Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

In early April Smith & Hassler’s client, a disabled 73-year old Marine Corp. veteran with a heart condition, was involved in a two-vehicle collision in Harris County with another driver insured by Farmers Insurance. According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department police crash report, the Farmers insured made an unsafe lane change when he merged to his left, colliding with the client’s pickup truck.  The front passenger corner of the client’s pickup truck was damaged, as was the driver’s door area of the Farmers’ insured’s vehicle.  The Farmers insured was issued a citation by the investigating police officer for making an unsafe lane change.

Smith & Hassler’s client had liability insurance only, so the only way his 10-year old pickup truck (his only transportation) was going to be repaired was if Farmers Insurance accepted liability for the accident and paid the claim. In early May, a month after the collision, Farmers Insurance denied the claim stating their insured had “legal control” (whatever that means) over the center turn lane where the collision occurred. Unfortunately our client’s pickup truck will be sold at auction by the storage lot it was towed to in order to cover the accumulated unpaid storage and towing fees that racked up while Farmers Insurance took a month to make a decision on the claim.

Smith & Hassler has filed a lawsuit in Harris County District Court on our client’s behalf seeking damages for his medical bills, general damages and his totaled pickup truck. Farmers Insurance’s slogan is: “Farmers. Gets you back where you belong.”  Hopefully you will never be involved in an automobile accident with someone insured by Farmers and have to learn firsthand whether the slogan holds true.

Channel 13 Eyewitness News is reporting a major collision involving a milk truck that sent two people to the hospital. The accident happened around 2:30am on Saturday May 21st on Highway 90 at Miller near Sheldon in northeast Harris County. Investigators say that two wreckers had stopped behind a Chevrolet car that had a flat tire on the right shoulder on Highway 90. A wrecker driver was out of his vehicle and was helping two women change a flat tire on the car. A Borden Milk truck approached from behind them in the right lane, traveling eastbound. As the milk truck traveled over the overpass the driver reached for something in the cab causing him to veer to the right, at which time the milk truck smashed into the back of the wrecker, sending it into the other wrecker and striking the wrecker driver standing beside the car. The accident continued as that wrecker was pushed into the back of the Chevrolet, knocking it down a grass embankment and onto the feeder road. The Borden Milk truck flipped on to its side. Both the wrecker driver who was struck and the passenger in the Chevrolet car were air lifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital. The other wrecker driver was sitting in her cab when the accident happened: she was taken by ambulance to an area hospital.

Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys have represented hundreds of Texans injured in 18-wheeler accidents and have significant experience with the special issues in accidents involving commercial vehicles. If you or a family member have been seriously injured in an accident with an 18-wheeler, call 713 739 1250 or 1-800-WIN-WIN1 for a free consultation, or contact us online via our web site.

Michael Sparks has died within 24 hours of crashing his Jeep Cherokee into a bayou in southeast Harris County. The single vehicle accident happened at around 8:35pm near the 10100 block of Bay Area Boulevard. According to investigators the 1995 Jeep Cherokee hit a private driveway and flipped in the air before landing on its roof in the Bayou. Mr. Sparks was pulled out of the Jeep and air lifted to hospital where he died. ABC Channel 13 Eyewitness News’ report states that Sparks was driving erratically before the car accident and that witnesses tried to remove him from the submerged vehicle but couldn’t.

Channel 13 eyewitness news published a very brief report of a car accident last night on Highway 288 at Southmore involving a HPD officer in a marked police car. The officer was headed northbound on Highway 288 when another vehicle cut in front of him and the officer swerved to avoid a collision; after swerving the officer lost control of the car and hit a concrete guardrail causing major damage to the patrol car. The article indicates the officer was not hurt.

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 yourmotor vehicle accident injury claim: call now or submit your case online.

Channel 13 News is reporting a terrible car accident that happened last night resulting the death of a woman. The crash happened around 1:30am on the East 610 Loop in Houston at the Ship Channel Bridge. Police say that a man behind the wheel of a dark blue colored Infiniti G35 sedan was was driving erratically on the southbound loop. At the top of the bridge the Infiniti slammed into the back of a Chevrolet Impala sedan that had a male and female occupant. The severe crash caused a rupture in the Chevy’s fuel tank resulting in the vehicle bursting into flames. The male driver was able to get out of the vehicle and attempted to rescue his sister-in-law but the flames were too severe: tragically the woman died in the burning vehicle. The man was taken to an area hospital with burns and other injuries. By the time investigators arrived the suspect who is alleged to have caused the crash was already gone. According to witnesses, the man called some people to come and pick him up. The man had asked a witness for a ride to leave the scene but the witness refused: the man was last seen running southbound on the freeway. Anyone with information should immediately call the Houston Police Department. The Channel 13 video report appears to show paper or temporary tags on the Infiniti indicating it may have been recently purchased. The fact that the driver of the Infiniti fled the scene would certainly imply that alcohol was a factor in a crash.

