Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

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" »

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Paralysis and Amputations , Personal Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Traumatic Brain Injury , Trucking Accidents , Wrongful Death

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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.

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Trucking Accidents , Wrongful Death

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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.

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Spinal Cord Injury , Traumatic Brain Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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" »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Traumatic Brain Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Spinal Cord Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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 " »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Premises Liability , Spinal Cord Injury , Traumatic Brain Injury , Trucking Accidents , Wrongful Death

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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

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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 " »

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Posted In: Car Accidents , Personal Injury , Toxic Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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" »

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Trucking Accidents , Wrongful Death

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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 " »

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Posted In: Personal Injury , Trucking Accidents

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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" »

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Posted In: Trucking Accidents

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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.

Posted by Dr. Shezad Malik | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Trucking Accidents

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