Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has identified its 2010 Top Safety Picks. The Institute rates vehicles for crashworthiness, which is a measure of how well a vehicle protects the occupants in the event of a car crash.  Vehicles are rated good, acceptable, marginal or poor, based on performance in high speed front and side crash tests, a rollover test and also evaluations of seat and head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear-end crashes. For a vehicle to be a 2010 Top Safety Pick it must earn a rating of good in all four of the Institute tests and must also have electronic stability control. You can view the institute’s list and check to see if your vehicle is a Top Pick by clicking here.

A 2-year old girl in Santa Fe, Texas is lucky to be healthy after being rescued by her mother when she became stuck in a car’s electric window. A spokesperson for Galveston County rescue services said the girl had been playing in the back seat of a parked vehicle and had leaned out of the window. The little girl was apparently distracted by a dog outside the car. Her mother walked to the rear of the vehicle to retrieve something from the trunk and got distracted speaking with a neighbor when the little girl got stuck. It is believed the mother revived her child possibly by performing CPR. When rescue crews arrived the girl was conscious and crying. The girl was transported by ambulance to Clear Lake Regional Hospital. The Galveston Daily News story is here. A 2004 Washington Post article reported that power windows were thought to be responsible for 2 to 4 child deaths per year, a relatively small portion of the 43,220 people killed annually in car accidents in the U.S.  Some safety advocates argue any such deaths are unnecessary and avoidable: U.S. made cars typically use a rocker style switch that can cause a window to close if someone accidentally leans on the switch.  Most Asian and European manufactured vehicles use a switch that must be pulled up, rather than pushed down, to cause the window to raise, reducing the risk of accidental closure.

From the Texas Department of Insurance’s web site:

Texas law requires people who drive in Texas to be able to pay for the automobile accidents they cause. Most drivers do this by buying automobile liability insurance. Liability insurance pays to repair or replace the other driver’s car and pays other people’s medical expenses. It does not pay to repair or replace your car or for your injuries.

The minimum coverage amount required by the state’s financial responsibility law increased on April 1, 2008, to $25,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. (The limits prior to April 1 were $20,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $40,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage per accident.)

The limits will increase again on January 1, 2011, to $30,000 for each injured person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident. Drivers will be required to comply with the new limits as their policies are issued or renewed on or after the effective dates.

This is good news for automobile accident victims.  All too often the insurance coverage carried by a negligent driver is not sufficient to cover the injured person’s damages.

CNN is reporting that an oil rig owned by Mariner Energy has suffered an explosion this morning. The rig is located off the Louisiana coast. The site is 80 miles south of the Vermilion Bay and coast guard helicopters are responding. The Coast Guard is reporting that 12 oil rig workers are overboard. There was a total of 13 people aboard the rig at the time of the explosion and 12 have been accounted for thus far. It is unknown at this time if there are any injuries.

Former Texas Supreme Court Justice Tom Phillips (and his family) were sued yesterday over an automobile accident that followed a party last year at the Phillips’ home in Bastrop, Texas just outside Austin.  A 17-year old girl became intoxicated at the party, held in the garage apartment of the Phillips’ son.  Mrs. Phillips ordered everyone attending the party to leave when the noise level rose: the car accident happened as the girl drove away.  The Phillips’ are being sued under social host liability: that they knowingly permitted alcohol to be served to a minor at their home, and that the minor became intoxicated as a result.

Houston lawyer Dax Faubus contends in the lawsuit on behalf of the parents of Audrey King, the 17-year-old who died in a drunken car crash shortly after leaving the party, that Tom and Lynn Phillips were “well aware that minors were getting drunk in their back yard.” Through their attorney, the Phillips say they didn’t even know a party was taking place in their son’s quarters in a carriage house behind their home.

Monday August 30, 2010: The Houston Chronicle is reporting that a 67-year old woman is dead and her 71-year old husband is critically injured after an early morning car accident with a City of Houston police car. The accident occurred in southwest Houston in the 7500 block of South Braeswood near Braesridge at around 12:30am. The woman and her husband were taken from the accident scene to Ben Taub hospital where the woman died. The names of the couple have not been released. The police officer was taken to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center: police say the officer suffered a broken neck, arm injury and a gash to his forehead. The officer, who has been with HPD for about a year, was responding to an urgent call for assistance and was in a marked patrol car at the time of the car accident. The patrol car’s siren and emergency lights were not on at the time of the crash according to police.

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.

News Channel 2 is reporting that Gina Wiggins has been accused of driving drunk and causing a car accident in Houston that resulted in the death of another driver. Harris County Sheriff’s Office states that Wiggins was driving a Nissan Xterra SUV southbound in the 21000 block of FM2100 in Houston at about 6:15pm on Wednesday August 25, 2010. Detectives say Wiggins failed to stay in her lane and hit a Ford Escort coming from the other direction nearly head-on.  Angela Maxwell, driving the Escort, sustained injuries that proved fatal. Wiggins was transported to hospital where a blood sample was drawn, and she was subsequently charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault.  Wiggins is being held in the Harris County Jail in lieu of $60,000 bail. The Houston Chronicle’s report is 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.

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.