Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

Channel 11 News is reporting that a man who died in a tragic fall from a rollercoaster at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo on Sunday evening has been identified as 47-year old Brian Joseph Greenhouse. Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo Chief Operating Officer Leroy Shafer confirmed Mr. Greenhouse died when he fell 28 feet from the Hi-Miler rollercoaster. CPR was attempted at the scene but sadly Mr. Greenhouse was pronounced dead at Memorial Hermann hospital. As Mr. Greenhouse fell he hit a 44-year old man who suffered a broken ankle.

The Hi-Miler rollercoaster involved had both a lap belt and a locking safety bar: it is not thought that either of these safety features malfunctioned because both were still in place after the accident. According to Shafer the Hi-Miler ride, owned by carnival operator RCS since 1980, does not have a history of any serious problems. There has been only one reported injury on the ride since 1980 when a rider’s head hit the safety bar and they suffered a broken nose and cheekbone.

In 2010 riders got stuck on the Hi-Miler when a crank shaft bent and automatically shut down the rollercoaster: riders were stuck for about 45 minutes. A Youtube video shows carnival workers climbing onto the ride, the video is dated 03-21-2010. Mr. Greenhouse’s fiance was also riding the coaster sitting two cars behind him when he fell: no witnesses have been identified who saw Mr. Greenhouse fall as the coaster made a turn. Houston Police Department’s homicide division has taken over the investigation into the cause of Brian Greenhouse’s death.

The Houston Chronicle’s story on Mr. Greenhouse’s death is here. The Chronicle reports that nobody was monitoring the Hi-Miler ride at the time Mr. Greenhouse fell, however industry standards require such rides be monitored from start to finish. Mr. Greenhouse was one of five children, lived in Houston and worked for AT&T. The Chronicle reports that the Hi-Miler rollercoaster is owned by Ray Cammack Shows, Inc. of Arizona, which as contracted to run the Houston Rodeo’s carnival for the past 12-years.

ABC Channel 13’s story is here. Channel 13 states that its reporters spoken to a woman who rode the Hi-Miler last week with her 6-year old son and the safety latch came undone. The woman is identified in the article as Myra Rock. Ms. Rock told Channel 13 that during the ride she had to hold down the bar and hold on to her son at the same time, and that she reported the defect to the operator when she got off the ride, and the operator said he would take care of the problem.

Mr. Greenhouse was described by a family member in one article as a hard-working, Christian man. Our sympathies go out to Mr. Greenhouse’s fiance and family members.

This week Smith & Hassler filed a lawsuit in Harris County District Court on behalf of a 7-year old boy from the Houston area who was seriously injured when he was attacked by a pit bull last year. The boy, who we will refer to by his initials A.W. for this article, had just been dropped off by his school bus and was walking home on a public street when the pit bull charged out of its owner’s yard, raced down the sidewalk and without hesitating attacked A.W. The unprovoked attack was witnessed by the school bus driver, among others.  A.W. was rescued by some neighbors who took him into their home to protect him from the dog, but unfortunately the neighbors were not able to get to A.W. before he sustained some nasty bite wounds to his arm. Someone called 911 and Houston Police Department and animal control investigated the incident. When the police officers arrived the dog attacked the officers, leaving the officers no choice but to shoot the dog.  A.W. was transported to hospital where he received stitches to close the wounds.

In 2009 there were 30 fatal dog attacks in the United States. The dog breed most commonly reported in those attacks were pit bull dogs (14 attacks) followed by Rottweilers (4 attacks).

The negligence lawsuit is filed against the homeowner from whose property the pit bull was allowed to escape prior to the attack on A.W. Importantly, interviews with other neighbors reveal that this particular dog has been aggressive toward people prior to the attack on A.W. The homeowner is insured with a “big name” insurance company that made a decision a little over a year ago to change the way it handles injury claims in an effort to save some money. Rather than waste additional time allowing the insurance company to review the file and make an unreasonable offer that they know won’t settle A.W.’s case, Smith and Hassler filed suit.  If the insurance company does not want to offer fair and reasonable compensation to 7-year old A.W. for his medical bills, physical pain, mental anguish, physical impairment and scarring, a jury will decide what A.W. is owed.  We should be thankful for our jury system that takes the fate of Harris County residents such as A.W. out of the hands on an insurance company and puts it in the hands of 12 jurors.

