Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog

I was just hired to represent a handicapped woman who was hit by an RV last month while waiting on the sidewalk ramp in her wheel chair. My client was hurled on to the pavement and suffered a concussion, two fractured ribs, disc protrusions in her lumbar spine, a fractured hip, a punctured lung, and lacerations. Then the driver of the RV had the audacity to keep going.

Fortunately,a witness was able to chase the driver down six blocks down Rosedale and make him return to the scene. Thank you.

Here is a mock up we created to show the adjuster how the collision occurred using photos of the actual wheelchair and RV.

The driver's insurance company initially claimed that its driver said the woman saw him turning and chose to run her wheel chair into the side of the RV. That's ridiculous. It's a shame that insurance companies make it so difficult for an injured person to be compensated.

After representing this woman during her recorded statement yesterday and obtaining the 911 tape from an eyewitness, the adjuster agreed to pay my client for her damages,

I was pleased that this woman called us back after we gave her a ride home and she said:

"Mr. Berenson is an excellent attorney. He was so aggressive with the insurance company. And he has a very nice and helpful staff that was willing to go the extra mile to make me feel comfortable. Tell him thank you."

If you need an experienced attorney , give me a call and we can discuss your legal options.

A recent study has just revealed an average of 38 drivers die a day as a result of not wearing a seat belt. The Transportation Department is kicking off its annual "Click It or Ticket" campaign in hopes of increasing the percentage of people who wear seat belts.

I am pleased that 92.9% of drivers in Texas used their seat belts last year, but think that number should be 100%. Statistics compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that those least likely to buckle up are teens and young adults, males, nighttime riders, motorists traveling on rural roads and motorists riding in pickups.

The "Click it or Ticket" campaign is the result of the government's efforts to enforce harsher penalties on motorists who don't buckle up. Statistics clearly show that wearing a seat belt can double your chance of survival in a car wreck. I think the "Click it or Ticket" campaign is a great way to raise awareness of the benefits of wearing a seat belt. I've been handling car wreck cases for over thirty years and know from experience that you are far less likely to be injured if you are wearing a seat belt.

More than 10,000 police officers around the nation will be cracking down to enforce the seat belt laws this Memorial Day, so remember to buckle up. It could save your life.

More sad news to report: 17-year-old Brandon Simmons was tragically killed Saturday night when he was hit by a drunk driver in Venus. As if this weren't bad enought, the driver then fled the scene.

My deepest sympathies go out to the Simmons family as well as any other family which has lost a loved one due to the actions of a drunk driver. Drunk driving is a huge problem; drunk drivers kill more than 1,500 people each year just here in Texas.

Fortunately, police apprehended the driver and charged him with intoxication manslaughter and failure to stop and render aid. The driver has a prior DWI conviction.

I ride a bicycle to stay in shape and I find it horrendous that innocent people are so senselessly killed by drivers, especially drunk drivers.

National Bike Month is a Reminder to Texas Bicyclists to Practice Safe Riding
I would like to remind bicyclists to exercise these safety precautions when on the road:

• Wear a helmet (this can reduce traumatic brain injury risk by up to 88%)
• Obey traffic laws
• Pay attention to the motorists and pedestrians around you
• Use a bicycle headlight if you are riding at night
• Wear clothing that makes it easy for motorists see you
• When cycling next to parked vehicles watch out for drivers opening their doors to exit
• Ride in the same direction that traffic is headed
• Stay out of driver's blind spots so that they can see you
• Make sure you have a bicycle mirror
• Watch out for vehicles at cross streets, parking places, and driveways
• Don't swerve when looking behind you to check traffic
• Make sure your bicycle is properly maintained

Unfortunately, bicyclists are at high risk of serious injury whenever they are hit by a car, truck, motorcycle, or bus. The medical costs for treating spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, disfigurement, and other catastrophic injuries can be unaffordable unless you receive the bicycle accident compensation that you are owed.

Thousands of cyclists around the world joined together on Wednesday for the eighth annual Ride of Silence. This said memorial was started in Dallas in 2003 to honor the endurance cyclist Larry Schwartz who was hit by the mirror of a passing bus and was tragically killed. The event reminds the public to share the road with cyclists.

