Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

I am providing this timely slip and fall update. Unfortunately many folks get injured by slipping and falling in a Dallas store or businesses every day. Many serious injuries can be avoided if Texas' business owners would simply take the time and invest the money to make their stores safer.

As a Texas supermarket trip and fall attorney, I have represented customers who have been injured in grocery stores, convenience stores, shopping malls and big-box retailers for many years. Consistently, I have found that most of our clients have fallen because the business owner has not dedicated enough resources to customer safety. Some companies spend millions advertising each year but skimp when it comes to keeping customers safe.

Customer safety begins by creating the safest environment reasonably possible. Stores should have adequate lighting, clean and clear places to walk and non-slip surfaces. Many people in the Dallas Fort Worth area walk around in sandals and open-toed shoes. Knowing this, extra precautions should be used by store owners to make sure that anti-slip surfaces and anti-slip wax are used.

In addition, there should be a detailed inspection protocol for store aisles. Depending on the size of the store, employees should be assigned to inspect the floors for dangerous or slippery conditions on a routine basis. We recommend that floors should be observed several times per hour and a checklist form completed after each inspection.

Furthermore, spills should be properly cleaned and dried before customers are permitted access to the scene. Pop-up safety cones, like the Spill Safety Cone, are excellent products that provides a high-quality and cost-effective alternative to the leading high-priced safety cones currently on the market.

The Spill Safety Cone comes in two sizes: 20 inch & 30 inch. We recommend the 30 inch cone as it provides even greater visibility to distracted shoppers. The cone comes in a plastic storage sleeve with mounting hardware included. It is a strong, simple, device that is made of a high-quality, durable materials and can fit seamlessly into existing safety cone programs. Furthermore, since there is a low replacement cost, store owners should be more likely to use them.

We also recommend that any business owner with a large demographic of Spanish- speaking customers also use bilingual markers that have ANSI approved symbols. It is also essential that business owners training their employees how to inspect, clean and maintain the premises is essential to eliminate unnecessary slip and fall injuries.

Our Fort Worth slip and fall injury lawyers are devoted to holding businesses responsible for injuries caused by failing to putting profits over customer safety.

As a Texas medical doctor and Fracking water contamination attorney, I want to pose this rhetorical question; What happens when the foxes are guarding the hen house? Consider that as you savor your morning coffee, which may be contaminated with benzene, from a contaminated water aquifer.

Oil and gas industry as well as government regulators have maintained for many decades that a drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that is used for natural gas wells has never contaminated underground drinking water. The fracking process, involves water and toxic chemicals being injected at high pressure into the ground to break up rocks and release the gas trapped there. This process according to industry officials, occurs thousands of feet below drinking-water aquifers and because of that distance, the drilling chemicals allegedly pose no risk.

According to ExxonMobil at a Congressional hearing on drilling...“There have been over a million wells hydraulically fractured ...and there is not one, not one, reported case of a freshwater aquifer having ever been contaminated from hydraulic fracturing...”

But there is in fact a documented case, and the E.P.A. report suggests there may be more. Researchers, were unable to investigate many suspected cases because their details were sealed from the public when energy companies settled lawsuits with landowners. E.P.A. says this practice continues to prevent them from fully assessing the risks of certain types of gas drilling.

The American Petroleum Institute, dismissed the assertion that sealed settlements have hidden problems with gas drilling, and according to their data, they have found that drinking water contamination from fracking is highly improbable.

The documented E.P.A. case, and the report was published in 1987, and the contamination was discovered in 1984. The report concluded that hydraulic fracturing fluids or gel used by the Kaiser Exploration and Mining Company contaminated a well roughly 600 feet away on the property of James Parsons in Jackson County, W.Va., referring to it as “Mr. Parson’s water well.”

“When fracturing the Kaiser gas well on Mr. James Parson’s property, fractures were created allowing migration of fracture fluid from the gas well to Mr. Parson’s water well,” according to the agency’s summary of the case. “This fracture fluid, along with natural gas was present in Mr. Parson’s water, rendering it unusable.”

In their report, E.P.A. officials also wrote that Mr. Parsons’ case was highlighted as an “illustrative” example of the hazards created by this type of drilling, and that legal settlements and nondisclosure agreements prevented access to scientific documentation of other incidents. “This is typical practice, for instance, in Texas,” the report stated. “In some cases, the records of well-publicized damage incidents are almost entirely unavailable for review.”

Industry officials emphasize that all forms of drilling involve some degree of risk. The question, they say, is what represents an acceptable level. Once chemicals contaminate underground drinking-water sources, they are very difficult to remove, according to federal and industry studies.

A 2004 study by the E.P.A. agency concluded that hydraulic fracturing of one kind of natural gas well — coal-bed methane wells — posed “little or no threat” to underground drinking water supplies. The study was later criticized by some within the agency as being unscientific and unduly influenced by industry.

Instances of gas bubbling from fracked sites into nearby water wells have been extensively documented. The industry has also acknowledged that fracking liquids can end up in aquifers because of failures in the casing of wells, spills that occur above ground or through other factors.

Both types of contamination can render the water unusable. However, contamination from fracking fluids is widely considered more worrisome because the fluids can contain carcinogens like benzene.

The risk of abandoned wells serving as conduits for contamination is one that the E.P.A. is currently researching as part of its national study on fracking. Many states lack complete records with the number or location of these abandoned wells and they lack the resources to ensure that abandoned and active wells are inspected regularly.

A 1999 report by the Department of Energy said there were about 2.5 million abandoned oil and natural gas wells in the United States at the time.

Short answer, carbon based energy is not the answer, in this current heat wave that most of the country is withering under, think of the amount of solar energy that can be harvested?

Studies have shown that a solar array set up, in Nevada can supply all of the energy needs of the USA, for the next century.

Continue reading "Fracking Water Contamination" »

I have handled a few dog bite cases in my time. Nothing galls me more, especially when a child gets mauled by a so called pet dog. As a Dallas Dog Bite and Dallas Dog Attack Attorney, I have heard many instances where a dangerous dog such as a pit bull attacked a child aged around two years old or other infants. The child did not stand a chance.

Currently I am handling a case where a 2 year child was attacked and mauled by a small stray chihuahua dog who had been taken in 2 weeks earlier. My 2 year old client was bitten on the face and sustained injuries to her lip...the injuries could have been a lot worse.