If you or a family member have been injured due to a dog bite or other animal attack, call Smith & Hassler and one of our experienced Houston personal injury attorneys will be glad to give a free consultation.

Chrysler has announced that it will be recalling 250,000 2010 model year minivans and SUVs because of an ignition problem that can lead to sudden engine stalling. Apparently the stalling problem occurs because the ignition in the vehicles can be too easily bumped or shaken into the “accessory power” position: when that happens the vehicle’s engine will immediately shut off. Obviously that’s a big problem if you are in the midst of passing an 18-wheeler when it happens and there is a vehicle coming toward you from the opposite direction. The sudden loss of power also presents a danger of a rear-end collision. In fact at least two rear-end crashes have been blamed on the problem according to a letter sent by Chrysler to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The specific vehicles involved in the recall are the Chrysler Town & County minivan and the Dodge Journey SUV manufactured between June 3, 2009 and August 17, 2010. Chrysler dealers will replace the ignition modules on the affected vehicles with replacements that are less likely to cut off.

If you have been seriously injured in an accident resulting from a sudden loss of power in a 2010 Chrysler Town & Country or Dodge Journey, call the experienced personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your potential products liability case.

One-year old Elias Castillo died Friday evening, the fourth young child to die due to injuries from the Jackie’s Child Care fire in Houston earlier this week. Two other children remain in critical condition in Shriners Hospital for Children in Galveston where they are being treated for smoke inhalation and burns. One child has been released from Memorial Hermann Children’s Hospital. Jessica Rene Tata, the 22-year old operator of the day care, has been accused of leaving the children home alone at the time of the fire, but has not yet been charged with any criminal wrongdoing. Ron Tata, Rene’s brother, says that she has hired a lawyer.

19-year old John Chestnut, who watched the tragic scene unfold Thursday afternoon, says he thinks Tata may have left something cooking on the stove when she went out to the grocery store. He said he watched Tata pull into the driveway of the home day care and calmly carry groceries to the front door. Chestnut said when she opened the door smoke came pouring out and Tata ran toward himself and others screaming for help and saying the children were inside.

Chestnut’s friend Geoffrey Deshano saw a little boy through a window on the daycare. Chestnut said Deshano then broke a window to try to get to the boy but was forced back by heavy smoke. Chestnut went in to the daycare through the back door, crawling and squinting as he went. He said he saw flames coming from the stove and could hear the children screaming. Chestnut quickly was overcome by the smoke and said he had to retreat. “I keep hearing kids screaming in my head when I’m sleeping” Chestnut told the Houston Chronicle.

God bless these poor little children and their families.

Local News Channel 2 is reporting that fire investigators suspect the 22-year old owner/operator of a West Houston day care left the kids along before a deadly fire broke out, ultimately killing 3 of the children and seriously injuring 4 other children. Jessica Tata, owner of Jackie’s Child Care, has not yet been charged with a crime, but police and fire investigators said a criminal case was building as evidence of what lead to the deadly fire is gathered.

Sources within Houston Fire Department told Local 2 Investigates that a neighbor states they saw Jessica Tata returning from a shopping trip to the grocery store, during which she left the kids alone at the home. That neighbor, Geoffrey Deshano, told Local 2 he saw Tata pulling up, frantically calling for help as she repeatedly stated she left the kids alone. Deshano told HFD investigators that he watched Tata fumble for keys, unable to get into the day care center. HFD spokeswoman Assistant Fire Chief Lisa Campbell said HFD is waiting to speak to Tata and they have not yet had an opportunity to do that.

