Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A HPD patrol officer was involved in a collision with a wrecker truck driver at Highway 288 and Old Spanish Trail. The officer and the wrecker driver were both injured. The officer had pulled over on Highway 288 to help search for a prisoner, and when the officer got back in her police cruiser and tried to merge onto the roadway her clipboard got stuck in the steering wheel and she ran into an unattended wrecker truck. The wrecker truck was then pushed forward into the wrecker driver who was standing nearby. KHOU’s story is here. Channel 2’s story is here, and reports the scene of the accident as Highway 288 and Yellowstone.

Under the Texas Tort Claims Act (TTCA), there are limits placed on the amount of financial liability of a unit of government for death or injury caused to another person. Depending on the type of governmental unit, the maximum damages that may be recovered in a claim for personal injury or death may be either $100,000 or $250,000. In March 2009 a lady named Leigh Boone was involved in an intersection collision between two City of Houston fire trucks in the Montrose area. Ms. Boone was standing at the corner of the intersection with her bicycle when one of the crashed fire trucks rolled onto her. She died after spending two weeks in the hospital. The City of Houston settled with Ms. Boone’s family members for $225,000, just under the $250,000 maximum damages that can be recovered from a municipality under the TTCA.

After sustaining very serious injuries in a collision with a Navajo Express 18-wheeler on FM 1485, it appears Splendora Police Officer Ryan Simpson, 28, has a long recovery road ahead of him. Officer Simpson collided with the 18-wheeler on Monday while searching for an armed robbery suspect. The incident is still under investigation and no tickets have been issued yet. The city of Splendora is having a blood drive in honor of Officer Simpson this coming Tuesday at Splendora City Hall from 10:00am to 4:00pm, or at any time thereafter at Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center’s 14 Houston-area Donor Centers now through April 4. Channel 13’s story.

It appears opinions may be changing with respect to how the accident unfolded. A Channel 13 story states that initial reports were that the 18-wheeler pulled into the roadway in front of Officer Simpson’s patrol vehicle, interfering with Officer Simpson’s right-of-way. Now however the Texas Department of Public Safety says there is evidence the 18-wheeler was already in the roadway turning from Roberts Road onto FM 1485 prior to Officer Roberts traveling westbound on 1485 and crashing into the side of the big rig.

The Montgomery County Police Reporter on Tuesday March 20th wrote that Officer Simpson was recognizing people in his hospital room in the intensive care unit, but was not able to communicate because of a breathing tube. At that time he still had several surgeries ahead of him. Officer Simpson was missed at the East Montgomery County Law Enforcement Appreciation Dinner, where he was to accept the 2011 award. In his absence Constable Hayden asked all uniformed officers to come forward and accept the award on Officer Simpson behalf. A photo was taken and sent to Officer Simpson.

An account has been set up at Amegy Bank for Officer Ryan Simpson’s benefit. Donors can go to any Amegy Bank and make a deposit to “The Ryan Simpson Benefit.” Donations can also be dropped off or mailed to Splendora City Hall, Attn: City Secretary for Ryan, P.O. Box 1087, Splendora, TX 77372.