Sadly, the news is filled every day with stories of people of all ages dying as a result of a car accident. In some cases, the accident was the fault of another driver (Example: drunk
driving, texting and driving, speeding, etc.). Unfortunately, family members of
those who die in a car accident are left with the burden of paying for medical
bills for emergency care or funeral bills. Even more, some families lose the
wage earner of the family and are left without any income to pay the bills.

Sometimes these accidents are caused by drivers of company vehicles that have large liability insurance policies that may come into play to help compensate the victim’s family.
However, it is particularly concerning when the “at fault” driver only has a
small personal liability auto policy. In Texas, if you operate a vehicle, that
vehicle must at a minimum be covered by $30,000.00 liability insurance per
person or $60,000.00 per accident. Sadly, most vehicles on the road today only
have this minimum insurance coverage. As we all know, there is not enough money
on this earth to compensate a family for the loss of a loved one. Even more,
$30,000.00 does not begin to cover the out of pocket costs that most families face
when they lose a loved one as a result of an auto accident.

This problem is only made worse when there are multiple people injured/killed in an
accident. For example, if a driver under the influence of alcohol leaves the
road and hits a tree and kills his 3 passengers, the passengers’ families may
dispute who is entitled to the total $60,000.00 in insurance coverage. It is
entirely possible that the insurance company could give $30,000.00 to the
family of one of the deceased passengers and $30,000.00 to the family of
another deceased passenger and the third passenger’s family is left without any
compensation to cover medical expenses, out of pocket expenses, funeral
expenses, etc.

If you or a loved one are sadly faced with a similar situation, it is very important that you contact an attorney immediately. An attorney may be able to help you recover adequate
compensation before any applicable proceeds are disbursed unfairly. Similarly,
an attorney may be able to seek out additional insurance coverage that was
unknown at the time of the accident.

The loss of a loved one is hard enough, but it is made more difficult when families are forced to fight against large insurance companies on their own to seek adequate compensation.

Many people do not realize the risk(s) of certain motorized wheelchairs and motorized hospital beds.

I have successfully handled cases involving clients that were severely burned and killed as a result of a faulty motorized wheelchair catching fire. In many cases, large companies are responsible for the faulty manufacture and design of these life threatening wheelchairs and
beds. A simple Google search will turn up dozens of articles of recent fires involving
faulty motorized wheelchairs and/or beds.

In fact, certain manufacturers, such as Invacare Corp., have been sanctioned and monitored by the FDA as a result of continued quality problems in their motorized wheelchairs or beds and
their failure to properly report and/or document user complaints. Since 2012, the FDA has identified concerns and corrective measures for Invacare to put into place to make their products safer. However, a recent report from the FDA indicates that Invacare has not implemented the corrective measures and continues to ignore the safety of the people buying their products. In short, Invacare’s wheelchairs are still at risk for catching fire and hurting people.

Defects in these products can range from joystick controls, controllers, battery chargers, cable positioning, combustible components, etc.

If you, a friend, or a loved one experienced a situation involving a motorized wheelchair or bed fire, contact me to discuss your options.

If you were involved in a car wreck, the following is a short list of things to do/consider to protect your interests:

1) If there was an injury, the first thing you need to do is seek medical treatment. If you are unsure if you are injured, it is smart to seek medical treatment to get checked out. Many people, do not discover they are injured until days or weeks after an accident. Unfortunately, insurance companies will treat your failure to seek medical treatment “immediately” as an excuse to not compensate you fairly. If in fact you did suffer an injury that does not become painful until days or weeks later, insurance companies will treat you as if you are trying to game the system and you will be left with ever increasing medical expenses. Be cautious, seek medical treatment immediately.

2) Get the names, addresses, and phone numbers of all the witnesses as soon as possible, and save them (on paper, in your phone, etc.)

You would be surprised at how many times stories change after a couple days or weeks. The person that was texting and rear-ended you, now claims you slammed on your brakes or didn’t apply your blinker.

Gather your witnesses, and keep their information safe and current.

3) Take photographs of all of the vehicles involved.

Take pictures of the damage to your car. The insurance company will take pictures to try to show that there is minor or no damage. Insurance companies know that if they can show a jury that your automobile had little or no damage, that they can convince a jury that the impact was so minor that nobody should have been hurt.

4) Take photographs of any bruising, cuts, injury.

5) Don’t give a recorded statement to the insurance company.

Do not make the mistake of thinking the insurance company will do the right thing. Many of my clients call me after the insurance company offers them less than the full value of the medical expenses because the client talked to the insurance company and described the impact as minor.

6) Call the police to the scene, order a police report. In some places, police won’t come to an accident scene unless there is an injury. If you feel any discomfort or pain, you have may have an injury. You need a report taken, and a record of what happened.

7) If you have suffered injury or feeling pain/discomfort in any way, see a doctor immediately. If you cannot afford a doctor, we can find you one in your area. The pain and/or injury could simply go away and if so at least you have peace of mind. If it is more serious, you can be on the road to recovery.

8) Document your missed time from work.

Many people are not in enough pain to miss work. Others have no choice but to work and provide for their family. However, if you are forced to miss work because of your pain or medical appointments make sure to document the dates and times you missed. You should be compensated for your losses.

9) Seek a lawyer. Not everybody needs to file a lawsuit but a personal injury lawyer can help you navigate the process of getting you fairly compensated.

How to Charge the Jury : An Analysis of Apportionment after Nabors v. Romero

On February 13, 2015, Justice Brown released the Texas Supreme Court's unanimous opinion in Nabors Well Servs. v. Romero, 2015 Tex. LEXIS 142.  The decision effectively overruled over 40 years of law that deemed seat belt evidence inadmissible in civil trials.

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