Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Texas Governor and presidential-candidate-in-contemplation Rick Perry will be in Houston today to meet with Houston-area Republicans for the ceremonial signing into law of HB274, a bill that came to be known as “loser pays.” The stated intention of the law, which was sponsored by state representative Brendan Creighton, is to cut down on junk lawsuits. The law will go into effect September 1st, 2011 and will allow Defendants to push off court costs, deposition costs, expert fees and reasonable attorneys fees onto a Plaintiff. As Smith & Hassler has blogged about previously however, a Plaintiff can take their case to a jury trial, their case can never be deemed “frivolous“, and the jury can still find the Defendant at fault for the Plaintiff’s damages, but if the jury awards less than 80% of a settlement offer made by the Defendant the Plaintiff can be left recovering nothing.

Governor Perry declared the loser pays tort reform a legislative emergency thereby pushing it to the top of the legislature’s agenda during the most recent session. Amid all the back-slapping and grinning during the ceremonial bill signing today it will be interesting to hear if any specific examples are given of the frivolous lawsuits HB274 is meant to deter. We can’t remember a single example being given during hearings when HB274 was voted on by the legislature. You would think if frivolous lawsuits in Texas was a significant enough menace that they constituted a legislative emergency, every state representative who voted to pass loser pays could give you several examples.

The truth of it is, the loser pays law helps insurance companies and big business interests, and hurts access to the courthouse for legitimate lawsuits filed by Texas families and small businesses.

Residents of Alvin, Texas are mourning the loss of a member of their community who will be fondly remembered for her tireless efforts over several decades on behalf of those with developmental disabilities. Betty Ketchum died the morning of Saturday July 23, 2011 when her car was hit by a train. According to a report on Eyewitness News Channel 13’s web site, Ms. Ketchum was crossing the railroad tracks while entering Froberg’s Farm when the train struck her: there is a stop sign at the railroad crossing but no lights and no gate.

Ms. Ketchum worked as the Executive Director of the ARC of the Gulf Coast, an organization providing services for people with developmental disabilities and their families. Ms. Ketchum began as a volunteer and had been with the organization for 30 years. Click2Houston.com’s coverage of this tragedy can be read online here, and lists the time of the collision as approximately 3:00PM. Apparently BNSF Railroad told Channel 2 that the train was traveling 53MPH when it collided with Ms. Ketchum’s car.

July 13, 2011 photo of Betty Ketchum from the United Way Galveston County Mainland's web site

Ms. Ketchum is already being remembered for her volunteerism on the web site of the United Way Galveston County Mainland web site where several have shared their memories of her. This is a very sad loss for the whole community. A memorial for Betty Ketchum is scheduled for Thursday at 3pm at the First United Methodist Church in Alvin.

This image from Google Maps shows Froberg's Farm in Alvin and a nearby railroad crossing next to CR 190.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a motorcyclist has died in a hit-and-run incident on Barker Cypress in west Houston around 2:15am Saturday July 23rd, 2011. The motorcyclist was riding a blue-colored Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle and was heading northbound on Barker Cypress.  According to witnesses the motorcyclist left his lane and hit a curb, causing him to lose control of the bike and fall into the roadway. Shortly after that a white-colored SUV, also heading northbound, appeared to run over the motorcyclist.  The SUV did not stop and the motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. HPD’s vehicular crimes division is investigating the accident.

A three vehicle collision involving a fatality closed down the Northwest Freeway on Friday July 22, 2011 according to Click2Houston.com

The wreck took place in the westbound lanes of the Northwest Freeway at around 11:30am. Investigators say that a blue colored Scion passenger car and a black colored Dodge Ram pickup truck were involved in a minor accident and had pulled over to exchange information on the shoulder of the freeway. The big rig then approached from behind the stopped vehicle, crashed into the rear of the Scion pushing it into the pickup truck, then pushed both the Scion and the pickup truck more than 100 feet. The 59-year old driver of the blue Scion died at the scene, police have not released his name. The driver of the big rig was arrested for two outstanding warrants.

Video footage from KHOU’s web site (see below) shows a busy scene as emergency responders work the accident. The blue Scion appears to have sustained very severe rear end damage and the big rig came to rest at least partly on top of the Scion.

A motorcycle versus SUV accident happened last night in Fort Bend County on Highway 6 near Voss. Investigators say that an SUV was pulling out of a gas station and tried to cross Highway 6 across the motorcycle’s lane of travel, causing the motorcycle to slam into the side of the SUV. The male driver of the motorcycle, identified by DPS as 30-year old Thomas Lollar died at the scene; he was reportedly not wearing a helmet.

His 26-year old female passenger Charli Russell survived the wreck and was taken by life flight to Memorial Hermann Hospital in critical condition. We wish her a successful recovery from her injuries. The driver of the SUV was not injured in the crash, but will be issued an at-fault citation, probably for failure to yield the right-of-way exiting a private drive.

Deadly motorcycle wreck at Highway 6 near Voss in Fort Bend County, July 21, 2011

According to police investigators a young man was driving doubly distracted last night when he got into an accident that claimed his life. The 18-hear old driver was talking on his cell phone and looking out of his driver’s side window speaking with a friend who was driving alongside him. The young man made a last minute maneuver to avoid a car and wound up traveling in oncoming lanes, at which time he collided head-on with a couple in an SUV traveling from the opposite direction. Sadly the 18-year old was killed instantly. The couple in the SUV were taken to hospital to be treated. The collision was at Louetta and Haude in North Harris County.

Cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year, according to the publisher of the quarterly journal Human Factors, the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. A study by the University of Utah titled “Fatal distraction: A comparison of the cell-phone driver and the drunk driver” found that cell-phone drivers showed MORE impairment than drunk drivers.

Additional information has come to light in reference to the multi-vehicle accident and vehicle fire on US Highway 59 near Grand Parkway in Sugar Land that happened yesterday at approximately 5:30pm. One woman was killed in the collision and an 18-wheeler tanker truck was one of the vehicles involved. Recent media reports indicate that a total of seven vehicles (including the big rig) were caught up in the initial accident, and then a second accident occurred as drivers attempted to avoid colliding with the first wreck. The tragedy unfolded during Houston’s notoriously busy rush hour when commuter traffic is at its peak.

According to Sugar Land police, the driver of the 18-wheeler was unable to control the speed of his tanker truck and smashed into the rear of a Lincoln driven by 66-year old Doris Walters of Pasadena, Texas. Ms. Walters’ Lincoln then caught fire and the fire spread to the big rig and also a pickup truck. Ms. Walters was killed in the accident and another motorist sustained injuries and was transported to the hospital. So far no citations have been issued for the accident and the police investigation is ongoing.

Channel 13 Eyewitness News’ report can be read here.
Channel 2 News’ story is here and includes video.
The Houston Chronicle’s story is here.
KHOU’s story is available here, and includes video and pictures.

Local media outlets are reporting a dramatic crash on Highway 59 in Houston near the Grand Parkway involving a big rig tanker truck and a vehicle fire that has left one motorist dead. The accident happened during rush hour at around 5:30pm in the southbound lanes of Highway 59. Apparently a total of five vehicles were involved and the motorist who was killed was in a pickup truck. A photograph on Channel 2’s web page appears to show a Toyota pickup truck partially engulfed in flames next to the tanker truck. Channel 13’s story is here. Click2Houston.com’s story is here. No report indicated the cause of the wreck, and the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department and Sugar Land Police Department is currently investigating. You can be sure that the insurance company who insures the tanker truck is already investigating the accident also. KHOU’s coverage of the accident is here. What was probably a regular commute home has turned to tragedy for the family of the motorist who died. Fox News Houston’s coverage is available here. The Houston Chronicle’s coverage is here and states that the person who died was in a sedan (not a pickup truck) and that the fire was caused when diesel fuel leaked from the fuel tank of the big rig.

One motorist perished in this fiery crash on Highway 59 near Grand Parkway on July 19, 2011

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, including investigating trucking companies to ensure their truck and drivers are in compliance with state and federal regulations. 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.

An East Texas woman vacationing in Galveston made an unexpected stop at the Americas Best Value Inn and Suites in Galveston when she accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake and crashed through the wall of the hotel, injuring two guests. 63-year old Brenda Harvey of Lufkin was the driver of the SUV involved in the crash, which happened Monday July 18, 2011 in the afternoon. The vehicle went through one room of the hotel and then broke through the wall of another room, briefly trapping a hotel guest. One of the injured guests suffered a head injury.

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.

SUV crashed through the wall of the Americas Best Value Inn and Suites in Galveston on July 18, 2011

You go to your local grocery store just as you have tens, maybe even hundreds of times before.  You collect a grocery cart and you’re walking through the entrance when your feet slip out from under you and the next thing you know you’re looking straight up at the ceiling tiles.  You feel a dull pain in your low back and you think you hit your head when you fell.  Another shopper helps you up and you see that you slipped in a puddle of clear liquid about the size of a dinner plate.  You fell and were hurt on the grocery store’s property so they have to cover your medical bills, right?  Not necessarily.

Slip and fall claims are among the trickier personal injury claims Smith & Hassler handles for clients.  It is NOT the law in Texas that merely because you fall on somebody’s property and were injured the property owner is automatically responsible for your medical bills.  You must be able to present evidence that the property owner’s negligence was what caused your fall.

Texas law requires that you prove that you were injured by an “unreasonably dangerous condition.”  Typically liquid spilled on a polished surface presents a slip hazard and would qualify as an unreasonably dangerous condition.  You must also have evidence that the property owner both failed to warn you of the dangerous condition (e.g. by putting out a sign) AND failed to try and make the condition safe (e.g. by mopping up a spill).

Slip and fall injury claims come down to what the property owner knew or reasonably could have known BEFORE you fell.  You will need evidence that the property owner either: (a) knew about the dangerous condition before you fell but didn’t take care of it; or (b) the property owner actually created the dangerous condition themselves; or (c) even if the property owner didn’t actually know about the dangerous condition, it had existed for long that through a reasonable inspection the property owner should have found it and taken care of it.

Smith & Hassler has handled hundreds of slip and fall claims for people injured on properties in the Houston area.  You can call us today and speak to an attorney about your specific case.  Premises liability can be tricky, so sound legal advice can be invaluable.