Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

A rear end accident early Monday morning sent two people to hospital. The crash happened around 2:00 a.m. on Houston’s South 610 Loop near the Broadway Street overpass. One pickup, traveling at a high speed, crashed into the rear of a second pickup. The driver in the truck that was rear ended was taken to hospital, so was a passenger in the speeding pickup. Photographs from Channel 11’s web site show significant damage to the vehicles.

Photo credit: KHOU

Photo credit: KHOU

Need to speak with a personal injury attorney for your Houston car accident? Smith & Hassler has represented injured Texans since 1989. Read reviews from our former clients on Google.

Two pedestrians, a man and a woman, were transported to hospital Saturday night after they were struck by a vehicle while crossing a street in the Montrose area. The incident happened around 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of Tuam Street and Helena Street. Witnesses say the driver of a silver Fiat car wasn’t necessarily speeding but was driving faster than would be expected for the conditions, when he struck the couple then kept going around the corner, despite significant damage to his car. A witness followed the Fiat, and the Fiat returned to the scene of the accident where additional witnesses prevented the driver from leaving. Law enforcement believes the driver was intoxicated. Channel 2’s report is here.

Police think the driver of this Fiat was drunk when he struck two pedestrians

One of the two injured pedestrians lying in the roadway

Houston car accident attorneys; Houston drunk driving accident attorneys

If you were injured in an accident that was caused by the negligence of a third party, and some or all of your bills are paid by health insurance, your health insurance company may claim a lien against any insurance settlement you get from the third party that injured you.  Basically the health insurance company wants to get their money back out of the settlement.  Their lien would be up to the amount they paid toward your medical bills (but no more than that).

There are two types of health insurance plan: ERISA plans and non-ERISA plans.  The fundamental difference between the two types is who ultimately pays the bills.  In an ERISA plan the medical bills are paid by the employer providing the health insurance coverage, but the plan may be administered by someone like Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna or Humana.  In an ERISA plan the health insurance company (e.g. Aetna) administers the plan and handles claims, but at the end of the day the employer pays for the medical treatment.  In a non-ERISA plan, the health insurer (not the employer) pays for the treatment.

The difference between ERISA and non-ERISA health insurance plans matters because as a matter of federal law, an ERISA health insurance plan is entitled to dollar-for-dollar reimbursement of their lien out of the third party settlement proceeds.  Put another way, if an ERISA plan pays $1,000 on a hospital bill you have due to a car accident, the plan is entitled to get paid back $1,000 out of your car accident settlement, and if they don’t want to reduce their $1,000 lien they don’t have to.  If a non-ERISA plan however, the health insurer is more likely to agree to reduce the lien.

Health insurance companies are able to take out a lien against your recovery because they wrote subrogation language into your health insurance contract.  Your health insurance contract is probably many, many pages in length.  Buried somewhere in the contract is a subrogation clause that says, in essence, that if the health insurance plan pays your bills because a third party injured you, the plan is entitled to get reimbursed out of any settlement you get from the third party. Health insurers usually use a third party service to administer their liens, such as ACS Recovery, Benefit Recovery, The Rawlings Group and others.

Health insurance companies do not always pursue their lien by notifying the injured person’s attorney or the third party’s health insurance company however.

Please note that special rules apply if medical bills are paid by Medicare or Medicaid as opposed to other private health insurance.  Medicare and Medicaid liens must be paid out of the third party settlement proceeds, and if the third party’s insurance company (GEICO, Allstate, etcetera) thinks there may be a Medicare or Medicaid lien, they will not release any settlement proceed without something in writing stating the amount of Medicare or Medicaid’s lien, or alternatively they will name Medicare or Medicaid on the settlement check.

Channel 2 News is reporting that a 3-year old boy drowned in a swimming pool at the Seasons at Cypress Station Apartments in Spring, Texas. The boy was pulled from the pool at around 9:00pm on Wednesday June 8, 2011. He was rushed to Houston Northwest Medical Center where he died. ABC Channel 13 Eyewitness News also reported on the same story, however in their report the boy is listed as being 4-years old, and the circumstances of the drowning are reported to be that there was a party being held in the pool area and the boy fell into the pool but nobody noticed him fall.

According to the YMCA Water Wise program, a child can become submerged within 10 seconds and lose consciousness within two minutes. It takes just four to six minutes for a child to suffer permanent brain damage. There have been 5 other drownings in Harris County this year. Photographs on the web site for Seasons at Cypress Station show a large swimming pool surrounded by a tall metal fence, however it was not reported how the child gained access to the pool area. Here is a link to an informational video on the YMCA Water Wise Program.

If you have been injured in an automobile accident and will be making an injury claim under the other driver’s automobile insurance policy, there is a simple step you can take that will help document your claim. If you have sustained bruising, a laceration, have had stitches (including from a surgery) or as is with common with motorcycle accidents, road rash, or have other obvious injuries you can and should take photographs to document these injuries. Bruises heal fairly rapidly so you should document them before they fade away.

Here’s an example of how documenting injuries can help. “Dashboard knee” is an injury that car accident victims may experience, sometimes causing damage to their Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL), a ligament that helps stabilize the knee joint. Meniscus injuries in the  knee can also be caused by direct trauma to the knee. By photographing bruising to the knee area an injured person has documented evidence of direct trauma to the knee that is consistent with internal damage to the knee.  If a test such as an MRI later shows an internal knee injury, the photographs of the bruising are further support that the knee injury was a result of the car accident.

If you were taken to the emergency room or saw a doctor close in time to your car accident, you may think that the photographs are unnecessary because your bruises will be documented in your medical records. Unfortunately that is not always the case: just because you complain about pain to a part of your body does not necessarily mean your complaints will be recorded in your medical records. Likewise one part of your body may hurt much more than others, and your complaints may be focussed on the most painful part. Also bruises do not always show themselves right away but might appear after you have been discharged from the emergency room.