I think this race is a great way to raise public awareness. I have unfortunately represented my share of cyclists injured due to the carelessness of motorists and is one reason I run more these days than ride.

Friday is National Ride to Work day and I plan to participate. We need more people riding bikes like in other cities. There are plans to increase the number of bike-friendly roads which I applaud.

Next Saturday and Sunday, the Colonial Golf Tournament will store bicycles free of charge near the Log Cabin Village and donate $10.00 to the Streams and Valleys Organization which maintains the wonderful TrinityTrail where we ride and run. The Trail is outside my window and it is nice to look up from my desk and see someone going by during the day.

Cyclists, please be careful out there!

Shame on the news media for reporting today that we have a major problem with people fraudulently causing crashes and faking their injuries. Who wrote this story, the insurance companies who don't want to pay fair value for their claims unless and until they are sued?

If you got past the screaming headline and did the math that appeared further down, you learned that while there were 5,800,000 collisions reported to the police in 2009, only .0008% of them -- less than one-thousandth of one percent! might possibly have involving a fraudulent accident. And we had very few of them here in Texas.

While I obviously deplore any attempt to defraud an insurance company, the headline should have been

99.99999% of Acccidents Are Legitimate. But that wouldn't have sold any newspapers.

This is one of the reasons that the personal injury process is so frustrating. Honest policy holders with legitimate collision claims are often suspected of fraud for no reason whatsover. Lately I have had more demands for recorded statements from adjusters in cases of clear liability. I reject these demands.

Please call me if you feel like you are being treated unfairly by an insurance company.

I am pleased to report that I was just asked to be on the committee that is planning the next MADD Walk to raise money for this wonderful organization.

I love MADD. I hate drunk drivers.

The inaugural walk in late March, which came by my building here overlooking Trinity Park and the Trinity River, raised over $48,000.00. I was delighted to help set up the finishing area and make a contribution in honor of a wonderful client of mine who was injured when a drunk driver trying to escape from the Fort Worth police crashed into her and I will donate a commensurate amount of any verdict or settlement from a drunk driving case to MADD.

The walk in Dallas in early April raised $142,000.00, and again, I was pleased to contribute by buying tickets for high school students to see a multi media production documenting the horrors of drunk driving.

Drunk driving is a major problem in Texas. There are more drunk driving related fatalities here than any other state. Here's a sobering statistic: wrecks involving drunk driving kill more than 1,500 people each year in Texas -- almost one half of all motor vehicle fatalities!

Drivers are legally drunk in Texas if they have a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or above. I think the BAC should be reduced to .06% An average adult will be legally intoxicated after as few as two or three beers or alcoholic drinks. Unfortunately, many people decide to ignore the law and get behind the wheel of a car after consuming this amount or even much higher amounts of alcohol. The decision to risk your own life and the lives of others and drive drunk endangers is reckless and dangerous. Wrecks caused by drunk drivers can easily be devastating. They usually involve high rates of speed causing serious injuries from broken bones and brain injuries or even death.

I hate seeing innocent people getting injured because of a drunk driver's stupidity. I will be working with state legislators to lobby them for stricter drunk driving laws and with the Fort Worth Police Department to enforce the drunk driving arrest laws.

Lisa Aguilar was hit by a car on May 4th while she was mowing her front lawn in Irving. The 49-year-old single mom suffered several broken bones and now uses a walker.

Police say a silver Toyota Camry speeding down Rochelle Road was turning onto Manion Street when the vehicle entered Aguilar's yard, crashed into her, then drove off!

Aguilar's 16-year-old son found her on the ground unconscious and immediately called 911. The driver has yet to be identified.

As I have wondered here before, what is going on out there?

In hit-and-run accidents, the at-fault driver is rarely found. Even worse, even when they are, they often do not carry insurance. If you have been involved in a hit-and-run accident or an accident caused by an uninsured driver, you still have options. If you have uninsured motorist coverage, Personal Injury Protection or Medical Payments benefits, or health insurance, I encourage you to file on those policies.

A lot of people believe that their own insurance companies will be helpful and compensate them fairly. They think they will do better without an attorney. The truth of the matter is that insurance companies will pay you little, if anything, unless they have to. They may pretend to be on your side, but when it comes down to it, they will try to avoid paying you what you deserve.

