texas

Published on: February 9, 2018

Guest and Gray, P.C: Catastrophic Injury Lawyers

Injuries that are severe, long-lasting, and debilitating are often categorized as “catastrophic injuries”. Catastrophic injuries result in prolonged recovery period, pain and suffering, lost wages, and mental anguish. Victims of accidents resulting in catastrophic injuries may never fully heal from their injuries, resulting in loss of work capability. Many times, accidents involving catastrophic injuries result in the death of the victim. This is serious stuff.

If you have suffered a catastrophic injury as the result of someone’s negligence, you are entitled to compensation for damages as a result of your injuries, or the loss of a loved one from the at-fault party or parties.

It is important to understand you may have several options. For instance in a serious automobile accident, your own policy may help to provide benefits. Texas requires insurers to offer personal injury protection on automobile policies, which covers the policyholder’s medical bills arising from an accident and underinsured coverage that helps protect you if the person who injures you in a car wreck does not have enough coverage. If you do not have these policies, I would advise you to purchase the additional coverage. Many times in our catastrophic injury cases, our clients with no underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage on their own policies are left with only a limited recovery due to the fact that Texas only requires a minimum liability policy of $30,000 individual/$60,000 per accident for drivers. Catastrophic injuries can lead to medical bills in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. So, it is important to have that excess coverage on your own policy just in case. Protect yourself before something bad happens.

Published on: January 16, 2018

Medical Malpractice Lawsuits: Retained Foreign Objects

by Robert Guest

So, you had surgery a few days, or weeks ago and it didn’t take long but you started to feel very weak and ill. You noticed that an incision was not healing correctly. Then the fever started.

These are some of the more common symptoms that we hear about from our Rockwall, Dallas and Kaufman county clients who have had what is called a “retained foreign object” after surgery. Retained foreign objects can lead to infection and sepsis. If the infection does go septic, it can be deadly in a very short period of time.

WHAT IS A “RETAINED FOREIGN OBJECT”?

Published on: January 11, 2018

Wrongful Death and Survivorship Claims in Texas

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

As Rockwall and Kaufman counties continue to see record growth and our roads become increasing clogged with traffic, we are seeing more and more accidents that involve catastrophic injuries resulting in the death of a loved one. When these types of accidents occur, the family is often left wondering what to do now. Most people have heard the term “wrongful death” and maybe some have some familiarity with what a “survivor” action is, but they are often confused about the difference between the two types of claims. We understand that the differences can be a little convoluted and that is why we aim to better inform you of the different types of claims if you or a loved one is killed in an accident.

It is really important to understand that wrongful death and survival actions are two separate causes of action when a loved one has been killed in a Texas auto or truck accident. The family may have the ability to file both types of actions in Texas, but they have a similar effect, which is where the confusion typically lies. The purpose of this article is to provide you with a better understanding of the types of claims that may be made and how the claims may be brought and administered by the family and their representatives. Here are the basics:

What is a Wrongful Death Claim?

Published on: December 29, 2017

The Texas Dram Shop Act: Civil Liability of Serving Alcoholic Beverages to Drunk Patrons

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

43 states, including Texas, have laws that impose a duty on bars and restaurants not to serve intoxicated patrons alcohol, and if they do, then the statute provides a means for injured individuals to sue the liquor licensee for their own negligence. The law is very good for a lot of reasons.

For those of you who may not be familiar with the reasons why dram shop laws are so prevalent, you may be wondering, “why should the bar be liable for the actions of their patrons? That is not fair?” Well, let me ask you this: is it fair that the injured party will likely not have enough money from the drunk driver’s insurance policy to cover their medical expenses, but the bar that took the drunk driver’s money and continued to serve him or her to the point of and passed the point of intoxication gets off Scot-free? Who was in a better position to protect themselves from such liability? Why should an injured victim be unable to hold a bar accountable for over-serving a drunk patron who’s inhibitions are lowered to a point where they can no longer make good decisions and competently drive home?

Serving Alcohol is a Privilege; Not a Right

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 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 2, 2016

A Quick Overview of Personal Injury Cases in Texas

by Guest and Gray Law Firm

Damages: What Kind of Compensation is Available?

Most personal injury cases seek financial damages to compensate for an injury. This will compensate for medical costs, lost wages, future lost pay, and pain and suffering both physically and mentally, disfigurement and disability as a result of the negligence of another, as well as for loss of consortium.

Statutes of Limitations

Published on: December 19, 2015

The Dram Shop Act

by Robert Guest

The Dram Shop Act

In 1987, just a few days after the Texas Supreme Court ruled in El Chico v. Poole, the Texas Legislature enacted the Dram Shop Act. It was established to hold bars liable for over-serving patrons who then went out into public and got into a car accident and injured someone else.

In a standard Dram Shop Case, there is a victim who is injured by another person. The victim in those cases are truly innocent. But the truth is that many people walk into our office here at Guest and Gray and they’ve received a DWI as a result of getting into an accident after leaving a bar where they were served alcohol to excess. These people may have a Dram Shop Case too, even though it was them who became intoxicated and only they were injured.