I will keep you readers appraised of the development in my case.

Read more about dog bite rights here.

Continue reading "Dog Bites And Dog Attacks " »

As a Dallas Wrongful Death attorney, I am providing this lawsuit article from Cleveland.

The family of a Cleveland man who was gunned down in 2009 during a robbery at a local bar have filed a lawsuit against the building owners and the security company.

The wrongful death suit claims local security officers did nothing to stop a group of men from attempting to rob Jeremy Pechanec and eventually executing him and a friend in a park across from the bar.

None of the bar's security cameras were on, the suit claims, and bar tenders continued to serve the men even as they began to harass Pechanec. The wrongful death lawsuit is seeking more than $100,000 in damages.

What is a Wrongful Death Lawsuit? Dallas Wrongful Death Attorney explains
A wrongful death lawsuit alleges that the victim was killed as a result of negligence on the part of the person or business entity being sued, and that the victim’s survivors are entitled to monetary damages as a result of the negligent act and improper conduct.

This type of legal civil claim is different from a normal negligence lawsuit, which is filed by the person injured for the resultant damages. Originally under “common law” (the general legal principles or judge made law, passed from England to the United States over many years), a wrongful death claim did not exist based upon the legal reasoning that the claim died or was extinguished with the victim where there was no way to compensate him for damages. The surviving family members then could not claim damages from the person who caused the victim's death. This was an injustice for the dead victim's family and a legal loop hole.

Read more here.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Suit Filed After Man Murdered Outside of Bar" »

As a Dallas Slip and Fall Attorney, I would like provide a quick explanation and an update of Texas Slip and Fall law.

A slip and fall accident is a type of personal injury claim that occurs when a person slips and falls on another person’s property. It is based on the breach of duty that the owner of the property was negligent in failing to correct the dangerous condition that caused the slip and fall.

If you were in a public place or a private residence in Texas and hurt yourself due to a slip and fall, you may file a slip and fall lawsuit. But if the accident was your fault, or there is some other intervening circumstance that does not satisfy the slip and fall lawsuit requirement, you can expect that it would get dismissed.

You have to prove negligence on the part of the company or private citizen at whose Texas property the slip and fall injury took place. A classic example would be a wet floor. We are all familiar with businesses that mop their floors and put out bright yellow or orange caution signs and/or cones to warn people that the area is wet and not to cross it. If these signs are clearly posted and you cross into the slippery area anyway, the business has a good chance of not being liable for the fall.

The term Premises Liability is used when assigning responsibility for injuries caused by the defective design or maintenance of property, including private homes, public buildings, and anywhere a person would have a reasonable expectation of safety.

"Negligence" means failure to use ordinary care to provide a safe place and to reduce or eliminate an unreasonable risk of harm created by the condition or use of a place, equipment or procedures.

Property owners have a duty to keep their property safe. To hold the property owner responsible, one of the following three conditions must apply to the incident:

1. The owner of the property, or one of their employees, caused the worn or torn spot, the spill or the dangerous surface that resulted in the slip and fall.
2. The property owner knew about the dangerous condition but didn’t do anything about it.
3. The owner of the property should have known about the dangerous condition because a reasonable person tending to a piece of property would have detected the problem and taken steps to correct it.

To read more, click here.

Continue reading "Slip and Fall Premises Liability Update" »

As a Dallas Slip and Fall attorney I am writing this article to provide guidance for folks who are considering to file a slip and fall claim. You know folks, litigating slip and fall accidents in Texas is difficult because of the premises liability rules generated by our Texas Supreme Court.

In Texas, the status of the plaintiff is important; whether they are an invitee, licensee or mere trespasser. The duty of the premises owner will depend on the plaintiff's status.

“Slip and fall” or "trip and fall" accidents are the most common form of premises liability cases. Common everyday conditions or defects leading to premises liability accidents include wet slick floors, slippery surfaces, uneven floors or steps, cracked sidewalks, broken stair rails, falling objects, high-stacking merchandise, torn carpeting, poor lighting, inadequate security, dangerous conditions caused by inclement weather such as sleet, rain and ice, and failure to secure a swimming pool area etc.

Read more here.

We recently settle a slip and fall case through mediation. My client had slipped and fallen while walking through a corridor on her way to a car park. She slipped on something that was sticky, badly twisting her ankle and fracturing the fibula bone in her ankle. She had moderate medical expenses and she was self insured, so she was on the hook for the medical bills.

Luckily we had a surveillance camera video which showed my client falling and the time she was on the ground...unfortunately it did not show what she slipped on. We settled for almost twice the initial pre-mediation offer and the defendants paid for the mediation fee.

Continue reading "Slip and Fall Explaination of Texas Premises Liability Law" »

As a Fort Worth Sexual Assault and abuse attorney, I am providing this update for the TCU lawsuit involving rape and sexual assault on campus.

According to a lawsuit the student filed against the university, Texas Christian University officials should have known that two athletic recruits accused of raping an art student had criminal histories and posed a threat on campus.

The woman who filed the lawsuit, alleged that she was was drugged and then gang-raped by three athletes in 2006 while visiting a dormitory room. The three were arrested and were permanently separated from the university.

Attorneys representing the woman in her lawsuit maintain that if TCU officials did not know, they should have known that, the attackers, Jones and Taylor had criminal histories and that Jones had had his probation revoked in connection with an assault causing bodily injury in a 2005 Collin County case.

The three athletes, Behling, Taylor and Jones were arrested in October 2006 after the woman reported that Taylor sexually assaulted her. Taylor lured her to his dorm room on the pretext of repaying money he owed for a hamburger. There, the woman told police, she was given a drink that caused her to pass out. Then she was attacked repeatedly by the athletes.

Continue reading "TCU Fort Worth Law Suit For False Claims of Safe Campus " »

As a Fort Worth Medical Malpractice and Personal Injury Attorney, I am providing, what is in my opinion one of the most outrageous civil rights, medical malpractice and personal injury claims involving Taser usage.

A confused post-surgical patient at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford was tasered. Bedford police said that on December 14, an off-duty police officer working at the hospital responded to a report of a "violent situation."

According to the police, when the officer arrived, "there had been two hospital employees that had been assaulted" by the patient, and the officer "used his Taser to restrain the subject."