If you've been in any wreck, you want an experienced board-certified injury lawyer on your side. The insurance companies have lawyers on their side, shouldn't you? Call me at 817-885-8000 for a free case evaluation. I'll explain all the ways I can make you money, including several you probably didn't know were possible.

More potential good news for our Hispanic citizens: After Sonia Sotomayor took the bench as the first Latina in the history of the United States Supreme Court, Sarah Saldaña might become the first Hispanic U.S. Attorney in our Northern District of Texas, which covers Fort Worth, Dallas, and the surrounding counties.

Ms. Saldana is an currently an assistant U.S. Attorney in charge of public corruption. She recently successfully prosecuted sleazy former Mayor Pro tem Don Hill and his wife, and their corrupt business associates on bribery and extortion charges in addition to nailing former state representative Terri Hodge.

The Republican party has been pushing Saldana in an obvious effort to gain the votes of Mexican-Americans and to embarrass the Democrats for this sordid behavior.

As the political wrangling continues, this important position has been vacant for 17 months.

Senator John Cornyn, a Republican, has urged President Obama to nominate Ms. Saldana. I opposed Senator Cornyn when I filed a lawsuit attempting to show serious violations of our Constitution had been committed during the 2000 national election and he was the Texas Attorney General. More information is available under "In the News" at the top of my web page.

Today is my daughter's 20th birthday. Happy birthday, Marissa! I found this picture of us I wanted to share - she is on the right and that's my wife's niece's daughter on the left. This was taken just after I had just finished running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. last year - one of my favorites of the 22 I have run, mostly in the last two years.

It has been another productive week here in the office, but I will certainly be glad when Andrew, an excellent paralegal, comes back from his trip to Italy. I hope you've had a good time exploring that beautiful country and tracing your family's roots.

Just a few minutes ago, I was deeply moved when a wonderful client who came in to pick up her settlement check tried to tip Loran, one of my wonderful legal assistants, an extra $100.00 because Loran had been such a big help to her. Nice job, Loran! (I will give that $100.00 to her as a well deserved bonus.)

I have to leave to say good bye to the kids in the Rufino Mendoza Running Club, since it is their last day. Then I want to go see the Casey James concert in the Stock Yards!

I hope you have a great week end. Think of me tomorrow morning when am at 5:00 a.m. to run 20 miles to get ready for my next marathon in a few weeks.

Fort Worth's Casey James has sung his way into the top three spots on American Idol and I wanted to wish him good luck going into the final round next week.

Casey, who is 27, is the lead singer and plays guitar with his self-named Casey James Band. He plays with his brother Billy James and Jacy McCann, often at the Keys Lounge on Westcreek not far from our main offices in Southwest Fort Worth. Casey is one cool dude -- he's even from Cool, Texas - and hummed before he could even speak.

Casey has been a fulltime musician since he was 17, survived a bad motorcycle wreck when he was 21 (and doctors told him he would never be able to play the guitar again) and obviously has a brilliant future in front of him.

Here are the songs he has sung to work his way into the finals:

• February 24 - "Heaven" by Bryan Adams
• March 2 - "I Don't Want to Be" by Gavin DeGraw
• March 10 - "You'll Think of Me" by Keith Urban
• March 16 - "It's All Over Now" by The Rolling Stones
• March 23 - "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis
• March 30 - "Hold On, I'm Comin'" by Sam and Dave
• April 6 - "Jealous Guy" by John Lennon
• April 13 - "Lawdy, Miss Clawdy" by Elvis Presley
• April 20 - "Don't Stop" by Fleetwood Mac
• April 27 - "Don't" by Shania Twain
• May 4 - "Blue Skies" by Frank Sinatra
• May 11 - "Mrs. Robinson" by Simon & Garfunkel; "Have You Ever Loved a Woman?"

This is even more amazing since Casey had never even watched the show before he auditioned in Denver (after Kara asked him to take his shirt off) and is the oldest guy to make it into the top 24.

Casey said last night that he looks forward to returning to Fort Worth.

Casey will be visiting the AT&T store in Grapevine tomorrow at 10:30 a.m and will be in a parade at the Stock Yards Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. It's my daughter's 20th birthday, and I am going to take her up there and hope to meet him.

