Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

The Texas Supreme Court threw out a $15.8 million verdict, ruling unanimously that lawyers improperly introduced evidence that a gravel truck driver involved in a 2002 accident that killed four members of a Wise County family was an illegal immigrant.

By repeatedly mentioning the truck driver's immigration status, lawyers for the Hughes family clearly sought to inflame jurors' passions against the driver and his employer, TXI Transportation Co., the court ruled.

Read full story here.

Continue reading "Texas Supreme Court Tosses $15.8 M Verdict in Case Involving Illegal Immigrant" »

An Oregon girl whose truck-driver father accidentally ran her over with his big rig has won $24.3 million in damages from the Portland company that a Sacramento judge found legally responsible for her injuries.

In a court-trial decision returned Dec. 14, Judge David W. Abbott said the firm that hired Simon Loza Mejia, Freeway Transport Inc., was liable for the girl's injuries.

"Defendant was listed on the shipper's bill of lading as the carrier," Abbott wrote. "Defendant insured the load. Defendant guaranteed delivery of the load."

Read full story here at the Sacramento Bee.

Continue reading "Sacramento Jury Awards Over $24 M to Girl Run Over by Truck" »

The family of a bicyclist killed last year in a collision with a truck in Baltimore has filed a $5 million wrongful-death lawsuit against the driver and his employer.

On Aug. 4, John R. "Jack" Yates, 67, was riding his bike behind a truck when he became caught in the vehicle's rear wheels and was run over as it turned right, police said at the time. Yates died at the scene.

The civil suit, filed in Baltimore Circuit Court on behalf of Yates' wife, son and daughter, alleges negligence by driver Michael Dale Chandler of Severn and his employer, Potts & Callahan Inc., a demolition, excavation and equipment rental company, and seeks compensatory damages.

Read full story here at the Baltimore Sun.

Continue reading "Family of Cyclist Killed in Accident Files $5 M Lawsuit" »

An Albemarle County, Va jury awarded $5.25 million to the parents and sibling of a 16-year-old county girl who was killed in a car accident in 2008.

The jury found that Don B. Swisher Trucking Corp., McCann Delivery Service and Kenneth Barbour were negligent when Barbour hit Sydney Aichs’ 1999 Chevrolet Cavalier with a tractor-trailer while running a red light on May 9, 2008.

Continue reading "Jury Awards $5.25M in Va Teenager Wrongful Death" »

Traffic deaths on U.S. roads reached a record low in the first half of 2009, according to projections released Oct. 9. Estimates show that 16,626 people died in traffic crashes between January and June –- a 7 percent decline from 17,871 for the same period last year. Projected figures for the period also show a record low fatality rate of 1.15 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, down from 1.23 deaths during the same period in 2008.

Read the Texas Car Accident report here.

Automobile accidents, auto collisions, car accidents, car crashes, or car wrecks, motor vehicle fender benders are an unfortunate fact of life. Auto accidents can be caused by any number of reasons including: Driver negligence, Driver impairment, Driver recklessness, Defective automobiles or parts and Dangerous road conditions.

Continue reading "Dallas Texas Car and Trucking Accident Lawsuit Update" »

A Santa Clara County jury this week awarded a former college student more than $49 million in damages, finding that two truckers and state transportation officials were to blame for a 2007 accident on Highway 152 that left him permanently brain damaged.

In one of the county's largest personal injury verdicts in years, the jury sided with plaintiff Drew Bianchi, a 23-year-old Bakersfield man whose attorney presented evidence during a five-week trial that reckless driving by truckers on the perilous Pacheco Pass cost him a chance to go to medical school and left him needing round-the-clock medical care for the rest of his life.

Before the trial, the California Department of Transportation also agreed to pay Bianchi $10 million to settle claims against the state that were based on allegations that steps were not taken for years to correct safety issues on Highway 152.

One trucking company settled with Bianchi for $2 million, bringing total damages in the case to more than $60 million.

Continue reading "California Jury Awards $49 M to Car Accident Victim" »

A jury deliberated less than an hour before award­ing $3.5 million to the family of a man who died when his van was crushed between two logging trucks in a January 2008 acci­dent in Elmore County.