This is so outrageous and unprecedented, another example of the out of control Fort Worth police department. There should be a full independent investigation. Criminal and civil right violations, medical malpractice and personal injury claims should be filed against the police officer and the hospital.

The hospital is responsible for the actions of its employees for excessive use of force and civil right violations.

This year, Fort Worth paid a $2 million settlement to the family of a man who died after police Tasered him. Obviously the City of Fort Worth did not learn its lesson and put in place corrective actions. We have trigger happy police running amok in our city. Get ready to shell out more money.

What ever happened to human rights and patient bill of rights? In all my 27 years as a medical doctor, I have not seen a more egregious example of hospital brutality, abuse and patient rights violation involving hospital security.

It is fairly routine and expected that patients can suffer from delirium, agitation and confusion following anesthesia, but it is easily managed. If a patient becomes agitated, sedatives can be administered through IV access and the patient is restrained and observed to ensure that they do not harm themselves or others.

Many doctors and nurses have done this, this is routine hospital practice, used on a daily basis.

More than 150 people nationally have died because of Taser devices since 2001, according to Amnesty International.

In Florida, a man under police supervision refused to give a urine sample for a drug test. The man was both handcuffed and restrained by leather straps, and an officer kneeled on his chest while the patient thrashed to prevent the insertion of a catheter. The officer then used his Taser in drive stun mode twice before the man gave in.

Federal and state health officials later cited the hospital for violating the patient's rights.

The manufacturer warns that the Taser can cause changes in blood pressure, electrolytes, heart rate and rhythm, and respiration.

Information and commentary provided by Dallas Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Dr Shezad Malik. The Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm can be contacted in Dallas toll free at 888-210-9693 or in Fort Worth at 817-900-8439. If you or a loved one has been injured from a medical malpractice, truck accident, car crash or bus accident, please fill out our contact card for a free consultation.

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As a Fort Worth Personal Injury and Premises Liability Attorney I am providing this news story.

A New York jury has rendered a premises liability negligence verdict for a Buffalo woman. The verdict awarded was $66 million for injuries she suffered on a Cybex weight machine.

The plaintiff, a physical therapist, had her vertebra crushed when the 500-pound machine fell on her in 2004. The injuries were so severe as to render her a quadriplegic.

The jury verdict in New York state Supreme Court was one of the largest personal injury awards ever in Erie County,

Information and commentary provided by Dallas Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Dr Shezad Malik. The Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm can be contacted in Dallas toll free at 888-210-9693 or in Fort Worth at 817-900-8439. If you or a loved one has been injured from a truck accident, car crash or bus accident, please fill out our contact card for a free consultation.

Click here for Map and location.

Click here for Map and location.

As a Fort Worth Personal Injury attorney, I represent a lot of clients who have suffered personal injuries following a slip and fall accident.

Earlier in the week I defended a slip and fall deposition involving my client. The client is a 55 year old engineer who slipped and fell while walking to the bathroom at a sushi restaurant.

He slipped on something greasy that was left on the slick tiled floor and went down so hard that he was knocked out and had to be transported to the hospital and placed on the ventilator until he could recover.

The defense is making the argument that he fell off his stool at the bar but they could not explain how he happened to be found by the bathroom. Obviously they are making the argument that he could be in 2 places at once! They are making the claim that the law of physics do not apply in their restaurant...they are not familiar it would appear with Einstein's theory of Relativity..

I will continue to update this story.

Continue reading "Fort Worth Slip and Fall Accident and Injuries" »

As a Southlake car accident and car wreck attorney I frequently provide updates to my readers.
If you are involved in a car accident, car wreck, hit and run, fender bender or any other terms you that may use for a car collision, you should be familiar with the Texas driving rules of the road.

As a Fort Worth Car Wreck attorney, I am involved with many of the similar types of car accident cases as I read about this weekend.

Dallas taxi broadsides SUV, leads to critical injuries of a stranded driver. Read full story here. A taxicab carrying seven passengers broadsided a Buick at a downtown Dallas intersection Saturday morning, sending the SUV crashing into a man as he filled his dead vehicle with gas.

Obviously the taxi cab driver did not keep a proper lookout and went through a busy intersection, causing the accident and causing significant brain trauma to a pedestrian.

In Texas, all drivers have to keep a “proper lookout”and observe the speed, traffic signals/signs and traffic conditions for that particular stretch of road. It is the law in Texas to wear a seat belt and so buckle up. That means that the driver has to pay continuous attention to the road as well as other drivers and failure to observe this could result in a Texas car accident because of negligence.

Every driver in Texas- whether you live in Southlake, or any other area- has a responsibility to be careful when driving. Remember a Texas driver license is a privilege and not an automatic right to use the road.

Information and commentary is provided by Dallas and Fort Worth Car Accident Attorney Shezad Malik. The Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm can be reached in Dallas at http://www.shezadmalik.com/http://www.shezadmalik.com/http://www.shezadmalik.com/http://www.shezadmalik.com/http://www.shezadmalik.com/888-210-9693 or in Fort Worth at 817-900-8439. If you have questions about a car accident, please fill out our contact for online for a free consultation.

The personal injury sage continues. As a Fort Worth Personal Injury attorney I am writing this blog to hopefully provide insight to my readers, about the law works with its byzantine rules and regulations.

The Law and its practical applications are murky at best and we as lawyers have developed our own rituals and our own special language. Because if we spoke in plain English, then it would not be special anymore.

In my last missive I detailed the week before an actual trial that we were getting ready to do on our slip and fall case. The case got continued. Now we are using this opportunity to continue in our siege of the defendants castle. We continue to press our charge and are unrelenting in our skirmishes.

The defendants strategy in every personal injury case, irrespective of the claim, is to first deny the claim, then to deflect the claim ie somebody elses fault and then finally to delay the case going to trial. They hope with this strategy with wear out the plaintiff and make the cost of litigation prohibitively expensive to continue.

This standard strategy is designed to sap the will of the opponent, to make the risk reward ratio tilt in their favor. This tactic may have traction in some quarters especially in the claim is weak or ill founded, but to us it is like waving a red flag to a bull. We are only spurred on, and I have a natural dislike for bullies, and that is what the defense are; bullies by any other name are still bullies, with their repeated denials and rejections of liability and fault.

In this particular instance, we have been at it for over 3 years. The defense is a stubborn lot, mangy and dogged in their delay tactics. We shall prevail, Justice will triumph in the end and the dark forces crushed.

