Houston Personal Injury Attorneys – Smith & Hassler

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.

A federal and state investigation has begun into events leading up the explosion at Enterprise Products‘ Mont Belvieu gas plant that killed contract worker and father of two Rick Shaw, earlier this week. Since 2004 the Enterprise Products plant has paid thousands of dollars in fines for serious violations that include at least one other death.

The U.S. Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) opened its investigation Tuesday, shortly after the fire began. Once OSHA‘s investigation is complete the details will be made public. Enterprise Products is conducting its own probe, and two State of Texas agencies will investigate the plant’s pipeline safety and also whether the plant violated air emission standards.

In 2005 a flash fire at the Mont Belvieu Enterprise plant burned and killed a worker who was overseeing a valve replacement. The plant has paid nearly $30,000 in fines since 2004 for a number of violations deemed serious by OSHA. In September two workers were hurt at BP’s Texas City refinery, the site where 15 workers were killed and 170 more were injured in a 2005 explosion. The workers were rushed to hospital with steam burns.

In 2005 Enterprise Products paid just over $12,000 in fines, a lesser amount than the $18,900 OSHA initially assessed against the company for the prior fatal incident in 2005. Based on Enterprise Products’ history at the Mont Belvieu plant, it certainly appears that the plant’s management were forewarned of safety issues. Unfortunately an OSHA investigation isn’t always enough: it sometimes takes a highly publicized lawsuit to take a company to task on their failures to keep workers safe, the BP Texas City refinery being a prime example of just that. This is particularly true in tragic circumstances such as the death of Mr. Rick Shaw, who leaves behind two daughters depending on him for love and financial support.

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 practices personal injury law protects the interests of injured workers or vulnerable, grieving families.

Smoke plume from Enterprise Products Mont Belvieu gas plant explosion that killed contract worker Rick Shaw can be seen for miles.

If you weren’t already convinced, the popularity and success of academy award nominated movie The Social Network should have persuaded you that social networking web sites are now deeply ingrained in the fabric of American life. Facebook boasts more than 500 million users world wide: when you consider the world population is estimated at 6,899,200,000 that means about 1 in 14 people in the world have a Facebook account! I think most people would agree that Facebook is the 500lb gorilla of social networking sites, but of course there are others including Myspace and Twitter.

Social networking sites such as Facebook can be a valuable source of information in a personal injury claim, be it a car accident, work injury, slip-and-fall or some other type of injury.  This information can either help the injured person’s case or hurt it. Likewise the Facebook or Myspace page of the person who caused the injury (in a lawsuit, the Defendant) can either help or hurt their defense of the injury claim.

Here is a real life example from an automobile accident lawsuit that Smith & Hassler personal injury attorneys Daragh Carter and Roger Sullivan took to trial in Harris County District Court in 2010. We represented a construction worker whose van was wrecked in an intersection collision with a 19-year old girl who ran a red light. The police report faulted the girl and she got a ticket for running the red light. She was insured with the notorious Allstate, who offered a couple of thousand dollars LESS than our client’s medical bills. When we filed the lawsuit, the 19-year old’s attorneys answered the lawsuit and denied she was at fault for the collision, saying it was our client who was at fault. In her deposition, which is testimony under oath, the 19-year old claimed she had the green light and said she told the police officer the same thing; she also had told us she did not have pictures of either of the wrecked vehicles, which is important evidence in the case…she denied it right up until she was shown her Myspace pages with a picture of her badly wrecked car and a caption she wrote indicating she was at fault. The Myspace pages were admitted into evidence at trial and the jury found for our client, actually awarding him more for pain and suffering than the attorneys suggested.

Of course, the door swings both ways. Injured people can seriously hurt their cases with what they put on their Facebook page, e.g. references to compensation, discussion of the facts of the accident or photographs of them appearing to do things (e.g. water skiing) that are inconsistent with their injuries.

Insurance adjusters weren’t born yesterday. It used to be that they would only research the Facebook pages of younger people making injury claims, but now that social networking sites are so widely used by all age groups, insurance adjusters research almost everyone. Smith & Hassler strongly recommends that you keep your Facebook page set to private where only people you have approved can view the contents of your pages. Smith & Hassler also suggests you be wary of accepting friend request from people you don’t know well, particularly in the weeks and months after a collision: they could be using a dummy account because they want to view your pages.

