Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog

An Arlington woman was sentenced to 16 years in prison Thursday for a drunk driving wreck that killed one young man and maimed another on Green Oaks Boulevard last year.

Michele Hartmann, the Tarrant County prosecutor, called the sentence a "deterrence verdict and a punishment verdict." I hope she is right.

The woman, Erica Kolanowski (seen in the photograph in this post), 31, had asked the jury in to assess her punishment after pleading guilty to charges of intoxication manslaughter and and intoxication assault in the January 11, 2009, collision in southwest Arlington. Kolanowski's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

The passenger, 20 year old Joshua Carter, was killed instantly. The driver, Matthew Lundy, is permanently crippled.

I am happy that criminal justice is finally being served, but the civil justice system can never begin to help out these two poor men. I hope long jail sentences like this one will stop drunks from getting behind the wheel and running into us. My heart goes out to the family of Mr. Carter and to Mr. Lundy and his family for all they have had to go through.

I have handled many DWI cases and go after drunk drivers with a vengeance. There is absolutely no excuse for getting behind the wheel if you had consumed any alcohol or drugs that will obviously impair your driving ability.

If you've been injured in a wreck involving a drunk driver, you need a civil attorney with experience handing cases involving DUI's. If you've been hurt in a wreck, call or e-mail my office today at 817-885-8000 so I can help you get all the money you deserve.

Fort Worth police officer Jesus Cisneros, who was DWI and killed the mother of two small children was indicted for intoxication manslaughter. I previously wrote about this horrible crash HERE and HERE. Let's hope Cisneros spends many years in jail. Incredibly, he has appealed his termination by the FWPD.

Also yesterday, an Arlington woman was sentenced to 26 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter and assault and wrote a separate blog about this terrible tragedy.

My friends at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) report that 40% of fatal crashes involved alcohol. And for fatal crashes occurring from midnight to 3 a.m., almost all of them (77%) involved alcohol.

State laws in 31 states still allow someone to operate a motor vehicle and consume alcohol until his blood alcohol concentration is 0.10 g/dl. Texas lowered the limit to .08, but I believe it should be lower.

I sue drunk drivers for the pain and injuries they cause to my innocent clients. Not only does alcohol make people more likely to swerve out of their lane or to ignore traffic signals, drunk drivers also drive faster and take more risks. A crash caused by a drunk driver may cause severe injuries or death.

You should not have to suffer because someone was too stupid or cheap to take a taxi home or get a ride. You need an attorney with experience handing cases against drunk drivers. If you've been hurt in a wreck, call or e-mail my office today at 817-885-8000 so I can help you get all the money you deserve.

I am proud of the work MADD does helping victims of drunk drivers and their families and I donate a portion of my fee from drunk driving verdicts and settlements to MADD.

I will be running the Boston Marathon 30 days from now. I am proud to have run my last 10 straight marathons in 10 states fast enough to qualify for the 2010 Boston Marathon, achieving my goal of "10 in 10 for '10."

I got asked these questions by nonrunners:

1. How far is a marathon? It is 26.2 miles long. That is the distance from downtown Fort Worth almost to downtown Dallas or 106 times around a track! And you run it as fast as you can and without stopping.

2. How fast do you run them? My average age adjusted time for the 10 races was 3:04.

3. How fast is that? It's running at the 7.5 setting on a treadmill, and usually up and down hills, in crowds, and in all kinds of weather. My fastest time in St. Louis, for example, was on a hilly course in a rain storm with about 8,000 people.

4. Where did you run? Washington, D.C. (Marine Corps), New Orleans (Mardi Gras), Little Rock, St. Louis, Burlington, Vermont, Missoula, Montana, Minneapolis to St. Paul, Minnesota, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Tampa. I traveled over 20,000 miles in the process.

4. Why do you do it? For some crazy reason, I love the challenge. Maybe it's because I push myself to do the best job in whatever I do. I run three days a week, lift weights, at TCU or at home three days, and and mix in other training, especially yoga. I love that I am in the best shape of my life at the age of 55, am healthier, and only weigh a few pounds more than I did in college. My resting heart rate, for example, is 42.

I am certain that this discipline makes me a better lawyer. I have the physical endurance and mental toughness to stand up to any attorney or insurance company to make sure that my client is fairly compensated for his injuries. I can go the distance, whether it is a long trial, an intense deposition, or a hard day at my office, for the last 28 years in the same location in the River Plaza Tower on University (overlooking the Cowtown Marathon course, where else, and downtown).

And just to make my running even more challenging, I decided to run a marathon in each state last year. I have 18 knocked out so far.

I ran my first marathon, the San Diego Rock and Roll, in 2004 as I was turning 50 and was looking for a unique, life affirming way to celebrate this milestone. I ran New York City and Boston after that, and Chicago in the oppressive heat of 2007 where a man died and they had to cancel the marathon, completing my goal of running the three U. S. Major Marathons.

I plan to add eight new states in 2010 (plus Boston, Massachusetts, which will be a repeat) and at this rate will achieve my new goal of "50 by 60." And then I want to go "5 for 5" by running London and Berlin to complete the world's five Majors.

