One worker was killed and two were injured when a chemical tank exploded at the PeroxyChem plant in Pasadena on Saturday January 16th. PeroxyChem officials say that the dead worker is a contractor and the two injured workers are employees. Although the specifics of the incident are still under investigation, routine maintenance was taking place when the blast occurred.
A motorcyclist was killed in a collision with a family in a Ford pickup truck last night. The accident happened at the intersection of Highway 6 and Yorktown Crossing in northwest Houston. According to a media report, the motorcycle had run several red lights before the crash. The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, and it was reported that the family were not injured.
Two women in a white-colored SUV were trapped in their vehicle yesterday after a collision involving an 18-wheeler. The accident happened on the Southwest Freeway near Buffalo Speedway. Houston Fire Department’s technical rescue team responded to release the entrapped women, both of whom were transported from the scene by ambulance.
HFD’s technical rescue team removing an injured driver
An umbrella insurance policy provides an additional layer of coverage above the coverage provided by an automobile insurance policy. An automobile insurance policy has three “pots” of coverage: (1) a per individual coverage limit for bodily injury or death; (2) a per accident coverage limit for bodily injury or death caused to more than one person; and (3) a per accident property damage coverage limit.
In the State of Texas all non-commercial drivers are required to carry a minimum of $30,000 per person for bodily injury, $60,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 per accident for property damage. See Texas Transportation Code Sec. 601.072. This is often referred to as a minimum limits policy, or a 30/60/25 policy. Anyone who has ever had any significant medical treatment will appreciate that $30,000 will not go very far given how expensive medical care is nowadays: you could easily spend twice that amount on a simple surgery for a broken wrist or arm.
Different insurance companies offer different policy limits that people can purchase, but the typical coverage increments aside from minimum limits are:
50,000/100,000/50,000
100,000/300,000/100,000
250,000/500,000/250,000
300,000/500,000/300,000
So someone with what would be considered a lot of car insurance may have up to $250,000 of coverage for bodily injury/death caused to one person. That sounds like a lot, and compared to what the average person carries it is a lot, but if the person insured under the policy causes a fatal accident or injures someone so severely they may not be able to work again, $250,000 is a drop in the ocean.
An umbrella policy typically provides an additional $1,000,000 of coverage above and beyond the coverage on an automobile policy. Relative to the cost of the primary automobile policy, umbrella policies are typically not too expensive. Depending on the demographics of the person buying the policy and their driving record, a $1MM umbrella may only cost a couple of hundred dollars for a year’s worth of coverage.
Having an umbrella policy will serve two important purposes: it will protect the assets and property of the person covered under the policy should they cause an accident resulting in very serious injury or death. It will also ensure that in the event of such an accident, the injured person or their family is more likely to be adequately compensated and the claim settled within the insurance policy limit.
15 Texas families who have lost loved ones to motor vehicle accidents involving texting while driving appeared at a briefing at the Texas capitol building to show their support for the Alex Brown Memorial Act. The bill prohibits drivers from using a cell phone to type, read or send a text message while operating their vehicle, though it would allow a driver to text if they were outside a travel lane and the vehicle was stopped. Fines would range from $25 to $200. The proposed ban on texting and driving would be statewide. There are already some localized bans on using cell phones in school zones. This is the fourth time that Senator Judith Zaffirini has proposed the ban.
Texas Dept. of Transportation data shows that cell phone use causing distracted driving killed 52 people in Texas in 2014, and in 2013 there were 459 fatal crashes involving a distracted driver, of which 56 deaths were caused by cell phone use.
A bill previously passed both chambers in 2011 but was vetoed by Governor Rick Perry. Critics of the proposed ban say that it won’t be effective and people will text and drive anyway. That’s not a very effective argument. You could say the same about speed limits on roads: why have speed limits when people are going to speed anyway. If speed limits were removed some people would drive dangerously fast because there would be no consequences to doing so. Perhaps if there was a consequence to driving distracted by texting, less people would do it and we’d all be safer.
