Houston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

A three-year-old child was killed at a park Sunday when the child dashed out into a roadway and was struck by a truck.

Police reports indicate that the driver of the truck was not speeding at the time of this accident. The family was getting hot dogs from the stand when the little boy ran out onto the roadway.

This terrible tragedy is one that was very similar to the tragedy of a Houston family at Bear Creek Park on War Memorial drive in Houston recently.

The three-year-old boy was taken to the hospital but later died. As parents we all have had our young children run out ahead of this and know the hopeless feeling when you sense your child may be in danger.

I feel terrible whenever I read or hear about a child getting injured or killed. Parents please use extra caution at parks and public places when you're with your young children.

Continue reading "3 year old killed in truck accident" »

Today's automobiles incorporate many new safety features but the seat belt and airbag will remain the most beneficial in preventing deaths as a result of an accident. Airbags are designed to deploy in front-end or near front-end collisions.

The United States requires deployment in a crash deceleration of as little as 14mph into a barrier.

The concept of the airbag is that it is a soft pillow to land on in the event of a crash. Since 1998 all new cars must have front airbags for the driver and passenger but many auto manufacturers have gone beyond this minimal requirement and include up to eight airbags placed strategically throughout the vehicle.

To understand the basics of how airbags work we must turn to simple physics and the laws of motion.

Moving objects have momentum (the product of an object's mass and velocity). The object will continue to move in its original direction at a predetermined speed unless it meets up with an outside force. To stop an object in motion requires force acting over a period of time.

In the case of accident the car's momentum stops instantly when it comes into contact with another vehicle or object but the persons inside will continue moving until a force is imposed to cause it to stop.

The goal of the airbag is to help stop the passenger while doing as little damage to him or her as possible. This must happen within the fraction of a second. The airbag actually slows the person without abruptly stopping them. In this way there is less possibility of serious injuries.

Continue reading "How airbags work to reduce injury in auto accidents" »

The condition of your tires contributes to the overall safety when driving. This means they should know regularly check the air pressure because if a tire is underinflated then most of the car's weight rests on the tread that's located just under the sidewalls instead of being spread evenly throughout the tire.

When driving this causes the sidewalls to heat up and affects both the performance and safety of the vehicle. The best advice is to check your tire pressure at least once a month. This can be done by professionals at auto service locations.

Too, drivers should consider switching their tires in the winter. Snow tires are much different than regular tires. They are designed to handle better than all-wheel tires in the winter. When purchasing snow tires go the extra mile and buy four not just too.

The extra couple hundred bucks it costs to get two more tires may save your life in the end.

Not only should you check your tire pressure once a month but you should also inspect your tires at the same time. Look for wear in the tread that leaves bald spots on the tires as well as nicks and cuts in the rubber.

If the tire is soft or almost flat then it should be replaced immediately.

If you are on the highway and your tire blows you should do the following:

1. Maintain your rate of speed the best you can.
2. Gently counter steer to offset the car pulling in the direction of the blown tire.
3. As the car stabilizes begin to slow and look for the nearest place to pull over safely.
4. Be sure there is enough room to get out and move safely around the car.

Continue reading "Tire safety can reduce fatal car accidents" »

A variety of physical injuries can result from an auto accident. Broken bones, paralysis, internal injuries or even cuts and bruises may lay you up for days, weeks or even months. One type of injury that is especially difficult to treat is the closed-head injury. Let us consider this in today's post to our car accident lawyer blog.

Traumatic brain injuries are unlike any other kind because they alter a person's ability to think and may even impact their personality. Perhaps the most insidious part of a brain injury is the fact that it is not always apparent and symptoms may not manifest themselves immediately.

A blow to the brain may cause one to begin to lose their memory over time and it may even interfere with his or her ability to speak. This can happen simply by jostling the brain - even when there is no apparent head wound.

There are several types of closed head injuries. A concussion is usually a minor brain injury that is the result of a blow to the head that shakes the brain inside the skull. Symptoms of a concussion include disorientation or slurred speech or the victim could actually be unconscious.

