Traumatic brain injuries can affect patients long after they have been released from the hospital. In fact, ASHA reports that approximately one-third of adult patients hospitalized for a TBI will need help with daily activities one year after their discharge. Living with a TBI-related disability affects victims and their families emotionally and financially, and an experienced Houston injury attorney can advise a Texas TBI victim of his or her legal rights and pursue legal action against the party responsible for the injury.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury occurs when brain tissue is damaged by an external force and can be either a penetrating or closed injury. With a penetrating injury, a foreign object, like a bullet, enters the brain and damages a certain area. With a closed injury, one sustains a blow to the head during a car, truck, or motorcycle accident, bike accident, slip and fall, sports accident, act of violence, or other incident. Both penetrating and closed TBIs can cause primary damage, including skull fractures, bruised brain tissue, bleeding inside the brain, blood clots, tears and nerve damage, as well as secondary damage, such as swelling, fever, seizures, chemical imbalances, and cardiac, lung, or nutritional changes.

According to ASHA, half of all TBIs nationwide happen in transportation accidents, though for people age 75 or older, falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain injury. When someone else’s negligence has left you suffering from a traumatic brain injury, a compassionate Lufkin injury attorney can help you seek the justice and compensation to which you may be entitled under the law.

Treatment of a TBI

Several factors determine a TBI patient’s prognosis, including the severity and type of injury and the affected parts of the brain. For mild injuries, resting both the body and the brain may be the primary treatment. If the injury is moderate to severe, treatment may involve working with neurologists, psychiatrists, physiatrists, rehabilitation therapists, case managers and social workers, and recovery may take months to years, in some instances including long-term care or supervised living. The cost of caring for a single TBI victim is estimated to run between $600,000 and $1.875 million during his or her lifetime, and the CDC estimates that acute and rehabilitative care for TBI victims costs the United States approximately $9 billion to $10 billion each year. Victims of traumatic brain injury may feel quickly overwhelmed by the mounting costs of their treatment, making it important for Texas TBI victims to consult a knowledgeable Lufkin injury lawyer about their legal rights.

TBI Prevention

You can reduce your risk of experiencing a traumatic brain injury by exercising caution in various aspects of your life:

• Wear a helmet when riding a bike or motorcycle.
• Wear a seatbelt when driving or riding in a vehicle.
• Avoid falls by using a step stool to reach high objects, installing handrails on stairways, using safety gates around stairs if there are small children in the home, using non-slip mats in the tub or shower, removing tripping hazards, and installing window guards.
• Store firearms unloaded in a locked cabinet, and secure bullets in a separate location.

If you or a loved one has suffered a traumatic brain injury, contact a Houston injury lawyer to discuss your situation with a legal professional who will give your case the personal attention it deserves. 

How to Minimize Your Risk of Being Involved in a Commercial Truck Accident

While it is easy to assume that commercial truck accidents are always the fault of the trucker, passenger vehicle drivers frequently commit driving errors when it comes to sharing the road with large trucks. Avoiding the following mistakes when operating a passenger vehicle can minimize your chances of being involved in a commercial truck accident:

• Driving behind or beside a commercial truck in the area known as the “blind spot” or “no-zone,” where the truck driver has limited or no visibility.
• Abruptly changing lanes in front of a truck, also known as cutting off.
• Positioning one’s vehicle to the right of a truck when it is making a right turn.
• Turning too close in front of an approaching truck.
• Merging improperly or passing in an unsafe manner.
• Driving between large trucks.
• Leaving a disabled vehicle on a roadway.
• Drinking and driving.

When the Truck Driver is At Fault

Even when passenger vehicle drivers use good judgment and defensive driving maneuvers, they still are at risk of colliding with a commercial truck, as truck drivers make mistakes too. In fact, the 2007 FMCSA/NHTSA study identified the truck as the at-fault vehicle in 55 percent of the crashes sampled. The following truck driver errors can lead to deadly crashes:

• Operating a commercial vehicle without proper training or qualifications.
• Speeding to meet a tight deadline.
• Drinking or using prescription or illegal drugs. Some truckers use stimulants, also known as “uppers,” to stay away for longer stretches.
• Failing to properly secure heavy loads.
• Loading trucks beyond the maximum capacity.
• Failing to complete required pre-trip and post-trip vehicle inspections.
• Driving for long stretches with no break or without getting enough sleep, leading to driver fatigue.

When a truck driver’s negligence results in injury to you or a loved one, work with an experienced Lufkin injury lawyer to ensure your legal rights are pursued to the fullest extent of the law.