Ultimately the defendants insurance is going to rein them in especially when they have spent more in defending this case than they could have settled it for. They are consumed by over reaching hubris and a lack of common sense. They will ultimately lose this account.

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war."

And so it begins, twenty four hours from now, with a drop of the hammer and a cry of "Order, Court now in session," the battle banners would have unfurled with the sounds of trumpets.

As a Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney, I would like to offer the following insights. As I mentioned in my last posting from the battlefront, we were due in court tomorrow to argue our slip and fall case which just got canceled and set for a new date.

The foul air would have been filled with the clanging of steel, the clashing of shields, the stench of panic and fear permeating the air to be supplemented with whiffs of gunpowder. My friends, this was no ordinary skirmish, but the accumulation of 3 years hard labor. But it was not to be...

My friends that is what a court room feels and sounds like, all shrouded in the fog of war and at the end of the day, one victor and the vanquished. Carnage and havoc for both.
Trials are no easy things and the plaintiffs all want their day in court. It is hard to then explain to them when you get a worse deal at trial that in settlement talks a year earlier.

In this particular battle, the decision to go to war was easy, we had no offers to settle or offers through mediation. Here, if we had failed to press our charge and we lost, what did we lose? We came with nothing and left with nothing. Then the next time the defense would know we spared no quarter, we yielded no ground, and we fought to the last man. Each man died a hero, with sword in hand, a bloody battle indeed.

In this battle dear readers, there are no prisoners.

Continue reading "Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Who Will Fight For You 817-900-8439" »

Like the knights and warriors of old, I was preparing this week for all out pitched battle. Is there no captain of Gondor who can come to our aid? Sadly not, we were alone in our campaign for justice.There was going to be a winner and a loser; a victor and vanquished.

A steady drum beat of war filled the air as each night I was hunched over the computer, being warmed by the pallid sickly glow of the screen, while I plotted and schemed our strategy. I reviewed the battle plans with my trusty squire (read associate) and we played out all the competing scenarios. We had been planning our siege and attack for the past 3 months. The defense was well funded, well armed and had countless minions to throw into battle.

Our slip and fall personal injury law suit was filed 3 years ago, and after all the twists and turns had finally come to trial. My 68 year old client had tripped and fallen while crossing a construction site that the company had done when they tore up her drive way. Her house and yard was surrounded by a chain link fence, which was not taken down. The construction site was not barricaded in, taped down or any caution cones placed around the site.

The defense resisted hard, denied all liability and offered no settlement, nothing at mediation and were trying to make us go the long distance. My client had incurred $450,000 in medical bills and had to undergo lumbar sacral surgery and extensive rehab.

My client had a doctor's appointment go to that morning when she fell. She had no alternative entrance or exit from her place. She had to cross the construction site, which was a drop off of 4-6 inches surrounded by wooden forms getting ready for concrete pouring. She tripped and she went down like a lead balloon, or a tree in the forest, depending on your penchant for metaphors.

We had survived 3 knock out/death sentence motions for summary judgment and countless other motions.

This week, we were poring over the trial exhibits, photographs, reading all the depositions and reviewed all the evidence. Earlier in the week we met the plaintiff and key witnesses for the final time, going over the trial and trial strategy. We had gathered and reviewed the multiple medical records and medical billing business affidavits.

The defense launched a fiercesome attack on our encampments, starting on the dawn of Monday morning. A lengthy volley of 3 motions by defense trebuchets came crashing down to instill fear and panic among the camp. We scrambled during the week to our return volley of opposing motions. We had 7 pre-trial motions to argue about on this Monday morning prior to choosing and seating the jury.

Then Thursday afternoon, a call from the court coordinator, our case was going to be canceled and rescheduled for February 2011, because the judge had a conference to go to...

So now, the pitch battle and storming of the castle will have to wait, but we shall persist and continue in the siege. We now will address and set up the 7 motions and force the defense to skirmishes.

Continue reading "Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney 817-900-8439" »

Today I settled one of my trucking-car accident cases through mediation. Mediation for those of you who are not familiar with the process, is an alternative dispute resolution process that I frequently employ with good results. As a Dallas Wrongful Death Attorney, I use mediation as a settlement instrument in 80-90% of my personal injury cases.

Usually after the lawsuit is filed, initial discovery is shared and the first round of depositions have taken place, both sides of the dispute will have a good idea of the strength and weaknesses of their respective case. No one case is perfect on all counts.

That is when I usually approach the opposition and ask them to consider and participate in the mediation process. Today we had such a meeting, which was held at a neutral place, the office of the neutral attorney mediator. It is the job of the mediator to listen over a period of several hours to both sides of the conflict and urge both sides to come to a settlement.

Sometimes the mediation process fails and the case goes to trial, this usually happens when the parties are too far apart. That happened to me at the last mediation, 2 weeks ago on a dog bite case. We go to trial in October.

In the present mediation, my client had significant soft tissue injuries after she was rear ended by a 18 wheeler truck. She developed chronic pain and had to have significant medical therapy. The outcome could have been much worse, she could have died as a result of the accident. In this case both vehicles had become locked as a result of the accident and the truck driver did not realize that he was in an accident as he continued to drive. It came to his attention when another truck driver called him on the radio that he was pushing a car up the hill.

I am glad to report that the case settled for a confidential amount and the truck driver/company accepted liability.

Continue reading "Dallas Wrongful Death Attorney 817-900-8439" »

Folks I am a man of simple tastes. When I woke up this morning I sat down with a steaming cup of java and opened up my lap top. I looked out over the back yard, the temperature was cool for Texas (70 F) and the sky was a deep blue...

Is it great to have a contemplative 3 days with the Labor Day Weekend? A great weekend for shopping and getting out and about and then as a result, more slip and falls.

As Dallas Fort Worth Slip and Fall attorney, I review and screen many slip and fall and trip and fall accident/personal injury claims. That reminds me, we have a case currently against a large and well known grocery store. My client is a 75 year old sprightly woman in otherwise good health. She went to the store to do her shopping but did not get very far. She tripped up on the entrance on the floor mats which were not taped down as per the store's policy and procedures.

Instead the mats were allowed to get buckled and frayed and my client tripped up, falling, breaking her hip and shoulder.

You know the rest of the story...the store will not do right by her, she had to retain an attorney and we are in litigation. She had a long hospital stay and extensive rehab and is now finally back on her feet.