Ron Tata, Jessica Tata’s brother, said the claim that Tata left the children alone is not accurate. The Houston Chronicle quoted him as saying that those claims were “crap” and he appeared to fault neighbors who, he said, stood by watching and doing nothing as Jessica Tata attempted to remove kids from the burning house. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, an investigator said that even the very cheapest of smoke detectors will sound an alarm before smoke is visible. In this fire smoke filled the entire home, so any adult would have had enough time to save all seven of the children had someone been in the house at the time of the fire.

Deshano said that once he and Tata were finally able to open the back door, smoke poured out and a crying and choking child emerged. He said they couldn’t reach the other children because the smoke was so thick and choking. The Houston Chronicle reported that as the tragic scene unfolded Jessica Tata, who had burns to her hands, turned to her mother and told her to call a lawyer, a Houston Chronicle photographer said.

If the Houston Fire Department investigation ultimately reveals that Jessica Tata did leave the seven children alone in the house before or at the time of the deadly fire, her doing so almost certainly goes beyond ordinary negligence and rises to the level of gross negligence. These vulnerable children, none of whom could probably even reach to open a door knob to escape the deadly smoke and fire, depended on the protection and good judgment of those charged with caring for them. If they were left alone in the house, even for a short amount of time, that is totally unacceptable and has resulted in a terrible, preventable tragedy.

The tragic scene at Jackie's Child Care in West Houston where 3 children died and 4 were seriously hurt

20-month old Kendyll Stradford who died in the fire at Jackie's Child Care in Houston

If you or a loved one have been injured in a house fire, call the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler who have aggressively represented injured Texans for more than 20-years.

Wednesday February 23, 2011: Ford Motor Company announced today that, in the face of government pressure to do so, it will recall nearly 150,000 Ford F150 pickup trucks to address a potential problem with air bags that could deploy without warning. The Detroit News first announced the recall: the Detroit News story is available here.

Ford describes the defect as carrying a “relatively low risk.” The effected vehicles are 2005-06 Ford F150 pickup trucks sold in the U.S.A. and Canada. Ford‘s recall however is being done on a smaller scale than the government had requested. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), pointing to 77 cases of injury, told Ford in a November 2010 memo that the recall should cover 1.3 million F-150 trucks, model years 2004-2006.

Ford‘s F150 pickup truck is the best selling vehicle in the United States. The government expanded its investigation into air bag problems in January 2010. A spokeswoman for the transportation department said Ford‘s response is under review to see if Ford‘s recall was adequate to address the potential danger the air bag deployment defect can pose. If the government decides Ford‘s recall was too limited in scope, a rare public hearing may be ordered to decide if Ford should be required to do more.

The NHTSA stated in a November 24th memo that it was aware of 238 cases of improper air bag deployment: the memo also noted that Ford made production changes to the 2006 and 2007 models to fix air bag wiring and other issues. In the memo government regulators said Ford did not believe the defect merited stronger action because there was a low number of incidents and reports, owners of F150‘s would get “adequate warning” from the air bag warning light and the reported injuries were not serious in nature.

Wes Sherwood, a spokesman for Ford Motor Company, said the effected F-150 pickups were manufactured between November 2004 and June 2005 at the Norfolk, Virginia Ford plant. Sherwood said that the rates of air bag deployment was much higher for vehicles made at the Virginia plant than the Ford plants in Michigan and Missouri. Ford said that an air bag wire located in the steering wheel was improperly placed so that it could chafe, the bare copper wire would be exposed, and a short circuit might occur that would cause the air bag warning lamp to come on.  Ford said that most of the air bag issues happened within the first few seconds of the vehicle’s ignition being started.  The recall is expected to begin in early March: F150 owners will be instructed to bring their pickup trucks to a Ford dealership for repair.

2004 Ford F150 pickup truck, some of which are subject to a recall for an air bag deployment defect

The apparent design and/or manufacturing defect in the 2004-2005 Ford F-150 pickup included in the recall has the potential to cause serious injury or death, either from injury to a driver due to the unexpected deployment of the air bag itself or because the air bag deploys while the vehicle is traveling at highway speed, causing the driver to lose control of the truck and crash. Injury or death resulting from a defectively designed or defectively manufactured products, or from a product that does not carry adequate warnings, can be addressed through a products liability lawsuit that seeks to hold the product manufacturer responsible for damages the defect has caused. If you have been seriously injured due to a defective product, contact the experienced Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation.

