Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Sadly there is yet another drunk driving accident fatality to report in Houston. Last night a woman driving a Toyota Corolla westbound on W. Fuqua at White Heather in southwest Houston around 9:15pm hit a young man and woman crossing the street: the driver of the Corolla ran a red light immediately before striking the couple. Shockingly, after striking the pedestrian the Corolla driver dragged the female for an additional 50-yards before coming to a stop. Rather than check on the people she had hit, the driver then jumped out of her car near Hiram Clarke and tried to run into a wooded area, but fortunately a witness chased her down and detained her until police arrived. Family and friends of the victims were present at the scene and were extremely emotional as they tried to learn if it was their loved ones who had been struck, but police officers would not allow them to get close to the crime scene. A young man asked a witness if the female who was struck was wearing a gray jumper: when he was told she was, the young man fell to the ground crying. The male and female who were killed were both in their 20’s.  The driver of the Toyota Corolla was taken into custody by police on suspicion of drunk driving, is currently in jail and is facing two counts of intoxication manslaughter. A story on Channel 2’s web site identifies the driver of the Corolla as 30-year old Chavon Frank. The dark gray-colored Toyota Corolla shows heavy front end damage:

What a terrible loss for the family and friends of the two innocent victims of the this driver’s selfish decision to drive drunk. FOX News’ story is available here. Channel 13’s coverage of the drunk driving accident is here. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here. Channel 2’s coverage is here.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) car accidents seem to happen every single night in the Houston area and throughout Harris County.  Sadly Harris County Texas ranks among the highest counties in the nation for drunk driving fatalities and drunk driving accident injuries year after year.  Drunk driving car accidents often create even more complications for the victim than a regular car accident: insurance companies usually won’t pay a claim or provide a rental car until they speak to their insured driver and get their version of what happened. The insurance company can’t do that if their insured was charged with DWI and is in jail. Call Smith & Hassler if you have been injured by a drunk driver’s gross negligence and ask for speak to one of our personal injury attorneys right now.  Smith & Hassler aggressively pursues claims against drunk drivers.

Channel 2 is reporting that 8 vehicles were involved in a chain reaction collision that temporarily shut down US 290 this morning. The accident happened at around 6:20am on westbound US290 near 43rd street. Apparently a vehicle that had engine trouble had stalled in the middle lane and vehicle traveling behind could not stop in time, which resulted in a chain reaction style rear-end collision. The stalled vehicle that initiated the sequence of events apparently left the scene and witnesses were unable to give police a description of the vehicle. Two people were taken to hospital with reportedly minor injuries and no citations were issued according to the article.

Unsure of how to handle an insurance claim for personal injuries you have suffered in a car accident?  Don’t rely on the insurance adjuster handling your claim for advice…they have a conflict of interest! The less adjusters pay on injury claims, the more profitable their company remains. Insurance adjusters want to settle automobile accident injury claims as quickly as possible so they can cut-off the insurance company’s liability for additional medical bills and close their file.  Since Smith & Hassler was founded in 1989 by Michael Smith and Al Hassler, this law firm has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and has handled thousands of car accident injury cases.  Call Smith & Hassler for a free consultation AS SOON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR CAR ACCIDENT—get advice from someone with your best interests at heart.  There is no charge for an initial consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.

There was a two vehicle wreck on the training track at the Houston Police Department academy this morning. The academy is in the 17000 block of Aldine Westfield, and the accident happened just after 9:00am. Visiting law enforcement officials from China were at the track and were participating in the training exercise when the wreck happened. Two HPD squad cars were on the track, each carrying a Chinese official and an unknown number of police officers. One officer driving a patrol car attempted a J-turn and crashed into the other vehicle. As a precaution the victims of the crash were transported to the hospital, though fortunately none of the injuries are thought to be life-threatening. The video clip below is from KHOU and shows fairly severe rear-end damage to one of the cruisers. Looks like somebody is going to be buying the donuts for the next few shifts.

FOX News Houston is reporting a single car crash that killed both the driver and a passenger. The crash was witnessed by an off duty police officer. The wreck happened at around 2:30am Sunday September 18, 2011 when the new-style white-colored Chevrolet Camaro tore through a 30 MPH zone at an estimated 80 MPH. The Camaro was traveling south on Bering when it hit a curb near Doliver then collided with a light pole and a brick wall. The female driver and the male passenger both died at the scene: the male passenger was ejected from the Camaro during the collision. The medical examiner’s office will test the female driver for alcohol. A photograph of the wrecked Camaro shows extremely heavy front-end damage.

If you, a friend or a family member have been injured in a car accident, Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys are available to give you a free consultation either in-person or by phone.  Sometimes people injured in car accident wait before consulting an attorney. They have good intentions: not wanting to seem “sue happy,” waiting to see if their injuries will get better or because an insurance adjuster is discouraging them from seeking legal advice (that happens).  It is better to know your rights early in the process and have an experienced Houston personal injury attorney explain the steps involved in car accident injury claim and what you can do NOW to increase the chances of a good outcome.

