Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog

Lawmakers in Austin have considered passing bills targeting drunk drivers but without any success. The session is almost over. I don't understand why it is so easy to drive drunk -- and maim and kill other drivers -- in Texas.

At least one bill sponsored by a Republican from Dallas, freshman representative Stefani Carter, passed the House almost unanimously on Friday and moves to the Senate. It would suspend the driver's of anyone convicted of his fifth DWI offense for 10 years.

Wait, his fifth DWI? We let people drive with four convictions?

Continue reading "Texas DWI Law To Be Tougher?" »

Here's one of those terrible stories you hate to read: The Star Telegram reports that three people -- a 15 year old boy, an older man, and a middle-aged woman -- going to a church event were tragically killed yesterday afternoon. Their vehicle struck a minivan crossing Jacksboro Highway near the Fort Worth Nature Center and exploded.

Fortunately two others, including the driver and front seat passenger of the vehicle, were able to escape the fiery collision. The two occupants of the minivan were not seriously injured.

There's obviously never a good time to be in a motor vehicle accident but it breaks your heart to read that these people were going to church, doesn't it? My prayers are with the deceased and their families. I have handled many wrongful death cases and they are all terrible.

I was asked this morning by a new client why the other driver who crashed into her couldn't see that she was at a complete stop. I think he was looking down texting while driving. And new vehicle dashboards offer even more distractions.

The Texas House of Representatives just passed a new distracted driving bill last week and it is expected to pass the Senate. Texas would join 40 other states with these bans -- but our governor has indicated he will veto the law -- again.

Continue reading "Distracted Driving -- New Law On Its Way?" »

A private charter bus taking retired people to a casino in Oklahoma flipped on its side this morning on State Highway 161 (the new President George Bush Turnpike) near Belt Line Road. The bus hit a barrier, careened to the left, hit another barrier, and overturned.

Noone was wearing seat belts, as suggested by a new federal rule passed just last year, and the passengers were thrown in every direction and out of the bus.

Continue reading "Bus Crash In Irving Kills Two And Injures 42 Seniors" »

Five people were killed in motorcycle crashes just in the last two days -- and just in Fort Worth. Carlius Johnson, Lylian Berry, Jr., Shymill Murphy, Jeremy Williamson, and Noemi Mendoza tragically lost their lives. My thoughts go out to the families of the deceased.

I've represented many motorcycle riders and their families over the past 33 years. I've ridden motorcycles. I understand the dangers riding on roads, have taken depositions and tried cases against auto and truck drivers, and know how to get the maximum amount of money for these injury cases.

Continue reading "Texas Motorcycle Accidents: Deadly and Frequent" »

If you saw some of the headlines in the Fort Worth Star Telegram -- just from today -- you know just how dangerous our roads are here in Tarrant County:

* Benbrook Man Dies In Rollover Wreck

* 3 Killed in Two Wrecks Involving Motorcycles

* Fort Worth Police Looking For Driver of Black Mercedes Involved In Hit-And-Run

* Man, 57, Dies After Car Hits Pole In Hurst

* Passenger Killed In Three Vehicle Collision Identified

* Cyclist Fatally Struck Near Arlington School

Unfortunately there is a chance that you will be injured in a motor vehicle collision here in North Texas. There were 23,433 crashes just in Tarrant County in 2011 which seriously injured 5,721 people and caused fatalities to 148 people.

I hope that you haven't been in a motor vehicle collision, but if you have, you owe it to yourself to hire the best personal injury attorney that you can find, just like you deserve the best medical care, or the best of anything.

Continue reading "Do You Need An Attorney To Help You With Your Injury Case?" »

Texas legislators meeting in Austin are considering several bills that target unsafeTexas drivers. That's certainly good news. Our roads are extremely deadly and I support efforts to make them safer.

The first new state law would force drivers convicted due to dangerously high blood alcohol contents to have devices installed in their cars to test their breath. However state probation officers say they are already overworked and don't have time to enforce this law if it passes. But as someone who has had to represent far too many people injured in DWI crashes we need to keep these drivers off of our highways.

Continue reading "New Laws Proposed To Make Texas Roads Safer" »

Our state legislators heard gut-wrenching testimony yesterday as they began considering whether to again pass a law to ban texting while driving after the governor vetoed it after the last session.

Several victims of distracted drivers or those who have had loved ones killed in tragic collisions testified that Texas needs to prevent texting while driving. We had 3,331 traffic deaths in 2011, with more than 400 due to distracted driving.