Those among us fortunate enough to have health insurance, but unfortunate in being injured in a car accident, may wonder what happens to their medical bills. Put another way: can you recover money for medical bills paid by health insurance in a settlement with the other driver’s automobile insurer? The answer is yes, with a few buts.

In 2003 the Texas legislature enacted House Bill 4 (HB4) which included sweeping tort reform that had significant effects on personal injury law, particularly medical malpractice. Enacted when HB4 was passed was Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 41.0105 (CPRC 41.0105), which has become known as the “paid versus incurred” statute. The exact wording of the statute is as follows:

§ 41.0105. EVIDENCE RELATING TO AMOUNT OF ECONOMIC DAMAGES. In addition to any other limitation under law, recovery of medical or health care expenses incurred is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant.

Here is a simple example to show how this statute has changed the recovery of money damages for medical bills in Texas when the injured person has health insurance. Let’s say you are rear-ended in a car accident and have a $10,000 hospital bill as a result. Your have health insurance with, let’s say, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and after a $200 co-pay your health insurance pays the hospital $4,800 and the remaining $5,000 of the bill is written off as a “provider discount” to BCBS.

Prior to HB4 and CPRC 41.0105, if you made a claim under the other driver’s automobile insurance for your medical bills, the other driver’s insurance would reimburse you $10,000 which is the full amount of your hospital bill. Put another way, the automobile insurer of the at-fault driver would not get the benefit of your private health insurance. When the law operated this way the $5,000 “upside” would go to you, the injured person: the most you would have to reimburse your health insurer would be the $4,800 BCBS paid the hospital and you would get to keep the $5,000 difference.

Here’s how that changed after HB4 and CPRC 41.0105: the most you can recover from the other driver’s automobile insurance is $5,000 which is the $200 co-pay you paid and the $4,800 paid by BCBS. The automobile insurance company for the at-fault driver gets the benefit of the $5,000 provider discount (or “write-off”) the hospital extended to BCBS.

The overwhelming majority of plaintiffs’ personal injury attorneys think CPRC 41.0105 is being applied in an unfair way and the statute should be changed or repealed. Health insurance is not free. In our example, the driver who rear-ended you did not help you pay your health insurance premiums yet his automobile insurer is getting the benefit of the write-down of the hospital bill which is only being given because of your health insurance.

Something else to consider is that while you can recover money from the at-fault driver’s auto insurer for medical bills paid by your health insurance, your health insurance company may want their money back. This is a process known as subrogation, and most health insurance contracts have subrogation language that says in essence that if they pay your medical bills due to an accident, and you get a recovery from the person who caused the car accident (or their insurer), then your health insurance company is entitled to be reimbursed out of the settlement proceeds. Usually health insurers (or entities acting on their behalf, such as Benefits Recoveries, Inc. or Rawlings Company) will send the injured person a questionnaire shortly after an accident asking if you were injured due to another person’s fault, and if so, to provide that person’s insurance information (claim number, etc).  The health insurer wants that information so they can notify the at-fault driver’s automobile insurer that the health insurer has a subrogation interest (or “lien”) that needs to be paid out of the injury settlement.

There are many other considerations that go beyond the scope of this basic introduction to recovery of medical bills paid by health insurance in a car accident, including negotiating health insurance company liens and presentation of evidence of medical bills at trial that were paid by health insurance. Having an experienced personal injury attorney who recognizes and understands these issues can be a valuable asset and make a significant difference to how much money the injured person puts in their pocket at the end of an auto accident injury claim. Call the Houston personal injury attorneys at Smith & Hassler if you have been injured in a car accident and have questions about your medical bills paid by health insurance.

