Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

You have just been involved in a car accident. Your vehicle is damaged and you are injured. The other driver suggests you just exchange information and that the police don’t really need to be involved. You don’t want to seem like a bad guy but you think a police report might be a good idea.  What should you do?

GET A POLICE REPORT!

Pursuant to Texas Transportation Code Section 550.062, a police officer investigating a motor vehicle accident in the regular course of his/her duty shall make an accident report when the accident resulted in the death of injury of a person OR there was damage to any one person’s property that appears to amount to $1,000 or more. If you call to request police assistance for your car accident, you should state on the phone whether someone is hurt or if there appears to be more than $1,000 in damage to one or more vehicles, you should say so.

A police crash report of the type used by law enforcement officers in Texas records a lot of information. The report will include information about the drivers involved, their insurance information and usually the statements of the parties involved and the officer’s opinion as to who was at fault. Texas law enforcement agencies are now able to determine at the scene of an accident whether the vehicles involved are covered by valid liability insurance. Requesting the police respond to your car accident may help save hours of frustration on the phone later trying to determine if the other driver had valid insurance.

Another benefit of getting a police crash report for your car accident is that it will help reduce the “he said, she said” factor later on. While the other driver may seem remorseful and ready to accept responsibility at the scene, that may change later. Having a police report documents who said what. A police crash report can also document the identities of passengers in your vehicle, the other vehicle and also witnesses who remained at the scene.

Particularly in Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States, police departments are kept very busy and often stretched pretty thin. The prospect of having to wait an hour or more in Houston heat for an officer to respond and make a report may seem miserable, but when compared to the misery of fighting the other guy’s insurance company because there is a dispute about how the accident happened, waiting for a police officer is an hour well spent.

Remember that the officer has up to 10-days from the date of the accident to finalize the crash report and submit it to his/her department. You should do everything you can to get the other driver’s insurance information before you leave the scene, either by asking the other driver for it or asking the police officer to give it to you. Sometimes police officers will tell people that the other driver’s insurance information is in the report: while that may be true, you may have to wait 10-days to get it.

Sec. 550.062.  OFFICER’S ACCIDENT REPORT.  (a)  A law enforcement officer who in the regular course of duty investigates a motor vehicle accident shall make a written report of the accident if the accident resulted in injury to or the death of a person or damage to the property of any one person to the apparent extent of $1,000 or more.

(b)  The report required by Subsection (a) must be filed with the department not later than the 10th day after the date of the accident.

(c)  This section applies without regard to whether the officer investigates the accident at the location of the accident and immediately after the accident or afterwards by interviewing those involved in the accident or witnesses to the accident.

July 28, 2011 collision between a Ford Mustang and a Chevy Suburban on the Gulf Freeway

A two-car collision early morning Thursday July 28, 2011 sent two people to the hospital. Channel 11 is reporting that a red-colored Ford Mustang attempted to exit the Gulf Freeway at the 610 Loop South around 1:00am when it collided with a white-colored Chevrolet Suburban SUV. Reportedly drivers of both vehicles were taken to the hospital: the driver of the Mustang sustained a broken pelvis.

A car accident is a very disruptive event for most people.  A damaged vehicle may mean you cannot get to work, grocery shop, take your kids to school or sporting events, and so on.  Injuries may mean you are unable to work, hence unable to support yourself or your family due to lost wages.  And not only are you missing income because you are unable to work, but you now have unexpected debts for medical treatment, sometimes in the tens of thousands of dollars.  Dealing with all of these challenges at once can feel overwhelming, particularly if you have never been involved in an accident before.  If the at-fault driver had insurance, you are probably dealing with requests for information from the insurance company too.  Smith & Hassler firmly believes that the earlier in the process you get sound advice from an experienced personal injury attorney who is willing to listen to you, answer your questions and provide you guidance, the better.  The insurance company will press you early on to give a recorded statement about the accident, your injuries, your medical history and more: don’t do it, the statement is for their benefit, not yours.  You can call or email Smith & Hassler any time for a free consultation on your car accident injury claim.

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.

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

Smith & Hassler previously reported on the tragic accident in North Houston on Friday July 15 involving a Houston Yellow Cab taxi colliding with the rear of a stopped 18-wheeler. The driver of the Yellow Cab has since been charged with criminally negligent homicide in connection with the deaths of his two passengers, Sandra Smart (aged 56) and Dorothy Britton (aged 84). The driver of the taxi cab, 56-year old David Houston, reportedly suffered minor injuries in the collision, which happened around 5:00pm on the Eastex Freeway near Laura Koppe road.