A second type of traumatic brain injury is subdural hematoma. In this case the actual skull bone is not broken but there is severe trauma to the brain and an artery bursts. Unless treated immediately death is all but certain.

The third type of traumatic brain injury is the epidural hematoma. This happens when the brain hits the side of the skull and ruptures the delicate matter surrounding it. The victim may first experience a headache but quickly bleeding puts pressure on the brain and often surgeons need to bore a hole in the skull to relieve pressure.

Finally, it doesn't take a medical professional to realize that head injuries have the potential to be fatal. If you are the victim of a car accident be cognizant of your symptoms and seek medical help.

Better to be safe than to be sorry.

Continue reading "Closed head injury and car accidents" »

There are many safety devices in automobiles today. These include the obvious things such as lap and shoulder seat belts and front and side airbags. But there are additional accessories as well. Let us consider some of these in this post to Houston car accident lawyer blog.

Newer cars now include a padded knee bolster. Placed under the steering column, if an airbag deploys the knee bolster works in tandem to keep the person in position and minimize stress to the body in the case of an auto accident.

The padded knee bolster also prevents a person's body from slipping beneath the instrument panel during a collision.

Today's automobiles are also made with a variety of impact absorbing interior materials. This includes extra padding in places like dashboards and arm rests that cut down on bruising and injuries in collisions.

Even steering systems are energy absorbing now. At one time the steering column was rigid but now it collapses when the automobile is in a crash. This has reduced driver deaths by 12% and serious injuries by 38%!

The final safety feature we will discuss in this edition of our car accident law blog is the back-up sensing system. Absolutely nothing could be more devastating to a parent than to back a vehicle over a child.

According to one source, most parents don't even realize how often this is happening because, surprisingly, the government doesn't keep statistics on this type of death! But a new nonprofit organization, Kids and Cars, has started to glean data from a variety of resources and they offer that up to two children a week are killed in this country when a vehicle backs over them.

Back-up sensing systems will put an end to this particular tragedy.

Continue reading "Safety equipment reduces injury in car accidents" »

While we have discussed traffic accidents on Houston and Texas roadways (perhaps ad nauseum) in previous blogs their frequency warrants another look.

Road construction on a bridge in Gainesville was the sight of five deaths last fall. The last accident there killed three people as a semi truck plowed into traffic. Reconstruction experts placed partial blame on the driver who was driving distracted.

But authoraties also decided to place more signs along the route to warn drivers to slow down. In addition, local media have made a public plea for drivers to approach the construction with caution. There is just no excuse for multiple deaths from distracted driving.

Closer to home, a high school basketball star was killed in an auto accident Sunday morning after attending his school's prom.

The car accident occurred when the boy was driving to a school sponsored after party.

Although the car crash remains under investigation it appears he lost control of his car and hit a curb. After that his car flew into oncoming traffic, struck another car and smashed into an SUV. The driver of the SUV was also killed.

Another accident over the weekend claimed the life of the 8 year old daughter of the HBU assistant basketball coach. Apparently the automobile hydroplaned on wet pavement, crossing the median and running head on into a semi truck.

Remember, there is an average of one death a day on Houston roadways. The only sure way to avoid becoming a statistic is to stay out of any moving vehicle and away from any roadways.

Since this does not seem to be a practical solution the best advice is to drive cautiously and be aware of the drivers around you.

Continue reading "Houston car accidents - one life per day" »

Today's automobiles are equipped with a variety of safety features but I recently came upon an article that states one car manufacturer intends to market a 'death-proof' car by the year 2020. (If this is true then perhaps up to 50,000 lives may be saved each year.) Let's take a closer look at this claim.

The author of this website article begins by offering that the best way to survive an automobile accident is to avoid it in the first place so vehicle engineers are developing the technology that will keep drivers out of accidents.

Volvo is the company that is promising to have a death-proof car on the roads in another decade. They are currently working on a combination of safety features to meet this goal.

For instance, a driver's reaction in an impending accident may be delayed by a second before applying the brakes.

