Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a collision between a motorcycle and a GMC pickup truck has taken the life of Joshua F. McLendon. The crash happened at 5200 Louetta in Houston at around 11:30pm on Monday May 16, 2011. Sheriff’s deputies say Mr. McLendon was rushed to Memorial Hospital where he died. According to deputies McLendon was riding a motorcycle westbound in the outside lane of Louetta when the driver of a GMC pickup truck made an unsafe lane change.  McLendon attempts to lay the motorbike on its side to avoid crashing into the truck, but he hit the truck’s rear tire and was thrown off the bike. The investigation of the accident is ongoing.

An editorial in Sunday’s Houston Chronicle referred to HB 274 (the so-called “loser pays” legislation currently under consideration by the Texas Senate) as “tort deform.”  The article refers to HB 274 as an “all-out assault” on the ability of individuals and small business owners to take on big business interests in Texas’ civil courts. You can and should read the Chronicle article by clicking here, and immediately contact your state senator and tell him or her what you think of HB 274. Here is a link to a directory of Texas’ 31 senators.

HB 274 is a major windfall for big business interests and the insurance industry. If HB 274 passes in the senate and becomes law, individuals and small businesses who might otherwise have put their case in the hands of 12 jurors will be put in a situation where they technically win at trial, yet find themselves on the hook for the Defendant’s litigation costs which would include: court costs, reasonable attorneys’ fees, deposition costs and fees for not more than two expert witnesses. The bill will put Plaintiff’s in the position of on one hand risking financial ruin in they choose to go to trial or on the other hand accepting a settlement offer that is too low.

Here are some links to other stories on HB 274 and how it will affect individuals and small businesses in Texas:

Legislature loses its way with ‘loser pays’ blow-up The Dallas Morning News Editorial, May 9, 2010

‘Loser pays’ is false advertising Houston Chronicle, May 10, 2011

Why “Loser Pays” is a Loser Texas Tribune, May 13, 2011

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.

Here is a link to a video report from Channel 2 news about this terrible accident. Wet weather is being partly blamed for a “chain reaction” style collision in Cut and Shoot, Montgomery County, that has left two motorcyclists dead. The bikers were hit by a Ford F150 pickup truck while riding with a larger group of motorcyclists near State Highway 105 near Willis Waukegan Road. The DPS investigation is ongoing. The video report indicates that one accident happened then when others tried to stop they were unable to because of the wet roads and slammed into one another. One of the riders involved in the crash said he was from San Angelo and on his way to a state motorcycle rally in Beaumont at the time of the wreck. A rider named Gary Cox who was interviewed said the car in front of him stopped for no reason, and when he attempted to brake he ultimately wound up in a ditch after trying to correct a slide a couple of times.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a motorcycle accident, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation on your injury claim. Of all the motorized transportation types on public roads,motorcycle accidents have the highest potential to cause serious injury or death: having a Smith & Hassler personal injury attorney working on your motorbike accident injury claim puts knowledge and experience on your side.

Disaster struck last night when one woman was killed and 21 other people were injured in a bus wreck on US 77 just outside Victoria, Texas. The bus was traveling from Houston to the Rio Grande. Ms. Juana Lopez Perez, aged 53, was killed in the two vehicle collision which happened near Fleming Prairie Road about 9:00pm on Wednesday May 11, 2011. According to police, the 21 people on the bus were transported to area hospital where the majority of them were treated and released. The bus, which was operated by Valley Transit Company, was heading southbound on US 77 when the driver when the driver of a Chevy S-10 pickup truck pulled into the highway from a side road and hit the bus. DPS Trooper Gerald Bryant said that Juana Lopez Perez was sitting in a passenger seat toward the front of the bus and near the door. Ms. Perez, who was from Matamoros, boarded the bus in Houston, was going to Corpus Christi and from there on the McAllen. She was traveling alone at the time. The pickup truck driver was issued a citation for failing to yield the right-of-way to the bus while exiting the side road.