I hope Casey wins! And it would be so "cool" if he joined Kelly Clarkson as another American Idol from our area.

Make sure you tune in next Tuesday and vote for him!

Police will start issuing citations on June 1st to drivers with children younger than 8 who are not in booster seats. Kids who are taller than 4 feet 9 inches are not included.

The first offense will cost $25.00, but each new offenses will cost up to $250.00 plus court fees. But if this saves the life or prevents the injury to one innocent child, it is more than worth it. I have seen far too many cases where kids were seriously hurt because they were not in a car seat.

This law went into effect on September 1, 2009 but police have only been issuing warnings since that time.

Before then, Texas was only one of six states that didn't require additional protection for these older children.

Texas insurance companies use the Texas Personal Automobile Policy which offers eight kinds of coverage to reimburse you for your loss from a vehicle crash. To help you understand what money you may be entitled to, here are the types of coverage:

1. Liability: When the other person is at fault for causing the wreck.
What it pays: Your expenses up to his policy's dollar limits (a minimum of $25,000.00, and sometimes more, including medical bills, lost wages, pain, and vehicle damage or replacement cost if it is totalled.

Who it covers: You, family members, and someone driving your car with your permission.

Note: Some policies won't cover other people, including family members, unless they're specifically named in the policy. Your policy's declarations page should list the names of all of the people covered by the policy.

2. Medical Payments Coverage
What it pays: Your medical bills.

Note that any money received will have to be paid back when you recover money from the other driver's insurance company.

Who it covers: You, your family members, and passengers in your car, regardless of who caused the collision.

3. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage
What it pays: Medical bills, 80% of lost income and the cost of hiring a caregiver.

Who it covers: You, your family members, and passengers in your car, regardless of who caused the crash.

An insurance company must offer you $2,500 in PIP, and you can buy more. If you don't want PIP, you must reject it in writing. The insurance company must provide me with a copy of your rejection of PIP or I can obtain these benefits for you.

4. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage What it pays: Your expenses caused by an uninsured motorist or a motorist who did not have enough insurance to cover your bills, up to your policy's dollar limits. Uninsured also pays for accidents caused by a hit-and-run driver if you reported the accident promptly to police.

Bodily injury UM/UIM pays without deductibles for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and permanent or partial disability.
Property damage UM/UIM pays for auto repairs, a rental car, and damage to items in your car. There is an automatic $250 deductible, which means you must pay the first $250 of the repairs yourself.

Who it covers: You, your family members, passengers in your car, and others driving your car with your permission.

Insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage. If you don't want it, you must reject it in writing (see above).

5. Collision (Damage to Your Car) Coverage
What it pays: The cost of repairing or replacing your car after an accident. Payment is limited to your car's actual cash value, minus your deductible. Actual cash value is the market value of a car like yours without damages.

Who it covers: You, your family members, passengers in your car, and others driving your car with your permission.

6. Comprehensive (Physical Damage Other than Collision) Coverage
What it pays: The cost of replacing or repairing your car if it is stolen or damaged by fire, vandalism, hail, or a cause other than a collision. Comprehensive coverage also pays for a rental car or other temporary transportation if your car is stolen. Your policy won't pay for an auto theft unless you report it to police. Payment is limited to your car's actual cash value, minus your deductible.

7. Towing and Labor Coverage
What it pays: Towing charges when your car can't be driven. Also pays labor charges, such as changing a tire, at the location where your car became immobile.

8. Rental Reimbursement Coverage
What it pays: A set daily amount for a rental car if your car is stolen or is being repaired because of damage covered by your policy

The number of teens who are dying in night time crashes has tragically risen as the use of cell phones has increased, the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A & M University reported in sobering news today.

The number of fatalities has increased by over 10% over the last 10 years.

I have a client who was rear ended on a local highway by a teenager on her cell phone. My client had to undergo a spinal fusion and discectomy as a result. My client is still in pain due to the wreck in June 2007. I just took her neurosurgeon's deposition last night. I used this diagram as an exhibit in the deposition.

Talking on the phone, texting, surfing the internet, and even using a bluetooth headset while driving is distracting. Distractions are the leading cause of automobile crashes in America. Thousands of people are injured every year as a result.