We will keep you posted, dear readers of the progress in this case. The defendants have stated that they want to settle and mediate this case...

Continue reading "Dallas Fort Worth Slip and Fall Attorney 817-900-8439" »

Folks I am a man of simple tastes. When I woke up this morning I sat down with a steaming cup of java and opened up my lap top. I looked out over the back yard, the temperature was cool for Texas and the sky was a deep blue...

Is it great to have a contemplative 3 days with the Labor Day Weekend. A great weekend for shopping and then as a result more slip and falls.

That reminds me, we have a case currently against a large and well known grocery store. My client is a 75 year old sprightly woman in otherwise good health. She went to the store to do her shopping burt did not get very far, she tripped on the enterance over the floor mats which were not taped down as per the store's policy and procedures.

Instead they were allowed to get buckled and frayed and my client tiripped up, falling, breaking her hip and shoulder.

You know the rest of the story...the store will not do right by her, she has to retain an attorney and we are in litigation. She has had a long hospital stay and extensive rehab and is now finally back on her feet.

We will keep you posted dear readers of the progress in this case. The denfendants have stated that they want to settle and mediate this case...

Continue reading "Dallas Fort Worth Slip and Fall Attorney 817-900-8439" »

I like dogs but I would not describe myself as a dog person.

We have a client who while working for a dog grooming/boarding facility was bitten pretty severely by the owner's pet dog. The owner of the establishment is a self professed dog lover. She has 6-7 dogs but she has to house this particular dog at her facility because he does not "play nice" with the other dogs. She has admitted that her dog is kennel, food and bone aggressive.

My client was attacked by this dog and she was mauled pretty bad, incurring medical bills in the range of $70,000 and required several operations to her elbow which had gotten infected from the deep dog bite. She has an 8 inch scar across her elbow.

Read more about your dog bite rights here.

We are trying to settle and mediate the case, if not we will proceed to trial. We do not think that liability is going to be an issue.

Continue reading "Fort Worth Dog Bite Lawyer" »

According to OSHA, 4,340 workers died on the job in 2009.

"With every one of these fatalities, the lives of a worker's family members were shattered and forever changed. We can't forget that fact."
-Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor

Poorly Managed Construction Sites Are Dangerous.

Construction site injuries include:

* Falls
* Struck by falling object
* Struck by laterally moving object or equipment
* Impalement or penetrating injury
* Truck or other motor vehicle accident
* Electrocution
* Explosions
* Burns

Continue reading "Dallas Fort Worth Construction Sites Can Lead to Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries" »

I am proud of our work this week. We just settled another car accident injury claim. My client was minding his own business, one night in Dallas. Somebody plowed into him and rear ended him. The folks who hit him were drunk and tried to run. They were caught by an off duty apartment security guard.

Come to find out they were high as a kite and ready to fly.

Luckily for my client he had minor soft tissue injuries, but he had pre-existing neck problems including cervical neck fusion. Obviously we were concerned that he may have had neck injuries. But after medical evaluation he was cleared of major injuries.

We settled for insurance policy limits.

When you need to help after an injury or accident, you need to find the Dallas Fort Worth Texas personal injury lawyers.

We evaluate and accept cases all over Texas including Houston, Dallas, San Antonio car accidents, auto wrongful death cases, mesothelioma, burn injuries, Accutane side effect bowel disease, Paxil birth defects, brain injuries, 18 wheeler, semi truck, tractor trailer accidents, diesel truck or big rig accidents.

If you have been injured in an accident as a result of the negligence of others,
please call 817-900-8439, 888-210-9693 or Contact Me Online.

A Houston company failed to adequately mark the path of a buried 36-inch natural gas pipeline in Johnson County that was struck and exploded in June, killing one person, according to the Texas Railroad Commission.

Enterprise Products Operating Llc. violated several state regulations, the commission said in a report. Fines could be $10,000 per day per violation.

The explosion, which could be seen for miles, occurred June 7 when the carbon-steel pipeline was struck by an auger drilling a 48-inch-diameter hole to install high-wire electrical poles. The operator of the auger truck was killed. McClatchy Newspapers, Houston Chronicle 09/01/2010
Read Article: Houston Chronicle

Continue reading "Texas Cites Local Energy Company in Fatal Blast" »

John Peter Smith Hospital (Ft Worth) officials will review the medical response to a man who collapsed and died in the hospital pharmacy after witnesses complained that help was slow to arrive and that emergency equipment did not appear to work properly.

Jeff Dickerson, who was picking up a prescription at the pharmacy, said it took medical workers nearly 10 minutes to get there. Once there, he said that two defibrillators the workers tried to use did not appear to work.

Alex Branch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 08/19/2010
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Continue reading "Witnesses Raise Questions About Death at Fort Worth Hospital Pharmacy" »

A lawsuit has been filed against the Arizona Board of Regents by a former Arizona State student who claims that the university police department and disciplinary office failed to properly investigate her accusations that she was raped.

According to the police report, the woman reported the alleged incident the day after it occurred, and officers determined that she had not withdrawn consent during the sexual activity. The lawsuit, however, claims that the police department "refused to give the woman a forensic sexual assault examination," and performed an inadequate investigation. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages. Derek Quizon, Arizona Republic 07/13/2010

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Continue reading " Lawsuit: Campus Police Didn't Investigate Rape Claim" »

A former cruise ship trumpet player was awarded $1.7 million from a Miami jury after he slipped and fell while on stage on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Steven Pavone claimed that the fall injured his shoulder and ended his trumpet-playing career. The accident was caused by a bit of oil that leaked out from the on-stage fog machine, according to the lawsuit. Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald 06/23/2010

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Two Dallas Cowboys employees injured when the team practice facility collapsed on them during a storm last year reached confidential settlements with the bankrupt companies that built the tent-like structure.

The terms of the out-of-court agreement reached last week were not disclosed. A Cowboys team scout and special teams coach sued Summit Structures LLC of Allentown, Pa., and its Canadian parent, Cover-All Building Systems Inc., last year.

One plaintiff was left paralyzed from the waist down, and the second had a broken vertebra. Jon Nielsen, The Dallas Morning News 06/16/2010
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A Chicago man filed a lawsuit against NBC Universal Inc. over an injury he sustained while walking through the set of the movie "Public Enemies" in the streets of Chicago in 2008.

