Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

The Youtube video below shows a near head-on collision between three Smith & Hassler clients riding in a Hyundai Elantra compact car and a GEICO insured driver in a Mitsubishi Eclipse. This serious car accident happened on July 2, 2010 in Tomball, Texas and was captured on the dashboard camera of a Tomball Police Department patrol car that was traveling behind our clients’ Hyundai. As you can see from the video, the collision happened on a rainy day. The GEICO insured’s vehicle (for reasons unknown) cross the center line of the two lane roadway and struck our client’s vehicle nearly head-on. The impact stopped our clients’ car dead and the GEICO insured’s vehicle was thrown into a water filled drainage ditch to the right of the roadway. Our clients were transported by EMS to the hospital and subsequently had follow-up care. GEICO paid their insured’s bodily injury policy limit to settle our clients’ injury claims and also paid for our client’s totaled Hyundai.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident, why not put the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler to work for you? This video footage shows how important it can be to gather and preserve the evidence in your injury case. You can speak to an attorney at Smith & Hassler about your car, motorbike, pedestrian, 18-wheeler or other motor vehicle accident injury claim and get a free consultation. Big insurance companies have representatives working hard on their side: wouldn’t you like to have someone working hard on YOUR side?

A 3-year old toddler was hurt when he was hit by an SUV in Porter, Texas which is in Montgomery County. The accident was at around 2:15PM in the 20400 block of Ravenwing Drive at Canary Lane. Investigators said the 3-year old’s mother and aunt were backing the SUV out of the driveway to go to the store when they hit the toddler: they didn’t know he was in the driveway. The 3-year old was flown by helicopter life-light to Memorial Hermann Hospital where he was listed in critical condition. The Houston Chronicle reported that the boy sustained head injuries in the accident.

Toddler hurt in auto pedestrian accident in Porter, TX is life-flighted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in critical condition

The toddler was accidentally backed-over in a tragic accident

Smith & Hassler has represented hundreds of babies, toddlers, young children and teenagers injured in car accidents and auto versus pedestrian accidents. We wish these accidents never happen, but unfortunately serious injuries to children can and do occur. The personal injury lawyers at Smith & Hassler take cases involving injury to children very seriously and represent this vulnerable group of clients aggressively. All but one of the Smith & Hassler attorneys have children of their own, many of us have young children. If your child or teenage has been injured in an accident, call or email the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a no-cost, no-pressure consultation.

February 15, 2011: A 51-year old woman lost control on her Toyota RAV4 SUV on Lake Robbins Drive near I-45 close to The Woodlands Mall around 4:30PM. The SUV crashed into a lake and the woman was hospitalized. A dive team pulled the SUV out of the water at around 5:00PM police said. Paramedics performed CPR on the woman for several minutes before taking her to Memorial Hermann Hospital The Woodlands; her condition was not released. ABC Eyewitness News’ report described the woman’s age as 59-years, not 51. Reportedly five witnesses that saw the SUV ditch into the lake tried to rescue the woman but couldn’t because all of the windows in the vehicle were rolled-up.

51-year old woman taken to hospital when her SUV crashed in to a lake in The Woodlands, TX

If you, a friend or a family member have been injured in a car accident, almost immediately you will have to begin navigating the insurance claims process. The more an insurance company has to pay to settle your claim, the more money they lose: as a business decision they want to pay you as little as possible. Don’t let yourself be talked into settling your claim too early: call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler. We represent injured people in their claims against insurance carriers all day, every day: let the personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler put their years of experience to work for you. Call for a free consultation, either in person or by phone.

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 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.

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.

Sunday February 13, 2011: a 21-year old motorcyclist died Sunday afternoon when he lost control of his motorcycle and hit a construction sign in northwest Houston. According to witnesses they saw three motorbikes traveling at high speed and weaving in and out of traffic on the north loop west around 4:20PM. One motorcyclist tried to switch lanes and side-swiped a Ford Fusion car according to Houston Police Department Vehicular Crimes division. The motorcyclist who was wearing a helmet lost control of his motorbike then slid along the ground before hitting a wooden construction sign. Sadly he was pronounced dead at the scene.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation on your injury claim. Of all the motorized transportation types on public roads, motorcycle accidents have the highest potential to cause serious injury or death: having a Smith & Hassler personal injury attorney working on your motorbike accident injury claim puts knowledge and experience on your side.