If you have been injured in a bus accident, you can call Smith & Hassler at 1-800-WIN-WIN1 or 713-739-1250 and ask to speak to one of the firm’s personal injury attorneys for a free consultation.

Houston drivers’ evening commute ground to a halt Tuesday May 10 when a 3 vehicle accident caused multiple lane closures. All 3 vehicles involved flipped over on the outbound lanes of US59 near Shepherd. Police arrested a driver who may have been drinking: that driver hit another vehicle and caused the crashes. Witness Alicia Gainer described the accident as a “domino effect” where one car flipped over into the next. ABC’s report on the accident did not include any details of injuries sustained in the crash: hopefully everyone involved is okay. A grainy image captured from Transtar’s footage shows one vehicle flipped over onto its roof.

A three vehicle accident on US59 at Shepherd involved a driver who may have been drinking

If you or a loved on have been victimized by an automobile accident, motorcycle accident, pedestrian accident, bicycle accident or truck accident caused by adrunk driver, call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation. The earlier in your case you call, the better: theinsurance company will want you to settle for a small amount as early as possible and have you sign a release. This will limit the insurance company’s liability and prevent them from having to pay more later. Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys have aggressively represented injured people in the Houston area and throughout Texas for more than 20-years, including bereaved family members bringing wrongful death lawsuits.

Tragedy struck in Manvel, Texas on Mother’s Day this past weekend when 9-year old Phillip Koterba was killed in a golf cart accident. Manvel police say that the golf cart Phillip was riding in hit a ditch and then flipped over. Phillip was a student at C.J. Harris Elementary School, and grief counselors were on hand in an effort to help students and teachers deal with Phillip’s death. In an act of great generosity at a terribly sad time, Phillip’s family made the decision to donate his organs which will help three other children live.

Phillip Koterba (9) who died Mother's Day in a golf cart accident in Manvel, TX.

Golf cart accident injuries appear to be an unexpectedly commonly occurring problem. An article of the web site of Technology Associates quotes the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s statistic that 15,000 golf cart related injuries requiring emergency room treatment occur in the U.S. each year. The article says that one significant mode of injury is passenger ejection, which can lead to serious injuries, especially of the head. CPSC injury statistics indicate that approximately 40% of all golf cart related accidents involve children under the age of 16, and 50% of those accidents involve a fall from a moving golf cart.

Up to 2,700,000 Ford F150 pickup trucks could be affected by a fuel tank problem currently under investigation by safety regulators. The NHTSA said that steel straps used to hold the fuel tank in place can rust and deteriorate over time allowing the fuel tank to drop to the ground, potentially causing a fuel spill and fire. Ford F150 trucks for the 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001 model years are being looked into: NHTSA investigations routinely lead to manufacturer recalls, including a recent recall of F150 pickup trucks for an airbag defect.

Last year the NHTSA received 32 complaints about the fuel tank problem but no injuries have been reported as yet. NHTSA and Ford have received a total of 243 reports of the fuel tanks falling: 2 of those incidents lead to fires: one fire destroyed the pickup truck and the other fire burned out by itself. According to the NHTSA, fuel leaked in 95 of the fuel tank drop incidents. Nine people reported sparks on the roadway when the tank dropped, which would increase the chances of a fire.

For more than 30 years Ford’s F150 has been the best selling vehicle in the United States. Owners with questions about how their vehicle may be affected should contact their nearest Ford dealership. Fortunately there are no known reports of injury, however this defect poses a serious risk of harm: a fuel tank could drop on a F150 parked in a garage only to start a fire that could spread to the rest of the home.

If you have been seriously injured in an accident resulting from a fuel tank dropping in a 1997-2001 Ford F150 pickup truck, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your potential products liability case.

This picture shows a replacement fuel tank strap installed in a 2001 Ford F150 with a badly rusted fuel tank

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.

U-Haul driver falls asleep rear-ending a HPD patrol car and pushing it into a silver Jaguar