Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog

Toyota was warned by its own employees years ago that its insatiable desire to sell more vehicles would result in serious collisions.

According to a memo released yesterday, assembly line workers in Japan noted a steady deterioration in product quality and working conditions in 2006 and told Toyota to repair its vehicles. However, rather than address the problem, the company "completely ignored us," one of the workers reported.

Toyota had already recalled more than 5 million vehicles -- a whopping 36% of the ones it sold -- between 2000 and 2005. This was one of the highest rates of any company.

I am currently investigating whether the horrific crash of a Lexus IS 250 into a tree that severely injured my young client was caused by a faulty accelerator.

Continue reading "Toyota Accelerator Defects Could Have Been Avoided According To Its Own Workers " »

Sonia Baker was tragically killed early on the morning of December 15, 2009 when an intoxicated off duty Fort Worth police officer traveling twice the speed limit crashed into her PT Cruiser. I previously wrote about this horrible case.

HERE

and HERE

Yesterday, her family filed a lawsuit against the Pour House bar and grill restaurant which just moved from downtown to West Seventh Street. It served the already drunk Officer Jesus Cisneros four beers and four shots of alcohol. He had already had about six beers before he arrived to meet 30 other police officers to celebrate a birthday.

Officer Cisneros, who has been charged with intoxication manslaughter, is free on a $25,000.00 bail and quit the police force.

Continue reading "Death in Fort Worth DWI Case Leads to Dram Shop Lawsuit" »

President Obama just announced this morning that he may require ALL vehicles to be sold iwith brake override systems that willl prevent these horrific sudden accelerations.

This safety feature -- that is already sold in many other countries but not here for some reason -- will prevent the throttle from sticking in an open position.

Yesterday, the U. S. government finally released records showing that 12,700 owners previously complained about defective Camrys that were built before the recalled 2007-2010 models but which were never recalled. The 2002 Camry, for example, had 175 speed-control defects which were never repaired, even though a shocking 50% of those resulted in collisions -- double the number in 2007 Camrys, where 25% of the sudden accelerations caused crashes.

Don't think this is a problem that affects us? Just this Sunday night in Southlake, a poor woman named Waynoka Ricord, age 77, who was driving home from her job at DFW Airport, died when her 2004 Corolla veered out of control and crashed into a tree.

Continue reading "Toyota Acceleration Nightmare to Lead to Change?" »

Shame on you, Toyota.

It was not until August of 2009, when an off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three members of his family were killed did Toyota finally have to take notice - and only then due to the release of this horrifying video on the Internet:

So what did Toyota do? Did it immediately recall ALL of the defective cars it had sold and repair them? No, it blamed the floor mats! But when 4 people in Southlake were killed in a terrifying sudden acceleration collision the day after Christmas and the mats were found in the trunk, clearly the gas pedal or the engine were the problems. Click here to read the latest on this case

Continue reading "Toyota Lawsuits" »

Questions for Mr. Toyoda

In the weeks since Toyota's safety problems have become international news, Akio Toyoda, the company's president, has apologized repeatedly.

When he testifies on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, he is expected to apologize again and, according to a prepared statement, admit that his company's "priorities became confused" in its quest for growth over the last decade. It isn't enough.

Mr. Toyoda owes consumers a complete explanation of why his company failed -- for years -- to fully respond to complaints about its cars' sudden and uncontrolled acceleration, a problem that may have caused 34 deaths since 2001.

Continue reading "Toyota and Lexus Crashes" »

A 23 year old Fort Worth man was sadly killed early Sunday morning on East Rendon Crowley Road when he was thrown from his car after collided with a tractor-trailer

Police have not said whether speed, failure to yield right of way, alcohol or drug use, or seat belt use were contributing factors.

In cases where the injured party may possibly be at fault, an immediate and thorough investigation by an accident reconstruction expert is needed to determine liability.

