Personal Injury

Published on: December 15, 2016

Got Hit By a Delivery Driver?

This time of year seeing a UPS or Fed Ex truck on the road is a common occurrence. Driver’s delivering packages this time of year are often under a lot of pressure. In my house, those delivery men and women are called “Santa’s little helpers” because they’re the real heroes of the Christmas package delivery game, not those elves. UPS expects to deliver more than 700 million packages this holiday season, with 13 of 21 holiday shipping day to exceed 30 million packages a day. https://pressroom.ups.com/pressroom/ContentDetailsViewer.page?ConceptType=PressReleases&id=1477506556294-677. Fedex does not expect to be quite as busy as UPS, although they still predict record deliveries of around around 325 million packages this holiday season. http://www.businessinsider.com/ups-fedex-holiday-shipping-plan-new-technology-2016-11. All told, that is around 1 billion packages traveling around the country in large semi-trucks and delivery trucks. That is a lot of packages and a lot of driving.

This time of year it seems like every where you go, you see a Fedex or UPS vehicle delivering package. Those drivers are everywhere. You see them traveling in and around our local highways all day and into the night, often working very long hours and driving in upwards of 50-100 miles per day to drop off their hundreds of shipments. It is a tough job with long hours, lots of driving, and a lot of stress. With such a vast number of drivers on the roads this time of year, that leads to one absolute certainty: accidents.

Accidents with delivery drivers happen for a variety of reasons. It could be human error, or it could be some outside factor. Here is a list of some common causes of accidents with delivery truck during the holiday season:

Published on: December 7, 2016

Yet Another Head On Collision on Kaufman County Roads

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Anyone driving in and around Kaufman county can tell there is more traffic than their used to be. Forney is growing. Terrell is growing. Talty, Kaufman, Heartland/Crandall, and even little old Combine has seen some growth. For most people in Kaufman county, the growth is a welcome sight.

But the old Farm to Market roads that many of us travel on a daily basis have become a danger zone. Back when these two lane “highways” were built, there were no cellphones, no Facebook. The only reason you got distracted on the road was because you saw a deer or you were changing the radio station. With all the increased traffic and increased distraction, these two lane roads have begun to show their age.

It seems like every day or two Mathew Richards is writing about another head on collision or rollover crash that has happened on those roads. Last night it was another head-on collision near Lake Ray Hubbard drive, which is pretty close to where 740 and 460 meet. Now, I am not calling for an all out upgrade of the roadway system in Kaufman county. For one, I don’t want to pay for it. But as a personal injury attorney, I see people who have had their lives changed forever because of accidents. I meet people who have lost loved ones as a result of these types of accidents. Safe driving is important to me, not just because I don’t want to see anybody get hurt, but because we need to keep our roadways safe for those who may be traveling in those other cars. It may not just be Joe Schmoe in the other car you hit. It may be Joe, Jr., and that is exactly what drives our firm to take each case of unsafe driving so seriously. We want to make an example out of those drivers who do not take the safety of the other drivers on the road seriously. Distracted drivers, unsafe drivers, and anyone in between are driving selfishly. It is important that people understand that it is not “okay” to text and drive. It is not “okay” to watch Youtube videos while driving on Highway 80. Its just not. Your phone, and the entertainment it brings, is not more important than the safety of everyone else on the road. And when one of my clients comes in here and tells us about how they got hurt by some selfish driver who was on their cellphone, then get ready because we are about to make an example out of them.

Published on: November 15, 2016

Early Morning Travel Dangers: Fog

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

By and large, fall weather in North Texas is phenomenal. Highs in the low 70’s and the sun is still warm. Cool nights with just enough chill in the air to make you want to put a coat on, but not cool enough to actually make you go inside and put one on. It is a far cry from the 100 degree heat of the summer.

So, you could be thinking, how could such amazing weather lead to danger on the highway? It all has a little something to do with the dew point. The “dew point” is the point at which the air is holding as much water vapor as it can handle. In the fall in Texas, the days can still be fairly warm, but the nights are getting cooler. Because of this, we have a 20-30 degree temperature difference between the day-time high and the overnight low. This is the perfect combination to create foggy morning driving. If you live anywhere near a river, lake, or other body of water, it is likely that you are driving to work in fog every morning this time of year.

The simple and best advice for drivers who are concerned about driving safely in fog is to not drive when fog is present. Driving in fog is laden with variables that you cannot control: other drivers, animals crossing the road, poor visibility… the list goes on. However, if you must drive in fog, follow these safety tips:

Published on: August 25, 2016

Another Child Left In Hot Van By A Day Care. This Time in Greenville….

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

As a parent, when you leave your child with someone else, you expect them to care for your child like they were your own. At the very least, you expect them make sure the basic needs and well-being are being looked after. However, it is far too often that we hear about children being left in hot cars today. It is one thing when a forgetful parent does it. That parent has to live with that pain of knowing they harmed their child for the rest of their life. But when a licensed, professional day care forgets about your child in a vehicle all day, that is another thing entirely.

According to EastTexasMatters.com, a 3-year-old child was reportedly left in a Greenville childcare’s van on Monday. The city of Greenville’s public information officer said that officers were called to the L.P. Waters campus on Carver on reports a child was left inside a local daycare’s van from around 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

It was at around 2:30 p.m., that the driver went back to the L.P. Waters campus to pick up students. The driver reported the van’s side door was open and the child was standing there. The 3-year-old boy was removed and taken into the school where the nurse began caring for him.

