Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

This video clip hosted on Smith & Hassler‘s Youtube channel shows the aftermath of a devastating 18-wheeler versus 18-wheeler collision that happened on Interstate 57 in Illinois. The 18-wheeler seen in the video with the severely damaged (almost unrecognizable) cab failed to reduce speed for traffic that had slowed in the lanes ahead. That 18-wheeler struck the rear of the 18-wheeler pulling the KLM trailer, pushing it into a third 18-wheeler waiting ahead.

If you or a family member have been injured in an 18-wheeler collision, call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler. Smith & Hassler has extensive experience investigating and litigating claims against trucking companies, both in Texas and out of state.

Those among us fortunate enough to have health insurance, but unfortunate in being injured in a car accident, may wonder what happens to their medical bills. Put another way: can you recover money for medical bills paid by health insurance in a settlement with the other driver’s automobile insurer? The answer is yes, with a few buts.

In 2003 the Texas legislature enacted House Bill 4 (HB4) which included sweeping tort reform that had significant effects on personal injury law, particularly medical malpractice. Enacted when HB4 was passed was Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 41.0105 (CPRC 41.0105), which has become known as the “paid versus incurred” statute. The exact wording of the statute is as follows:

§ 41.0105. EVIDENCE RELATING TO AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC DAMAGES. In addition to any other limitation under law, recovery of medical or health care expenses incurred is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant.

Here is a simple example to show how this statute has changed the recovery of money damages for medical bills in Texas when the injured person has health insurance. Let’s say you are rear-ended in a car accident and have a $10,000 hospital bill as a result. Your have health insurance with, let’s say, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and after a $200 co-pay your health insurance pays the hospital $4,800 and the remaining $5,000 of the bill is written off as a “provider discount” to BCBS.

Prior to HB4 and CPRC 41.0105, if you made a claim under the other driver’s automobile insurance for your medical bills, the other driver’s insurance would reimburse you $10,000 which is the full amount of your hospital bill. Put another way, the automobile insurer of the at-fault driver would not get the benefit of your private health insurance. When the law operated this way the $5,000 “upside” would go to you, the injured person: the most you would have to reimburse your health insurer would be the $4,800 BCBS paid the hospital and you would get to keep the $5,000 difference.

Here’s how that changed after HB4 and CPRC 41.0105: the most you can recover from the other driver’s automobile insurance is $5,000 which is the $200 co-pay you paid and the $4,800 paid by BCBS. The automobile insurance company for the at-fault driver gets the benefit of the $5,000 provider discount (or “write-off”) the hospital extended to BCBS.

The overwhelming majority of plaintiffs’ personal injury attorneys think CPRC 41.0105 is being applied in an unfair way and the statute should be changed or repealed. Health insurance is not free. In our example, the driver who rear-ended you did not help you pay your health insurance premiums yet his automobile insurer is getting the benefit of the write-down of the hospital bill which is only being given because of your health insurance.

Something else to consider is that while you can recover money from the at-fault driver’s auto insurer for medical bills paid by your health insurance, your health insurance company may want their money back. This is a process known as subrogation, and most health insurance contracts have subrogation language that says in essence that if they pay your medical bills due to an accident, and you get a recovery from the person who caused the car accident (or their insurer), then your health insurance company is entitled to be reimbursed out of the settlement proceeds. Usually health insurers (or entities acting on their behalf, such as Benefits Recoveries, Inc. or Rawlings Company) will send the injured person a questionnaire shortly after an accident asking if you were injured due to another person’s fault, and if so, to provide that person’s insurance information (claim number, etc).  The health insurer wants that information so they can notify the at-fault driver’s automobile insurer that the health insurer has a subrogation interest (or “lien”) that needs to be paid out of the injury settlement.

There are many other considerations that go beyond the scope of this basic introduction to recovery of medical bills paid by health insurance in a car accident, including negotiating health insurance company liens and presentation of evidence of medical bills at trial that were paid by health insurance. Having an experienced personal injury attorney who recognizes and understands these issues can be a valuable asset and make a significant difference to how much money the injured person puts in their pocket at the end of an auto accident injury claim. Call the Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler if you have been injured in a car accident and have questions about your medical bills paid by health insurance.

