Houston Car Accident Lawyer Blog

In our previous blog we began to address the unique problem of elderly driving. Consider the following statistics:

In a 1997 NHTSA study, older people made up 9 percent of the population but accounted for 14 percent of all traffic fatalities and 17 percent of all pedestrian fatalities.

NHTSA's "Traffic Safety Facts 1997: Older Population" (DOT HS 808 769) reports that:
In 1997, more than 24 million people in the United States were over 70 years of age.
Representing 9 percent of the population in 1997, the 70-and-older age group grew 2.1 times faster from 1987 to 1997 than the total population.

In 1986 older drivers were 7 percent of licensed drivers; in 1996 they were 19 percent of licensed drivers.

Of traffic fatalities involving older drivers, 82 percent happened in the daytime, 71 percent occurred on weekdays, and 75 percent involved a second vehicle.
When a crash involved an older driver and a younger driver, the older driver was 3 times as likely as the younger driver to be the one struck.

Moreover, 28 percent of crash-involved older drivers were turning left when they were struck-- 7 times more often than younger drivers were struck while making left turns.
Frankly my response to this information is a resounding -Wow, who knew?

Two days ago I heard a conversation about someone's mother and today I am totally taken aback to find the opposite of what i had expected.

Granted the statistics may be somewhat dated - but they beg the question - is there an age that is too old to drive safely? Stay tuned - we'll return to this topic in our next blog.

Continue reading "Age related driving- part 2" »

Now here's a topic we've not explored before but begs to be considered - elderly drivers. I recently overhead my neighbor telling a friend that her ninety-four year old mother continues to drive to this day. That seemed implausible but it is a fact and it prompted me to do some digging on this subject.

Do you know that by the year 2025 there will be 33 million people 70 years or older in America?! This segment of the population will be growing 2.5 as fast as the total population. They will make up the largest percentage of the "turning left" and "rear end" accidents!

Slowly but surely senior citizens have developed a higher accident ratio than teenagers. (This will, in time, seriously impact the typical senior citizen's pocketbook). (And also, by 2025, the total costs for motor vehicle accidents in the United States will exceed 450 billion dollars.

So what are some other statistics related to 'elder-driving'? Well, according to the source cited at the end of this blog" as age increases, older drivers generally become more conservative on the road. Many mature drivers modify their driving habits (for instance to avoid busy highways or night-time driving) to match their declining capabilities.

However, statistics show that older drivers are more likely than younger ones to be involved in multi-vehicle crashes, particularly at intersections".

In addition "research on age-related driving concerns has shown that at around the age of 65 drivers face an increased risk of being involved in a vehicle crash. After the age of 75, the risk of driver fatality increases sharply, because older drivers are more vulnerable to both crash-related injury and death.

Three behavioral factors in particular may contribute to these statistics: poor judgment in making left-hand turns; drifting within the traffic lane; and decreased ability to change behavior in response to an unexpected or rapidly changing situation". Let us further consider this topic in our next blog.

Continue reading "Age related driving" »

A Houston woman was killed Sunday June 20, 2010 near her driveway when she was run over by a hit and run driver who left the scene.

The woman, was 57 years old and was sweeping the walkway in front of her home when she was hit. The vehicle has been described as a light colored car possibly a gray Honda or Nissan according to police.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene and unfortunately witnesses did not get a license plate number of the hit and run driver. Witnesses described the driver as a man in his 50s white or possibly Hispanic.

The hit and run accident happened at the 400 block of Crosstimbers.

If you have information regarding this fatal hit and run accident please contact HPD at 713- 247- 4072.

This is another tragedy involving hit and run accidents in Houston. As the year progresses we find more and more hit and run auto accidents in our community.

If you have information regarding hit and run accidents please contact the Houston Police Department with your information.

Continue reading "Another hit and run fatality in Houston" »

When researching the topic 'babies in cars' I was shocked to find a blog in which a mother had put out a question to the general public asking 'is it ever ok to leave a baby in the car'. She stated that her baby had been lulled into sleep from a recent drive after fussing and she did not want to wake the child.

My response to this question is a resounding "NO" - it is never acceptable to leave a baby or children in a car while you 'run a quick errand'. Leaving children in the car even one time sets a precedent - and the next thing you know it becomes a habit.

The mother in question finally decided to wake the child and take him with her because she was too ashamed to admit she'd left the baby in the car. Thank God for that.
In the previous blog I noted that 2 children in recent days had been left in cars accidentally and one died.

While the details of it are gruesome -sharing just a few may make adults more cautious - and careful when it comes to their precious bundles.

On a hot day, even with car windows rolled down a bit, the inside temperature of your car can reach temperatures exceeding 140 degrees. Children are at a great risk for heat stroke, leading to high fever, dehydration, seizures, stroke, and death in a very short time.

Some years ago i handled a wrongful death case against a day care center that left a young girl in a hot van. It was a very heart breaking situation.

My advice - every time you step out of your car stop for a moment before you rush away and leave a child.

Continue reading "Hot cars can cause death" »

Sometimes the topics that surface for this blog are haunting but sadly require airing. In the last several days two babies have been left in hot cars. One died, the other is hospitalized. Both adults are facing criminal charges - the first manslaughter, the latter child neglect.

