Posted on February 07, 2018 in Uncategorized

This year, Texas has seen its share of cold weather. With cold weather tends to come ice and unfamiliar driving conditions, and when conditions are unfamiliar, accidents result – one report had as many as 230 crashes occurring in San Antonio during the week of January 15-19. If you have had the misfortune to be involved in one, it may simply be bad luck, but it may also be the result of someone’s negligence.

Deceptive Road Conditions

One of the most common reasons for accidents in Texas winter weather is that the roads may still appear to be in normal working order. For example, in areas further north where feet of snow may fall at any moment, it is a large, bright warning sign that caution is required in driving. Texans almost never have this, even if temperatures are below freezing. Black ice is very difficult to detect on the roadways, and it is one of the leading causes of accidents on non-snowy roads. It can even play a role in accidents that are in theory not caused by sliding; many people do not realize that rain is freezing until it has hit the ground.

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 Posted on February 05, 2018 in Uncategorized

In the wee hours of January 6, 2018, two people were injured when a car turned the wrong way on Texas 151, striking another driver head-on. Both drivers sustained significant injuries, with the wrong-way driver’s being more serious. While both drivers are expected to make a full recovery, they are lucky in that sense, given that wrong-way accidents kill significant numbers. If you are injured in a head-on collision, the odds are against your recovering to the same degree of health you enjoyed before the accident.

Fatalities Are Common

Wrong-way collisions are, by definition, head-on collisions, given that one driver is going against the flow of traffic. Texas roads can be dangerous, with almost 3,800 fatalities in 2016, but if one examines the statistics on head-on collisions, one can see that consistently, they account for a higher percentage of deaths than they do for crashes overall. There are many reasons for that, not least of all that the majority of vehicles simply do not have enough protection in the front, due mostly to the shape and style of car being driven more nowadays. A small, snub-nosed vehicle will protect less efficiently than a car with a long, reinforced hood.

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 Posted on January 31, 2018 in Uncategorized

When one is driving next to an 18-wheeler, one must be aware at all times that it does not behave the same way as an automobile. A semi-truck is technically in two pieces at all times, and sometimes one piece will travel at a different speed than the other, which can lead to unpredictability. When accidents occur due to this proclivity, it is referred to as jackknifing. If you have been injured in an accident with a jackknifing truck, you may be entitled to compensation, but it is imperative that you understand the ramifications of the situation.

When Does It Happen?

If one examines statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), one can see that the recorded number of jackknife accidents is fairly low. However, a significantly higher percentage of jackknife accidents resulted in fatalities (5.6 percent) than injuries (roughly 0.8 percent) or property damage (0.5 percent). It is understandable to conclude that jackknife accidents are highly dangerous, even if one may not understand why.

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 Posted on January 29, 2018 in Uncategorized

A woman was killed on January 18, when a passing motorist hit her stalled car from behind near I-37 and Donop. Her vehicle had stalled, and she had stayed inside to keep warm, but it rolled as it was rear-ended. Unfortunately, she was pronounced at the scene, and while the driver of the other car is not expected to be charged, it is still worth asking why events unfolded as they did, and why things did not go differently.

Rear End Collisions

The Washington Post quotes the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in stating that approximately 1.7 million rear-end collisions happen on U.S. roads each year, with Texas having its relatively proportional share of those accidents. This does make rear-end collisions the most common type of auto accident, but at the same time, the NTSB and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) estimate that as many as 80 percent of them could be avoided from making collision-avoidance equipment standard in automobiles.

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 Posted on January 24, 2018 in Uncategorized

Truckers have a difficult job, made harder by the demands placed on them by their employers. Despite this, truckers sometimes take chances that can increase the rate of accidents, especially on busy roads like I-35. If you are in an accident with a truck, it is generally a good idea to ascertain whether fatigue played a role in the crash.

Statistics Show Rising Instances

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) began to measure statistics related to driver fatigue in 2015, after modification to truckers’ hours-of-service regulations. The statistics after the initial study are somewhat concerning, showing a significant link between fatigue and an increase in accidents. For example, as many as 13 percent of all truck-related accidents were partially or totally caused by driver fatigue in the most recent reported data. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics suggest as many as 30 percent of accidents may have a fatigue component.

