Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

This video clip hosted on Smith & Hassler‘s Youtube channel shows the aftermath of a devastating 18-wheeler versus 18-wheeler collision that happened on Interstate 57 in Illinois. The 18-wheeler seen in the video with the severely damaged (almost unrecognizable) cab failed to reduce speed for traffic that had slowed in the lanes ahead. That 18-wheeler struck the rear of the 18-wheeler pulling the KLM trailer, pushing it into a third 18-wheeler waiting ahead.

If you or a family member have been injured in an 18-wheeler collision, call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler. Smith & Hassler has extensive experience investigating and litigating claims against trucking companies, both in Texas and out of state.

A Harris County jury awarded the family of 21-year old Oscar Alfredo Gomez $1,400,000 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against Republic Waste Services. Republic Waste filed an appeal of that award based on an unusual legal argument: that Gomez was an illegal immigrant from El Salvador and that the jury should have heard evidence of his immigration status during the trial. Republic‘s appeal claims that Gomez’ immigration status should have been a factor in the calculation of Gomez’ family’s loss of his future lost income. Attorneys handling the appeal for Republic Waste claim that Gomez probably would have been detected and deported during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid of Republic‘s Houston office that took place two weeks after Gomez died.  As such, argued Republic Waste‘s lawyers, Gomez’ future lost income should have been calculated based on his likely annual wages in El Salvador ($1,000/year) versus his wages working in Houston ($33,000/year).

The First Court of Appeals disagreed with Republic‘s argument and in a January 20th opinion said that the trial court correctly exercised its discretion in not allowing the jury to hear evidence of Gomez’ immigration status.  The appeals court said that Republic‘s claim that Gomez would have been deported in the raid was “speculative” on Republic‘s part.

Gomez was killed January 15, 2007 when he was run over by a garbage truck driven by another Republic Waste employee. After his death Republic discovered Gomez had falsified his immigration paperwork and used another person’s social security number to get the job. The lawsuit against Republic was filed by Gomez’ common law wife who lives in Houston with their daughter and by his father who lives in El Salvador.  The driver of the trash truck that killed Gomez and Republic Waste were sued. The jury found in favor of the Gomez family and awarded $1,400,000 which included $1,275,000 for future lost wages.

A six vehicle accident that included a big rig shut down Houston‘s 610 west loop today at Beechnut Street in southwest Houston. News Channel 2 has a slideshow showing pictures of the accident which included an 18-wheeler apparently pinning a Chrysler car against the concrete center divider and lifting the car off the surface of the road. The collision apparently happened at 2:30pm today, but the freeway had been cleared and reopened by 3:45pm. At the time of Channel 2’s report, there was no word of any injuries to the drivers involved: hopefully nobody was hurt even though the accident looks serious.  As is customary when a major wreck happens on one of Houston‘s main thoroughfares, traffic was backed up for miles.

Smith & Hassler has represented hundreds of Texans injured in 18-wheeler accidents over the firm’s 20+ year history. If you or a loved one has suffered injury in an accident with a big rig, Smith & Hassler’s personal injury attorneys will review your case at no cost, no strings attached, either in person or by phone.

Monday January 17, 2011: Hazmat crews had a busy morning in a Southwest Houston neighborhood cleaning up after an 18-wheeler wreck caused a fuel spill.  According to police the truck  accident happened on East Anderson Road at Milan Drive. The trucks back tire slipped into a ditch causing the entire big rig to tip over. Houston firefighters said that the liquid the 18-wheeler was transporting was non-hazardous, but they were called out because the truck’s fuel tank started leaking. Fortunately the truck driver did not suffer any injuries and the big rig was towed away by 6:00 AM. Houston’s News Channel 2 has a written report of the incident here, video footage here and pictures of the wrecked 18-wheeler here.

An 18-wheeler collision on Monday January 10th has resulted in the death of a female driver and injury to boys aged 4 and 12 riding in her Jeep. According to police, the driver of the Jeep pulled over to the right shoulder of the inbound lanes of the Northwest Freeway in Houston near west 43rd street at around 3:50am on Saturday. The 18-wheeler had been traveling behind the Jeep: according to the 18-wheeler driver, the Jeep suddenly pulled to the left causing the collision. The 35-year old driver of the Jeep was taken to Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital where she died. The boys were taken to Texas Children’s Hospital with the 12-year old in critical condition. A front seat passenger in the Jeep was treated for minor injuries and released. Police indicate alcohol was not a factor.