In his lawsuit, John McManus said he tripped on one of the fake rubber cobblestones installed by set designers and sustained serious injuries.

No signs, barriers or warnings existed to alert McManus to the fake stone and tracks, the lawsuit alleges. He is seeking $50,000 in damages. Serena Maria Daniels, Chicago Tribune 05/23/2010

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Continue reading "Slip and Fall Injury On Movie Set Leads to Lawsuit" »

Atmos Energy failed to meet minimum safety regulations in connection with a home explosion in Mesquite, according to a state investigation.

The Texas Railroad Commission investigation found that Atmos should phase out the type of steel natural gas lines used in the area. The company has decided to replace each of the 680 lines in the area of Town East Estates subdivision.

Read the full story at the Dallas Morning News.

Continue reading "Atmos Responsible for Multiple Violations in Blast at Mesquite Texas Home " »

A N.J., man who suffered a head injury in a shopping center accident accepted $10.3 million to settle his suit.

On July 9, 2008, Michael Hess was leaning on a metal railing on an elevated walkway outside a store at Echo Plaza in Springfield when the railing gave way. He fell four feet to the pavement below, hitting his head. The railing had broken the day before, but the shopping center used wire to hold it together and did not post warning signs, says the plaintiffs attorney, Raymond Gill.

Hess suffered three fractured vertebrae, dislocated his left shoulder, and suffered nerve problems in his feet from walking on crutches.

Continue reading "N.J. Shopping Center to Pay $10.3 M in Premises Liability Suit" »

As she walked toward the supervisor's office, Tyson Foods employee Gwendolyn Miles says she slipped on a wet floor and fell. Miles claims a leak in the roof caused the floor to become a hazardous condition.

Miles filed a personal injury lawsuit against Tyson Foods Inc. on Feb. 2 in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas, arguing the Tyson building was not a safe place to work and was in violation of the Texas Labor Code.

Read full story here at Southeast Texas Record

Continue reading "Tyson Employee Files Slip and Fall Lawsuit at Carthage Texas Facility" »

A law firm representing the estate of a boy who drowned in a Kalispell MT septic tank has filed suit against developers, engineers and a small-town water and sewer district, charging negligence in the accidental death of 3-year-old Loic Rogers.

The companies that manufactured the tank and its lid were named in previous suits, and attorneys said an earlier complaint was made against the homeowner.

Continue reading "Wrongful Death Lawsuits Filed Over Boy's Death in Septic Tank" »

A federal judge approved settlements earmarked for more than 300 victims of the RI 2003 Station nightclub fire and the mechanism through which payments will be made.

The action taken by U.S. District Court Judge Lagueux makes it likely now that the victims of the fourth-deadliest nightclub fire in U.S. history will get money from a $176-million settlement fund in a matter of months.

Continue reading "Judge Approves Settlement for RI Station Fire Victims" »

A British fitness instructor who alleged he was injured when he slipped and fell on a wet floor at a cruise ship spa, was awarded $9.5 million by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court jury.

Continue reading "Jury Awards $9.5M in Slip-and-Fall on Ship" »

Fairleigh Dickinson University is not liable for the death of a junior who fell from a fourth-floor dorm window in 2005 after a night of heavy drinking, and won’t have to pay his parents a prior jury award of $260,000, a state appeals court has ruled.

An appellate decision reversed a Morris County jury verdict last year that found the college and student, Keith Orzech, 21, were equally responsible for his death in 2005. Instead, a three-judge panel ruled the university in Madison-Florham Park has immunity from liability under state law.

Continue reading "N.J. Appeals Court Reverses $260K Wrongful Death Judgment " »

Premises liability cases cover a wide range of situations in which people are injured or suffer a wrongful death on a commercial or residential property. Slip and fall injuries such as back, hip or spine injuries when a customer slips on a wet floor that lacks signage to warn customers of slippery conditions at a store, club, salon, restaurant, etc.

Trip and fall injuries such as bone fractures when a hotel guest trips on cleaning supplies left in a hallway or a rug that is frayed or bunched up in front of a door.

Dog bites from a dog that is not adequately restrained on its owner’s property.

Head and body injuries by falling merchandise at a warehouse or store.

Suffering a bodily injury from a malfunctioning elevator or a door with a broken closing device.

Being sexually assaulted because a hotel did not provide adequate security.

Dram Shop liability because a restaurant or Bar served its customer drinks until he was intoxicated and then the customer drove and injured a person.

Continue reading "Dallas Fort Worth Texas Slip and Fall Premises Liability Attorney" »

A trial date has been set in the case against Wal-Mart in the death of a Chadron, Neb., woman.

David Lehman sued the corporation shortly after his wife, Julie, died after falling in the Chadron store. The case, filed in Dawes County District Court was removed to the U.S. District Court, which has scheduled a trial for Feb. 16.

Julie Lehman was in Wal-Mart July 21 with her son, Steffan, 17, when she slipped on a wet floor in the automotive cleaning products aisle on her way to the restroom. Julie received her initial diagnosis and treatment at the Chadron Community Hospital before being flown to Rapid City Regional to have a massive blood clot in her brain surgically removed. Julie never woke up after surgery and died July 27.

Continue reading "Trial Set in Wrongful Death of Wal-Mart Slip and Fall" »

Less than 14 months after a devastating apartment blaze along the Conshohocken riverfront set back one of the nation's most successful revivals of an aging town, a $36.3 million settlement has been reached to end all fire-related litigation.

Of that, $27 million will go toward rebuilding the two destroyed Riverwalk apartment buildings, which housed 189 units. The remainder will be shared among the displaced tenants, with amounts depending on individual losses.

Continue reading "Settlement For Philadelphia Apartment-Fire Litigation" »

An 80-year-old woman has been awarded a $7 million settlement from Target Corp. and a mechanical door company after she was knocked to the ground by a faulty automatic door at a Target store in Rosemont in 2007, the woman's lawyers said in a statement.

The incident on June 21, 2007, caused Claire Putman brain injuries and resulted in "cognitive deficits," according to the statement from the law firm. Putman, whom records list as a Des Plaines resident, had to move into a nursing home because of her injuries.

According to the statement, Putman was walking into the Target at 7000 Mannheim Rd. when the door malfunctioned and knocked her to the floor, causing her to hit her head. She was then struck by the door again as it continued to open and close.