Boston, the oldest and most famous marathon in the world, is the only one that requires its racers to qualify, and the cut off times are intense.

My 10th Boston qualifying race was two weeks ago in Tampa, where I was delighted to finish #2 out of the almost 100 in my age group with a time of 3:32:02.

Here is a picture of me at the finishing area in Tampa. Hook 'em Horns! (I graduated from UT in 1976, Plan II Honors Program).

Before Tampa, I had a good time running the Phoenix Rock and Roll Marathon six weeks before that, and the Las Vegas Rock and Roll Marathon six weeks before that.

I also volunteer for the Cowtown Marathon's CALF (Children's Activities for Life & Fitness) Council to help our kids run and learn healthy habits.

I also adopted the Rufino Mendoza Elementary School five years ago and especially support its running club, I am going to the school this afternoon to run with the kids and see how they enjoyed running and walking in the Cowtown 5K race.

Here's to a healthier, happier world!

Today I received a large recovery of money for another wonderful client who was unfortunately injured by a drunk driver This is what she had to say about my services

and was delighted to read the article in the today's Dallas Morning News about how Dallas police may start requiring blood tests from DWI suspects. That is, if the city can come up with $360,000.00.

How can Dallas not find this money? Think about its extra police, fire department, Parkland Hospital ER, medical expenses, criminal courts, and other costs that will be avoided -- not to mention the carnage to innocent people like you and me.

Just last year, 38 people were killed in Dallas due to drunk/stoned drivers and a startling 3,600 people were arrested on these charges.

Many cities already require these more reliable blood tests, with tiny Dalworthington Gardens near Arlington being the first city in Texas to require them. (However, a Bedford woman had her conviction thrown out because those police officers were not properly qualified to draw blood; the case is on appeal.)

New laws have made it harder for drivers pulled over for drunken driving to refuse blood tests. Police no longer have to obtain time consuming search warrants for felony DWIs, where a person is hospitalized, a child is in the vehicle, or the suspect has a prior related conviction. And if the suspects refuse, their licenses are suspended for six months.

A whopping 11,773 people died in collisions caused by drunk drivers in 2008 -- a shocking one-third of the 37,261 of Americans killed in all crashes.

In Fort Worth, police mounted two recent crackdowns that resulted in 125 arrests -- 163% more than last year's.

The woman who crashed into Bertha is still awaiting trial.

I will donate a portion of my attorney's fee from every case where I represent a victim of drunk driving to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), a wonderful organization. I also will volunteer at their walk in Fort Worth on March 27th in Trinity Park.

A two-vehicle crash on Sunday in southwest South Dakota has unfortunately killed a resident of Fort Worth.

The man was driving a pickup that collided head-on with a car driven by a Nebraska woman.

Proving who was at fault in a head-on collision is often difficult. Final position of the cars can help, but they are often so badly damaged, that proving which driver was negligent can be very hard. Cases where one of the drivers dies can be even more complicated because they are unable to give their description of the collision and the police may write their reports based on only one driver's testimony.

Last year, I handled a similar case where my client broke both her legs when another driver moved into her lane and caused an enormous head-on collision. Tragically, the Defendant was killed, but I was able to get my client a substantial settlement for her injuries, lost wages and pain.

If you have been involved in an automobile collision, you need an experienced, Board Certified Personal Injury lawyer who has experience handling these types of cases and who can help you get all the money you deserve. Please contact my office at 817-885-8000 or fill out this form for a free no-obligation case evaluation.

"Only" 33,963 people died driving on U.S. roads in 2009, the government reported yesterday. This is down from the 37,261 killed driving in 2008 -- all the people who live in Benbrook and Azle combined!

And here in Texas, "only" 2,984 people were killed in collisions.

Whoopee!

In my opinion, one person dying on our roads or getting injured is one too many.

Even the U.S. Transportation Department admits that the numbers are too high, but tries to take credit because (1) more people are wearing seat belts, (2) vehicles are safer, and (3) police are enforcing drunk driving laws more vigorously.

It doesn't mention that peoople drove less last year due to the recession,

Continue reading "Texas and U.S. Accident Deaths Decrease" »

I am investigating whether this horrific crash that nearly killed my wonderful young client was caused by a faulty Toyota accelerator.

Here are the latest developments in what I believe may be the biggest and most deadly corporate cover up of all time:

1. Yesterday Toyota finally added the Prius to its limited list of defective cars that needed to be recalled -- only after one suddenly sped up to more than 90 m.p.h. in San Diego. Prius drivers had already complained 406 times of these sudden and potentially fatal accelerations before this glorified car was recalled.

2. Last week the family of Mark Sayles filed suit, whose Lexus suddenly accelerated to 120 miles per hour on a San Diego interstate last August before tragically crashing and killing this 45 year old police officer, his wife, daughter, and his wife's brother. SEE PREVIOUS STORY.

It was not until their terrifying 911 tape was posted to UTube that Toyota finally began recalling its defective vehicles in September. Toyota has blamed the floor mats for getting tangled up with the gas pedal.

At least 52 people have died and hundreds have been seriously injured in these sudden accelerator crashes.

Continue reading "Toyota Sudden Acceleration Problems Mount" »

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?" »