It's almost too ghastly to contemplate, but on occasion parents forget they have their little ones strapped safely into their car seats and in the hubbub of a busy life walk away leaving them to die of hyperthermia. This phenomenon is not limited to the uneducated child neglecter abusing drugs.

No, indeed, pediatricians, engineers, teachers and lawyers - loving and doting parents - are guilty of this as well.

According to Janette Fennell, founder and president of Kids and Cars, a national nonprofit group that advocates for child safety, roughly 36 infants and children die annually in the U.S. due to being trapped in hot cars.

There are those who believe that parents who leave children in hot cars should not be prosecuted - their guilt is more punishment than any court could dole out. Let us save that discussion for another blog and offer some sound advice that may help parents prevent this from happening to them.

1) Starting today, keep a teddy bear or stuffed animal in your child's car seat. Whenever your child is in the car seat, put the stuffed animal in the front passenger seat as a visual reminder that your child is in the car.

2) Keep your lunch bag, employee badge or purse in the backseat. That way, you'll always reach into your backseat or open your back door when you arrive at your destination.

3) Have an ironclad policy with your daycare provider that if your child does not show up, someone will call a provided list of contacts to confirm his or her whereabouts.

Check back in our next blog where we will continue this discussion.

Continue reading "Do not leave your child in a hot car" »

In our previous blogs concerning vehicle fires statistics were given that demonstrated their prevalence is nearly epidemic - a car fire occurs every 96 seconds in this country.

According to the triple A, about 266,000 car fires resulted in 520 deaths. The AAA goes on to say that nearly 75% of vehicle fires can be traced to poor car maintenance as the leading factor.

There are at least six flammable fluids under the hood of a car that can start a fire if they drop onto other surfaces. All hoses, lines, caps and filters should be inspected regularly and replaced when they show signs of wear.

In fact, experts advice drivers to watch for fluid leaks under your vehicle, cracked or blistered hoses, or wiring that is loose, has exposed metal or has cracked insulation. Have any of these conditions inspected and repaired as soon as possible. Equally important, listen to the sounds your car is making.

For instance, a noisy exhaust pipe requires immediate attention.
Not all vehicle fires are the result of poor car maintenance though. Twenty five percent are the result of collisions in which gas or other fluids explode. However, if your car catches fire remember to pull off to the side of the road and exit the vehicle immediately.

Continue reading "Car fires can kill" »

One source of accidents we have yet to explore is the failure of a driver to yield the right of way in a variety of circumstances. Let us first consider what is meant by this phrase.

The legal definition (source cited at the end of this entry) is

Failure to yield the right-of-way to other pedestrians and drivers is a traffic violation governed by state laws, which vary by state. Laws govern rules of right-of-way at controlled intersections, where traffic signs and signals are present and when emergency vehicles with flashing lights approach.

A number of deaths on Houston roads can be traced to a failure of the driver to yield the right of way. In February, a Harris County Sherriff's officer was killed when the driver of another vehicle crossed three lanes of traffic directly into the path of the cruiser. The details of the collision are horrific and heartbreaking and the driver has been charged with criminally negligent homicide.

Just this past Monday a motorcyclist was killed when he entered an intersection on a green light that gave him the right of way and a small car failed to yield to him. One man dead and the driver of the offending vehicle charged with intoxication manslaughter.

Finally, last week a pedestrian and motorcyclist were killed while attempting to cross a street. However, the person on foot did not use the designated crosswalk and is considered the one who failed to yield the right of way to the person on the vehicle. Lawsuits will certainly follow.

Failure to yield the right of way is a serious and common cause of accidents. Don't let it become your problem - give your driving all of your attention and be a defensive driver.

Continue reading "Failure to yield right of way causes auto accidents" »

A family on their way to Mexico for a family vacation was involved in a fatal auto accident, which tore the family apart. A woman and a11-year-old child died in the one car accident.

According to reports, the pickup truck went out of control after the left rear tire separated from their family's truck. Tire failure is particularly dangerous when the tire blowout happens on a rear tire.

Rear tire failure often leads to rollovers and serious injury or wrongful death auto accidents.

Drivers frequently lose control after a rear tire blowout because the vehicle tends to pull hard to the side of the tire failure.

In effect, one tire is rolling perfectly and creates little friction with the road and the other failed tire is grabbing the road and not rolling, causing the vehicle to pull toward the side of the tire failure.

If your tire goes flat suddenly experts recommend you do the following to avoid an auto accident:

• Hold the steering wheel tightly and steer straight ahead.
• Slow down gradually. Take your foot off the gas pedal slowly, but do not hit the brakes.
• Let the car slow to a stop, completely off the road.
• Apply the brakes when the car is almost stopped.

An unidentified person was killed in a Houston motorcycle accident. The motorcycle accident happened Thursday, June 10, 2010 when a motorcycle crashed into the side of a car on Hempstead Road.

The victim was seen being carried on a stretcher and rapidly transported by ambulance. There is no information regarding the cause of the motorcycle accident or on who may have been at fault.