Wednesday October 13: a big rig has overturned near the Houston Galleria causing all manner of traffic problems. The 18-wheeler, hauling a long piece of concrete, overturned on the ramp from I-10 to the 610 West Loop around midday. The 18-wheeler cab and at least one of the trailers it was hauling flipped over, spilling the load onto the roadway. The ramp is not expected to reopen until 8:00pm while officials clean up the accident scene. Fortunately no injuries were reported.

Many people wonder if they have to or should get a police report made when they are involved in an accident.  The answer to the question “Should I get a police report if I am in an accident?” is usually yes.  The purpose of a police accident report (sometimes referred to as a crash report) is to document who was involve, record important information and to document the officer’s investigation and conclusions as to who (if anyone) was at fault. In no particular order, a police accident report will include the following information:

* names of the drivers involved, driver’s addresses, driver’s license numbers, date of birth, driver’s license status (valid, invalid, etcetera), any restrictions (e.g. corrective lenses)
* year, make, model, color, license plate, VIN of the vehicles involved
* street(s) where the accident happened and applicable speed limits
* insurance company for each driver
* the road conditions, weather conditions, lighting
* witness information (if any)
* location and severity of the damage to the vehicles, where the vehicle were towed and the towing company
* who was injured and the apparent severity of their injuries
* statements of the drivers and witnesses
* not-to-scale diagram of the scene of the collision
* the officer’s opinion on who was at fault
* who was issued a citation, and what they were cited for
* the officer’s patrol area, badge number and name

The list above is not exhaustive, there is other information within a police report that is not included here.  Police officers are trained to investigate accidents and gather information that is important, so having a police officer make a report for your accident saves you the worry of trying to get all the necessary information yourself. Police officers should also investigate the accident in a neutral way, not favoring one side over the other, and witnesses may feel more comfortable telling the neutral police officer what they saw rather than telling their story to the drivers involved.

Police officers in Texas now have the ability to verify at an accident scene whether a particular vehicle has valid liability insurance. Having a police report can also speed up the claims process and give the other driver’s insurance company information they need to make a liability decision and decide whether they will pay a claim.

While people often want to be nice to the other driver and feel hesitant to get the police involved, particularly when the other driver is at the scene saying they are at fault, unfortunately sometime people who have caused an accident get home, have a chance to cool off and start rethinking whether they were really at fault. If there are no witnesses and no police report, you may be faced with a swearing match situation (your word against the other driver) which can get messy.

Some clients have told us in the past then when they called the police to request a report be made, they were told that if the vehicles can be moved from the roadway the drivers should swap information and go on their way.  You may need to politely push to have an officer sent to make a report, and it may mean you have to wait. Section 550.062 of the Texas Transportation Code says that an officer who investigates an accident resulting in injury to or death of a person or damage to property to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more must make a report and file that report with their department within 10-days of the date of the accident.

The you-kn0w-what hit the fan yesterday when an 18-wheeler transporting human waste crashed and rolled onto its side on I-45 in Houston.  The apparent cause of the wreck was a tire from a tanker truck that rolled under the big rig. Houston police report that the tire went over the central divider and into oncoming traffic at which time the tire got lodged under the 18-wheeler, the driver lost control, hit a guardrail and the rig went onto its side. Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt in the accident, and the freeway was closed for approximately 4 hours as the scene was cleared. Luckily for those involved in the cleanup operation, no human waste was spilled. Click2Houston’s report is here.

A Dr. Pepper delivery truck flipped over a guardrail and crashed to the freeway below on Monday September 6th. The 18-wheeler had been traveling on Highway 288 when it fell to Highway 59 below. The big-rig fell about 40 feet and burst into flames when it crashed to the ground. Unfortunately the truck driver sustained serious injury when he was burned over almost half his body; he also suffered two broken legs. Tex DOT will ensure both roadways are structurally sound before traffic is allowed back in the area. Click2Houston.com story is here.

A man was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital with severe leg injuries after his pickup truck collided with the trailer of an 18-wheeler in Houston on Thursday August 26th.  The accident was south of Reed Road on Alameda Road in Houston. Both vehicles were traveling south when the 18-wheeler stopped to make a left turn and the pickup truck collided with the rear of the trailer. A Houston Chronicle report available here shows severe damage to the pickup truck.