A 16-year old Houston girl who died after a shooting incident did so as a result of an accidental shooting by her boyfriend, not due to a drive-by shooting as police were originally lead to believe. The group of 13 to 17-year old kids present when Waddionne Griffin was shot had told police that a dark-colored vehicle pulled up and fired a shot as the teens were standing outside a house in the 4900 block of Alvin at around 12:55AM, said Houston Police Department homicide detective Fil Waters.

After further questioning one of the teens admitted to police that a member of the group had brought the gun to show off and it had accidentally discharged, hitting Griffin. Apparently the 16-year old, known as “Yannie” to her friends, asked her boyfriend who brought the gun to give it to her so she could put it away somewhere safe and make sure nobody gets hurt. The boy, who had no prior experience with firearms, tried to disarm the gun before handing it to her. Unfortunately as he was doing so the gun went off and a round struck Griffin in the arm, going through her chest and then her back. Tragically she died at Memorial Hermann Hospital – The Medical Center.

Charges of negligent homicide are expected against Griffin’s boyfriend, who is a juvenile. The boy’s parents were home at the time of the shooting but were asleep, and have said they do not allow guns in their home. Griffin’s boyfriend wrote an apology letter to the family and asked investigators to deliver it to them.

In Ms. Griffin’s tragic case, it appears only her boyfriend’s negligent actions led up to the shooting incident, and the boyfriend’s parents had no knowledge of the gun. Smith & Hassler‘s Houston personal injury attorneys have handled other somewhat similar cases in which injury or death claims have been made under homeowner’s insurance policies. In order for a homeowner’s insurance policy to cover injury or death resulting from a shooting incident, the homeowner has to have committed a negligent act that caused or contributed to the injury or death. For example: if a parent knowingly allowed two 8-year olds to shoot a BB gun in the backyard unsupervised, and one 8-year old shot the other in the eye, the incident would probably be covered under the parent’s homeowner’s policy because it would be an act of negligence to allow two 8-year olds to use a potentially deadly BB gun without adult supervision.

If you have been injured due to the negligence of a homeowner, call the experienced Houston personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your case.

A horse was killed last night in north Houston when the horse and its rider were struck by a car. The car accident happened at Lomax at Knight shortly before 9:00pm. Police report that an SUV struck the horse and its rider when the rider attempted to cross the street. The man was knocked off his horse but is not reported to have been injured. While the horse was able to stand on its own, the Houston Humane Society said the horse was severely injured and determined the horse needed to be put down.

An accident in North Houston between a horse and an SUV lead to the horse being put down.

Saturday February 19, 2011: An 83-year old man was killed in a three car accident in northwest Houston according to authorities. The unidentified elderly man was driving a tan-colored Cadillac Coupe Deville westbound on FM1960 at around 10:45am when he allegedly ran a red light at an intersection of the Tomball Parkway East service road. A green-colored Chevrolet traveling northbound crashed into the drivers side of the Cadillac which caused the 83-year olds vehicle to spin into other lanes. A blue colored Lincoln then crashed into the front of the Cadillac. Paramedics transported the Cadillac driver to Memorial Hermann Hospital Medical Center where, sadly, he passed away.

Smith & Hassler has represented thousands of people in Houston and throughout Texas in car accident personal injury cases. The Smith & Hassler law firm has practiced exclusively personal injury law for more than 20-years. If you or a friend or family members has been injured due to another’s negligence, call Smith & Hassler‘s experienced Houston personal injury lawyers for a free consultation.

A Klein Independent School District bus was involved in an accident in northwest Harris County on Friday February 19, 2011. The bus was filled with students from Northampton Elementary School when it was involved in a crash in the Five Oaks subdivision shortly after 4:00PM. Four students asked to be transported to the hospital to be checked out. The school district said that the accident did not appear to be serious, and the injured students‘ parents have been notified.

4 Klein I.S.D. elementary students were injured in a school bus accident Friday.

A man crossing in the 11000 block of W. Little York near Overlook in Houston was hit by a vehicle and killed around 5:00am on Thursday February 17, 2011. Harris County Sheriff‘s deputies said the 55-year old man was rushed to Ben Taub General Hospital where sadly he was pronounced dead. Because the man’s next of kin have not yet been notified the man’s name has not been released. The man was struck by a vehicle that was headed eastbound on W. Little York; so far no charges have been filed in the case.