If you do take pictures to document injuries, you will probably be using a digital camera. A digital photographs costs you nothing, so take plenty of pictures. Make sure the pictures are well-lit but also make sure that if you are using a flash, the flash does not white-out the details, bruises, etc. Make sure a few pictures are taken showing the injured person’s face and injured body part in the same shot to avoid any accusations that the bruised knee could be anybody’s.

If you have questions about how to handle your automobile accident injury claim you can speak to a personal injury attorney at Smith & Hassler for a no cost consultation. Just give our office a call or submit your case through our web site at www.smithandhassler.com

Tragedy struck in Manvel, Texas on Mother’s Day this past weekend when 9-year old Phillip Koterba was killed in a golf cart accident. Manvel police say that the golf cart Phillip was riding in hit a ditch and then flipped over. Phillip was a student at C.J. Harris Elementary School, and grief counselors were on hand in an effort to help students and teachers deal with Phillip’s death. In an act of great generosity at a terribly sad time, Phillip’s family made the decision to donate his organs which will help three other children live.

Phillip Koterba (9) who died Mother's Day in a golf cart accident in Manvel, TX.

Golf cart accident injuries appear to be an unexpectedly commonly occurring problem. An article of the web site of Technology Associates quotes the Consumer Products Safety Commission’s statistic that 15,000 golf cart related injuries requiring emergency room treatment occur in the U.S. each year. The article says that one significant mode of injury is passenger ejection, which can lead to serious injuries, especially of the head. CPSC injury statistics indicate that approximately 40% of all golf cart related accidents involve children under the age of 16, and 50% of those accidents involve a fall from a moving golf cart.

ABC Channel 13 News has posted a brief report on an explosion at the KMTEX chemical plant near Port Arthur, Texas that has injured 3 workers and killed one worker. The incident happened around 2:00PM on Thursday March 31, 2011.  Apparently an explosion was followed by a flash fire. A Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy named Rod Carroll is quoted as telling KFDM-TV of Beaumont that the explosion involved gasoline that was being processed. Another statement credited to Jefferson County Emergency Management Coordinator Greg Fountain was that a 500 barrel fuel tank had exploded. Two of the injured workers were airlifted, one to Memorial Hermann Hospital and one to John Sealy Hospital in Galveston. Another was taken by ambulance to Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont.

KMTEX’s web site identifies the company as a specialist in the custom processing of petrochemicals, speciality chemicals, oleochemicals, agricultural chemicals, and food grade chemicals. The plant is located at 2450 S. Gulfway Drive, Port Arthur, Texas 77641.

KMTEX chemical plant near Port Arthur, scene of a deadly explosion on March 31, 2011

The Houston Chronicle also provided coverage of the KMTEX explosion. The Chronicle article indicates authorities will be investigating how a flammable solvent remained in a pipeline workers were welding when the explosion occurred. According to unnamed witnesses, one of the workers was welding a pipeline that contained coal tar naptha solvent when the fire occurred: the workers thought all of the solvent had been evacuated from the line. Naptha is a by-produce of crude oil and is highly flammable. According to authorities, one of the injured workers suffered a head injury and another had fractured legs.

Our thoughts are with the friends and family of the deceased worker and the three men injured in the blast. Smith & Hassler believes that the hard-working men and women of the Houston energy industry deserve a safe working environment and should be able to expect to return home safely at the end of each work day. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a plant explosion, call our experienced personal injury attorneys right away.

KHOU Channel 11 News is reporting a collision between a prison bus and a school bus that sent 8 schoolchildren to the hospital. The collision reportedly happened around 7:37AM at 51st Street and Broadway: 16 students were on board the school bus which was headed to the Alamo school campus.  The prison bus was operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The eight injured students were reported to be complaining of head, neck and back pain and were taken to UTMB Galveston for treatment. 14 inmates riding on the prison bus were removed from the bus and placed in a prison van under the watch of prison guards, Galveston I.S.D. police officers and four Galveston police officers. Apparently the crash happened when both buses were turning at the intersection, but further details of the wreck were not included in Channel 11’s story.

Car accidents commonly result in medical bills, lost income from work and a period of time after the accident when the injured person is in pain and is impaired from performing their normal activities. Texas law allows a person injured in a motor vehicle accident by another’s negligence to seek recovery of money damages.  Speaking to an experienced Houston personal injury attorney early in the process can make the difference between a relatively straightforward claim under the other driver’s insurance policy and a real nightmare.  Insurance companies will deny or undervalue claims if they have a reason to.  Smith & Hassler’s trial-tested Houston personal injury attorneys will provide you with a free consultation regarding your motor vehicle accident injury claim: call now or submit your case online.

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.

The Santa Fe, Texas police department has confirmed that a collapse at a construction project at Santa Fe High School has claimed the life of 21-year old Richard Steinecke II of New Caney, Texas. Mr. Steinecke passed away at the University of Texas Medical Branch due to his injuries. Two other employees sustained leg injuries in the collapse: 26-year old Cody Key who is from Conroe and Escolastico Mendez who is from Houston. Sgt. Eric Bruss, a spokesman for Santa Fe Police Department, said Mr. Steinecke sustained massive internal injuries in the incident. The three men were involved in the second phase of an expansion project at Santa Fe High School when there was a partial collapse of the structure at about 9:35AM on Friday March 18th. Mr. Steinecke fell nearly 50 feet and was then pinned under a metal beam weighing thousands of pounds. A Click2Houston.com story reports that the three injured workers were employed by P&C Construction Erectors of Porter, Texas.  The cause of the structure’s collapse is still under investigation. The construction project is to build a new auditorium: no children were present at the school at the time.