If you've been hurt because of a wreck, call my office at 817-885-8000 or e-mail me. I will fight hard to get you the maximum recovery possible. In addition, if you mention that you found me by this blog or my website, I offer a reduced attorney fee of only 28% pre-trial instead of the 33.3% pre-trial fee that most attorneys charge. That will translate to hundreds or even thousands of dollars in savings to you.

The North Texas Tollway Authority has fired the driver who caused a wreck on Sam Rayburn Tollway last month. If only this happened more often!

Abebe Sbhat was terminated after an internal review found he violated NTTA policy by engaging in an unsafe act.

The crash occurred on April 8th when an 18-wheeler collided with Sbhat's dump truck on the Interstate 35E interchange with State Highway 121 in Lewisville. The impact sliced off the semi's fuel tank and caused it to immediately burst into flames, which quickly spread to the dump truck and a pickup.

The truck driver jumped out of the semi before it careened into a concrete barrier and slid off the edge of a bridge.

I can't tell you how many times the negligent truck driver's company refuses to terminate its employee after a crash out of a concern that it will make it look bad when we file suit but instead allow the bad driver to continue driving. This is a problem that has to stop.

You will never believe this, but many young drivers in Texas are dangerous. I know. My teenager hit another driver when she was 16! Fortunately noone was injured. I took her car away for a year, made her go back to driver's ed classes, and personally coached her before I would let her drive again. And she hasn't been in any crashes since.

While many young people are good drivers, the combination of inexperience, over-confidence, and their fondness of texting while driving makes teen drivers statistically much more likely to cause wrecks than drivers who have had more experience behind the wheel.

Many states, including Texas, have so-called "graduated license" laws limiting the number of passengers that teen drivers can carry as well as restrictions on the times of day when teen drivers are allowed to be on the roads. The problem with these laws is that they are hard to enforce. Officers do not have a way to easily identify a driver as 16, 18, or older without pulling them over. New Jersey now requires teen drivers to put decals on their license plates so officers can identify them easily.

Support for the decals has been varied. Many teen drivers and now some New Jersey lawmakers are opposing the law.

New Jersey teens opposed to the nation's first state law requiring young drivers to display license plate decals that identify them as inexperienced have gained support for their cause from several state lawmakers and a national youth rights advocacy group.
The statute known as Kyleigh's Law takes effect Saturday. It requires New Jersey drivers ages 16 to 20 to have a $4 pair of detachable fluorescent red decals on their front and rear license plates during a yearlong provisional license period. Failure to do so could result in a $100 fine.
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The law was named for Kyleigh D'Alessio, a 16-year-old central New Jersey high school student who was killed in 2006 while riding in a vehicle driven by another teen. Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine signed the law last year.

Opponents claim the law is well intentioned but won't improve safety, will subject motorists to nuisance traffic stops and might entice criminals to target young drivers.

Continue reading "Texas Teenage Drivers Are Dangerous! " »

A 33-year-old mother died in a rollover crash in her recalled 2010 Toyota Highlander. Police said speed was a contributing factor to the crash that killed Dawn Casey. Although police are still investigating, family members are not sure if her recalled SUV is to blame. Her two toddlers managed to survive the accident.

The wreck happened Thursday in the 3300 block of North Tarrant Parkway in far north Fort Worth.

Witnesses and family members told investigators that Casey was on her way to teach daycare at a local church when her Toyota Highlander swerved into the center median, then swereved back into the lanes of traffic. She then swerved into a ditch before hitting a concrete barrier.

Casey's 1-year-old son Liam and 3-year-old daughter Adia were in the back row of the SUV in car seats. Both survived with minor injuries.

The 2010 Toyota Highlander is under recall for problems with floor mats that can interfere with the accelerator. I previously reported about the Toyota accelerator problems HERE and HERE. Police are focusing on why the SUV was going so fast, but they don't yet know if vehicle malfunction or driver error is to blame.

If you or a loved one has been injured as a result of a defective vehicle, call my office today at 817-885-8000 to discuss your case. In order to make a successful claim against the vehicle manufacturer, a thorough investigation of the vehicle is needed to preserve the evidence.