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Published on: March 29, 2017

How Long Do I Have to Sue the Other Driver for My Personal Injury?

We get this question a lot from our clients and potential clients here in Forney, Rockwall and Dallas. The question often boils down to “how long do I have to sue the other driver?”

The easy answer is two years. But, that is not the legal answer. The legal answer involves a review of a state statute and a little bit of case law. The limitations periods in Texas are set out in the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code. So, that is where we start.

Chapter 16 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code provides in pertinent part that a person must bring suit for personal injury not later than two years after the day the cause of action accrues. Pretty simple, right? Almost. The statute does not say when the cause of action accrues, it only says that you have two years from the accrual date.

Published on: March 22, 2017

Hospital Bills in Dallas, Rockwall or Kaufman Counties After Your Car Accident? Here is How Hospital Liens Work And How We May Be Able to Help

by Robert Guest

Hospital bills piling up? We know how that goes. Literally. After you are injured in an accident, you will probably have several different kinds of bills related to medical services that were provided to you after the accident. You will likely have hospital bills, ER doctor’s bills, and emergency services bills, such as the EMS ambulance that treated you and transported you to the hospital. You will have the emergency room bill for the treatment you received there. Additionally, you may have subsequent treatment from your family doctor, or you may need to have additional treatment by a specialist. All of these providers will want to place a lien on your recovery, or put your account under a letter of protection to protect their right to recover money for the services they provided you once your case settles or goes to trial.

The job of a personal injury attorney is to determine which of these liens has priority and to settle these liens with the providers once your claim has been settled or a judgment has been paid. We often hear questions from injured clients and injured potential clients when they come meet with us in our Forney, Dallas, or Rockwall locations about how their doctor’s bills will end up affecting their recovery. In order to understand how these liens will affect your recovery for injuries you received here in Forney, Dallas, Rockwall or anywhere else in the State of Texas, you need to have a basic understanding of how the liens work and how they are perfected by the hospitals. Only then can we begin to understand how much they will affect your recovery.

How Do Hospital Liens Work?

Published on: August 3, 2016

Passenger claims: Which Insurance Company Pays For My Injuries?

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

This is a common question when working with an injured victim who was injured as a passenger in a vehicle that was involved in a car wreck. At first, it seems like a very simple question that has a very simple answer: the at-fault party. However, the facts of each case do not always play out that way, and for a few basic reasons such as:

There were multiple at fault parties.
The driver of the car they were in was at-fault.

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 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: February 12, 2016

18 Wheeler Accidents on the Rise in Texas

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

According to Tx Dot, in 2014 there were 508 fatal crashes involving commercial vehicles, including 18 wheelers, killing 588 Texans statewide. But that only tells half the story, there 1,155 accidents that caused debilitating injuries to over 1,500 Texans statewide. There were over 3,100 confirmed injury accidents injuring over 4,600 Texans and up to over 11,000 more that are unconfirmed.

The numbers are simply staggering. Texas is a very large state, with thousands of miles of highways and roads. With Texas’ strong economy and high population, accidents between commercial vehicles and standard vehicles are bound to happen.

The trucking industry is large and powerful. Some profit-driven trucking companies place unfair demands on their drivers. Most truck drivers are only paid for moving a product from one location to another. This financial incentive for truckers encourages truckers to engage in negligent and dangerous behaviors on the road. Driver fatigue, driving at excessive speed, using dangerous drugs to stay awake at night while driving and failing to adjust their speed for adverse weather conditions, or a combination of things listed above, can become incredibly dangerous for other driver’s on the road.

Published on: January 28, 2016

What is Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage and Why Do I Need it?

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

What is PIP Coverage?

Personal Injury Protection is an optional coverage that is available for a minimal extra cost to your monthly bill. It is a useful safeguard that covers medical costs in the event of an accident. Many people reject the coverage for the simple fact that it adds cost to your monthly bill. However, that should not be the only reason you decline a coverage. Especially one that can be such a great benefit to you in a time of need. There are good reasons to get the PIP coverage, and good reasons for not getting it. But as a personal injury attorney, I can tell you that more often than not having the PIP coverage can help you in many more ways than it can hurt you. The hope is that you never need it, but when you do, it has been a very effective way for our clients to get extra cost for medical bills that seem to build up after an accident happens.

How Can PIP Help You?

Published on: January 26, 2016

Contractor Do a Bad Job? Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Help

by Robert Guest

Shoddy craftsmanship is one of the biggest concerns people have when they search for contractors to do repairs or upgrades to their home. The person you hire should be reliable and you should be able to rely on the fact that you paid them money to do a good job. Unfortunately, that is not always how it goes. When you are the victim of a bad construction job, what can you do? Well, Texas answered that question by passing the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

The Deceptive Trade Practices Act is a consumer protection law that holds people and businesses accountable for using false or deceptive trade practices in the State of Texas. Construction work typically and most squarely falls under the DTPA through the breach of express or implied warranty claims. An express warranty is one that is included in the contract with the contractor when you signed it, and an implied warranty is one that is implied by law, such as the implied warranty of good and workmanlike manner.

Warranties are a great tool for attorneys who wish to use the DTPA and are standard tools in any DTPA suit against a contractor. These implied warranties fit very nicely next to the standard breach of contract claims that you will want to bring. They fit nicely because the difference between a breach of contract and a breach of warranty, which are separate causes of action, but the warranty usually springs into play as a result of the contractor breaking some part of the agreement that produces shoddy workmanship or a finished product that is different from what was explicitly agreed upon. In order to determine which warranties come into play, we must look at the contract you signed (if you signed one).

Published on: January 12, 2016

1,400 Jurors Called For Hearings as Trial of Terrell Man Accused of Killing Five Draws Near

by Robert Guest

Via inforney.com-Terrell, Texas- Over 1,400 potential jurors were summoned to jury selection hearings for the capital murder trial of a Terrell man.

Charles Brownlow is accused of shooting to death five people, including his 61-year old mother and 55 year old aunt during an overnight killing spree in Terrell, Texas in October 2013.

Trial is set for April 11, 2016 for the murder of Leal-Carillo, a 22-year-old who lost his life on that night in October of 2013.

Published on: January 12, 2016

Crandall PD: Borden Driver’s Erratic Behavior led to Chase, Crash, and Arrest.

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

According to inForney.com, this past Friday afternoon, a Borden delivery driver was acting erratically at a local gas station, which caused them to investigate. The driver fled from the gas station in the large Borden delivery truck. This led to him driving across the grass of several businesses located across the street from the local First Baptist Church. Interestingly enough, just a few years ago, an erratic driver drove through the gym, the gym’s kitchen, and several classrooms of church gym.

According to David HagEstad, a member of First Baptist Church, and a member of our friendly staff here at Guest & Gray, told us here at the office that he was doing some cleaning at the church at the time that the arrest was made. He said he heard the sirens and saw the Borden truck parked in the grass across the way and several police vehicles behind the Cotton Gin just up the road.

He said that he is just glad that everyone is safe, and the driver was caught before he really hurt somebody. He also said that he is “very glad” it wasn’t the church this time.