If you want a rule of thumb, Houston personal injury lawyers Smith & Hassler recommend you think about it this way: take a look at what the general public can learn about you from what can publicly be seen on your Facebook, Myspace or Twitter account. Then imagine it blown up to an 8 foot tall image on a projector screen at the courthouse because your injury claim couldn’t be settled, a lawsuit was filed and the case went to trial. If you think you don’t look good then a jury will think the same.

Smith & Hassler has been representing and advising people in Houston and throughout Texas for more than 20 years. If you have been injured due to another’s negligence and want advice on how to recovery money damages for your injuries and losses, call or email Smith & Hassler today and arrange a free consultation as soon as possible.

Wednesday February 9, 2011: Sadly a contract worker who has been missing since an explosion at the Enterprise Products gas plant in Mont Belvieu has been found dead. The explosions were heard at Enterprise Products plant on Sun Oil Road on Tuesday at 12:15PM. The company said the fire broke out at a storage tank of the west side of the facility. A leak was detected in the plant’s control room shortly before the explosion, and workers said they heard a hissing sound shortly before the blast. The fire was out by early Wednesday but officials were not able to go in right away because it was still too dangerous. Shortly after the explosion contract worker Rick Shaw was not accounted for, and Mr. Shaw was thought to have been working in the area of the plant where the explosion occurred. Mr. Shaw was found dead Wednesday night: he was from Crosby, Texas and worked for Louisiana-based Turner.

ABC Channel 13 reports that Mr. Shaw was 43-years old at the time of his death and was known to his family as Ricky. Mr. Shaw’s family were notified of his death by Enterprise Products, however told Eyewitness News they were disappointed by the lack of information they’d been getting from Enterprise Products. Rick Shaw’s sister said he was a contract worker who would take all the overtime hours he could get because he needed all the money he could get to take care of his two young girls. A family spokesperson said they were thrown off the property Wednesday when they went to speak to Enterprise Products officials. Charles Adams, who indicates he is married to Rick Shaw’s niece, said “…they are not telling us anything….”

The Houston Chronicle reported that Rick Shaw’s brother, Mark Shaw, said that he was told by one of the workers working along side Rick that Rick was inside a large gas cloud at the time of the explosion. Mark Shaw and Debbie Shaw (Rick’s sister) described Rick to the Chronicle as being hard-working and devoted to his 12 and 13-year old daughters. Debbie Shaw said that Rick loved his job and was a very dedicated worker.

Rick Shaw of Conroe, TX - victim of the Enterprise Products gas plant explosion in Mont Belvieu, TX. Mr. Shaw leaves two daughters, aged 12 and 13.

If you or a loved one has been injured at work, call a personal injury attorney at Smith & Hassler for a free consultation and advice on your legal rights.  Smith & Hassler‘s practice has been dedicated to representing injured Texans for more than 20-years.

Explosion at Enterprise Products Mont Belvieu gas plant that killed contract worker Ricky Shaw

Tuesday February 8, 2011: A midday fire caused an explosion at Enterprise Products‘ west storage facility 35 miles east of Houston in Mont Belvieu, Texas. The fire burned well into the night Tuesday and company officials are uncertain how long the fire will continue to burn. It could not be ruled out that the fire was being fueled by gas products stored underground: if that is true the fire could be kept burning indefinitely. Fortunately no injuries are known at this time. The fire caused a plume of smoke long enough to be detected on the National Weather Service radar. A contract worker who may have been in the vicinity of the explosion has not yet been accounted for.

The Enterprise Products plant processes and stores liquids that are separated from natural gas. At the moment emergency workers are not trying to extinguish the flames, rather they are concentrating on keeping nearby parts of the plant as cool as possible. Enterprise Products spokesman Rick Rainey says that nothing burning at the Mont Belvieu plant is toxic. Rainey said that 8-10 workers are typically in the facility and all of them got out safely, except for the one contract worker who hasn’t been located. The man is a maintenance worker for Turner Industries and still had not been found as of 7:45PM Tuesday. Rainey said that the company are in touch with the man’s family but no further details were released.