Published on: August 15, 2016

Wet Weather and Failing to Maintain Safe Speeds

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Every year, thousands of drivers around the country are injured in car wrecks where weather played a role in the accident. Dallas-Fort Worth is not an exception to this trend. Especially with the amount of rain we have received over the last two years. Now, after a fairly dry summer, the wet weather has returned and our forecast calls for rain straight through the end of next week.

For local farmers this is exciting news. For most everyone else it means cooler weather. For personal injury attorneys, it means lots of phone calls. Why? Lots of car wrecks occur on North Texas roads when they become wet from the rain.

Under Texas law, “An operator may not drive at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the circumstances then existing.” This means that our State requires drivers to maintain a speed that is safe under the conditions. If you get into an accident in Texas, whoever the police officer believes is at fault will usually receive a ticket for “Failing to Maintain Speed”. If you get into an accident and receive one of these tickets, it is vital to your case against liability to have this ticket dismissed. Your personal injury attorney will usually get you in contact with a ticket attorney to defend the ticket.

Published on: July 22, 2016

Personal Injury: What Damages Do I Claim?

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Personal injury cases often involve many different forms of “damages”. As you will see below, when dealing with an insurance company, and seeking a settlement in particular, it is important to account for everything. You do not want to leave any money on the table, simply because you will not be able to get it back later. Many people are concerned about future medical treatment. Others are worried about the time they missed from work or the damage to their vehicle. Below is an explanation of the different types of damages that you should ask for when seeking a settlement from the insurance company.

Medical Bills: This includes services that you have received, prescription medications and any products or items that you have purchased as a result of your injury. This includes:

(1) Hospital and emergency care; subsequent doctor appointments, chiropractor visits, specialists, and even the cost of surgery;

Published on: July 20, 2016

Pokémon Go: Driving and Safety Concerns

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Ever since Pokemon Go came out, it seems to be all the millennials and news channels want to talk about. When the news talks about it, they say one of two things: They emphasize the craze, or they talk about the crazy accidents that have been happening. People are getting so wrapped up in the augmented reality game that they are falling off of cliffs and walking into streets.

We noticed that there is a Pokestop just down the street from our office because ever since the game was released, we have teenagers swirling around our windows at a never-before-seen rate. One day it even seemed like the zombie apocalypse was actually happening. Instead of zombies, they were 16 year old iPhone wielding Poke-drones. I even saw a car stop in the middle of the street near the Jackrabbit sign, the local landmark in our small town, to get the Pokestop.

Because of this, the accident and injury attorneys here at Guest and Gray decided it would be wise to let people know a few facts about accidents and injuries that may occur as a result of playing Pokémon Go.

Published on: July 6, 2016

Bell Test Helicopter Crashes in Ellis County

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

According to Fox4news.com, A test helicopter owned by Bell helicopter has crashed just outside the town of Italy on North Bell Ranch Road. Another helicopter registered to Bell Helicopters landed safely nearby. The crash happened around noon and it is still unknown whether or not there were any survivors.

For more information see: http://www.fox4news.com/news/170202233-story. (Photo courtesy of fox4news.com)

Commentary: Helicopter accidents are much more complicated than a standard motor vehicle crash simply because of the technical nature of the air craft. Quite often, the crash is related to an instrument failure. However, if you look at the picture, you can see that the crash occurred right next to powerlines. So it appears that several variables will be at play: was the crash due to pilot error, or was it the result of a malfunction, or even a mixture of both?

Published on: June 23, 2016

Drunk Driving and Dram Shop Laws in Texas

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Drunk driving is a problem across the United States. According to the national highway traffic safety administration, in 2014 approximately 9,967 people lost their lives in drunk driving related accidents across the country. That accounts for nearly 31% of all traffic fatalities.

In our office, we have both experienced personal injury attorneys and experienced DWI attorneys. We see DWI client after DWI client that comes through the door that received a DWI after leaving a bar where they became obviously intoxicated and the bar or restaurant let them go out into the public knowing that they presented a danger to themselves and others.

This is a huge problem here in North Texas. Just look at recent news stories from the last few months. We have countless late night fatality accidents involving allegedly drunk drivers, and some of them were either leaving a bar or restaurant where they had been served alcohol to the point of intoxication. Alcohol related accidents are not just a new phenomenon, in fact we are closing in on 30 years of dram shop liability in Texas for bars, restaurants and others who are licensed to serve alcohol in the state of Texas.

Published on: June 21, 2016

Traumatic Brain Injuries and Negligence Claims: The Real Cost

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

It is fairly common for people involved in serious, or even moderately severe car accidents to suffer traumatic brain injuries. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex injury that has a broad spectrum of symptoms that can result in a variety of disabilities. As a result, this can have a profound effect on his or her family. A traumatic brain injury may have an effect on the person’s ability to function in daily life, perform the same job functions, maintain employment, familial relationships, mood, and overall health.

Traumatic brain injuries are much more common than people think, and the single greatest cause of traumatic brain injuries is car accidents. A 2009 study out of Missouri found that traumatic brain injuries as a result of car accidents create a net economic loss of approximately $513 million dollars per year. (see more at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18212649/) In addition, individual brain injuries can cost between $90,000 to well over $3,000,000 over the lifespan depending on the severity of the injury and the extent that the person is unable to recover from the injury.

Traumatic brain injury is very different from an anoxic brain injury. An anoxic brain injury occurs which occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen. Examples of anoxic brain injury include surgical complications, full cardiac arrest and near-drowning. On the other hand, traumatic brain injuries typically result in bruising and swelling of the brain, whereas anoxic brain injury causes brain cells to die as a result of oxygen deprivation. (see more at: Long, What is Anoxic Brain Injury? Washington, D.C.: Brain Injury Association, Inc. (formerly National Head Injury Foundation).