If you were injured in an accident that was caused by the negligence of a third party, and some or all of your bills are paid by health insurance, your health insurance company may claim a lien against any insurance settlement you get from the third party that injured you.  Basically the health insurance company wants to get their money back out of the settlement.  Their lien would be up to the amount they paid toward your medical bills (but no more than that).

There are two types of health insurance plan: ERISA plans and non-ERISA plans.  The fundamental difference between the two types is who ultimately pays the bills.  In an ERISA plan the medical bills are paid by the employer providing the health insurance coverage, but the plan may be administered by someone like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna or Humana.  In an ERISA plan the health insurance company (e.g. Aetna) administers the plan and handles claims, but at the end of the day the employer pays for the medical treatment.  In a non-ERISA plan, the health insurer (not the employer) pays for the treatment.

The difference between ERISA and non-ERISA health insurance plans matters because as a matter of federal law, an ERISA health insurance plan is entitled to dollar-for-dollar reimbursement of their lien out of the third party settlement proceeds.  Put another way, if an ERISA plan pays $1,000 on a hospital bill you have due to a car accident, the plan is entitled to get paid back $1,000 out of your car accident settlement, and if they don’t want to reduce their $1,000 lien they don’t have to.  If a non-ERISA plan however, the health insurer is more likely to agree to reduce the lien.

Health insurance companies are able to take out a lien against your recovery because they wrote subrogation language into your health insurance contract.  Your health insurance contract is probably many, many pages in length.  Buried somewhere in the contract is a subrogation clause that says, in essence, that if the health insurance plan pays your bills because a third party injured you, the plan is entitled to get reimbursed out of any settlement you get from the third party. Health insurers usually use a third party service to administer their liens, such as ACS Recovery, Benefit Recovery, The Rawlings Group and others.

Health insurance companies do not always pursue their lien by notifying the injured person’s attorney or the third party’s health insurance company however.

Please note that special rules apply if medical bills are paid by Medicare or Medicaid as opposed to other private health insurance.  Medicare and Medicaid liens must be paid out of the third party settlement proceeds, and if the third party’s insurance company (GEICO, Allstate, etcetera) thinks there may be a Medicare or Medicaid lien, they will not release any settlement proceed without something in writing stating the amount of Medicare or Medicaid’s lien, or alternatively they will name Medicare or Medicaid on the settlement check.

Channel 2 News is reporting a collision between  a car and an ambulance that sent six injured people to the hospital. The crash happened just after 9:00am on Wednesday September 14 at the intersection of the Interstate 10 East feeder and Sheldon Road in Houston. A silver-gray Dodge Charger car crashed into the ambulance as the ambulance was responding to a call for another car accident. According to deputies, the car had the right-of-way in the intersection but the ambulance was responding to an emergency and had lights and sirens activated. Sergeant Mauro Alvardo with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said that every other car stopped at the intersection to allow the ambulance through the intersection, however the gray car proceeded through on a green light. A total of six injured people had to be transported to the hospital including three medics in the ambulance and a 4 and 5-year old. The driver of the gray car received a citation for failure to yield the right of way to the ambulance. The ambulance was broadsided in the accident and flipped over onto its side. ABC Channel 13’s story is available here.

A car accident is a very disruptive event for most people.  A damaged vehicle may mean you cannot get to work, grocery shop, take your kids to school or sporting events, and so on.  Injuries may mean you are unable to work, hence unable to support yourself or your family due to lost wages.  And not only are you missing income because you are unable to work, but you now have unexpected debts for medical treatment, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars.  Dealing with all of these challenges at once can feel overwhelming, particularly if you have never been involved in an accident before.  If the at-fault driver had insurance, you are probably dealing with requests for information from the insurance company too.  Smith & Hassler firmly believes that the earlier in the process you get sound advice from an experienced personal injury attorney who is willing to listen to you, answer your questions and provide you guidance, the better.  The insurance company will press you early on to give a recorded statement about the accident, your injuries, your medical history and more: don’t do it, the statement is for their benefit, not yours.  You can call or email Smith & Hassler any time for a free consultation on your car accident injury claim.

Candidates for the Republican nomination to run for President in 2012 debated last night, September 12, 2011 and Texas Governor Rick Perry had some interesting commentary on trial lawyers. Governor Perry told the audience that 1 million jobs had been created in Texas under his watch, during which time he implemented tort reform and “kicked trial lawyers out of the state.” As a matter of fact, Gov. Perry specifically told the other candidates (which include two currently sitting governors) to kick the trial lawyers out of their states.

What an interesting philosophy. Trial lawyers are the mechanism through which Texas families have access to the courthouse and the ability to redress their grievances against infinitely more powerful and wealthy foes such as giant corporations or insurance companies with billions of dollars in revenue. It can fairly be said that the right to a jury trial and the ability of a regular citizen to access the courthouse is a cornerstone of American democracy. Why does Gov. Perry want to kick out all of the trial lawyers and how does that help Texan families? The answer to part of that questions is that it doesn’t help Texan families, it hurts them.