I've handled many more crashes with the advent of cell phones. In one lawsuit last year, I subpoened the other driver's records to prove that, despite the 20 year old woman's denials, she was looking at her phone just before the crash which lead to a favorable settlement at a pre-trial mediation.

Continue reading "Distracted Driving Ban In Texas?" »

Relatives of San Francisco 49ers tight end Delanie Walker, were killed in a fiery crash shortly after the Super Bowl Louisiana State Police said Wednesday.

The crash occurred around 5:30 a.m. Monday and Alice and Bryan Young Sr., Walker's aunt and uncle.

Walker posted on Twitter that his aunt and uncle were killed "by a drunk." The message's subject line was ''Horrible.''

The Youngs' vehicle was stopped on the shoulder of Interstate 10 in LaPlace, just west of New Orleans, when it was hit by a car driven by 26-year-old Houston resident Nechole Thomas.

Her 2002 Mercedes slammed the Youngs' 2012 Nissan Altima from behind at high speed. Both cars caught fire.

It took until Wednesday afternoon for the coroner to identify the Youngs.

Thomas suffered only minor injuries and was jailed on charges of reckless driving, drunken driving and two counts of vehicular homicide.

My heart goes out to Mr. Walker and the Youngs' other relatives.

On -30 in east Fort Worth, a fatal wrong-way collision killed two people early this morning and closed down Interstate 30 at Beach Street. A driver in a black sedan was speeding westbound in the eastbound lanes on the interstate at an estimated speed of 100 miles an hour before ramming into a white two-door coupe.The crash killed both drivers.

And there were many other serious crashes this weekend, including ones on these roads:

I-35 in Alvarado - a man standing outside of his pickup truck to secure his load was struck by another vehicle, seriously injuring both people.

3000 block North Main Street, Euless - major three vehicle accident Saturday night.

SH 183 at Westpark Way, Euless - two people were injured Saturday in an accident.

I-35 at 28th Street, North Fort Worth - three people were hurt Sunday in a three vehicle crash

There were many other auto and truck collisions in the Dallas Fort Worth area. If you were unfortunately injured, please contact my law office at 817-885-8000.

Police in Grand Prairie arrested a middle school teacher after she ran a stop light and struck a first grader, John Raidy on Thursday.Then she sped off.

Police had released photos of the car and were hunting for its driver, which presumably caused Tammy Lowe, 53, of Grand Prairie, to finally turn herself in yesterday.

The teacher has been charged with felony counts of manslaughter and failing to stop and render aid.

Evidence shows that the youngster, who was walking with his mother and sister, had lhe green light for 14 seconds as they crossed North Carrier Parkway before Lowe crashed

Continue reading "Pedestrian Killed In DFW Crosswalk Only Six Years Old" »

It has been six months since the horrific tragedy in Colorado and it's no surprise that the families of the 12 people murdered and the 70 people injured are trying to recover their damages.

This story interested me because I represented a medical student who was nearly killed inside our AMC theatre in downtown Fort Worth. I had to file suit against AMC and the owners of Sundance Square because there was no security to prevent the brutal attack (there is now, thankfully).

The widow of a man killed filed a lawsuit against the University of Colorado doctor who

Continue reading "Aurora Victim's Widow Sues Killer's Psychiatrist" »

The driver of a stolen truck that hit an SUV and killed a passenger riding in the SUV has been sentenced to 45 years in prison. The wreck happened May 25, 2012

50-year-old James Craig Layland was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to vehicular manslaughter. Layland was attempting to flee after an officer questioned him about using a counterfeit $100 bill.

The truck was driving through an alley when the vehicle hit the SUV. The accident killed Ming-Yueh Bixler.

Continue reading "Fort Worth driver gets 45 years in vehicular manslaughter case" »

Josh Brent went to a club, got drunk, crashed his Mercedes, and killed his best friend and teammate, Jerry Brown, early Saturday morning in Irving.

You would think Brent would have known better. Not just because DWI is wrong, because he had already served jail time in 2009 for DWI while he was playing football with Brown at the University of Illinois. Brent faces an intoxication manslaughter charge and a jail sentence of up to 20 years.

Continue reading "Dallas Cowboy Is DWI And Causes Death - Again" »

Distracted drivers have no business on Texas roadways. They are a major nuisance and danger. State regulations are necessary.

Several Texas cities including San Antonio have passed local laws banning texting while driving, and an effort is under way to make it illegal across the state.

The move to ban texting and driving in Texas is not a new campaign.In 2011, the Texas Legislature approved a measure banning texting and driving. The legislation had bipartisan support but was vetoed by Gov.

Continue reading "Texting While Driving: Texas Must Veto This Dangerous Practice " »