It is also unknown whether the motorcycle rider was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

In a three-car pileup Sunday on Interstate 45 outside of La Marque, Texas resulted in five people being taken to the hospital with injuries.

A BMW was headed north on I. 45 when one of the tires of the car caught the edge of the roadway and the car swerved across the median into oncoming traffic. The result was a multiple car accident.

Perhaps the worst of the injuries was a 15-year-old girl to have to be flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital because of neck injury.

Let us hope that the 15-year-old girl turns out to be okay and that her neck injury does not prove disabling or serious.

Anytime any car or truck crosses the median into oncoming traffic the potential for serious injury or wrongful death exists. The bigger the car or truck the greater the force of impact and potential for serious injury increases significantly.

The investigation by the La Marque police is ongoing and no official crash report has been issued yet.

I get phone calls every day from people who are disillusioned when dealing with an adjuster over a car accident. In a typical scenario, a clear liability accident has happened such as being rear-ended while stopped at a stoplight and the adverse adjuster tells the injury victim there accepted responsibility. In the conversation, the adjuster also indicates they should turn it over their medical bills to the adjuster.

The injury victim assumes that the adjuster will be fair and reasonably value their injury claim. That is a mistake. What happens frequently it is several months down the road, the injury victim learns that the adjuster intends to disallow some of the necessary medical treatment and discount others.

When it comes time to value the injury, things such as pain and suffering and temporary disability seen to have little or no value to the adjuster. It is then; for the first time that the injury victim understands they need a personal injury lawyer.

The moral of this short story is that insurance adjusters get paid not to pay fair value to injury victims. On top of that, Texas has adopted radical tort reform, which benefits not only insurance carriers but also wrongdoers such as drunk drivers and truck drivers on drugs, at the expense of the innocent victim.

If you have been injured in an accident and the adjuster accepts responsibility do not assume they will make a fair offer of settlement to you.

A fatal car accident happened Monday morning when a Ford Explorer and a blowout causing it to roll and strike a concrete barrier. The auto accident happened on Highway 59 outside of Houston Texas.

A 30-year-old woman lost her life in the rollover accident. Her mother and four children survived the car accident. The deceased's are mother was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital at the Woodlands for treatment.

Fortunately for children in the vehicle sustained little or no injury. Apparently, according to reports seatbelt use is an issue in the ongoing investigation.

This terrible car accident is one that we see frequently when a driver is faced with the emergency situation of a blowout. The danger of rolling is increased when the tire that fails is on the rear of the vehicle, making the vehicle much harder to control.

Many times with tire blowouts the auto accident leads to fatal consequences.

Continue reading "Blowout causes fatal car accident in Splendora" »

A Harris County deputy has been arrested in connection with a car accident in San Marcos, according to reports.

Police officials indicated that the off duty deputy refused field sobriety tests after the accident. The investigators were trying to learn if the deputy was driving the vehicle at the time of the car accident.

Texas leads the nation in drunk driving fatal accidents and it's a distinction that we need to change. Remember- if you drink -don't drive! Get a designated driver or take a cab.

Drunk driving is serious business. Drive safe!

Continue reading "Off duty Harris County deputy arrested for intoxication after car accident" »

As astonishing as it may seem, reports indicate that Montgomery County under a no refusal initiative made 28 arrests for driving while intoxicated or boating while intoxicated.

A "no refusal" initiative means that drivers who were pulled over on suspicion of being intoxicated while driving and two refused a field sobriety or breathalyzer test were taken to a mobile laboratory for a blood test.

According to a twitter site, the average blood alcohol content of the 28 arrests were 0.15 or almost twice the legal limit of 0.08.

Given the busy weekend and the proximity to Lake Conroe, the arrests for DWI were in line with the arrests made last year. In 2008 there were 51 arrests for DWI over Memorial weekend.

An abnormally high percentage of fatal car accidents involve alcohol in Texas and across the United States.

Texas has more alcohol related fatal auto accidents than any other state in the United States. Montgomery County is to be commended for their no refusal initiative. Every step we take to reduce drivers impaired by alcohol from taking the wheel saves lives.

According to officials, a local teenage woman was texting when she ran into the intersection and struck a fire truck. The teenager was taken to Memorial Hermann Katy Hospital for treatment of her injuries.

Officers blamed the car accident on the teen because she was texting on her cell phone around the time of the accident, according to reports.

Texting is a huge problem in the United States as far as auto safety goes. Studies have shown that a person reading a text message gives up the equivalent of three car lengths of attention to the roadway. Sending a text message gives up even more safety distance.

Groups such as Focus Driven have popped up to make the public aware of the dangers of texting and driving. Oprah Winfrey also has worked with Focus Driven to raise awareness of the dangers inherent in cell phone use while driving.

Many states have adopted measures to limit texting while driving and many cities have also adopted text message bans in their municipality to reduce car wrecks.

It is time that our state legislature take the initiative and strengthen Texas law to make our roadways safer and to protect our young drivers who are most likely to be endangered by text messaging while driving.

As a parent of children approaching driving age I believe it is imperative that we educate our children not only not to text and drive but not too ride with a student to is texting and driving.

Continue reading "Texting blamed for Houston car accident " »