Continue reading "Woman Settles for $7 M in Target Brain Injury Lawsuit" »

On April 5, 2005, plaintiff Liria Lopez, 49, a self-employed house cleaner, entered a Minyard Food Store on the corner of Abrams Road and Gaston Avenue in Dallas. It had rained that day and water had accumulated in the store's foyer area. As Lopez exited, she slipped on the water.

Lopez sued Minyard Food Stores Inc., alleging premises liability. She claimed that other customers had fallen in the same area under reasonably similar conditions about 18 months earlier. She also maintained that on the day of her accident there there were no warning signs or mats placed in the foyer, nor were there any warnings from store employees prior to her fall.

Lopez's walking surfaces/traction expert testified that the manner in which Minyard addressed the water issue in the foyer was below the standard of care. After looking at the records, he said Minyard did not adequately handle the continuing problem of a wet slick floor on rainy days.

Continue reading "Dallas Woman Sustained Brain, Knee Injuries in Slip-and-Fall Incident" »

Three years ago, James Becker was doing what many vigorous 15-year-old boys do - playing baseball, basketball and soccer.

Now he is severely disabled, must use a wheelchair and is under the constant care of his mother.

The accident that reduced James to such circumstances occurred at the Woodcroft Swim Club in Parkville on July 29, 2006, when, his family's lawyer says, he almost drowned. His brain was apparently deprived of adequate oxygen for about 10 minutes.

His parents, William J. Becker III and Mary Becker, have filed a $40 million lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court against the swim club and the company that runs it, D.R.D. Pool Management Inc., accusing them of failing to both "timely recognize and respond" to the struggling boy and to properly perform resuscitation efforts.

Continue reading " Swim Club Lawsuit for Brain Damage Caused by Drowning " »

A Cobb County, Georgia jury has awarded a Home Depot customer and his wife $1.5 million in a personal injury case stemming from a forklift accident inside a store.

According to the complaint, in November 2005 shopper Larry Reece fell and suffered neck and spine injuries after a pallet of plywood fell 24 feet from a forklift.

The wood hit a barricade that knocked over Reece, who wound up trapped under the plywood.

As part of the verdict, Reece’s wife was awarded $30,000 for loss of marital relations, said the couple’s attorney, Jeff Shiver. Shiver said medical expenses for Reece’s neck injuries were about $120,000, including surgery to repair herniated discs.

Continue reading "Jury: Home Depot Liable for $1.5 M in Accident" »

The family of an 11-year-old boy killed when a 1,600-pound metal gate fell on him while he played at a Boston, Methuen school will receive a $600,000 settlement from the city.

The city had previously admitted that it was liable for leaving the unsecured iron gate in an area children could access. The settlement is the maximum amount allowed under state law.

Timothy DiLeo was killed and his younger brother injured when the unhinged gate at the Tenney Grammar School fell on them on Labor Day 2007.

Continue reading "Family of Child Killed by Falling Gate Settles Lawsuit" »

A Maricopa County Superior Court jury has awarded $3.3 M to a Scottsdale woman who was sickened and permanently disabled by a mold infestation in her apartment building.

Robin Minium was a project manager for American Express and worked out of her upscale apartment near Scottsdale and Bell roads. She had lived there since 2000.

According to court documents, her health deteriorated significantly by 2002, and as she got sicker, she spent more time in her apartment.

Continue reading "$3.3 M Awarded to Woman Sickened by Mold" »

A Santa Barbara jury has awarded Oded and Anat Gottesman nearly $14 million in compensatory economic and non-economic damages for the loss of their child Yoni, who drowned in a Cathedral Oaks Athletic Club swimming pool in 2005.

The total will undoubtedly climb, however, as punitive damages have not yet been determined. That second phase begins Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. with brief opening statements by both parties followed by testimony. Because punitive damages must still be discussed in court and decided by the jury, the judge kept in place a gag order restricting comments to the media by involved parties.

Continue reading "$14M Awarded in California Drowning Lawsuit" »

A now-12-year-old Temecula boy who fell from a fast-food restaurant's play structure and struck his head, causing brain damage, was awarded a $20 million settlement from the franchise's parent company.

The money was awarded to Jacob Buckett and his sister, Isabelle, who was 5 at the time of Jacob's fall at the Temecula restaurant on Aug. 4, 2005.

The structure was inside the restaurant and there was no rubber beneath the bars, just tile, according to Jacob's attorney.
The defendants, the restaurant franchisee, parent company and playground manufacturer, were not named because of the settlement's confidentiality clause but according to the Web site momlogic.com, the restaurant was a Burger King.

Delta Marketing Inc., the installer of the playground, was also sued.

Continue reading "Boy Awarded $20 M in Brain Damage Case" »

An Illinois woman's homeowners insurance will pay $2.5 M to settle a lawsuit brought by a man who was injured in a crash that occurred after an underage drinking party in her home.

The settlement between the woman, whose teenage daughters hosted the party, and George Baldwin, 22, was approved by the judge in Lake County Circuit Court.

In 2006, Baldwin, then a 19-year-old Lake Forest High School graduate, went to the woman's home with a friend, William Klairmont, then 18 and also from Lake Forest. They were visiting Pfeifer's daughters, and all drank beer in the girls' bedroom.

Klairmont was intoxicated when he drove home and lost control of his car. Baldwin, a passenger, was injured with resulting paralysis.

Continue reading "Man Paralyzed in Crash After Underage Drinking Party Settles Lawsuit " »

On Dec. 12, 2008, a pipefitter recovered $90,780 after a jury found that he was partially responsible for injuries he sustained in an accident at a refinery in Port Arthur.

In 2005, James Levine was working on a scaffold owned and erected by United Scaffolding when a piece of plywood covering a hole in the scaffold moved. He fell into the hole but caught himself with his arms. He was later diagnosed with neck injuries allegedly caused by the incident.

Continue reading "Pipefitter Injured in Fall Recovers $90,780" »

High school cheerleading is a contact sport and therefore its participants cannot be sued for accidentally causing injuries, according to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The court ruled that a former high school cheerleader cannot sue a teammate who failed to stop her fall while she was practicing a stunt. The court also said the injured cheerleader cannot sue her school district.

The National Cheer Safety Foundation said the decision is the first of its kind in the nation.

At issue in the case was whether cheerleaders qualify for immunity under a Wisconsin law that prevents participants in contact sports from suing each other for unintentional injuries.