If you have been hurt in a wreck with an 18-wheeler, you need an experienced and aggressive attorney who only handles collision cases. Trucking companies and their insurance carriers may repair the vehicles and dispose of incriminating driver logs, bills of lading, receipts, beer bottles and prescription bottles.

I spoke on the topic of "How to Obtain Critical Documents in Commercial Trucking Cases" to fellow members of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and have handled many of these cases. Click here to read about the case I successfully handled on behalf of the family of poor Robert Walters who was tragically killed in a crash (see photo from the scene above) with a an 18-wheeler on I35 in Gainesville.

An Anderson County jury just rendered an enormous $8.6 million verdict on behalf of a young 18 year old Palestine woman who was seriously injured in 2006. Martha Gaines' car was crashed into by a poorly maintained tractor-trailer driven by an unlicensed driver hauling heavy oil field equipment.

Martha lay in a coma for nearly two months and suffered life-threatening injuries. Her medical bills were well over one million dollars. Martha had just received a soccer sholarship to attend college. Her life, once so promising, was destroyed.

But Martha's nightmare is not over. The truck company is appealing the verdict.

I had a similar case several years ago where a (fortunately) empty gas tanker crashed into the rear of my clients' car. The 60 year old wife was severely injured, was in a coma for several weeks, and required multiple surgeries to her shoulder and extensive physical therapy. Her 65 year old husband sustained neck and back injuries.

Continue reading "18 wheeler accident results in huge verdict" »

The acceleration and breaking defects on Toyota and Lexus vehicles have been blamed for numerous collisions resulting in injuries and deaths over the past 10 years in the U.S.

Drivers have filed thousands of complaints about 17 Toyota and Lexus models that suddenly accelerated like a rocket. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received more complaints about these supposedly safe vehicles than from any other manufacturer in history.

My firm is investigating cases involving injuries or deaths resulting from the faulty accelerators and breaking systems. If you, a family member, or friend has been involved in a wreck while driving one of the vehicles listed below, you should call as soon as possible to discuss your case.

Continue reading "Toyota Accidents - Call Us" »

A Fort Worth firefighter was tragically killed and two other firefighters were injured Sunday in a one-vehicle rollover wreck on a New Mexico highway.

David Eaves, 40, an 11-year veteran of the department, was headed to a ski trip Colorado, according to a Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman.

The wreck happened around 1 a.m. Sunday on U.S. 64 near Raton, according to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. The 2007 Ford pickup in which Eaves, Eric Thompson and Michael Josh Pool were traveling apparently slid off the roadway.

Eaves was ejected from the truck and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the accident report.

Tragic accidents like this happen too often. I am representing a man from Fort Worth in a similar case. He was driving home from a trip to New Mexico when a man lost control of his car and moved into my client's lane. The head-on collision knocked my client unconscious and caused deep lacerations and severe bruising and scarring to his arm, legs, and chest. He was forced to walk on crutches for weeks due to his injuries. Because he was unable to work, he has since lost his high-paying job for Thornton Steel. This is a picture of his car.

Continue reading "Fort Worth death caused by New Mexico wreck" »

I sadly have to report that a 21 year old DeSoto woman unfortunately died last night after her car was struck by a Chevy Tahoe driven by a man fleeing the police.

Late Thursday night, an officer tried to pull over the Tahoe due to a defective headlight, but the driver failed to stop, The driver ran the stop light and crashed into Gladys Barrientos's Honda Civic that she was turning left in front of him.

I am filing a lawsuit on behalf of a woman stopped at a red light when a woman also fleeing the police spun out of control while turning left and crashed head-on into my client. I am investigating how to recover additional sources of money for her.

Police are saying that a Fort Worth fire fighter was drunk when he crashed his Dodge Ram pickup truck into a stopped Volkswagen on Airport Freeway on Tuesday.

Shea Oneill, 37, of Benbrook was released from a Bedford jail Wednesday morning after posting a $1,500 bail.