A wrong-way driver caused a collision in downtown Houston that left a man in the hospital early Saturday morning. Police report that a man driving a Toyota car heading the wrong way on Fannin near McIlhenny crashed into another vehicle around 12:30am. The Toyota driver was taken to hospital in stable condition and the driver of the other vehicle was unhurt. Authorities indicate a blood draw would be done to determine if alcohol was a factor in the crash.

Over our 20+ year history Smith & Hassler has represented thousands of people in Houston and throughout Texas that have been injured in motor vehicle accidents. Automobile insurance companies like to settle serious injury claims for as little as possible as quickly as possible: they know that once you sign a settlement release and accept a check, their obligation to compensate you ends. Do not allow yourself to be talked into settling your automobile accident injury claim too soon: calls the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your car accident injury claim.

Enterprise Products employee Kelvin Horton has filed a lawsuit against the company for injuries Horton sustained in Tuesday’s explosion at the Mont Belvieu, Texas gas plant that killed father of two Rick Shaw. Horton’s attorney has also against for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) for prevent the cleanup at the Enterprise Products plant from continuing until outside engineers are able to go to the site for an inspection. The lawsuit is Cause No. 2011-08949; Kelvin Horton v Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.; In the 269th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas. Presiding Judge Dan Hinde will rule on the request for the temporary restraining order next week. ABC News’ story can be viewed here.

If you or a loved one have been injured at work, call Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys for advice on your legal rights. Often after highly publicized incidents, particularly those resulting in serious injury or death to employees, company lawyers and insurers move fast to protect the company. Getting legal representation early by a firm such as Smith & Hassler that exclusively practicespersonal injury law protects the interests of injured workers or vulnerable, grieving families. After a major incident such as a plant explosion, big companies have their insurers and attorneys working hard to protect them: if nobody is protecting you, call Smith & Hassler now.

A federal and state investigation has begun into events leading up the explosion at Enterprise Products‘ Mont Belvieu gas plant that killed contract worker and father of two Rick Shaw, earlier this week. Since 2004 the Enterprise Products plant has paid thousands of dollars in fines for serious violations that include at least one other death.

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) opened its investigation Tuesday, shortly after the fire began. Once OSHA‘s investigation is complete the details will be made public. Enterprise Products is conducting its own probe, and two State of Texas agencies will investigate the plant’s pipeline safety and also whether the plant violated air emission standards.

In 2005 a flash fire at the Mont Belvieu Enterprise plant burned and killed a worker who was overseeing a valve replacement. The plant has paid nearly $30,000 in fines since 2004 for a number of violations deemed serious by OSHA. In September two workers were hurt at BP’s Texas City refinery, the site where 15 workers were killed and 170 more were injured in a 2005 explosion. The workers were rushed to hospital with steam burns.

In 2005 Enterprise Products paid just over $12,000 in fines, a lesser amount than the $18,900 OSHA initially assessed against the company for the prior fatal incident in 2005. Based on Enterprise Products’ history at the Mont Belvieu plant, it certainly appears that the plant’s management were forewarned of safety issues. Unfortunately an OSHA investigation isn’t always enough: it sometimes takes a highly publicized lawsuit to take a company to task on their failures to keep workers safe, the BP Texas City refinery being a prime example of just that. This is particularly true in tragic circumstances such as the death of Mr. Rick Shaw, who leaves behind two daughters depending on him for love and financial support.

If you or a loved one have been injured at work, call Smith & Hassler‘s experienced personal injury attorneys for advice on your legal rights. Often after highly publicized incidents, particularly those resulting in serious injury or death to employees, company lawyers and insurers move fast to protect the company. Getting legal representation early by a firm such as Smith & Hassler that exclusively practices personal injury law protects the interests of injured workers or vulnerable, grieving families.

Smoke plume from Enterprise Products Mont Belvieu gas plant explosion that killed contract worker Rick Shaw can be seen for miles.