Click here for Channel 2’s report of the Mont Belvieu, Texas Enterprise Products gas plant explosion

Click here for the Houston Chronicle’s report of the Mont Belvieu, Texas plant explosion

Click here for Fox News Houston’s story on the Mont Belvieu, Texas gas plant explosion at Enterprise Products

If you or a family member have been injured at work, such as in a plant explosion, call Houston-based personal injury attorneys Smith & Hassler for a free consultation regarding your legal rights. Smith & Hassler has represented hard-working Texans injured on the job for more than 20-years, including workers injured in the Texas City, Texas BP plant explosion in 2005.

February 8, 2011: Two women were injured and sent to hospital and another woman died in a car crash Tuesday evening. The driver apparently lost control of her car around 7:00PM along Westpark near Buffalo Speedway in Houston according to the police.  The three women, all of whom were elderly, were in a Lexus sedan. The driver crashed through two gates at a senior living center, traveled across Westpark and went off the road, ultimately landing in a ditch after striking a fence. Witnesses told police that it appeared the Lexus was traveling at 70MPH when it left the roadway and crashed through the senior center. The women in the car were taken to Memorial Hermann Medical Center where the back seat passenger was pronounced dead. Police plan to question the driver to see if she has a medical condition that would explain her sudden loss of control of the vehicle.

If you are searching for a Houston personal injury attorney to represent you, call Smith & Hassler at 713 739 1250 or 1-800-WIN-WIN1 and ask to speak directly to an attorney for a free consultation. Houston personal injury lawyers Smith & Hassler have more than 20-years in Houston representing injured Texans and their loved ones.

February 7, 2011: A driver may be facing charges after a wrong way collision on Houston‘s East 610 Loop killed another driver. According to Houston police, a 37-year old man drove an Isuzu pickup truck northbound in the southbound lanes in the 1900 block of the East Loop at approximately 1:55AM on Sunday. A Dodge Ram Charger that was traveling in the correct direction collided with the Isuzu. The driver of the Isuzu died at the scene of the accident, his name has not been released. The driver of the Dodge pickup was transported to hospital to be treated for his injuries: police say he may face a charge of driving while intoxicated.

Smith & Hassler has been based in Houston for more than 20-years representing injured Texans. If you are searching for a Houston-based personal injury attorney, we encourage you to read online reviews from our former clients, research the background and experience of our personal injury attorneys at www.smithandhassler.com and call us for a free consultation regarding your personal injury case.

If you have recently been involved in an injury accident and have decided to search for a Houston-based personal injury attorney to represent you, the choice can be overwhelming. There are tens of thousands of licensed attorneys in the Houston area and of those, thousands practice personal injury law. Before the dawn of the Internet you would probably have to rely on a recommendation from a friend that a particular personal injury attorney had represented them and done a good job. Thanks to the information age however you can do some fairly effective initial research yourself. Below are a few suggestions on how to go about researching a Houston personal injury attorney to help you with your case:

1. Online reviews: There are a great many web sites that allow customers to post online reviews of products or services they have used and personal injury attorneys are no exception. Previous clients of a Houston personal injury attorney (or law firm) can write anonymous reviews and detail their experience with a lawyer or firm. Generally speaking, the more reviews that are posted the better, as you can take multiple considerations into opinion. Of course, don’t just focus on positive reviews, there may be neutral or negative reviews also. If you had a particular personal injury attorney in mind but noticed a negative review online, if you decide to interview the firm to possibly represent you, why not just ask the attorney about the negative review? Also take into consideration how far back the reviews go (e.g. does the firm have reviews going back 1 year or 5 years). Consumer review web sites worth checking into include Google Places and Citysearch.com

2. The law firm’s web site can provide you with background on the law firm’s history, how much of the firm’s practice is on personal injury and usually will include a biography for the lawyer or lawyers at the firm. It may be important to you that a law firm focuses exclusively on personal injury law. You may also want an attorney who is board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