Research has shown this is valuable time that could be used to slow a car down and reduce the severity of impact and injuries. In fact, a reduction of 10 mph before a crash could cut the highway death rate in half!

Engineers are now laboring to create a situation where the human element is removed from an oncoming accident and the car takes over!

Continue reading "Auto manufacturers seek safer cars" »

Vehicle safety is an important topic to consider in this blog and one very valuable safety device that is taken for granted today is the airbag. But it has a long and interesting history and its function continues to develop today.

The advent of airbags in the early 1970s followed on the heels of the introduction of the safety belt. Actually, both were developed as a result of the increased and particularly gruesome carnage on American roadways thanks to the proliferation of automobiles and the addition of thousands of new roadways across the fifty states.

In the first few years of installation several deaths were attributed to the deployment of air bags. It was determined that in some cases the position or height and weight of a passenger was too slight to bear the impact of the opening air bag.

Adjustments were made and today air bags are attributed with saving over 25,000 lives in the last 25 years.

Also known as Air Cushion Retrain Systems, there are now a variety of airbag designs including the shaped and side torso airbags, the rear curtain and center airbags, and the seatbelt and knee airbags. The side airbag inflates between the door and the driver. A knee airbag was designed to protect a driver's knees and legs in a collision and the rear curtain and center airbags are constructed to provide greater protection to the rear passengers in a crash.

Continue reading "Airbags help prevent injury in car accidents" »

Police are looking for help in finding information about a hit and run accident that injured a Houston teenager. A 16-year-old Houston boy was hit when he had car trouble and got out of his vehicle to direct traffic around his car.

A black truck that was eastbound on FM 1960 East ran over the young man and fled the scene.

The driver of the black truck did not stop or leave information at the scene. Police indicate that the young man sustained serious injuries that are ongoing.

The accident happened on April 29, 2010.

If you have any information regarding the driver of the black truck or were a witness to this accident please contact Houston Police Department at 713 -- 222 -- 8477 that is the crime stoppers Hotline.

Alternatively, if you want to help you can text message your tip to TIP610.

Crime stoppers will keep all tipsters confidential or anonymous and sometimes will pay up to $5000 for information submitted at the hotline.

If you have any information please help this young victim.

Continue reading "Houston hit and run suspect sought" »

Police have identified a 47-year-old woman who drowned when her car sunk into a retention pond.

Rising water apparently was a cause of the car accident when the Houston woman tried to steer her car out of the water.

A witness to the accident reportedly sought to convince the woman to abandon her car however the woman was worried about losing her car and refused, according to reports. The vehicle then floated to the middle of the pond and sank trapping the Houston woman inside.

The car accident occurred when heavy rainfall saturated the Houston area Friday night.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene and Houston firefighters were called.

It has been reported that some areas of Houston got 4 to 5 inches of rain in a fairly short period of time, which led to numerous car accidents in the Houston area.

The best advice when it is raining heavily is to pull off the road in a safe area (such as a parking lot) and wait out the heavy rain.

Continue reading "Houston woman drowns in car accident" »

A pickup truck collided with a passenger car at the intersection of Bissonnet and Fondren.

Authorities believe that one of the vehicles ran a red light. The impact was so severe that the truck flipped over and the car slammed into a bus stop bench.

Several victims were trapped inside the wrecked vehicles and crews worked to extract them before they could be transported to the hospital.

At this time, the severity of the injuries sustained by the occupants of the car and pickup are unknown. The accident happened late Tuesday night.

Continue reading "Major Houston car crash" »

Houston officers were injured in a car accident that happened in when the officers were responding to another call.

A sport-utility vehicle crashed into the officer's car on West Park Drive in Houston.

Both officers were taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital for evaluation of their injuries. A father and a three-year-old son were in the SUV and fortunately were uninjured.

Reports do not indicate the cause of the accident only that the SUV crashed into the driver's side of the officer's car that was moving west for on West Park drive.