Honda Motors is issuing a recall of tens of thousands of cars in the U.S. because of a potentially dangerous or even deadly problem that can cause the engine to stall.  The recall is being announced as more and more drivers are reporting problems with their cars. The recall is for the Honda Fit, specifically models manufactured and sold in 2009 and 2010. The problem the recall addresses is that the Fit‘s engine will stall while the vehicle is in motion and cause the car to decelerate. in a KTRK local news story, one Honda Fit owner reported driving on I-10 with her sister late at night when the car suddenly lost acceleration and started to slow in the travel lanes: her Honda Fit would not respond to her pressing the gas pedal and sensing she was in danger she quickly got out of the travel lanes.

On Thursday February 17, 2011 Honda announced it is recalling 97,000 Honda Fit cars made in 2009 and 2010. The purpose of the recall is to replace lost motion springs. Honda Motor Company says the motion springs are within the engine valve train: the spring may bend or breaking resulting in engine noise and potentially engine damage and stalling. Honda says it will mail recalls notices to drivers whose Honda Fits are affected in early March. If you own a Honda Fit and are unsure if your vehicle is part of the recall you can check by either visiting a Honda dealership or by checking Honda’s recall web site by clicking here. You will need to have the VIN for your Honda Fit if you use the recall web site.

The Honda Fit is a 5-door, hatchback subcompact car and is pictured below:

2009 and 2010 year models of the Honda Fit are being recalled by Honda to address engine stalling problem

It is encouraging that Honda is acting now to address this potentially dangerous even deadly problem.  If a vehicle suddenly loses all power stranding the driver and passengers in a travel lane during heavy traffic, there is a potential for the occupants of the car to be hit and injured in a car accident. If you or a family member have been injured in a car accident because your Honda Fit experienced engine stalling or sudden loss of power, call the experienced personal injury lawyers at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your legal rights. Smith & Hassler has handled products liability cases for injured clients against many large manufacturers, such as with the Toyota sudden acceleration incidents.

Hockey fan Richard Marsh accepted a challenge to shoot a puck the length of the ice rink and through a tiny hole in a cardboard cut out placed over the goal at the Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Before he took his shot Mr. Marsh very generously decided to donate the $50,000 prize to St. Vincent’s Cardiovascular and the American Heart Association. He took his shot and, incredibly, the puck traveled the length of the ice and passed through the tiny hole. The event was sponsored by Allstate Insurance Company.

Incredibly, a third party insurance company later voided Mr. Marsh’s shot because he was standing the wrong side of the line when he pushed the puck. The insurance company said Mr. Marsh was “standing in the wrong place.” As you can see from the video below, Mr. Marsh was a few feet past the goal line when he took his shot the length of the ice rink. The owner of the Indiana Ice hockey team Paul and Cindy Skjodt later made an unsolicited donation in recognition of Mr. Marsh’s incredible feat.

Go figure that an insurance company would refuse a charitable donation to some very worthy causes over a totally meaningless technicality. Disgraceful.

Enterprise Products employee Kelvin Horton has filed a lawsuit against the company for injuries Horton sustained in Tuesday’s explosion at the Mont Belvieu, Texas gas plant that killed father of two Rick Shaw. Horton’s attorney has also against for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) for prevent the cleanup at the Enterprise Products plant from continuing until outside engineers are able to go to the site for an inspection. The lawsuit is Cause No. 2011-08949; Kelvin Horton v Enterprise Products Partners, L.P.; In the 269th Judicial District Court, Harris County, Texas. Presiding Judge Dan Hinde will rule on the request for the temporary restraining order next week. ABC News’ story can be viewed here.

If you or a loved one have been injured at work, call Smith & Hassler’s experienced personal injury attorneys for advice on your legal rights. Often after highly publicized incidents, particularly those resulting in serious injury or death to employees, company lawyers and insurers move fast to protect the company. Getting legal representation early by a firm such as Smith & Hassler that exclusively practicespersonal injury law protects the interests of injured workers or vulnerable, grieving families. After a major incident such as a plant explosion, big companies have their insurers and attorneys working hard to protect them: if nobody is protecting you, call Smith & Hassler now.