A Chilton County jury ordered Ken Gorum Trucking and Gary Fruge, the driver of the logging truck, to pay $3.5 million to the family of James Sanderson.

Attorneys Benjamin E. Baker and J. Cole Portis entered evi­dence that the Gorum truck was being operated at a high rate of speed and with defective brakes in violation of Alabama law.

Continue reading "Jury Awards $3.5 M in Elmore County Traffic Fatality" »

A Broward Circuit Court judge has ordered an insurance company to pay a paralyzed truck driver $14.6 million because of a 2007 accident.

Derry Brown Jr. of Pahokee was hauling a load of sugar in an 18-wheeler when a driver ran a stop sign, cutting him off on May 31, 2007. Brown, 64, swerved out of the way, and his truck overturned on State Road 80, just east of Lion Country Safari in Palm Beach County.

The accident cost Brown the use of his arms and legs and left him with mounting medical bills. If Brown had not swerved, the other driver would have died, Brown's attorney, Robert Kelley, told the court.

Continue reading "Florida Court Awards Paralyzed Trucker $14.6 M" »

Two trucking companies and their drivers are being sued over a 2008 accident on I-15 in Las Vegas in which two honeymooners outside their stranded vehicle were struck and killed.

Attorneys for the parents of one of the victims, Lisa Lynn Prock-Hills, filed a negligence suit in Clark County District Court against truck driver Stanislaw Masalski of Clearwater, Fla., and his company, Stan Trucking Inc.

Also sued were driver Sam Montalvo Martinez and his employer at the time of the accident, J.B. Hunt Transport Inc. of Lowell, Ark.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said Kevin Edward Hills, 38, and Prock-Hills, 41, were killed on Interstate 15 just south of Silverado Ranch Boulevard on March 13, 2008.

Continue reading "Lawsuit Filed in I-15 Wrongful Death of Stranded Honeymooners" »

The families of three men killed in a 2007 crash on the Bay Bridge are suing a Maryland agency and several drivers over the accident. James Hewitt Ingle and Randall and Jonathan Orff died and five people were injured in May 2007 when a trailer being hauled behind a sport utility vehicle came loose and caused a multiple-vehicle crash.

The Ingle and Orff families are suing the Maryland Transportation Authority, the driver of the SUV, the owner of the trailer and two truck drivers and their employers for $19 million. Attorney Paul Bekman said his clients are suing the state because the authority knew accidents had happened before during two-way traffic on one span of the bridge. Officials have said the two-way traffic wasn't a factor in the accident. The lawsuit was filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

A judge has awarded $45 million in damages to a San Mateo woman who was paralyzed when a wrecking and demolition company's truck ran a red light and hit her car.

Tricia Roth, now 41, a former software developer for Microsoft Corp., suffered a broken neck and spinal injuries in the September 2006 accident, according to her lawyer. Her doctors said she requires full-time attendant care and will never walk again.

The driver, Roman Pantoja, failed to see the light on East Hillsdale Boulevard in San Mateo near Highway 101 and admitted that he was at fault, according to a court hearing.

Superior Court Judge awarded damages against Pantoja and his employer, Division 1 All Service.

A jury awarded a 21-year-old Florida woman $65 million for her injuries in a 2007 crash. The verdict is considered to be one of the largest by a Polk County jury.

The verdict stemmed from a traffic crash in Zolfo Springs that left Kendra Lymon in a coma and hospitalized for months.

Lymon had been driving her Dodge Neon on Aug. 21, 2007, when a tractor-trailer owned by Bynum Transport, struck her car at State Road 35 and State Road 64, according to the lawsuit naming Bynum and the driver.

The truck's driver, Robert Bohn, a battalion chief for Polk County Fire Services, was working part-time for the trucking company.

Continue reading "Florida Jury Awards Woman $65 M in Crash" »

On Aug. 20, 2008 a jury awarded nearly $2 million to a man who sustained a lumbar compression burst fracture in a collision with a Federal Express delivery truck.

James Hughes was a passenger in a car going through an intersection when he was struck by the FedEx vehicle.

