Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Various local media outlets are reporting the death of two men in a barge fire in Freeport. The men are 31-year old Jose Jesus Gonzalez-Alvarez and 41-year old Daniel Santacruz. The Saturday April 3rd fire was at Texas Barge & Boat, Inc. near the 4100 block of Floodgate Road. An ABC Channel 13 report says one man was caught in the blaze and the other man perished when he went in to save him. The Brazoria County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident as an industrial accident. KHOU said that the fire was in a cargo vessel that was sitting on top of a dry docked barge at the time of the fire. Freeport, Texas is about 65 miles south of Houston.

The Houston Chronicle has reported that the worker killed in yesterday’s plant explosion at KMTEX‘s Port Arthur plant was 58-year old Mr. Johnny Williams of Groves, Texas.  Another online media report says that OSHA will visit the plant to determine how and why the deadly explosion happened. Under the heading “quality” on the company’s web site, KMTEX states that: “KMTEX complies with mandated and governmental standards involving health, safety, and environmental measures. We are responsible business professionals, fully prepared to meet the standards of our customers.”

ABC Channel 13 News has posted a brief report on an explosion at the KMTEX chemical plant near Port Arthur, Texas that has injured 3 workers and killed one worker. The incident happened around 2:00PM on Thursday March 31, 2011.  Apparently an explosion was followed by a flash fire. A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy named Rod Carroll is quoted as telling KFDM-TV of Beaumont that the explosion involved gasoline that was being processed. Another statement credited to Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator Greg Fountain was that a 500 barrel fuel tank had exploded. Two of the injured workers were airlifted, one to Memorial Hermann Hospital and one to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. Another was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.

KMTEX’s web site identifies the company as a specialist in the custom processing of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals, oleochemicals, agricultural chemicals, and food grade chemicals. The plant is located at 2450 S. Gulfway Drive, Port Arthur, Texas 77641.

KMTEX chemical plant near Port Arthur, scene of a deadly explosion on March 31, 2011

The Houston Chronicle also provided coverage of the KMTEX explosion. The Chronicle article indicates authorities will be investigating how a flammable solvent remained in a pipeline workers were welding when the explosion occurred. According to unnamed witnesses, one of the workers was welding a pipeline that contained coal tar naptha solvent when the fire occurred: the workers thought all of the solvent had been evacuated from the line. Naptha is a by-produce of crude oil and is highly flammable. According to authorities, one of the injured workers suffered a head injury and another had fractured legs.

Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the deceased worker and the three men injured in the blast. Smith & Hassler believes that the hard-working men and women of the Houston energy industry deserve a safe working environment and should be able to expect to return home safely at the end of each work day. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a plant explosion, call our experienced personal injury attorneys right away.

KHOU.com is reporting a motorcycle crash that injured a police officer early Wednesday in Dickinson, Texas. The officer was taken via helicopter to a Houston hospital; fortunately his condition is listed as good. Officer David Donaldson was heading eastbound on FM 517 in Dickinson when he collided with a vehicle at Pabst Road. Dickinson Police Chief Ron Morales said Donaldson locked up the brakes on the Suzuki Hayabusa he was riding but was unable to stop in time: Donaldson was ejected from the motorbike and somersaulted through the air. The wreck happened shortly after 8:00am. The driver of the other vehicle was not hurt in the crash.

Texas lawmakers are considering whether to ban texting while driving across the Lone Star State. There are 10 bills that have been filed in Austin: Senate Bill 138 would ban texting while driving except when using a hands-free device. House Bill 93 provides for a penalty of up to $200 for texting while driving, and another bill (HB103) doubles that fine in school zones. A Channel 11 News article however reports that the various bills don’t seem to be getting much traction and suggests a couple of possible reasons why: telephone company lobbyists or lack of public interest. In the Houston area six cities have banned texting while driving recently: Conroe, Missouri City, West University Place, Bellaire, Alvin and Galveston. Missouri City‘s ban has been in effect since last June, so for about 10 months, however thus far Missouri City P.D. has issued only 5 citations for texting while driving. Only 11 citations have been issued in Galveston and none have been issued in West University Place.