The death of a loved one due to an accident is a tragic, terrible and life-altering event for any family. Smith & Hassler partner and board-certified personal injury trial lawyer Al Hassler knows this only too well having suffered the death of his sister when her car was hit by an overloaded 18-wheeler in Florida.  If you have lost a family member due to an accident, contact the Houston wrongful death attorneys at Smith & Hassler for expert advice.

Honda Motors is issuing a recall of tens of thousands of cars in the U.S. because of a potentially dangerous or even deadly problem that can cause the engine to stall.  The recall is being announced as more and more drivers are reporting problems with their cars. The recall is for the Honda Fit, specifically models manufactured and sold in 2009 and 2010. The problem the recall addresses is that the Fit‘s engine will stall while the vehicle is in motion and cause the car to decelerate. in a KTRK local news story, one Honda Fit owner reported driving on I-10 with her sister late at night when the car suddenly lost acceleration and started to slow in the travel lanes: her Honda Fit would not respond to her pressing the gas pedal and sensing she was in danger she quickly got out of the travel lanes.

On Thursday February 17, 2011 Honda announced it is recalling 97,000 Honda Fit cars made in 2009 and 2010. The purpose of the recall is to replace lost motion springs. Honda Motor Company says the motion springs are within the engine valve train: the spring may bend or breaking resulting in engine noise and potentially engine damage and stalling. Honda says it will mail recalls notices to drivers whose Honda Fits are affected in early March. If you own a Honda Fit and are unsure if your vehicle is part of the recall you can check by either visiting a Honda dealership or by checking Honda’s recall web site by clicking here. You will need to have the VIN for your Honda Fit if you use the recall web site.

The Honda Fit is a 5-door, hatchback subcompact car and is pictured below:

2009 and 2010 year models of the Honda Fit are being recalled by Honda to address engine stalling problem

It is encouraging that Honda is acting now to address this potentially dangerous even deadly problem.  If a vehicle suddenly loses all power stranding the driver and passengers in a travel lane during heavy traffic, there is a potential for the occupants of the car to be hit and injured in a car accident. If you or a family member have been injured in a car accident because your Honda Fit experienced engine stalling or sudden loss of power, call the experienced personal injury lawyers at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your legal rights. Smith & Hassler has handled products liability cases for injured clients against many large manufacturers, such as with the Toyota sudden acceleration incidents.

Police are working to figure out what caused a woman to lose control of her SUV and crash through the wall of a Bank of America in northeast Harris County Thursday afternoon. Authorities have said that the 40-year old woman driving the SUV did not suffer from any unanticipated medical condition such as a heart attack or blackout that would explain the car accident. The SUV was completely inside the building, breaking desks and computers as it plowed through the bank. Skid marks were also visible inside. Fortunately no injuries were reported to the driver or to customers inside the bank.  Perhaps the driver misunderstood what’s meant by “drive-through banking” (who said lawyers don’t have a sense of humor).

No injuries reported when 40-year old woman drives through front of a Bank of America

If you’ve been injured by an out-of-control vehicle, call Houston personal injury attorneys Smith & Hassler. We’ll give you a free consultation, in person or by phone, and explain the steps involved in seeking compensation for medical costs, lost wages, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and any other damages that may apply in your case.  Don’t assume your Houston car accident injury claim will work out great just because you want it to: expert advice from an experienced Houston personal injury attorney early on will make all the difference.

Hockey fan Richard Marsh accepted a challenge to shoot a puck the length of the ice rink and through a tiny hole in a cardboard cut out placed over the goal at the Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before he took his shot Mr. Marsh very generously decided to donate the $50,000 prize to St. Vincent’s Cardiovascular and the American Heart Association. He took his shot and, incredibly, the puck traveled the length of the ice and passed through the tiny hole. The event was sponsored by Allstate Insurance Company.

Incredibly, a third party insurance company later voided Mr. Marsh’s shot because he was standing the wrong side of the line when he pushed the puck. The insurance company said Mr. Marsh was “standing in the wrong place.” As you can see from the video below, Mr. Marsh was a few feet past the goal line when he took his shot the length of the ice rink. The owner of the Indiana Ice hockey team Paul and Cindy Skjodt later made an unsolicited donation in recognition of Mr. Marsh’s incredible feat.

Go figure that an insurance company would refuse a charitable donation to some very worthy causes over a totally meaningless technicality. Disgraceful.