Reportedly Houston was driving the Yellow Cab minivan way too fast for the road conditions immediately before the collision occurred, and was weaving in and out of traffic according to witnesses. METRO police department is assisting with the investigation of the deadly wreck, as both Sandra Smart and Dorothy Britton were METROLift patrons and were being transported home after receiving dialysis services as part of a contract between Yellow Cab and METROLift to provide such services. Houston posted $100,000 bail and was out of jail as of Saturday.

Although Yellow Cab owned the vehicle Houston was driving, they will likely take the position that Houston himself was an independent contractor of Yellow Cab and not an employee. Yellow Cab’s career page states it is seeking drivers with a “great driving record.” METROLift’s web site states that: “It is important to us that patrons know METROLift is a shared-ride public transit service, not a taxicab service.”

Our sincere sympathies to the friends and families of Sandra Smart and Dorothy Britton on their loss.

According to the web site for Hansen Mortuaries in Phoenix, Arizona, the funeral is scheduled today of 29-year old Colleen Nicole Doyle. Colleen was riding in the Toyota Camry that on July 3, 2011 struck the minivan driven by Joshua (41) and Robin Berry (40) and their children Peter (9), Aaron (8) and Willa (6). Joshua and Robin were killed in the collision near Fort Stockton, Texas and Peter and Aaron sustained serious spinal cord injuries that may leave them paralyzed from the waist down. A fund has been set up for the Berry Children and is accepting donations big and small.

The ceremony for Colleen Doyle will take place at Gateway Christian Church in Roswell, New Mexico. Colleen’s husband Michael Scott Doyle was driving the Camry at the time of the accident and the couple’s 18-month old daughter Mckenzie was riding with them. Fortunately Mckenzie appears to have weathered the tragic accident relatively well.

29-year old Colleen Doyle who died in the July 3, 2011 collision.

Michael Scott Doyle, driver of the Camry that collided with the Berry's minivan

This yellow cab rear-ended a big rig on the Eastex Freeway July 15 2011 killing two passengers

Channel 13 Eyewitness News is reporting a deadly crash on the Eastex Freeway near Laura Koppe. A Yellow Cab minivan crashed into the rear of a big rig tanker truck when, according to witnesses, the yellow cab driver was traveling at a high rate of speed and weaving in and out of traffic. Two elderly women were riding as passengers in the taxi – one was pronounced dead at the scene, the other passenger was transported to the hospital and died there. The taxi driver’s condition wasn’t reported, but police say if he survives he will face a charge of criminally negligent homicide.

2 People Dead in Crash on Eastex Freeway: MyFoxHOUSTON.com

A single car accident took the life of a female motorist last night and investigators suspect drunk driving may have been involved. A woman was driving along in a Lincoln sedan when her car left the roadway of westbound S. Wayside, crashed through a fence and drove through a parking lot then slipped onto its side and hit a utility pole. Houston Police Department has not identified the woman: she died at the scene. According to ABC Channel 13’s coverage of the accident the woman stopped in the middle of the roadway around 11:30pm, then turned into a field and lost control before hitting an electrical pole. Click2Houston.com’s report states the woman was only 20-years old, and lists the time of the wreck as 12:20am.

A very sad day today for the Beaumont, Texas police department who lost one of their officer last night to a motor vehicle collision with a fleeing suspect. Beaumont P.D. Officer Bryan Mitchell Hebert, aged-36, was getting stop-sticks from the trunk of his patrol car last night when the 30-year old suspect, whose name has not been released, crashed a 2008 Dodge Nitro into the front of Officer Hebert’s patrol car pushing it backward into the officer. Officer Hebert had been with the Beaumont Police Department for 10-years; he passed away at Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital. Police say the suspect had assaulted his elderly grandmother and mother prior to the crash. The suspect will be facing a capital murder charge and if convicted may receive the death penalty. Beaumont P.D.’s press release is here. The last officer from Beaumont P.D. who was killed in the line of duty was patrol officer Lisa Beaulieu, killed by a drunk driver April 27, 2007 while directing traffic at the scene of a freeway accident.