Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Early in the morning of Thursday January 20, 2011 Clayton Sieverton was heading southbound along FM484 near Ferris Green Road in Porter, Texas when his Ford F-350 pickup truck crashed into a Toyota Celica head-on, according to DPS Troopers. Sieverton is suspected of being intoxicated at the time of the crash. Alicia Sanchez, 43-years old, was riding in the passenger seat of the Celica and was killed on impact. Sanchez’ injured 20-year old daughter was transported to an area hospital in critical condition. Sanchez and her daughter were driving to work at a donut shop at the time of the collision.

Both vehicles sustained very heavy damage in the crash; according to DPS Troopers after the collision Sieverton got out of his vehicle and ran away. Shortly after the accident a man drove up to offer help to Sanchez and her daughter and when he did so he recognized Sieverton’s vehicle: the two men had been out drinking together the night before and Sieverton had dropped the man off at his own car shortly before the collision. Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies were able to use tracker dogs and a DPS helicopter to track down Sieverton 3 miles north of where the crash happened.

Sieverton suffered minor injuries and is now facing multiple serious charges, including intoxication manslaughter, intoxication assault, and failure to stop and render aid. He remains in the Montgomery County jail.

Drunk driving collisions, deaths and injuries are an epidemic in the Houston area and have been for years. The selfishness of those who choose to get behind the wheel of their vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol causes families to experience unimaginable tragedies on a weekly basis. If you or a loved one have been injured by a drunk driver, talk to an attorney at Smith & Hassler about your legal rights and remedies.  Insurance companies know jurors take a hard line with drunks who injure others and try to settle DWI-related claims quickly and for much less than the claims are worth.

Police resumed their search today in Baytown for a driver still missing after a high speed chase by police ended when the driver crashed into Goose Creek. Baytown Police were chasing the driver early Sunday morning when he lost control of his vehicle near Market Street and crashed into Goose Creek in front of Lee High School. According to police the driver was ejected from the car; the car has since been recovered from the lake. Bad weather called off a search on Sunday. Police originally tired to pull the car over because it had been reported stolen.

Click here to watch a video of a rear-end collision between two cars on a Chinese freeway.  The video footage shows the collision as it happens from inside the vehicle that hit the car in front.  What’s interesting about this footage is that even though the impact looked to be quite hard (certainly the kind of impact that could cause injury to the unwary occupants of the front vehicle), there was not much visible damage to the rear of the front car. Injuries resulting from collisions that did not cause much damage to the vehicle are often the hardest claims to resolve outside of a lawsuit.  Insurance companies have convinced themselves that nobody can be hurt in collisions that involve minor property damage.

16-year old Maximillian Keevil of Kingwood, Texas died Sunday morning when his vehicle left a Montgomery County road and crashed into a fence. Keevil was driving westbound on Ford Road around 7:15am when his Dodge Liberty entered a ditch and crashed into a fence near Parker Road, according to a Texas Department of Public Safety representative. A piece of wood from the fence came through the vehicle’s windshield striking the teenager, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The case is still under investigation.

Channel 13 eyewitness news is reporting that a suspected drunk driver rear-ended a Houston Police Department cruiser on the East Loop last night. Police say the officer was standing outside his cruiser at the time of the collision while he worked to clear an accident scene. The driver of a pickup truck then slammed into the back of the patrol car: the pickup truck driver failed a field sobriety test and was arrested at the scene on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. A picture of the wrecked police cruiser is below:

You have to wonder how intoxicated a person has to be to slam into the back of a stationary police car with emergency lights flashing. A very similar incident occurred in December 2008 when an intoxicated driver of a tow truck rear-ended a Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy working an extra job providing security to a construction road crew working on the US-290 service road. Smith & Hassler represented the deputy who sustained a low back injury in the collision. After a lawsuit was filed against the intoxicated driver and the towing company, the case settled for a confidential amount.  If you have been injured due to the selfishness and gross negligence of a drunk driver, consider calling Smith & Hassler right away: insurance companies realize injury accidents involving drunk drivers have a higher value and try to settle these claims quickly, and for less than the true value of the claim.

