Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A collision occurred early this morning in midtown Houston when a police officer’s patrol car collided with a white-colored Chevrolet Impala driven by a 19-year old man suspected of drunk driving.  The two-car collision occurred at Gray and Louisiana at approximately 2:20am. The injured officer was rushed to Memorial Hermann–Texas Medical Center with complaints of neck and back pain, and fortunately he sustained no broken bones. The suspect, who was arrested at the scene, t-boned the officer’s patrol car in an intersection. The Impala had two passengers who reportedly told officers that they had just left a nightclub and their driver had been running red lights prior to the collision. A wrecker driver witnessed the collision and stated the officer had the green light in the intersection.  The Houston Chronicle’s story is here.

Unfortunately experience tells us this will probably be one of many injury accidents caused by drunk drivers in the Houston area this weekend. Harris County leads the nation in drunk-driving injury accidents. If you have been injured due to the gross negligence of a drunk driver, call the attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation.

Brianne Haltom was involved in a one-car accident in Liberty County last November when a previously undiagnosed medical condition caused her to have a seizure and veer off the road. Her car slammed into a tree causing her head to strike the steering wheel: her airbag did not deploy.  Brianne suffered facial fractures and a brain injury that required her to be put in a medically induced coma.  She also suffered an eye injury.

Despite the severe front end impact to Brianne’s pickup truck, while the passenger side airbag did deploy, Brianne’s steering wheel airbag did not. This phenomena is referred to as a “split deployment.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 22,500 lives have been saved by airbags since 1998 and that in 2006 airbags deployed in 1.1 million crashes nationwide.

After Local 2 aired a story about 2-years ago on airbag failures the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety published the findings of a study in a March 2009 status report.  Looking at a sample of fatal front end car crashes it was determined an estimated 50 to 100 deaths occur per year involving potential airbag failures, which is 1 to 2 percent of all deaths of person riding in the front seats in frontal crashes.

Click2Houston’s full story is available here.

The you-kn0w-what hit the fan yesterday when an 18-wheeler transporting human waste crashed and rolled onto its side on I-45 in Houston.  The apparent cause of the wreck was a tire from a tanker truck that rolled under the big rig. Houston police report that the tire went over the central divider and into oncoming traffic at which time the tire got lodged under the 18-wheeler, the driver lost control, hit a guardrail and the rig went onto its side. Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt in the accident, and the freeway was closed for approximately 4 hours as the scene was cleared. Luckily for those involved in the cleanup operation, no human waste was spilled. Click2Houston’s report is here.

An independent accident reconstruction expert has reviewed information related to a collision between a Baylor medical scientist and his wife and a City of Houston Police Department patrol car driven by a first year officer.  Professor Estela Medrano (67) was killed in the collision and her husband Jorge Medrano (71) was seriously injured.  The collision occurred when the couple’s Toyota Scion turned left in front of Officer Kyle Dozier’s police car in the dark. Houston attorney Richard LaGarde who represents the Medranos has stated that HPD told him accident reconstruction expert that Officer Dozier was driving 57MPH, 22MPH over the speed limit, when the car accident occurred.  Officer Dozier was responding to an emergency call but had not activated his flashing lights or sirens. Mr. Medrano remained in Ben Taub General Hospital where he is being treated for a serious head injury. The Medranos four adult children are calling for a review of the HPD’s policies for officers responding to emergency calls and the use of sirens and emergency lights. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here.

A Dr. Pepper delivery truck flipped over a guardrail and crashed to the freeway below on Monday September 6th. The 18-wheeler had been traveling on Highway 288 when it fell to Highway 59 below. The big-rig fell about 40 feet and burst into flames when it crashed to the ground. Unfortunately the truck driver sustained serious injury when he was burned over almost half his body; he also suffered two broken legs. Tex DOT will ensure both roadways are structurally sound before traffic is allowed back in the area. Click2Houston.com story is here.

Bellaire police are reporting a wreck on the West Loop near Evergreen Street at about 11:00pm. The collision was shortly after the Houston Texan’s game ended Thursday night and caused a two-mile backup of traffic. Two vehicles were involved in the collision and two injured people were taken to Ben Taub Hospital — the extent of their injuries has not been released. The cause for the collision is under investigation. Click2Houston.com story here.

From the Texas Department of Insurance’s web site:

Texas law requires people who drive in Texas to be able to pay for the automobile accidents they cause. Most drivers do this by buying automobile liability insurance. Liability insurance pays to repair or replace the other driver’s car and pays other people’s medical expenses. It does not pay to repair or replace your car or for your injuries.

The minimum coverage amount required by the state’s financial responsibility law increased on April 1, 2008, to $25,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. (The limits prior to April 1 were $20,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $40,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage per accident.)

The limits will increase again on January 1, 2011, to $30,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. Drivers will be required to comply with the new limits as their policies are issued or renewed on or after the effective dates.

This is good news for automobile accident victims.  All too often the insurance coverage carried by a negligent driver is not sufficient to cover the injured person’s damages.

A 56-year old La Marque woman fended off an attempted robbery by a man in a Wal-Mart parking lot when she pulled a concealed handgun and opened fire. The woman struggled with the man shortly before 3:00pm as he apparently attempted to take her car. The woman, a concealed handgun holder, was able to grab the pistol from the console of her car. She pointed her gun at the man who fled toward a silver or gray SUV driven by an accomplice. The woman fired several shots at the fleeing SUV as it sped away, one of the bullets struck the rear of the vehicle. The attacker was armed with a pistol. Police are looking for a silver or gray SUV with a bullet hole and Texas license plate number NMG 714. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here and has drawn many reader comments, which are overwhelmingly in praise of the woman’s actions.

CNN is reporting that an oil rig owned by Mariner Energy has suffered an explosion this morning. The rig is located off the Louisiana coast. The site is 80 miles south of the Vermilion Bay and coast guard helicopters are responding. The Coast Guard is reporting that 12 oil rig workers are overboard. There was a total of 13 people aboard the rig at the time of the explosion and 12 have been accounted for thus far. It is unknown at this time if there are any injuries.

Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Tom Phillips (and his family) were sued yesterday over an automobile accident that followed a party last year at the Phillips’ home in Bastrop, Texas just outside Austin.  A 17-year old girl became intoxicated at the party, held in the garage apartment of the Phillips’ son.  Mrs. Phillips ordered everyone attending the party to leave when the noise level rose: the car accident happened as the girl drove away.  The Phillips’ are being sued under social host liability: that they knowingly permitted alcohol to be served to a minor at their home, and that the minor became intoxicated as a result.

Houston lawyer Dax Faubus contends in the lawsuit on behalf of the parents of Audrey King, the 17-year-old who died in a drunken car crash shortly after leaving the party, that Tom and Lynn Phillips were “well aware that minors were getting drunk in their back yard.” Through their attorney, the Phillips say they didn’t even know a party was taking place in their son’s quarters in a carriage house behind their home.