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 Posted on January 22, 2018 in Uncategorized

RM 620 in Steiner Ranch was the site of a serious crash on December 19, 2017, with three adults and three children injured when an SUV collided with a station wagon. While most of those affected will recover without complications, two of the injured were said to have life-threatening injuries. It is worth noting that two of those involved in this accident were minors, and if their injuries are actionable, their parents will have to file specific paperwork in order to help them bring suit, since anyone and everyone is, at least in theory, entitled to compensation if they are injured due to someone else’s negligence.

“Next Friend”

In every state, Texas included, minors generally do not have the ability to sue or be sued in civil court, though in many cases, a minor may be charged with a crime. Since a minor may not bring suit on their own behalf, they require what is called a next friend to do so for them. Most times this will wind up being the minor’s parent or parents, but in theory, anyone may stand as next friend provided that they agree to the criteria stipulated in the Texas Rule of Civil Procedure that grants next friend status (mostly agreeing to stand surety for any court costs and agree that their decisions are binding upon the court and the minor).

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 Posted on January 17, 2018 in Uncategorized

A U.S. Border Patrol agent and two other people died after an accident on Christmas Day 2017 in Uvalde, southwest of San Antonio. The accident occurred when a wild pig struck an SUV, causing it to swerve into oncoming traffic. The status of three other passengers in the vehicles is unknown as of this writing, but two of the casualties were pronounced dead at the scene, while the other passed in hospital some hours later. As one might imagine, there is no conceivable way to foresee such an accident, which can make any sort of wrongful death suit difficult to mount.

A Standard Texas Wrongful Death Suit

Wrongful death as defined in Texas law is when the “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default” of one person causes the death of someone else. There are technically two types of wrongful death action in Texas – a true wrongful death suit, which is brought on behalf of the spouse, children and/or parents of the deceased, and a survival action, which is an action for personal injury that the deceased would have been able to bring had they remained alive.

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 Posted on January 15, 2018 in Uncategorized

Austin-Travis County law enforcement and EMS were on the scene of an accident on Christmas Day evening when a car rolled over, injuring five. One person sustained life-threatening injuries, while one sustained critical injuries and the others were treated but expected to make a full recovery. It can be said that despite their injuries, the occupants of the vehicle got off lucky, as rollover accidents have the potential to be extremely deadly.

Statistics Show High Fatality Rate

Rollover crashes have notably higher rates of death and injury than other types of car accidents, mostly because there is simply more weight that is being involved in the crash. In other words, the entire weight of a vehicle in a rollover crash can be in play to harm the occupants, while the majority of a vehicle’s bulk, if it remains on the ground, will not be used against the passengers by gravity. Only 2.1 percent of the standard auto accidents in 2010 were rollovers, and yet almost 35 percent of recorded fatalities in that year came in rollover accidents.

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 Posted on January 10, 2018 in Uncategorized

When a car accident occurs, most of the time, the blame is laid at the door of one or more drivers involved. However, in some situations, there may be another entity that might bear some of the liability for injuries sustained in such a crash: the local, state or even federal government. While it is not always possible, there are many occasions when a governmental entity may be found liable or partially liable if you are injured in an auto accident. Understanding the big picture may help you decide whether or not to include such an entity in any lawsuit you bring.

Can I Even Sue?

The first question one must ask in this type of lawsuit is to determine which specific entity maintains the road where you had your accident. Roads in Texas are maintained by a host of different municipalities and government agencies, and as one might imagine, it is imperative to ensure that the right agency is the object of your suit. Sometimes, agencies will even share maintenance duties (for example, one might fill potholes, while another might be responsible for signage).

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 Posted on January 08, 2018 in Uncategorized

A recent Thursday was the scene of some chaos as a big rig flipped onto its side on the Finesilver Curve ramp in downtown San Antonio, right in the middle of workday traffic. While no injuries were reported, it serves as a reminder that truck accidents can and do happen anywhere, even on busy stretches of urban highway.

Truck Accidents Are Often Fatal

Statistics from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMCSA) show that over the last two decades, both crash rates and fatalities have dropped in terms of overall numbers, but from 2014 to 2015 (the most recent available data), there was a very small rise in numbers across the board – fatal crashes involving large trucks, the number of fatalities, and the rate of truck involvement per 100 million miles driven all rose, but only by approximately 1-2 percent each. Still, such data shows that if nothing else, the fatality rate is not decreasing, even as tech is developed and more stringent regulations are enacted to help trim it down.

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