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.

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!

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.

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

Toyota routinely deceives the court and opposing counsel when it has been sued in connection with sudden acceleration and other defect cases, according to a detailed investigation by the Associated Press that was released yesterday.

Toyota has withheld requested documents, hidden test results, and refused to release data that is stored electronically in its vehicles.

"Toyota has no peer" in disclosing this required information, according to Texas attorney Ernest Cannon, who represented the family of a 35 year old woman, Lisa Evans, who died in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land in 2002.

Another Texas woman was killed when her Land Cruiser suddenly went into reverse and pinned her against her garage wall. However, Toyota claimed in court documents that it knew of no other such incidents, when it had recently settled a nearly identical case.

Continue reading "Toyota Uses Deceptive Legal Tactics to Defend Lawsuits" »

FACT: Texas leads the U.S. in the number of people killed in wrecks caused by drunk drivers - 1,473 in 2008 alone.

FACT: Texas has one of the highest number of people serving time for DWI - 6,200.

FACT: Ralph Lynn Foltz Jr. was arrested for his 11th DWI after leading police on a dangerous high-speed chase through the streets of Galveston and Brazoria counties several months ago.

FACT: John Barton killed two people and injured three other family members in the DFW area Sunday night. He should have been locked up in the state penitentary serving his jail sentence and treated for his alcoholism after being convicted of his third DWI.

FACT: Barton was driving his wife's car which did not have the required engine interlock.
Even so, Michelle Lyons, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, told the Dallas Morning News that "he couldn't operate a motor vehicle unless it had it had an ignition interlock."

FACT: Barton had a valid driver's license.

FACT: The governor has ordered the Department of Criminal Justice to cut five percent from its budget, including $7.8 million from its treatment programs, which will eliminate help for 1,346 DWI offenders.

FACT: The state, knowing that we have a serious DWI problem, recently almost tripled spending on state prison treatment for DWI offenders from $36 million in 2007 to $97 million in 2010.

According to the TDCJ spokeswoman, the extra money has been worth it, with 6,000 new treatment slots being created with the money, including a 500 bed DWI treatment ward in East Texas.

"We've seen it have a positive impact not just on the individuals, but overall on the inmate population, Lyons said. Furthermore, the treatment has treatment has greatly reduced the number of offenders who return to prison.

However, the treatment programs are apparently not working. "We've had him (Barton) in prison twice and done nothing to treat his alcoholism. And now we have a tragedy," said State Senator John Whitmire, the chairman of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

While I understand that our state is facing an enormous potential budget deficit of $18 billion and must cut back services, this is clearly not the place to do so.

"DWI will kill you, just like a gun will. It's one of our most serious crimes," Senator Whitmire said.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is working hard to get more car ignition locks, police sobriety checkpoints, and treatment to stop these tragedies from reoccurring.

Good news for those seriously injured in the Fort Worth area: John Peter Smith Hospital has just received official approval to be a Level 1 trauma center, the highest level possible.

Previously, since JPS was only a Level 2 center, critically injured victims, including people with severed digits, had to be transferred to other hospitals, including Harris Methodist or Parkland Hospital in Dallas (nationally known for its burns unit).

I have handled serious personal injury cases where urgent medical care was delayed when JPS was not able to treat my injured client.

On at least two ocasions, the patient died as a result One young man had been tragically struck by an 18 wheeler as he stood on the inside median of Interstate 35 helping his driver change a flat tire, but he died the next day at a different hospital, when JPS was only a few minutes from the scene.

Another problem I have heard about from my clients on numerous occasions is the lengthy wait times to see doctors in the ER. I have heard that people have to wait five or six hours in the waiting room, and even longer.

JPS has promised to work on this situation by increasing the hours available at its urgent care clinic in the neighborhood.

According to its Chief Operating Officer, the percentage of ER patients who left without being treated by a physician had decreased from 20 percent in 2008 to 2 percent last year.

Especially since Fort Worth's population is now 720,000, it is hard to believe that it took so long for our county hospital to become a Level 1 trauma center.

Last November, Mary Oliver, a 7th grade science teacher, Jay Newton, a Fort Worth attorney, and Eric Nelson, a Dallas Morning News editor, were all run over by a car running a red light -- after they had just punished their bodies by running the half marathon at White Rock Lake.

Poor Jay and Eric had to have titanium rods implanted in their legs.

And Mary suffered two broken legs, a broken arm and a fractured pelvis.She had to spend 18 days in the hospital and months in a wheel chair. But after a year of physical therapy and hard work, Mary ran and walked the 13.1 miles again on November 1st !

Mary returned to her classroom five months before her doctors expected her to. She also continued her studies towards her Master's degree at the University of North Texas and worked at a second job at night. And she raised two boys by herself.

In April, Mary decided she wanted to enter the half marathon again. The only problem was that she could barely walk. Slowly, she built up her stamina.

Continue reading "Pedestrian hit by car in Dallas and her struggle to walk/run again " »