Posted on September 22, 2023 in Work Accidents

Slip and fall accidents due to unsafe conditions are one of the top hazards employees face. The first step should always be to get medical attention for your work-related injury. After that, there are important next steps you should take to exercise your legal rights with a Texas lawyer.

Report the Incident

Alert your employer right away that you fell and suffered injuries on their premises. Provide details of exactly where, when, and how you fell. Request to fill out an official incident report and ask for a copy for your records once completed. Getting the details formally documented creates a critical paper trail essential for work-related injuries.

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 Posted on September 08, 2023 in Car Accidents

Dashcams are becoming increasingly popular in Texas vehicles. While drivers install them hoping to never need the footage, dashcams can provide crucial evidence if you are ever unfortunate enough to be involved in a car accident. Quality dashcam footage can significantly strengthen your ability to prove liability and recover maximum damages. This footage can help you and your Texas lawyer build a stronger case.

Capturing Accidents in Real Time

A dashcam provides an unbiased, objective record of the accident as it occurs. This can help establish crucial facts like lighting conditions, traffic flow, vehicle speeds prior to impact, and more. Unlike eyewitnesses, a dashcam never forgets critical details. The footage also refreshes the memories of the parties involved.

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 Posted on August 22, 2023 in Truck Accidents

Certain driving technology advancements have unquestionably helped keep motorists safer on U.S. roads. For example, backup cameras have helped to minimize the number of children and pets who are hit by vehicles every year in backover accident scenarios. Lane drifting alerts prevent an untold number of crashes as well, now that this technology is used widely. Yet, it is important to remain vigilant about driving safety as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) do not prevent all car accidents.

The Benefits of ADAS

ADAS systems help to prevent collisions by employing either warnings or automatic corrective action in the event that a motorist encounters certain hazards when traveling. For example, if a driver starts to drift out of their lane into an adjacent lane in which another vehicle is traveling in the motorist’s blind spot, an ADAS system may flash a light in the driver’s side mirror and sound an auditory alarm.

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 Posted on August 04, 2023 in Defective Products

If you are like most American adults, there is a “too much to do, too little time” energy that impacts how your life tends to unfold. As a result, it can be frustrating to learn that there is yet another effort that you should be making in order to keep yourself and others safer. Yet if you travel by car or truck  with any kind of regularity, it is important to take a few minutes once a month or so to scroll news related to auto recalls. The five minutes you take each month when making this effort may help you to prevent auto accidents and may just save your life or the lives of others.

Why Auto Recalls Matter

When an auto manufacturer unintentionally allows a defective part or product to enter the stream of commerce, consumers unknowingly place themselves and others in harm’s way by using that defective item. As cars are already dangerous machines, adding defective auto parts into the mix can result in injurious or deadly consequences.

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 Posted on July 20, 2023 in Car Accidents

The act of driving involves a seemingly endless checklist of decision-making. Speed up, slow down, or maintain one’s speed? Change lanes or stay put? Continue straight, turn right, turn left, or make a U-turn and go back? Every decision that a driver makes can potentially affect their safety and the safety of those around them. This is why it is both critical to pay attention when driving and to be informed about which actions are most likely to result in a car crash.

Turning Right

A motorist’s decision to turn is a perfect example of a decision that can impact their safety – and the safety of those around them – to different degrees, depending on how the turn itself is executed. Turning right is a relatively safe endeavor. When turning right, a motorist can almost always see what is happening around them and travels a very short distance to complete their maneuver.

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 Posted on July 10, 2023 in Truck Accidents

If you are like most American adults, you log on to at least one social media platform with some regularity. As one of the primary purposes of social media is to share one’s views and experiences with loved ones, colleagues, and the wider world, you may be tempted to discuss your recent car accident on social media. Yet, it is important to understand that car accident victims can unintentionally compromise their ability to pursue rightful compensation simply by posting on social media before their insurance and legal cases are resolved. As a result, you can safeguard your interests by foregoing social media activity at this time. At minimum, you will want to take great care when posting anything at all.

Why Social Media Activity Can Be So Consequential in Civil Cases 

It is not simply discussions of injuries and accident-related details on social media that can land a motor vehicle crash victim in trouble. Even seemingly innocuous content can be misinterpreted or twisted by insurance claims adjusters, opposing counsel, and other interested parties.

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 Posted on June 22, 2023 in Car Accidents

Each state has enacted negligence laws that have the potential to affect how much compensation a car crash injury victim is entitled to be awarded, in the event that they file legal action in civil court. A few states do not allow injury victims to pursue compensation from other responsible parties if they, themselves, contributed to the harm they have suffered to any degree whatsoever. Some other states allow victims to pursue compensation from other responsible parties regardless of the degree to which everyone involved – including the victim – was to blame for what happened.

Texas Law

Texas honors a legal standard that is commonly referred to as a modified approach to comparative negligence. What this means is that a car crash injury victim remains entitled to seek damages from other parties that contributed to the cause(s) of their harm, provided that the victim was not more than 50% responsible for their own harm. Their damages award is then, proportionately, reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to the victim.

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 Posted on June 05, 2023 in Car Accidents

Crating pets or strapping them into some sort of safety apparatus when preparing for a journey in a car or truck can be inconvenient, to say the least. Especially if an animal cries or is prone to chewing or digging when restrained, it can be far easier to simply let them roam loose in a vehicle. Unfortunately, the convenience of allowing a pet to travel unrestrained can lead to motor vehicle accidents. As a result, it is important to find creative solutions when an animal resists travel-related restraints.

Pets Are Distracting

It surprises many parents to learn that there are two primary distractions that are most likely to lead to collisions when their teenage children take the wheel. The first is, obviously, electronic-related distractions. By now, the vast majority of Americans understand that texting while driving and otherwise utilizing electronic technology when operating a vehicle causes preventable crashes. However, the second distraction that is most likely to cause an accident is neither so obvious nor so easily avoided: Passengers.

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 Posted on May 16, 2023 in Truck Accidents

One of the most pressing questions everyone has after a commercial truck accident is, “Why?” Victims and their families want to understand why the truck accident occurred and who is to blame. The causes of commercial truck accidents are as varied and complex as the individuals harmed in those accidents. However, understanding the cause of the accident is one of the first steps in pursuing compensation for damages.

Many commercial truck accidents are caused by the truck driver. Distracted driving, fatigued driving, speeding, and inattention can all lead to catastrophic truck accidents. However, legal responsibility for a commercial truck accident often falls to the truck company. In this blog, we will discuss some of the ways that negligent hiring practices can lead to avoidable truck crash injuries.

Trucking Companies Need to Vet Applicants Carefully

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 Posted on May 03, 2023 in Distractive Driving

Multiple studies show that distracted driving is worse now than ever. Smartphones and other devices have become an integral part of our everyday lives, and many people cannot bear to part with their devices for even the few minutes it takes to drive across town.

Unfortunately, these factors have led to an increase in the number of fatal accidents involving distracted driving. If your loved one passed away in an accident that was caused by a driver who was using a cell phone or otherwise too distracted to drive safely, it is important to understand your legal rights. You may be able to take legal action against the negligent driver in the form of a wrongful death claim.

Texas Wrongful Death Claims

Texas law defines wrongful death as a death caused by another party’s “wrongful act, neglect, carelessness, unskillfulness, or default.” Sending and receiving text messages, direct messaging on social media, or other electronic communications while driving are illegal in Texas.

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