The 2021 Texas Legislature enacted 666 new laws, most taking effect today. Overshadowed by the controversial ones affecting voting, guns, and abortion is one that drastically affects the rights of people injured in a commercial truck crash.
House Bill 19 will make Texas highways more dangerous by relaxing the legal requirements that hold negligent drivers and their employers liable for the damage they cause.
Three fatal crashes in one day is insaneTexas may be fully open for business but there are less vehicles on the roads thanks to remote working, shopping, and schooling. So you would hope that at least the number of car accidents would have decreased. But looking at how many fatal crashes happened in the Fort Worth area just on Friday, it is apparent that our local highways are as dangerous as ever.
This is what happened in those eight hours:
A tractor-trailer, flatbed truck and pickup were involved in a crash about 10:00 a.m. on Highway 114 at an intersection near the Texas Motor Speedway in Justin. Apparently a woman driving the flatbed truck died. Other people were injured, two of them seriously.
A man who was driving while intoxicated took the life of a 21-year-old woman around 2:30 a.m on Interstate 20. Her car collided into an 18-wheeler that had jack-knifed and blocked all lanes of traffic after it was crashed into by the drunk man. The young woman was a college student, worked, and was loved by many. And shockingly, this was the third child that her parents had lost in a DWI collision, adding to the heart break.
Also about 2:30 a.m., the 47-year-old assistant basketball coach at the University of North Texas died after his car hit a culvert in on U.S. 380. His vehicle flipped over and traveled through a fence. Other details were not reported. His team had finished its first NCAA tournament in the history of the school just several weeks before.
These stories are devastating. Any one wrongful death from a car crash or due to any other reason is heart-breaking. There are so many ways someone can get hurt out on the roads.
We send our condolences and prayers to their families and everyone impacted by these tragedies.
Guest blog written for MADD by Bill Berenson, personal injury lawyer and member of MADD’s North Texas Advisory Board of Directors
Further, some of the drivers of these gigantic vehicles were driving while intoxicated or drugged.
Reckless and drunk driving have to stop or, at the very least, be curtailed.
We should not think that violent crashes like this one caused by a speeding trucker who crashed into vehicles on the opposite side of LBJ Freeway in North Dallas are acceptable.
After the horrific February 11th chain reaction that took the lives of six people and injured scores of others, it was announced that a federal agency would investigate. Well, that was the least that could happen. We need to find out what caused Fort Worth’s deadly crash and how another tragedy like this can be avoided.
However, the Fort Worth Star Telegram reported that the National Transportation Safety Board will only look into whether the toll lanes had been deiced before the historic storm shut down Texas for a week – if it makes a report at all.
Critics say a complete investigation and remedial action is needed. We wholeheartedly agree.
Two women and their three children were driving on Loop 820 when they were rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. But the driver’s insurance company initially refused to pay them for their medical treatment and other damages. The women hired us so they could be fairly compensated after their Fort Worth tractor-trailer crash.
We went to work immediately and
Texas wrongful death lawsuits will provide answers; Griddy also sued for price gougingA lawsuit was filed by three people injured in the massive 133-vehicle pile-up on the express lanes of I-35 on February 11. Six people tragically lost their lives and at least 60 people were injured. Many other Texas wrongful death lawsuits and personal injury suits will be filed to establish liability and collect damages.
The plaintiffs accuse five companies of failing to hire, train and supervise capable drivers. The drivers are accused of driving too fast for the icy road conditions.
Early this morning, a thin layer of ice coating the high-speed toll lanes near North Side Drive on Interstate 35 North caused one of the worst series of crashes that Fort Worth has ever seen. The catastrophe made national headlines.
This video shows the clean-up of the estimated 133 vehicles in the pile-up.
Berenson Injury Law has handled many crashes on I-35, including a death caused when the reconstruction of the highway happened.
So as you can see, this is a very important topic. The problem is that you will not know in advance which doctors you need to see, what they charge, and who is paying them.
Our clients were driving their SUV on Interstate 35 in Denton County in December of 2017 when traffic came to an unexpected stop. They were rear-ended by a young man driving a company van.
The wife was rushed to a hospital complaining of pain to her head and neck. CT scans showed that she had fractured her C2 disc. The husband fractured his right leg and injured his right arm. Several months later, she had to have her neck fused.
Fort Worth Injury Attorney Blog