Continue reading "Wisconsin Ruling Limits Cheerleader Injury Suits" »

The family of a Wisconsin teenager killed on a 2007 amusement park ride will be paid $1 million in the settlement of their lawsuit against the operators.

The girl aged 16, died July 14, 2007, in a fall from a giant swing ride at Lifest 2007 when her safety harness was improperly secured.

The parents, named Life Promotions and Air Glory Inc. in a wrongful-death suit and reached an agreement, according to their attorney.

Continue reading "Amusement Park Operators Settle Wrongful Death Suit" »

An Army investigation called the electrocution death of a U.S. soldier in Iraq a "negligent homicide" caused by military contractor KBR Inc. and two of its supervisors.

Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of Pittsburgh, died as a result of negligent homicide because the contractor failed to ensure that "qualified electricians and plumbers" worked on the barracks where the soldier died.

Continue reading "Report: KBR Negligent in Soldier Electrocution" »

CA lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation that would offer greater legal protections to Good Samaritans in light of a recent California Supreme Court decision.

Legislators have introduced three bills to address Van Horn v. Watson, 08 C.D.O.S. 15199, which held that a state statute only shields rescuers from liability if they provide medical care in an emergency situation. The ruling puts at risk aid-givers who inadvertently hurt victims while removing them from a burning building or other potentially dangerous scenarios.

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Hospital companies in Texas, many of which collect millions in state and federal funds, operate with minimal public disclosure of deficiencies. The state keeps information on complaints and inspections largely private because influential health care corporations want it that way, and Texas legislators have obliged.

As a result, it is next to impossible for the public to determine whether state enforcement works properly. Hospital lobbyists designed much of this system.

The Texas Department of State Health Services provides, on its Web site, a small amount of data on hospital fines. The department also furnishes limited and heavily redacted violation records to anyone who makes a formal open-records request, pays in advance and sometimes waits months for delivery.

Continue reading "State of Neglect: Texas Law Lets Hospitals Hide Problems" »

On Sept. 24, a jury rejected a family's claim that its elderly patriarch died as a result of injuries sustained when he fell at a Family Dollar Store.

The family of Warren Tiner, 84, alleged he was shopping at the Tyler store when he tripped over a box left out in an aisle.

Complaining of back pain, he checked into a hospital eight days after the September 2006 incident. His condition worsened, and he developed other health issues, including pneumonia, heart problems and eventually paralysis from spinal cord compression.

Tiner's family claimed his death in July 2008 was related to injuries from the fall. Family Dollar denied that a box was in the aisle and contended that even if it were, Tiner should have seen and avoided it.

The defense also argued that Tiner suffered from chronic health problems prior to the incident.

Tiner v. Family Dollar Stores of Texas L.P., No. 07-1759-C

Court: 241st District Court, Smith County

MARSHALL TEXAS- The family of a man killed while working at a Texas sawmill is suing the company for alleged safety violations.

According to the complaint filed Dec. 28 in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas, the man was employed at Southern Hardwood Co. on Jan. 20, 2007, when he died.
The man was making wooden boards for pallets using a board edger, when the Crosby board edger "shot back" a board into his chest.

The man was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead and the cause of death determined to be from a blunt force trauma to the chest.

Continue reading "Texas Wrongful Death Suit Blames Sawmill's Safety Violations" »

The family of a man killed in a stampede by holiday shoppers filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wal-Mart Stores Inc, seeking unspecified damages.

Shoppers on New York's Long Island broke down doors and surged into the Valley Stream Wal-Mart, the day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," traditionally the busiest retail shopping day of the year.

The 34 year old man, was knocked to the ground and trampled to death. He had been assigned to cover security as an independent contractor.

Continue reading "Wal-Mart Sued by Family of Trampled Man" »

A Texas judge has overturned his previous $16.2 million judgment against the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, which was sued by the parents of a pledge who died allegedly after a hazing event at the University of Texas.

The judge has accepted the fraternity's explanation that the failure to respond to the lawsuit was an accident, and the lawsuit will now proceed.

Continue reading "Judgment Overturned in Texas Hazing Case" »

A federal investigation has found that Texas is failing to protect disabled residents who are living in large state facilities, from possible lapses in health care.

The U.S. Justice Department said in a report that deficiencies in staffing put residents in 13 facilities at risk of abuse and neglect .

The probe concluded that serious problems and deficiencies in care currently exist throughout the facilities where nearly 5,000 vulnerable Texans live.

"We have concluded that numerous conditions and practices at the facilities violate the constitutional and federal statutory rights of their residents," said an assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Continue reading "Texas Failing to Protect Patients From Abuse And Neglect " »

A Texas woman who broke her knee when she slipped on peanut shells in a Temple restaurant recovered $96,750 after a jury found her partially responsible for her injuries. The 2006 incident occurred at Texas Roadhouse, where patrons are given buckets of peanuts and encouraged to drop the shells on the floor. The woman, then 31, said she fractured her knee in three places after she slipped on a shell that may have still contained peanuts.

Continue reading "Restaurant Patron Who Slipped on Peanut Shells Gets $97k" »

A default judgment was granted to the parents of a freshman pledge who fell to his death two years ago after authorities said he was subjected to hazing. A state district judge has ordered the national and University of Texas chapters of a fraternity to pay $16.2 million.

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity must pay each of the parents $2.5 million for mental anguish and nearly $81,000 for funeral expenses, as well as additional damages, according to the default judgment.

The order was issued after the national and local SAE chapters failed to respond to a lawsuit filed in September. State law allows the chapters to seek a new trial, which could be granted if the representatives explain why they did not respond to the suit and can defend allegations against them.

Continue reading "Default Judgment: Fraternity Must Pay $16.2 million in Hazing Death" »

An employee alleged that Brookshire Grocery Company caused her back injuries when the worker Barbara Goss was trying to step over a "lowboy" cart.

The Texas Supreme Court ruled against her: To the extent that stepping over a lowboy is dangerous, it is a danger apparent to anyone, including Goss. A lowboy stands about 42 inches high, measures about two and a half feet by five feet, and rolls on four wheels.

Goss stepped over one as she entered a freezer, but on the way out her shin struck the lowboy and she hurt herself grabbing a shelf to stop her fall.

Continue reading "Texas Supreme Court: No duty to Warn" »