Continue reading "Car accident injures 2 Houston officers" »

A woman is dead and her daughter very seriously injured after their automobile was hit by a SUV. According to reports at the car driven by the daughter pulled out onto the highway and was hit by the SUV.

The driver of the car was life-flighted to the hospital and was reportedly in serious condition with substantial injuries.

There were two other passengers in the car a young man who sustained a broken leg and also a two-year-old child who miraculously was not seriously hurt. The SUV driver was also taken to the hospital for evaluation of injury.

Officials are investigating the cause of the accident but at this time there is no preliminary results of the investigation.

Many times with cars pulling on to the highway, the cause of the car accident revolves around which vehicle had the right-of-way and also troopers' look at analysis of the speeds of both vehicles.

Many newer cars have black boxes, which record the speed of a vehicle just prior to a crash. The black box takes much of the guesswork out of accident reconstruction.

Continue reading "Mother killed daughter injured in car accident" »

A Houston man died in a fatal car accident when his car left I 45-feeder road and crashed into the roof of the building. The 21-year-old man was on the feeder road near Woodlands Parkway in Montgomery County and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The southbound feeder road across from the accident site was closed for seven hours while police cleared the accident scene.

The car that the young man was driving apparently hit a curb and then the driver lost control, which sent the car airborne and launched it into the roof of a building across the way. The car was stuck in the roof of the building.

Texas DPS is investigating the fatal car accident.

This is the fourth instance of a car striking a building and leading to serious injuries or death in Houston this year.

I'm sorry for the family of the young man who perished in this accident.

Drive safe -- be safe.

Continue reading "Houston driver dies after car crashes into roof" »

In Conroe Texas a man from Magnolia received a total of 28 years in prison for a crash that killed a Huntsville woman last year.

The man had pled guilty to intoxicated manslaughter and intoxicated assault, and was sentenced to 18 years on the manslaughter charge and 10 years for the intoxicated assault charge.

This is another example of Texas juries being very harsh on drunk drivers, particularly those involving a second offense of DWI. This terrible tragedy took the life of an innocent victim coming back from a high school football game with her husband.

My heart goes out to the family.

In Texas we have the highest percentage of alcohol related fatalities in the country. Although sentences have been routinely stiff and law enforcement efforts stepped up we still have a long way to go to curtail the dubious status of a state with drunken driving fatalities out of control.

Continue reading "Texas man sentenced to 28 years for DWI fatality" »

The price of gasoline has risen again in Texas to an average of $2.82 a gallon. The question is with gasoline inventories at their highest levels and producers saying that domestic demand is nonexistent or flat, why are gas prices going up?

Every time there is something in the news which impacts oil directly or indirectly be price seems to go up.

In 2000 a barrel of oil was about 27 bucks. Since that time the price has jumped significantly from the 2000 average level. Obviously, speculation still drives the market.

Many people object to government regulation of industry. I assert that there is a big difference between regulation and takeover. History has proven that if industry is not adequately regulated particularly industries with limited players such as communications and energy, the consumer loses.

The rise in gas and diesel prices will put additional pressure on trucking companies and drivers to recoup the added cost by handling more runs.

When fuel prices go up every American feels the pain, and only a few smile broadly on the way to the country club.

Continue reading "Texas gas prices rise again " »

As mentioned often this firm - driving safety tips get top billing. It is the opinion of this injury law firm that we'd rather have less business because that means there are more people safe and well. Please note that we are here if you need us, though.

Over the course of my blog posts we have offered a number of safety tips that are meant to keep drivers and their passengers safe on the roads.

We've reminded you that drinking and driving often has deadly consequences. We've harped about the deadly results of distracted driving.

Too, we've demonstrated that keeping your car in top working order saves lives on the roadways. But there are dozens of other ways to drive defensively so let's consider two more.

At one time we discussed the dangers of speeding but because this factor alone has led to thousands of highway deaths it bears repeating.

Moreover, it requires an entire lifestyle change. Many people operate 'last minute'. This puts them in a position where the y are always rushing to get things done and to get to a destination. Chronic tardiness puts other people at risk on the highway.