3. Interview the firm and/or ask for a free consultation, even if it is over the phone. Your personal injury case is the most important case in the world to you, and you want to feel comfortable with your choice of personal injury attorney. Many (if not most) Houston personal injury firms will offer potential clients a free consultation, either in person or over the phone. This is a great opportunity for you to get some free legal advice about your particular personal injury case, but also to get an impression of the attorney or the firm. You will probably want to come away from the consultation feeling the attorney understands the issues in your personal injury case, has a plan of action and has answered your questions. Particularly in a contingency fee arrangement, you and the attorney are entering into a relationship similar to a partnership: its important that you and your personal injury attorney are on the same page.

Smith & Hassler has been based in Houston representing injured Texans for over 20-years. We encourage you to run a Google search for “Smith and Hassler” and read our reviews from former clients and visit us online at www.smithandhassler.com If you like what you see and want to learn more, call us at 713 739 1250 or 1-800-WIN-WIN1 for a free consultation regarding your personal injury case.

Monday February 7, 2011: Police are investigating a fatal hit-and-run car accident in Houston that left a pedestrian dead. The collision was at Texas 6 south near Westheimer at about 3:30am on Sunday. Police said the man was walking northbound in the roadway of Texas 6 when the vehicle struck him; he was pronounced dead at the scene. No description of the vehicle was available and witnesses have yet to be identified. Anyone with information on the case should contact the HPD hit-and-run division at 713 247 4065.

Friday February 4, 2011: At least 3 people were killed in and around Houston in car accident caused by icy conditions on the roads. The number of car wrecks increased tremendously as drivers ran into unfamiliar conditions on their commute. The three people who were killed died in two separate wrecks within 10 minutes of each other. One wreck was in Houston, the other was in Montgomery County.

Two men were killed in Cut and Shoot when their pickup slid across the center line and into oncoming traffic on Texas 105 and was hit by an approaching truck. The accident on Texas 105 East at Willis-Waukegan Road was blamed on icy conditions. The men who died are Giovanni Gomes (age 31) and Jose Gomes (age 56), according to DPS. Giovanni was driving westbound in a 1993 Toyota Tacoma pickup when the vehicle slid into eastbound traffic colliding with a 2003 Chevrolet 3500 pickup truck, the driver of which was Richard Warren (age 38) from Conroe, Texas. Warren suffered cuts and bruises but fortunately is reported as being in good condition; the Gomes’ were declared dead at the scene.

Only 10-minutes after the Cut and Shoot wreck, at 6:55am, a 30-year old driver was killed in East Houston when he was pinned between his car and a concrete guardrail after he exited his car and another vehicle collided with his Nissan. The man (who has not been identified) was driving west on the East Freeway when he lost control of his Nissan 300zx sports car due to ice on the freeway overpass. He got out of his car after the crash and sat on the guardrail waiting for help. The driver of a dark pickup then also lost control on the overpass, struck another pickup, and that pickup spun into the Nissan. The driver of the first pickup then fled the scene, according to police.

Driver waiting next to his disabled Nissan 300ZX was killed by pickup that lost control on the ice

Houston Police Department officials are asking stranded motorists to wait in their cars if they have an accident, instead of stepping out to wait. HPD dealt with a large number of chain reaction style car accidents on Friday due to bad weather conditions. During a 13-hour period beginning 10:00pm Thursday and ending 11:00am Friday, Houston police responded to 750 car accidents, a 340% increase in the number of car accidents Houston police usually work on in a typical 24-hour period. Houston police normally respond to 170 car accidents during a normal 24-hour period (which averages out to 7 car accidents per hour).

Even police cars weren’t immune from the weather related car crashes. At 7:50am Friday two Houston police officers were investigating an accident in the 4700 block of Watonga in northwest Houston a tow truck slid on an icy bridge and crashed into the officers HPD patrol car, which set off a chain reaction collision resulting in a Ford pickup truck striking a pedestrian standing outside the cars.  The pedestrian suffered minor injuries and the police officers were not hurt.

A pickup truck falls victim to an accident in Houston's icy road conditions