According to reports, an officer smelled alcohol on Oneill after the crash. The fire fighter refused a breath test and a field sobriety test and was arrested.

Continue reading "Fort Worth car wreck caused by drunk driver - this time a fire fighter" »

Three people were injured in Mineral Wells yesterday when a teenage driver drove into their lane of traffic.

18 year old Meagin Reaves was driving northbound on Highway 281 when she veered left into oncoming southbound traffic, failing to yield and causing Wednesday morning's wreck.

Reaves' vehicle collided with a pickup truck driven by Bob Dempsey, 61, of Mineral Wells. Dempsey's brother, Bill Dempsey, 63, of Huckabay, Texas was a passenger. His injuries included a severe head laceration from the rearview mirror mount.

Reaves and Bill Dempsey were rushed by helicopter to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth due to their serious injuries.

I handled a similar case last year where my client was driving during a rain storm and another driver drove into her lane, causing a massive crash. She broke her leg, was hospitalized, then bed ridden for weeks. I fought to get her a huge settlement.

If you have been hurt in a wreck caused by the negligent driving of another driver, please contact my office at 817-885-8000 for a free no-obligation consultation to discuss your case.

How do you know if someone you want to hire will do a good job for you?

Probably the best way is by word of mouth -- by asking people who have used him before if they were pleased, right? That's what I do, and I bet you do too.

I just got these three unsolicited e-mails from clients and thought I would share them:

• "Thank you, you are a great lawyer." Donnie B. January 19, 2010
• "That offer sounds good to me! Thank you so much for everything! I really do appreciate all your help!" Nicole W. January 17, 2010
• "I was extremely pleased with how you handled my case and for how much money you got for me!" Kristi M. January 15, 2010

I am delighted that 100% of our clients answered YES to these questions:

For other comments from my clients, please read the Testimonials page on my website

The first meeting with me is free. If you have an injury case that you would like to discuss, please call me and I will be happy to meet you with absolutely no obligation.

Another tragedy on the roads of DFW: 34 year old Arlington police officer, Craig Story, who was trying to pull over a speeding vehicle on South Cooper Street, was killed early Wednesday in a collision with a school bus.

The tragic accident happened as the bus, which was travelling southbound on Cooper, attempted to turn left in front of the officer. Police have not yet stated whether the bus driver or the officer would have had the right-of-way at the time, but because the officer was in pursuit and had his lights and siren on, the bus driver was legally required to stop and grant access to the intersection at that time.

Witnesses stated that the motorcycle caught fire after the impact, and that they heard what sounded like an explosion.

The driver of the bus and 9 school-aged passengers were not injured.

Failure to yield the right-of-way is a leading cause of traffic accidents. I have handled numerous cases where a driver makes an unsafe turn in front of one of our clients and causes a needless collision due to his impatience.

NBC News has released a video of the tanker truck that caught fire after it crashed into a barrier on the Dallas North Tollway early on December 18, 2009.

The Department of Public Safety has not publicly released a report with its findings about the crash. Sadly, we do know that the 18 wheeler driver died in the crash. Fortunately, no other vehicles were involved in this collision.

This plainly shows how the public's safety needs to be considered when dealing with the hazardous materials that so many 18 wheelers transport through the Metroplex and across the State of Texas every day.

Texas leads the nation in accidents involving 18 wheelers. According to a study by the National Transportation Safety Board study, 90% of the crashes involving 18 wheelers were attributed to driver error. In addition, a Texas Department of Transportation study showed that barring 18 wheelers from driving in the left lane resulted in a sharp reduction in the number of crashes involving 18 wheelers.

I have handled numerous cases involving 18 wheelers. I recently represented a man and his wife who were driving in a Ford Mustang when it was rear-ended by a fuel truck on I-35. Fortunately, the tank was empty, but the impact still nearly killed my both people. I negotiated a settlement of $5.5 Million dollars just before the case was set for trial in Johnson County.