Accident on 80

Published on: April 6, 2018

East Texas Oil Field Accident Attorneys: Guest and Gray, P.C.

The East Texas Oil Field Is Still Producing In Paying Quanities

According to East-Texas.com, the East Texas Oil Field is still alive and well, with numerous East Texas cities like Tyler, Longview, Marshall and Gladewater all still seeing high levels of oil and gas and other natural resource employment. While that is all well and good for the oil industry, one thing that is for certain is that working in natural resource development, such as oil and gas and salt mines, on the job injuries are going to happen. Working on the rigs, in the trucks, on the lines, in demolition, you name it there is opportunity for danger.

If You Got Injured in An Accident Today, What Would You Do? What Would Your Family Do?

Published on: April 6, 2018

Application of Res Ipsa Loquitur in Medical Malpractice Cases in Texas

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Res Ispa Loquitur is one of those cool old latin legal terms that has made its place in modern law and is here to stay. It is one of the more useful ones, as well, especially in medical malpractice claims.

The term Res Ipsa Loquitur literally translated means “the thing itself speaks”. In law, it means that the occurrence which brought about the injury would not, and could not, have happened absent a negligent act. It is a way of presuming negligence without having to prove it with a lot of evidence. What is a good example of that? A sponge. Yep, a sponge.

….. A sponge that was left in a person’s abdomen during surgery that was left there with “no medical justification for leaving it there.” Yeah, Res Ipsa Loquitur definitely should apply there. Leaving a sponge or other object in a person’s body after surgery can lead to infection and even death. The fact that a sponge or other foreign object was made to remain in a person’s body after surgery can only have happened because someone forgot to remove it. Therefore, the fact that it is even there is due to someone, namely the doctor conducting the surgery, was negligent in failing to remove it. Period. End of story.

Published on: April 4, 2018

Liability for Abnormally Dangerous Domesticated Animals

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

In Texas, a person can find themselves liable for the actions of an animal considered to be “abnormally dangerous”. An animal will be considered “abnormally dangerous” if its dangerous propensities that are abnormal to its class. That means that if the animals breed is typically known for being calm and sweet, yet the animal in question had bitten or nipped at a person in the past, it could be considered to have “dangerous propensities abnormal its class”. A domesticated animal is any animal (i.e. dog, cat, pig, horse, etc.) that is by custom devoted to the service of mankind at the time and place it is kept.

To prove a cause of action for injury by a dangerous domesticated animal, the plaintiff must show that:

1. The defendant owned or possessed the animal;

Published on: March 29, 2018

Kaufman and Rockwall County Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

In the field of catastrophic injury law, we are often confronted with the question, “What makes an injury catastrophic?” This seems like a reasonable thing to ask, especially since the term “catastrophic injury” can occur in a variety of contexts, from truck and auto accidents, to work place injuries, to prime time television.

The reality is that I can only provide you with a working definition that is widely used by fellow lawyers and also in the medical community. There is no statute or case law that really buttons down what a catastrophic injury is simply because it can take so many shapes.

Catastrophic Injury Typically Means a Permanent Impairment

Published on: March 28, 2018

Kaufman and Rockwall County Truck Accident Lawyers

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Guest and Gray, P.C. has represented countless Rockwall and Kaufman county residents and their families after devastating 18-wheeler and commercial vehicle accidents in our area. When residents of Kaufman and Rockwall counties are injured in a truck or commercial vehicle accident, they know that Guest and Gray law firm will be there to help them hold the trucking company and their insurance carrier accountable for their actions.

Kaufman and Rockwall Counties are Seeing Growth in Number of Truck and Commercial Vehicle Accidents

Just in the last few weeks, truck accidents have caused havoc on our local roadways. In the last few years, both Kaufman and Rockwall counties have seen spikes in the number of truck related accidents, injuries and deaths. As more commercial vehicles drive on our roadways, that will only increase the risk of serious injuries to our local residents and those that travel on our roadways. When those types of accidents occur, you need to know who to call. Call Guest and Gray, P.C., your local, experienced truck accident attorneys.