Houston police are trying to figure out a bizarre incident that occurred yesterday afternoon. It appears that an SUV driver used his vehicle to repeatedly push a woman’s car into the side of an apartment building. The woman told officers she was sitting in her parked car at the Woodway Square Apartments on Wood Hollow near Winrock. Allegedly the suspect rammed her Lexus pushing it up over a curb and into the side of the apartment building, then continued to push her vehicle. Although a lot of damage was done, fortunately nobody was hurt.

Hopefully the owner of the Lexus has full coverage auto insurance. It appears the driver of the SUV that rammed her Lexus did so intentionally. If that proves to be the case, the SUV driver’s automobile insurance carrier would be within their rights to deny the woman’s claim for damage to her Lexus. Automobile insurance policies only cover unintentional acts of negligence, but do not provide coverage for damage caused intentionally such as purposeful ramming .

KHOU is reporting that Houston’s current freezing temperatures are expected to continue. A freeze warning remains in effect for the Houston area and temperatures are expected to dip into the 20’s again today. Along with freezing weather comes the increased likelihood of ice on Houston’s roads and freeways and a greater likelihood of car accidents. KHOU has posted to their web site a list of tips that can help you prepare for a hard freeze, including how to prepare your vehicle.

Ice on the roadways in Houston is a rare event, so most Houstonians have little experience driving in icy conditions. Here are some suggestions on how to drive safely in freezing weather and a short YouTube video demonstrating driving techniques that can help you avoid a car wreck: How to Drive in Winter Weather

Two car accidents over the weekend are being blamed on drivers running a red light.

Two separate car accidents occurred in Southwest Houston on Sunday afternoon just a few miles and a few hours apart. Both resulted in deaths and both are due to red light running, according to police. The first car accident was at around 2:20 PM on the southwest freeway. 52-year old Christopher Hughes was driving a Ford Mustang northbound according to HPD, when Hughes allegedly ran a red light at the West Sam Houston Parkway and collided with a black Ford Explorer. Hughes was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. An injured passenger in the Mustang was taken to Memorial Hermann with non life threatening injuries.

The second car crash was about four miles away. A Ford F-250 pickup truck traveling north on the South Sam Houston Parkway service road. Allegedly the pickup truck driver ran a red light and collided with a Saturn. The driver of the Saturn was pronounced dead at the scene ; a passenger in the Saturn was transported to hospital with life threatening injuries.

Smith & Hassler recently filed a lawsuit against a drunk driver who injured a Houston area woman in a three car collision last August. The drunk driver crashed his Honda Accord into the rear of an Acura, the Acura was in turn pushed into the rear of our client’s Ford Mustang. All vehicles were damaged, the drunk driver’s Honda had to be towed from the scene. The drunk driver was arrested by a Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy and registered a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) of .201.  That is approximately two-and-one-half times the legal limit for intoxication in the State of Texas (anything at or over .08 BAC is legally intoxicated under Texas law). The drunk driver pleaded guilty and was convicted of DWI a month later.

Our client was checked by an ambulance at the scene because she was complaining of back and neck pain, but she chose not to be transported to the hospital right away.  She later went to the emergency room, then followed up with physical therapy and an MRI to help determine the source of her neck pain.

An attempt was made to reach a fair and reasonable settlement with Amica Mutual Insurance Company, the liability insurer for the drunk driver. Amica received the settlement packet (which included the client’s medical bills and records) and, even though they had been given 30-days to evaluate the settlement packet, the very next day responded with an offer of $1,100 less than our client’s medical bills.

Smith & Hassler filed suit right away. Hopefully with an opportunity to re-evaluate, Amica County Mutual Insurance will reconsider their evaluation of the claim.

A 19-year old man has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in a crash in September 2010 that killed 62-year old Sulema Rosas.  Stephen Hubbard in in the Harris County Jail on $30,000 bail.  According to investigators, an accident reconstruction of the wreck shows that Hubbard was speeding when his Chevrolet Impala crashed into Rosas’ Mazda 626 on September 30, 2010.  Hubbard’s vehicle struck the right side of Rosas’ car; at the time of the collision Rosas was westbound and was trying to cross eastbound lanes to enter an apartment complex.