Hermann Hospital where he died a few hours later. The dog is currently in the custody of animal control and is subject to a 10-day quarantine. Channel 2’s story is here.

Our hearts go out to Braydon’s family. What a terrible tragedy.

I’m shopping around for car insurance – are there any GOOD car insurance companies?

A lot of times we find ourselves empathizing with clients who have had a BAD experience with their own insurance company or more frequently, the insurance carrier of the third party who caused the car accident. Any seasoned Plaintiffs personal injury attorney can tell plenty of stories of insurance companies treating people unreasonably or unfairly. Every now and again a client will ask: “Are there any GOOD insurance companies in Texas that you’d recommend?” Actually, there is.

Most of us are guilty of shopping for car insurance: (a) purely based on price, the lower the premiums the better; and (b) without really thinking too much about what expectations we would have of our car insurer if we call upon them to handle a claim. Obviously nobody wants to pay a dollar more than is necessary for car insurance, but there’s a lot to the old saying “You get what you pay for.” Notwithstanding the television commercials that talk about how much you save if you switch to a particular insurance company, premiums probably don’t vary as much as they’d like you to believe.

There are a number of claims scenarios that may cause you to call on an automobile insurance to handle a claim. You may have caused an accident and need your insurer to handle damage to your vehicle, the other driver’s vehicle and injuries to one or both of you. You probably don’t want to get sued, so ideally you’d like your insurance company to handle the other person’s claim in a reasonable way. Alternatively the other driver was at fault and now you are making a claim with their insurance company to take care of your vehicle damage and medical bills: you don’t want to sue the other driver and turn a car accident into an 18-month long lawsuit, so you hope the other driver’s insurance company treats you fairly.

It has been the repeated experience of our attorneys that Texas Farm Bureau Insurance stands out as one of the most reasonable automobile insurance companies we regularly deal with in reference to claims made on personal automobile insurance policies. Cynically people might say: “Well they must pay more and that’s the reason you like them” but that’s not it. Unlike some automobile insurers that seem to have a revolving door with employees constantly leaving to work elsewhere, typically Farm Bureau claims adjusters have been with the company for ten years or more. It usually speaks well of a company that they are able to hang on to their employees for the long haul. It has also been our experience that Farm Bureau adjusters genuinely want to handle their customers’ claims fairly and efficiently.

This is not to say that all other automobile insurance companies that write policies in Texas are bad, just that over many years of experience and handling thousands of clients’ claims, we’ve noticed that Texas Farm Bureau does a good job of handling first party and third party claims for its customers. If you’re shopping around for car insurance you might give them a look.