Online reviews are an important source of information for anyone looking for products or services, including someone who is looking for a good personal injury attorney. Smith & Hassler is currently rated 4.9 out of 5 stars on Google, based on 42 reviews from former clients. You can read Smith & Hassler’s client reviews here.
Smith & Hassler has four attorneys (Albert M. Hassler, David Swick, Brent Cordell and Daragh Carter) who are Board Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Personal Injury Trial Law. The firm has been representing injured people throughout Texas since 1989. In addition to seven full-time attorneys, Smith & Hassler employs 11 full time staff members to ensure client matters are handled as efficiently as possible.
A black SUV crashed through DiMassi’s Mediterranean Restaurant on Kirby Drive just before 2:00 p.m. yesterday injuring ten people and sending four of them to the hospital. Police spoke with the driver of the SUV, who was uninjured in the accident. It appears she hit the gas instead of the brake. The injured people will no doubt look to the insurer of the SUV to cover their medical bills, however there may be a “limits issue” meaning there may not be enough insurance coverage on the SUV’s policy to pay all of the injury claims. People are often surprised to learn that even if they were a pedestrian (and not in their own vehicle), if they have Underinsured Motorist (UIM) or Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage on their own automobile policy, they can make an injury claim with their own insurer. Trying to figure out what to do after a car accident can be tedious and frustrating, particularly if you’re injured. The Smith & Hassler law firm has represented injured people since 1989 and has four attorneys who are Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
In 2011 Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan sued three companies for dumping toxic paper waste into the San Jacinto River. Those companies are Waste Management, International Paper and McGinnis Industrial Maintenance Corporation. The County’s factual claim is that these companies allowed dioxin, a dangerous chemical with documented risk to human health, to leak into a river system where Harris County residents have fished and swam since the 1960s. The County is seeking $2,000,000,000 ($2 billion) in penalties because the three companies failed to disclose the waste and clean it up. Residents of The Highlands have filed a lawsuit of their own; many of these residents are represented by Smith & Hassler.
In 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) named the waste pits a Superfund site and took over remediation. Waste Management, International Paper and McGinnis Industrial Maintenance Corporation were ordered by the EPA to place a temporary cap over the waste pits, but the concern the Highlands residents have is that the cap could not withstand a major flood.
The driver of a pickup truck caused a six vehicle accident last night that killed a motorcyclist, then fled the scene before the police arrived. The crash happened around 10:30 p.m. on the East Freeway in Houston. A 2006 GMC Sonoma apparently became impatient due to backed-up traffic and decided to drive on the inside shoulder. The truck struck a motorcycle, causing the motorcycle to collided with a 2014 Dodge Dart passenger car; the motorcyclist slid into the center lane of the roadway, while the motorcycle hit a wall and caught fire. The GMC Sonoma picked then rear-ended a 2011 Cadillac CTS; the Cadillac then hit the Dodge Dart and also a 2014 Ford F-150. The motorcyclist was transported to Memorial Hermann Hospital where he died; the two men in the GMC pickup fled the scene on foot.
Houston Chronicle story | Channel 2 News Houston story | KHOU story |
Thanks to Smith & Hassler client Marty Hayden for writing our latest online review on Google (see below). Smith & Hassler was founded in 1989 by Michael J. Smith and Albert “Al” M. Hassler, II and has been representing injured people throughout Texas for more than 25 years. As of this writing, Smith & Hassler is rated 4.9/5 stars based on 37 Google reviews from former clients. If you or a loved one have been injured, visit www.smithandhassler.com to arrange for a free consultation with an attorney (and not a legal assistant, secretary or case manager).
“My daughter was in a rollover accident last fall and S&H helped me get a fair and equitable claim as compensation for her injuries. I would recommend Mr. Daragh Carter to anyone seeking assistance with sort of thing. Mr. Carter was professional, friendly and responsive. Five stars for S&H!“