Hughes' injury is located at the L1 disk, and it will required fusion surgery. He claimed he's in constant pain and he's prevented from performing actions more strenuous than walking for brief periods.

He also claimed his injury forced him to close his business.

The defense argued that a traffic signal malfunction caused the accident, but the jury found FedEx 100 percent liable.

Hughes v. Federal Express Ground Packages System, No. 2:07-cv-00286-CE

Court: U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall

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.

Continue reading "California to Rescue Good Samaritans " »

On Sept. 30, a driver and his passenger netted a total of $1,456,874 for injuries they sustained in a collision with a tractor-trailer.

In 2006, Ronny Martinez, then 35, was traveling with Kenneth O'Neal, then 48, when an 18-wheeler owned by Celadon Trucking Services veered into their lane. Martinez swerved, but gravel off the roadway caused him to lose control and drive back onto the interstate.

He collided with the truck, causing his car to flip and roll several times. Martinez, a restaurant manager, sustained a fractured vertebra and was unable to work for two months.

O'Neal, a retail store manager, suffered a minor brain injury and torn ligaments in his knee. He underwent a knee replacement and has not worked since the accident.

Celadon acknowledged that its driver contributed to the accident but argued that Martinez overreacted. The jury found Celadon 80 percent liable and Martinez 20 percent liable.

Martinez v. Celadon Trucking Services Inc., No. 72596

Court: 40th District Court, Ellis County

TEXAS-Johnson County officials are concerned about "mud" spills, the mess that some companies leave behind when waste is hauled away from drilling sites.

When trucks loaded with the mud used in the gas drilling process travel too fast along county roads, some of it spills out, and county officials are sometimes left to clean up the mess.

The Johnson County’s emergency management coordinator, said cleanup costs are mounting, and the problem is also plaguing other counties in the Barnett Shale.

The mud contains lubricants and toxic chemicals used to make the drill bit turn more easily. When mud spills onto roadways, it is like ice, sometimes leading to serious accidents.

Continue reading "Texas Roadway Hazards From Trucks Leaving Gas Well Sites " »

Driver fatigue is responsible for up to 40% of all accidents caused by semi-truck drivers. Data from the Deptartment of Transportation show that driver fatigue causes as many as 750 deaths and nearly 200,000 injuries on an annual basis.

Under the current rules, a driver must be allowed 10 hours off duty is he has been driving for more than 11 hours and/or has been "on duty" for up to 14 hours. In addition to this daily rule is a weekly rule that requires drivers to stop operating their truck if they have been "on-duty" for either 60 hours in a 7 day period or 70 hours in an 8 day period.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has fought unsuccesfuly to tighten these rules and avoid the driver fatigue that has caused so many accidents and injured so many people.

Continue reading "Heavy Truck Accidents Caused By Fatigue" »

A Kansas jury awarded $23.5 million in a lawsuit stemming from injuries in a semitrailer accident in New Mexico.

The U.S. District Judge reduced the actual award to nearly $15.3 million because the jury decided the driver of the other truck was only 65 percent at fault.

The truck driver tested positive for methamphetamine while driving a truck for Swift Transportation.

Continue reading "$23.5 M for Injuries From Semis Collision " »

WAXAHACHIE, TEXAS -- An Ellis County jury awarded two men $1.5 million as compensation for injuries they received in an 18-wheeler accident.

The two men were driving northbound on Interstate 35E in Waxahachie when a northbound 18-wheeler banged their car, causing it to roll several times. One of the men received a fractured vertebra and the other man received injury to his right knee, which required several reconstructive surgeries.

Continue reading "Waxahachie Truck Accident Settles For $1.5M" »

DALLAS - A deadly multiple-vehicle accident in downtown Dallas killed two people. A twenty-year-old college student was driving on Continental Avenue when she was killed after an 18-wheeler fell onto her car as it dove off the Woodall Rogers Freeway ramp that leads to Interstate 35. The driver of the truck was thrown from the vehicle and also died.

Authorities said it appeared the truck's load, a large amount of metal pipe stems, may have shifted and led to the deadly accident.