August 5, 2010: A Houston Police Department officer, Mark Hutchins, has been fired after a deadly wreck that involved alcohol. Officer Hutchins has been charged with intoxicated assault with a motor vehicle. Hutchins was sworn-in as a police officer in 1997 and investigators have not released details of the car accident.
A fatal accident occurred earlier this week involving a Metropolitan Transit Authority wrecker driver and a 64-year old woman whose identity has not been released. Metro has since fired its driver Gregory Clark who failed a Federal Transit Administration– required alcohol test following the Tuesday August 3, 2010 accident. Clark’s wrecker was in service but was not hauling a bus at the time of the collision. The wrecker crashed into the female victim’s car at Scott Street and the south 610 Loop in Houston. The woman and her passenger were taken to Ben Taub General Hospital where the woman died. Metro and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office are working together to determine if criminal charges will be brought against Clark. Metro has stated that Clark was suspended for three days in May because he was found off his route. The Houston Chronicle’s story is here.
Ultimately the decision must be your own as to whether you decide to retain a personal injury attorney to represent you for a car accident case (or any other injury case). A good personal injury attorney will give you a free consultation and will be up front with you about what an attorney can and cannot do for you. At the end of the consultation you should feel that you understand what is involved in presenting a personal injury or car accident claim and how the process works. You should not feel pressured to sign up with an attorney simply because they met with you and gave a free consultation. You should be able to make an informed decision about retaining an attorney.
Something you might consider in weighing whether to have representation is who is “on the other side” of your claim. In the great majority of instances you will be dealing with representatives of an insurance company (“adjusters”) who have handled many hundreds if not thousands of claims similar to yours. Smith & Hassler’s attorneys and support staff routinely represent clients’ interests in claims made with insurers such as Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Safeco, Zurich, Fred Loya, Mercury, USAA, Texas Farm Bureau, Germania and many others.
Insurance adjusters have an advantage over you in that they are very experienced in handling injury claims. You on the other hand have probably been in one or two automobile accidents your entire life, and find the claims process frustrating and cumbersome, largely because you are not familiar with your rights under the applicable laws. Bias aside, insurance companies and the adjusters that work for them have a financial incentive to pay you as small a settlement as possible. Here is a link to a special report by CNN’s Anderson Cooper on how major auto insurers such as Allstate and State Farm play hardball with people making injury claims under their policies.
Insurance companies profit when they collect insurance premiums from their policyholders. Paying claims eats into those profits, therefore what do you think an insurance company would rather pay you on your claim: fair value or as little as they can get away with? Having an experienced, knowledgeable personal injury attorney on your side helps keep the insurance company honest and increases the likelihood you will be fairly compensated for your injuries and losses.
A good personal injury firm will make themselves available to answer your questions during the lifespan of your injury claim and will promptly return calls. Research has shown that clients’ number one pet peeve is unreturned calls. Your personal injury attorney ideally will handle the administrative burdens of your claim, such as gathering your medical bills and records from your medical providers, documenting lost income and if the claim is to be settled negotiating reductions of outstanding medical bills when possible.
Most personal injury attorneys, including Smith & Hassler, work on a contingent fee arrangement where the attorneys are paid for their work only if the client recovers. For that reason the attorney and client’s interests are truly aligned and the attorney and client are in a sense partners. For that reason there is great value to getting recommendations from friends, family and co-workers who have retained a personal injury attorney and been satisfied.
In an ideal world all car accidents would happen while a crowd of highly credible witnesses were standing by and watching intently. Of course that rarely happens. There are many two vehicle accidents with no witnesses in which a police officer investigates but does not issue a citation because the drivers are giving different versions and nobody saw the accident happen.
What usually happens in this situation is that both drivers will file claims with the other driver’s insurance company because each party feels it was the other driver’s fault. Because there are “conflicting statements” (i.e. both drivers are blaming each other), both insurance companies will most probably deny the claims and say that each driver should look to their own insurance company to take care of their vehicle damage and medical bills. These types of “swearing match” claims are very difficult for attorneys to help clients with: there are no independent witnesses to support what either driver is saying.
If you are involved in a “swearing match” accident and you have full coverage insurance (not just liability only), it is often easier and quicker for you to file the claim with your own auto insurance. If your insurance company feels you were not at fault they can always pursue the other driver’s insurance company to get their money back (this is called a subrogation claim). Your insurance company can also seek recovery of the deductible you paid from the other driver’s insurance company.
If you have a swearing match accident you can always call Smith & Hassler and ask to speak to an attorney for a free consultation.
August 2, 2010: Houston Police Department is reporting that a 73-year old man hit and killed a 20-year old woman who was crossing a southeast Houston street, after which the man drove away. William Jones has been charged with driving while intoxicated and also causing an accident resulting in injury or death. Investigators say the accident happened around 10:25pm at the 5800 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard near Griggs Road in Houston. The identity of the victim, who died at the hospital, has not been released. Police officers nearby witnessed the accident and Mr. Jones was arrested shortly thereafter. Read the Click2Houston story here.
An 83-year old lady in Tyler, Texas is recovering after being bitten by a pit bull mix dog that authorities say may have been used in illegal dog fighting. Glynda Hulsey and her two dogs were walking to the mailbox when she was attacked. Fortunately she was able to make it back to her house. The pit bull followed her where it was shot by her husband. ABC Channel 13’s report is here.
Friday July 30, 2010: At around 4:30am the driver of a Ford Explorer apparently lost control of the vehicle before crashing into a guardrail and then hitting a pole. Matthew Gomez and Nancy Martinez died at the scene. Harris County Sheriff’s deputies investigated the scene, resulting in several lanes being closed, but lanes were reopened by 6:00am. The crash happened in the northbound lanes of the Eastex Freeway near Mount Houston Road.
Thursday July 29, 2010: in the 5700 block of Westheimer at approximately 8:45am Houston Fire Department truck was involved in a wreck. A fire captain and civilian were transported to Memorial Hermann in the medical center to be treated for their injuries. The engine operates out of Fire Station 28, which is near the location of the wreck. It is unknown at this time if the fire engine was en route to an emergency call. The Houston Chronicle’s report is here.
In March 30, 2009 two City of Houston fire trucks were involved in an intersection collision that resulted in the tragic death of Leigh Boone, a cyclist who sustained head injuries. In January 2010 the Houston City Council approved a $225,000 settlement to be paid to Ms. Boone’s family. Texas law meant that the maximum Ms. Boone’s family could have received was $250,000. Tort reform capped the amount of damages that can be recovered from governmental entities by injured persons. The collision involving Ms. Boone also involved a fire truck traveling on Westheimer.
Wednesday July 28, 2010: Dayton, Liberty County, Texas. The driver of an 18-wheeler was killed in a collision with a train in Dayton. The big rig and the Union Pacific train collided near the intersection of FM686 and CR622 at approximately 6:54pm. The 18-wheeler caught fire and burned after the tractor was severed from the trailer and pushed down the tracks. The train engineer was not injured. The 18-wheeler was being used to transport railroad ties. Read the Click2Houston story here.
Tuesday July 27th, 2010: The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a pedestrian crossing in the 5000 block of Gessner near Genard was struck and killed in a hit-and-run collision at about 9:00pm. The pedestrian was using a walker. The vehicle was traveling northbound at the time of the collision and the pedestrian was apparently not in a crosswalk. The area is dimly lit and the man was known to travel slowly while using his walker, police said.