Channel 2 News is reporting the death of a 14-year old boy in what appears to be a high-speed joyride taken early in the morning on Friday May 13, 2011. The single car crash happened on Valley View Lane and Mahoning Drive in southwest Houston at about 12:30am. Investigators say there were at least five people in the car at the time it crashed into the tree. The name of the deceased 14-year old driver has not been released. Private vehicles were used to take two 16-year old boys, and two girls one of whom was aged 14 to area hospitals. According to police the 14-year old took his brother’s Honda Civic: the brother noticed the keys were missing and shortly afterward was made aware of the wreck by a teenager who knocked on the family’s door. Police believe the car wreck happened because the driver was traveling at high speed and because of his inexperience.  A video report on the incident is here.

Click2Houston.com is reporting an asleep-at-the-wheel accident on the Eastex Freeway that injured several drivers. The driver of a U-Haul truck fell asleep at the wheel and caused a chain reaction collision that included a Houston Police Department patrol car. The accident was in the southbound lanes of the Eastex Freeway near Rankin Road at around 11:35am today, Monday May 9, 2011. An HPD officer had pulled over the driver of a silver Jaguar car and was writing a ticket when the U-Haul struck the back of the officer’s patrol car, pushing it into the back of the Jaguar. The police officer was put on a stretcher and taken to hospital, however early indications are that, thankfully, the officer’s injuries are not critical. The driver of the Jaguar was taken to hospital and two passengers inside the U-Haul were also injured. The U-Haul driver told police that he and his passengers had been up all night and were driving from Tyler, Texas when the driver fell asleep at the wheel and caused the collision.

Deputies said a man was driving his car at a high rate of speed early Thursday morning when he lost control and veered off the side of the road, ran part way into a ditch, struck a concrete culvert and his car became airborne. The single vehicle car accident happened on Clay Road at Greenhouse at around 12:30am.  The man’s friend was following him in another vehicle and told law enforcement that the two had just left a bar at Clay Road and Highway 6 shortly before the collision. After going airborne the car hit an electric pole and landed on its side in a ditch. Rescue crews had to extract the man from inside his wrecked vehicle after which he was airlifted to Memorial Hermann Hospital in serious but stable condition. KHOU’s story is here.

After a single car accident on FM1960 near Possum Park, the driver of the badly wrecked vehicle was transported via life flight and the scene was cleared by emergency crews. 13 hours later a father went looking for his missing son and made a tragic discovery: his 23-year old son’s body in nearby woods, 172 feet beyond the point of impact of the crash. This was apparently a very severe crash: the vehicle hit a ditch, hit two poles and then became airborne. The roof of the vehicle was ripped off and the driver was ejected into a parking lot. Atasocita Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Mike Mulligan explained that they responded to the crash at 2:30am and there were no witnesses: on their arrival the driver was unconscious and he said there was no indication of a passenger. The driver of the vehicle died in hospital at around 6:30AM, both men were only 23-years old. The cause of the crash is under investigation, and it appears excessive speed or alcohol use may have been a factor.

The Chronicle is reporting an automobile versus pedestrian accident that happened around 3:00pm on Monday April 25, 2011 on Clear Valley Drive at Glade Hollow in north Harris County. A teenage driver operating his mother’s car took a corner too fast and lost control, leaving the roadway and hitting two teenagers who were walking on the sidewalk.  The teen driver now faces aggravated assault charges, according to the article. The injured teenagers went from the scene of the car accident to their homes and were then transported by ambulance to area hospitals in unknown condition. According to the article the teenage driver did not have permission to use his mother’s car and after hitting the pedestrians he left the scene but returned later and was arrested. Click2Houston.com’s report of the incident is available here. According to that article, the students had just stepped off a school bus before they were hit by the car, which witnesses report was traveling 70 to 80MPH in a subdivision before it jumped the curb. A witness named Virgil Ford is quoted as saying the teenager was showboating in his mother’s Cadillac. Another witness named Zerrion Mallery claimed his knee was badly injured by a mailbox struck by the speeding Cadillac. According to the Precinct 4 Constable’s office, one victim sustained a broken leg.

Even at low speeds, a pedestrian versus vehicle collision is no contest and the pedestrian always fares worst. Auto-pedestrian accidents often result in serious injuries such as road rash, broken bones, spinal cord injuries, internal injuries and traumatic brain injuries. If you, a friend or a family member have been involved in a pedestrian accident, remember to document any obvious signs of trauma such as cuts and bruises by taking good quality, well-lit photographs. Keep any damaged clothing. You can contact the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation: over our 20-year history Smith & Hassler has successfully handled hundreds of auto-pedestrian accidents for injured clients.