Click2Houston.com has reported an automobile versus pedestrian accident that happened on Westpark Drive near Rampart Street about 8:15AM on Tuesday March 29, 2011. Sadly the pedestrian died after being hit by a vehicle. Investigators say the pedestrian walked across Westpark Drive against the light and the vehicle had the right-of-way at the time. The pedestrian was in a crosswalk. She was taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where she died: her name has not yet been released. Sergeant G. Hall with Houston Police Department is quoted in the article as saying the driver of the vehicle was very distraught, and will not be charged with any offense. Sgt. Hall told the reporter speed wasn’t a factor and a witness waiting at a red light saw what happened.

Scene of a fatal automobile versus pedestrian accident on Westpark Drive on 03-29-2011

Smith & Hassler has practiced exclusively in the area of personal injury for more than 20-years. Attorneys are available for a free consultation, and you can even submit your case online. Run a Google search for “Smith and Hassler” and check out the reviews from previous clients.

Monday March 28, 2011: Click2Houston.com is reporting a METRO bus crash at La Branch and Franklin in Houston at around 10:10AM. The bus collided with another vehicle that investigators said made a wrong turn. One passenger on the bus was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital with a leg injury.

This crash between a Houston METRO bus and another vehicle caused a leg injury to a bus passenger

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.

ABC Channel 13 eyewitness news made brief reports of two accidents in the Houston area over the weekend.  In one accident on Sunday March 27th a 6-year old child pedestrian was struck by a car outside a Houston church at around 5:00PM. Churchgoers took the child in a private car to Fire Station 59 on Post Oak Boulevard. From there the firefighters took the child to Texas Children’s Hospital where the child was reported to be in stable condition.

Around 7:30PM on Saturday March 26th a man in his 50’s died in a motorcycle crash after it was claimed he took a curve at too high a speed. Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigators say Burl Alsbrooks was driving a 2000 model Honda Shadow motorbike and traveling at a high rate of speed northbound in the 7400 block of the Texas Spur 330. He took the exit ramp to the I-10 east freeway, westbound, at which time he lost control of the bike, left the roadway and hit the metal guardrail. Mr. Alsbrooks was wearing a helmet at the time but it was not a full face helmet, and he struck his face on the guardrail sustaining fatal injuries.  Our sympathies to Mr. Alsbrooks family and friends.

ABC Channel 13 news briefly reported a balcony collapse at an apartment complex in Kaufman, Texas that caused the death of 37-year old Jose Martinez-Hernandez. Kaufman is about 30 miles southeast of Dallas. Investigators say an engineer will inspect all of the balconies in the complex. The accident happened Saturday March 26th; Mr. Hernandez fell 12 feet. Reports from WFAA-TV indicate that residents of the complex say crews had been working on several balconies. That report identified the complex as Windtree Apartments in Kaufman.

Under Texas law, just because a person is injured on another’s property does not make the property owner automatically responsible for paying the injured person’s damages. There must be evidence of negligence on the part of the property owner and/or the person responsible for maintaining the property. Often in the context of an apartment complex a property management company is contracted by the owner of the complex to manage the apartments, including safety and maintenance. If you have been injured in a trip and fall or slip and fall incident on another person’s property and suspect the negligence of the property owner was the cause, call the experienced premises liability attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation.

KHOU Channel 11 News updated the story on the 18-wheeler accident in Fort Worth that left a car crushed and the cab of the 18-wheeler hanging off an overpass above the freeway below. Fort Worth police are saying that the driver of the car, who was pinned inside his crushed vehicle for about an hour after the accident, may face a gun charge and a DUI charge related to the accident. It took more than 3 hours to clear the accident scene and rescue the car driver, a passenger and the trucker. The accident happened just before 4:00AM. Firefighters were able to use a ladder truck to reach up to the 18-wheeler cab and then used an elaborate pulley system to extract the truck through the passenger side of the cab.

The Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler aggressively represent clients injured in car accidents caused by intoxicated drivers. If you have been injured due to the negligence of a drunk driver, call Smith & Hassler for a free attorney consultation: don’t let an insurance adjuster talk you into settling for too little, too soon.

The driver of this badly crushed car may face a DUI charge for the accident with the 18-wheeler

Skilled work by Fort Worth firefighters allowed the rescue of the trapped driver of the big rig