wrongful death

June 12, 2020

Latest Hit-and-Run in DFW Heart-Breaking

by William K. Berenson

Dial 911

Burleson tragedy is the latest in a surge of fatal hit-and-runs

A driver hit a car on Monday night in Burleson, then fled the scene. The life of Tre Allison, a popular 16-year-old, was taken away. He was a top student at Burleson High School, a devout Christian, and found time to be start on its football, basketball, and track teams.

Monday had been an exciting day for the Burleson football team. It was the first day that the quarantined players had been able to practice with their new football coach, the former NFL quarterback Jon Kitna.

June 8, 2020

Burleson Drunk Driving Crash Takes Life of Woman

by William K. Berenson

Late Saturday night a man struck an Alvarado woman with his vehicle in the 3300 block of Interstate 35 in Burleson. She tragically suffered fatal injuries. The driver failed field sobriety tests and was charged with intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle, according to news sources. We offer our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased victim and hope that the driver gets the maximum punishment allowed by Texas law.

I35-Burleson-site-of-fatal-crash

Fatal Driving While Intoxicated Crashes in North Texas are a serious problem

A shocking 10,000 Texans lost their lives in DWI collisions in Texas from 2010 to 2017. This number increases each year. About 100 of the victims each year live in the DFW area.

June 3, 2020

Fort Worth Woman Killed After Truck Crashes Into Hotel

by William K. Berenson

House-hit-bytruck
We are living through unprecedented chaos. Violent protests against racism and injustice coupled with the grim pandemic have rocked our country. Our hearts go out to everyone who is hurting and frightened, especially in the minority communities that are the disproportionately the victims of these two disastrous plagues that have beset the world. So the last thing we needed to see happen this weekend was this horrific crash that took the life of a woman of color.

A 16-year-old male stole a truck and was driving recklessly in a parking lot in north Fort Worth when his truck hit a car. He kept driving and crashed the truck into the wall of the HomeTowne Suites.

Hotel
An employee who was inside a room named Maria Mancha tragically died. The teen hit-and-ran, was chased to a nearby hotel, and was arrested. We extend our sincere condolences to the family of Ms. Mancha.

May 26, 2020

Holiday? Not From Deadly Car Accidents

by William K. Berenson

Memorial Day is the most dangerous weekend of the year

Yesterday marked Memorial Day when we honored those who died on battlefields to give us our precious freedom. But there is little remembrance of those who lose their lives on roads every day due to drunk or reckless drivers.

These victims need to be remembered. And the drunk and reckless drivers need to be stopped.

April 6, 2020

Fort Worth Car and Truck Crashes Continue During Shut-Down

by William K. Berenson

Health Insurance Here we are in the middle of a terrifying global epidemic. The death rate is spiraling. We have been ordered to stay home, for the most part. Yes, it’s frustrating. But some people somehow continue to drive around like normal.

It’s not just that they are probably spreading the coronavirus. They keep speeding, running red lights and stop signs, and texting while driving — and causing car and truck wrecks, engaging in road rage, and hitting pedestrians.

So even though many less people are allowed to be driving on DFW roads, personal injuries and wrongful deaths continue to happen. And we wonder if the quarantine is making some people drive even more recklessly than usual, as if nothing had changed.

For example, here are just a few of the crashes that happened here in the past week:

March 11, 2020

Deadly Texas Drunk Driving Accident Caused By Restaurant

by William K. Berenson

Drinking and Driving Several weeks ago, three teenagers tragically died when their speeding car crashed in Plano at 4:00 a.m. We all suspected that this was just another Texas drunk driving accident. After all, we are always #1 in the country for the number of DWI fatalities, with 820 Texans losing their lives in 2018. It was shocking that an investigation found that an employee of a nearby barbecue restaurant was responsible for selling alcohol to the minors.

While the employee faces criminal charges of up to one year in jail, you may be wondering

(1) how the civil aspect of a DWI crash case works; and

January 3, 2020

Affluenza Teen and the Epidemic of DWI Deaths in DFW

by William K. Berenson

Crashed-truck

New Year, same old results on our roads

New Year’s Eve, the holiday devoted to getting drunk, took its usual deadly toll in North Texas. Here are reports about the holiday’s DWI deaths in DFW and a related story about the poster child of drunk driving in North Texas – if not the country. These add to our dismal December drunk driving crashes.

Ethan Couch, who caused four DWI deaths in DFW and permanent paralysis to another teenager, is jailed

December 27, 2019

Representing Family in Fatal DWI Crash

by William K. Berenson

Our firm is filing suit on behalf of the family of a man who tragically lost his life when he was crashed into by a repeat-drunk driver.

The decedent was going to work when a pickup truck rear ended his vehicle at an extremely fast speed.

The drunk driver fled the scene but police helicopters located him and he was arrested for intoxication manslaughter. He has a long criminal history and we believe should be given a lengthy jail sentence.

November 8, 2019

Pedestrian Deaths in Texas Alarming

by William K. Berenson

I thought to write about this topic as I attended our monthly meeting yesterday morning of the National Safety Council’s Road Safety Task Force. We help implement state and local government actions which attempt to curb pedestrian and vehicle deaths in the Fort Worth area. Then I attended the education seminar at the annual convention of the Texas Trial Lawyers Association (day two is today). It was agreed by government planners and accident lawyers alike that pedestrian deaths in Texas are at epidemic levels.

October 14, 2019

Supreme Court Hears Controversial Sanctions Case

by William K. Berenson

ethical-unethical-sign

When has a trial lawyer represented his client too zealously?

The Texas Supreme Court heard arguments Friday here in Fort Worth in the nationally-watched sanctions case of Brewer v. Lennox Hearth Products. There was a packed courtroom and an overflow crowd at Texas A&M Law School.

The Court’s decision will set boundaries on just how far a lawyer can go to win a trial. And making the hearing even more sensational, the attorney in question, William Brewer III of Dallas and New York City, has often been in the headlines, most recently while representing the National Rifle Association.