2011 March Archive

Nine members of the Trinity United Methodist Church in Denton, TX recently filed suit against the driver of their tour bus, which crashed on an icy Colorado road in December 2010 and caused them injuries. The suit also names the driver’s employer, a bus company located in Fort Worth, according to an article published in The Forth Worth Star-Telegram.

According to the church members, the bus driver is responsible for their injuries because he was driving too fast on icy roads when the bus accident occurred. The driver reportedly passed multiple cars and was traveling too fast for the ice on the roads and the snow and darkness that obscured the road ahead. The bus slid off the road near Gunnison, Colorado, where it rolled down a hill and struck a post. The driver was cited for speeding by Colorado police.

In addition, the nine injured church members claim that the driver failed to meet federal requirements while on the job. These included failing to keep track of the bus’s stops, including a meal break, and failing to use adaptive equipment while driving, even though the driver’s right foot had been partially amputated.

The nine church members who decided to sue the bus driver all suffered injuries in the December crash. The group includes four children, their parents, and another adult couple who were injured.

Bus accidents are dangerous to everyone involved. The large number of passengers a bus can hold, plus the bus’s size and weight, make a bus accident a prime scene for injuries. Often, injuries in a bus crash are severe, requiring expensive medical treatment and long-term care or rehabilitation. While most bus drivers take their safety responsibilities seriously, drivers who are reckless or distracted put everyone on the road at great risk. If you have been injured in a bus accident, an experienced Texas bus accident attorney can help you understand your legal rights and options, as well as help you seek compensation for injuries and related losses, if needed.

An SUV rear-ended an elementary school bus in Weatherford recently, according to an article in The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The SUV’s driver and two children who were exiting the bus at the time of the accident were injured.

The bus had stopped along Fort Worth Highway to let children out when the SUV, driven by a Millsap woman and carrying her three children in the backseat, ran into the back of the bus. The collision pushed the bus forward about 15 to 20 feet, breaking glass in some of the bus’s windows. The bus driver immediately evacuated the 49 passengers aboard the bus, believing the vehicle was on fire after the Texas car crash.

The SUV’s driver was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth after rescue crews removed her from the SUV, the front of which had gotten stuck under the front of the bus. The bus’s passengers and the three children in the SUV were sent home with their parents. The two injured children were taken to Weatherford Regional Medical Center as a precaution, but they were not seriously injured and were sent home with their parents shortly afterward. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

Bus and car accidents can cause life-threatening and permanent injuries. Those who are injured in accidents in Texas have certain legal rights. Consulting with an experienced Texas bus accident lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and options so you can make the best choices for yourself and your family after an accident occurs.

Immediately after a car crash in Texas, you may not feel as though you were injured. Many symptoms of an injury only appear after several hours or even days following an accident. Whiplash injuries, which are common in rear-end collisions and other types of car accidents, may take several days to show their true severity.

A whiplash injury, also known as a neck sprain or neck strain, is a soft tissue injury that occurs when the head and neck are thrown forward and jerked backward quickly, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Moderate to severe whiplash injuries may also cause damage to the discs and joints in the spine, ligaments, muscles, and nerve roots in the neck.

The symptoms of a whiplash injury may appear immediately after an accident, or they may not appear for several days. Common symptoms include neck pain or stiffness, head pain, dizziness, and pain in the shoulders or upper back. Some patients also have cognitive injuries, such as suffering from memory loss, sleep disturbances, and an inability to concentrate.

Whiplash injuries should be treated as soon as possible after they materialize. Medications like non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, and muscle relaxants can help ease the pain and stiffness of a whiplash injury. Patients may also wear a cervical collar for a few days or weeks until the neck heals enough to support the weight of the head on its own. Physical therapy sessions may also be necessary to help speed recovery.

If you are in a car accident in Texas, it’s important to pay careful attention to your condition in the hours and days after the accident occurs. Even if you feel fine immediately after, you may still be injured. Seek the help of an experienced physician to treat your injuries, and consider talking to an experienced Texas car accident neck injury lawyer who understands whiplash injuries to learn more about your rights and options after a car crash.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 4.7 million Americans are bitten by dogs every year. Of these, 800,000 people – including 400,000 children – are bitten badly enough to see a doctor. Approximately 386,000 people go to emergency rooms for treatment each year after a dog bite. Dog bites also claim about sixteen lives per year in the U.S.

In order to help prevent dog bite injuries, the CDC recommends a number of things you should consider before getting or approaching a new dog. For example, before getting a dog, research various dog breeds to learn which would be the best fit for your family. If your child is afraid of dogs, do not bring a dog into the household until your child is comfortable around them. When choosing a dog, select one that is properly socialized and trained, or ensure that you give your dog proper socialization and training to prevent dog bite attacks. And finally, consult a veterinarian or animal behavior specialist if your dog starts showing signs of aggression, fear, or similar emotions that can lead to biting.

You can also help protect your kids from dog bite injuries by ensuring they know how to act safely around a dog. Teach children not to approach an unfamiliar dog and always to ask a dog’s owner if it is okay to pet the dog. If the dog approaches your children, teach them to stand still and not to run screaming. Remind children never to bother dogs who are sleeping, eating, or taking care of their puppies, and if they are bitten, to tell an adult immediately.

Dog bites can often be prevented by knowing how to live with and near dogs. However, if you or your child suffers a dog bite, an experienced Texas dog bite injury lawyer can help you understand your legal rights and options regarding pursuing a case against a negligent dog owner. Always seek medical care for a dog bite first, and then consider consulting an attorney.

In Texas, until recently, the law has been that if a property owner knows about a hazardous condition on their property, the owner can protect against liability for injuries by warning others about the dangerous condition. However, the Texas Supreme Court recently held that, in some cases, not even the strongest warning is enough to protect a property owner.

In Del Lago v. Smith, Smith was at a fraternity party held at the Del Lago resort. Over the course of the evening, the fraternity got into a verbal argument with a wedding party also celebrating at the resort. Both the fraternity and the wedding party got increasingly drunk as the night wore on, and eventually the argument turned into a physical fight. Smith got involved and suffered a fractured skull.

The Texas Supreme Court held that, because Del Lago was aware the argument was likely to turn into a fight and had over an hour and a half to break it up before the fight started, Del Lago was therefore liable for not taking a “reasonably prudent” action to prevent the fight from hurting Smith or other patrons. The Court stated that “in some circumstances, no warning can be adequate,” but it did not explain how to recognize situations in which no warning could be enough.

Protecting patrons from injury is part of a business’s duty under Texas law. When a business’s negligence or carelessness leads to a patron getting hurt, the business may be liable under Texas premises liability law for medical expenses, lost wages, and other damages. This rule reminds businesses yet again to watch out for their patrons to avoid a Texas premises liability case.