The answer to the other part of the question is probably a lot more complex. To help you understand what might motivate Governor Perry to clean house of trial lawyers, you might read Patti Hart’s September 10, 2011 article in the Houston Chronicle documenting the history of the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC).  Houston home builder Bob Perry of Perry Homes (not related to Gov. Rick Perry) has donated more than $2.5 million to Gov. Perry during his tenure as Governor of Texas. Bob Perry was a major advocate of the TRCC during its existence from 2003-2010. One month after Bob Perry donated $100,000 to Governor Rick Perry’s campaign, an attorney named John Krugh, General Counsel for Perry Homes, was appointed to serve on the TRCC. Criticism of the TRCC was plentiful and many viewed the organization as little more than a barrier to the courtroom for Texas families dissatisfied with shoddy building work.

CNBC recently released the list of the 15 most dangerous cities for driving in the US based on data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Fortunately Texas fared quite well, only Lubbock is among the top 15.

15. Oklahoma City, OK: 13.41 fatalities per 100,000 population; 74 fatalities total, 13.5% were pedestrians

14. Birmingham, AL: 13.55 fatalities per 100,000 population; 31 fatalities total, 15.2% were pedestrians

13. Tulsa, OK: 14.00 fatalities per 100,000 population; 54 fatalities total, 18.5% were pedestrians

12. St. Petersburg, FL: : 14.27 fatalities per 100,000 population; 35 fatalities total, 28.6% were pedestrians

11. Jacksonville, FL: : 14.36 fatalities per 100,000 population; 116 fatalities total, 13.8% were pedestrians

10. Lubbock, TX: : 14.97 fatalities per 100,000 population; 33 fatalities total, 15.2% were pedestrians

9. Memphis, TN: : 15.08 fatalities per 100,000 population; 101 fatalities total, 11.9% were pedestrians

8. Jackson, MS: : 15.53 fatalities per 100,000 population; 27 fatalities total, 18.5% were pedestrians

7. Chattanooga, TN: : 16.39 fatalities per 100,000 population; 28 fatalities total, 17.9% were pedestrians

6. Salt Lake City, UT: : 16.51 fatalities per 100,000 population; 30 fatalities total, 26.7% were pedestrians

5. San Bernardino, CA: : 17.12 fatalities per 100,000 population; 38 fatalities total, 15.8% were pedestrians

4. Little Rock, AR: : 17.94 fatalities per 100,000 population; 34 fatalities total, 26.5% were pedestrians

3. Augusta, GA: : 19.57 fatalities per 100,000 population; 38 fatalities total, 15.8% were pedestrians

2. Orlando, FL: : 19.95 fatalities per 100,000 population; 46 fatalities total, 10.9% were pedestrians

1. Fort Lauderdale, FL: : 22.39 fatalities per 100,000 population; 41 fatalities total, 24.4% were pedestrians

KHOU is reporting a serious car accident on westbound Senator Lloyd Bentsen Highway in Houston last night. Three people in a gold-colored Nissan Maxima passenger car were speeding around 2:15am when the Maxima crashed into the back of a slower-moving blue Cadillac. That impact then caused the Cadillac to crash into a taxi cab that was traveling in the next lane over. A man driving the Cadillac, a passenger in the cab and two passengers in the Maxima were taken to hospital for unknown injuries. Presumably the driver of the Maxima was faulted for the collision and probably received a citation for failure to control speed causing a rear-end collision. The KHOU story did not say alcohol was involved. but given the wreck happened in the early hours of the morning and that excessive speed was involved, if it turned out drunk driving were a factor that would hardly be surprising.

Unsure of how to handle an insurance claim for personal injuries you have suffered in a car accident?  Don’t rely on the insurance adjuster handling your claim for advice…they have a conflict of interest! The less adjusters pay on injury claims, the more profitable their company remains. Insurance adjusters want to settle automobile accident injury claims as quickly as possible so they can cut-off the insurance company’s liability for additional medical bills and close their file.  Since Smith & Hassler was founded in 1989 by Michael Smith and Al Hassler, this law firm has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury and has handled thousands of car accident injury cases.  Call Smith & Hassler for a free consultation AS SOON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR CAR ACCIDENT—get advice from someone with your best interests at heart.  There is no charge for an initial consultation with one of our personal injury attorneys.

Channel 2 is reporting a car accident involving a Houston Police Department officer who was pursuing two teens in a stolen minivan.  The crash happened around 10:15pm on Wednesday September 7: a woman had called police to report that her minivan had been stolen from her driveway. An officer who spotted the vehicle tried to pull it over but the minivan fled: the officer pursued but crashed at a turn at McCarty Road from Mesa. A 17-year old boy and 13-year old girl fled the van on foot but were detained shortly thereafter. Although Channel 2’s picture of the police cruiser shows pretty significant front end damage, the report indicates that fortunately the officer was not injured.

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