Published on: March 23, 2018

Law That Bites: The Texas “One Bite Rule”

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

According to Centers for Disease Control, there are approximately 4.5 million dog bites in America each year. Texas leads the nation in dog related fatalities, according to the most recent study of fatalities from 2005 to 2017, there have been 52 fatalities linked to vicious dog attacks, ranging in ages from 85-years old all the way down to just a two month old baby. In 2016, Texas ranked second overall in dog related fatalities.

The funny thing is that Texas, despite leading the nation in dog attacks and dog related death, does not have a statute that covers civil liability for dog bites.

Say what?

Published on: March 16, 2018

Kaufman County Personal Injury: Growth, Congestion and Traffic Accidents

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Kaufman County is in a weird transitional phase from being a historically rural county with numerous small tightly knit communities to a more commercialized suburban sprawl where the ends of one city meet another.

When many of us originally moved to the area, we did so to “get away” from the sped up lifestyle of the city. However, being good Texans, we embraced the opportunities for economic growth and now Kaufman county is seeing not only incredible growth, but growth that is picking up speed.

Although much of Kaufman county is still rural, with county roads that are lined with small country neighborhoods and small to mid-sized working ranches. However, our cities are becoming bustling centers of commerce and those cities are encroaching on the county roads. Driving down FM 2757, you can see houses over the low rolling hills where Heartland is encroaching on one of the last remaining vestiges of Kaufman county’s relatively untouched beauty. Forney’s population is exploding. Terrell is showing everyone how business and planning for the future is done. Kaufman is growing. Even Crandall and other oft forgotten about areas of our county such as Kemp, Elmo, Warsaw, Talty, all of these areas are seeing growth (the author is from Combine- does anybody remember that Combine is actually a part of Kaufman County?).

Published on: March 12, 2018

Higher Liability Coverage or Uninsured/Underinsured: Which Should I Buy?

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Which should I buy: higher liability coverage or Uninsured/Uninsured Coverage? During conversations with clients, this is a question that comes up quite often. This especially when the client has significant medical damages that exceed the minimum policy requirements in Texas and we are trying to figure out how to get all of the bills paid.

What is the Minimum Liability Coverage I am Required to Have In Texas?

Under Texas Transportation Code § 601.072(a-1)(1-3), the owner of a vehicle is required to carry at least:

Published on: March 12, 2018

Are You a Real Estate Professional? Then Know a Good Lawyer

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Sell real estate? Own a title company? Are you an Investor? Well here are two realities to long term real estate work: taxes and lawsuits. So, get to know the two kinds of people who deal with those issues. At Guest and Gray, P.C. we can help you with the lawsuits. We can also help you with document preparation. Document preparation is fundamentally important to a real estate deal. Why? Because good documents will keep you from getting sued, and if you do get sued, good documents will only serve to help you in the lawsuit.

Because of this, I always tell my long term real estate clients that attorneys are a cost of doing business. We just are. Real estate is one of the most highly litigious areas, especially in the hot real estate market in the Dallas, Rockwall and Kaufman county areas (especially Forney, Terrell and Rockwall areas where much of the growth is the housing boom and/or economic boom).

Here are some of the main reasons to use a real estate attorney when you are doing any sort of large real estate deal, residential or commercial:

Published on: March 9, 2018

Contract Damages in Business Litigation in Texas

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

After businesses enter into a contract, those entities have certain responsibilities to one another until such a time that the contract has been completed. If one of the parties materially breaches the contract and the other party is harmed by that breach, then the other party is entitled to damages. But how do we measure those damages, i.e., how does the law provide an injured party damages in a contract case?

Plaintiffs in breach of contracts cases can seek several types of damages. These types of damages can be distinguished according to the function that each serves. In general, the types of available damages fall into three categories, known as “benefit of the bargain” (or “expectancy”), “reliance,” and “restitution” damages. It is sometimes said that expectancy damages are the “normal measure” of damages. What this means is that benefit-of-the-bargain damages is the most commonly sought measure or type of damages. It is does not imply that it is superior to the other measures of damages.

Benefit of the Bargain Damages: A party wishing to be placed in the same economic position that it would have occupied had the contract not been breached will seek expectancy damages as a result. Expectancy damages are tied to the expected benefit the non-breaching party was to receive had the breaching party not breached the contract.