I suggest you recognize the futility and even danger of rushing. Tardiness beats the alternative.

Finally, be courteous on the roadways. Several days ago two drivers got into an altercation at a traffic light over not allowing one to pass the other's car. Well, the first individual pulled out a gun and shot the other driver. Indeed, these are crazy times we live in...courtesy may just be the way to stay alive.

Continue reading "Leave 5 minutes earlier- you have a better chance of arriving!" »

In a meeting at Houston George R. Brown convention Center and Sec. LaHood indicated that he is on a personal mission about distracted driving.

Distracted driving was the focus of many comments by the head of the Department of transportation at the Houston meeting.

Drivers talking on cell phones or sending text messages need to use a bus or train or mass transit and not be driving on a road, according to LaHood.

The US Department of transportation has taken great strides to raise awareness of distracted driving once loaded to control of the agencies.

Not only did the administration ban texting by commercial drivers but launched a website and a campaign to raise public awareness of the dangers of talking on a cell phone and driving.

I commend Sec. LaHood and congratulate the administration in selecting him to head the agency overseeing safety on our highways.

Continue reading "Transportation Sec. is on a mission to reduce distracted driving" »

The role of an accident lawyer is very important to victims of semi truck or automobile collisions. Even in a minor accident there are a number of issues that often require the expertise of an attorney.

That is because there are a number of situations that could arise that would leave an accident victim further victimized. Let us consider a couple of these concerns.

First, although many states require that drivers carry no fault full coverage on their vehicles - in reality there are many drivers on the road without insurance.

If you are in an accident with a driver who is uninsured there is no simple claims process for you to follow and if you have uninsured motorist coverage you may be in an adverse position with your own insurance company.

Certainly it may seem unpleasant to contemplate but the ultimate probability is that you may have to sue the individual or your own insurer to recoup any damages.

This includes loss of wages, repairs to your vehicle and any medical bills and other damages like pain and suffering.

Often people who do not have insurance simply can't afford it which means - in all likelihood - that they have very few assets.

This further complicates the judicial process and makes it all the more obvious that the skills of an accident attorney are needed.

Also, if you are in an accident that you have not caused a claims adjuster representing the insurance company of the other party will want to speak with you to get your side of the story regarding the accident. Now they may seem empathetic but their goal is to ultimately minimize the size of your settlement.

Simple words such as 'my injuries were minor' can be used against you and often prove not accurate after the minor injury does not go way and gets properly diagnosed.

Accident victims are urged to seek the counsel of trained attorneys to ensure you are treated fairly by the insurance companies. Otherwise you may be victimized - not once - but twice.

Continue reading "The role of the auto accident lawyer" »

Keeping your car in top shape will be beneficial in the long run. Auto repair shops have taken the 'pain' out of caring for your car. Now there are drive-through oil changing shops. In fifteen minutes they assess the state of all your fluids, put in fresh oil and run through a 'laundry list' of other preventive maintenance checks.

They will inform you if your headlights and brake lights are in good working order. Too, they will check the condition of all filters and advise you as to whether they should be replaced. Meanwhile you are offered bottled water and can watch the news from the comfort of your driver's seat. All of this is done for the reasonable price of about thirty dollars.

When I visited one of these 'jiffy' oil changing places last week I discovered one of my brake lights was out. I left their shop and drove directly to a dealership where they replaced the bulb for another thirty bucks. Now you may be wondering why I'm regaling you with what may seem to be the minutia of my daily life. However, there is a lesson in this story for the reader and it is this.

Automobile owners have a responsibility to keep their cars in top working order - for themselves and their fellow drivers. When brake lights don't work then the drivers behind you don't know when you're stopping.

If you don't have oil in your car it will stop suddenly - and it is a very expensive fix. Tires that are bald can blow and send a car careening down a road. Recently a young lady lost her life on a Houston highway because of this very thing.

Keep your car in good working order. It's your obligation.

Continue reading "Keep your car maintained- its easy to do" »