Truck Driver Fatigue

The 2007 FMCSA/NHTSA study revealed that 7 percent of the crashes were caused by the truck driver being asleep at the wheel and 13 percent of nationwide large truck crashes involve truck driver fatigue. Driver fatigue occurs when a person suffers the symptoms of fatigue while driving, such as restlessness, drowsiness, aches and pains, sore or tired eyes or loss of concentration. When a driver is fatigued, their reaction time is slowed and they risk falling asleep behind the wheel. The NHTSA has said tired drivers are just as unsafe as drunk drivers. If you were injured as a result of truck driver fatigue, a Lufkin injury attorney can help you fight for your rights.

The aftermath of a commercial truck accident can be a very stressful time for the injured party, involving not only emotional duress, but also costly medical treatments and lengthy rehabilitation. If you or a loved one has been injured in a commercial truck accident, contact a Houston injury lawyer to discuss your case with an experienced attorney.

When is a Social Host Liable in Texas?

If you, as a property owner, serve alcohol to minors or allow minors to consume alcohol on your property, you could be liable under Texas law. You could also be liable for resulting damages if you supply car keys to an intoxicated adult at your home.

Passed in 2005, the Texas social host law made headlines last year when the parents of a daughter killed as a passenger in a drunken driving accident sued, not the driver, but the homeowners where her and other teens had consumed alcohol earlier in the evening. Her parents alleged that the homeowners knowingly allowed minors to drink alcohol on their property. The teens purchased the alcohol at a convenience store.

The plaintiffs claimed the homeowners were well aware that the teens were drinking in their backyard. The statute’s intent is to go after parents who serve alcohol to minors or turn a blind eye when minors are drinking alcohol in their home. Knowledge of minor consumption is crucial.

While the same level of host responsibility does not apply to adult guests, you would be liable if you supplied car keys to an intoxicated adult who ultimately injured someone in a car accident. As mentioned above, your homeowner’s policy may cover you up to a certain amount, but consult a Lufkin injury attorney to be sure.

If you decide to host a party in your home, there are some simple precautions to take:

• Recommend in advance that your guests use a designated driver to drive them home
• As a host, limit your drinking so you can judge your guests’ sobriety
• Serve food with the alcohol and make non-alcoholic beverages available
• Remove the alcohol before the party ends and switch to coffee and soda
• Call a cab for anyone who appears to be intoxicated

Most people are unaware of the social host law in Texas. Contact a Lufkin injury attorney for more information.

Physical injuries may be long term and costly. There will also be expensive motorcycle repairs and lost time from work. When motorcycle accidents occur, an experienced Lufkin injury lawyer can assess your legal claims and provide aggressive representation.

Physical Injuries and Repair Bills

Careless riders, poor road conditions or vehicle drivers who fail to watch for motorcycles can cause motorcycle accidents. Motorcycles can sneak into a car’s blind spot because it can be hard for vehicle drivers to hear an approaching motorcycle.

Even protective gear such as a helmet, gloves and a heavy jacket cannot fully protect a rider in a high-speed accident. Gear can mitigate injuries to a certain extent, but an ejection from the motorcycle can result in a harsh impact. Emergency rooms commonly deal with head injuries, spinal cord injuries, broken limbs and internal organ damage.

Motorcycle accident injuries may require extended hospital stays, which means time away from work. In addition to lost wages, there are insurance claims and liability issues to handle. There are also long-term costs such as physical rehabilitation and therapy. The extreme injuries can result in death and a subsequent wrongful death action.

In addition, there will be damage to your motorcycle. The repair bills can run into the thousands of dollars and require a lot of time to fix. There is also the possibility that the motorcycle could be a totaled. You want to make sure that you and the other parties have adequate insurance coverage.

Motorcycles are fun and represent a certain lifestyle to many people. There are also inherent risks that the rider should not take lightly. Responsible riding at safe speeds is crucial. Be aware of your surroundings and the road conditions. Taking a motorcycle rider safety course, either for the first time or as a refresher. If you are in a motorcycle accident, contact a Lufkin injury attorney to receive answers to any questions you will have.

When these extremely large vehicles become involved in crashes with smaller, passenger automobiles, occupants of the automobiles almost always suffer the worst injuries. 98% of the fatalities in accidents between tractor-trailers and automobiles are the people in the automobiles. Despite making up just four percent of all registered vehicles and seven percent of all miles traveled, tractor-trailers are involved in eleven percent of all fatal accidents. Victims of negligent truck driving should consider speaking with a Lufkin injury lawyer about obtaining compensation for their injuries.

Texas Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Because trucks have a high center of gravity and carry a great deal of weight, they may overturn in the event that a driver has to maneuver suddenly. A big rig truck overturned near the Texas Motor Speedway, closing westbound traffic on a highway. The truck had been carrying rocks when it rolled over into a ditch. The accident trapped the driver in the cab, as diesel fuel spilled out from the truck. Emergency responders were able to free him from the cab and take him to a hospital.

Like all drivers, tractor-trailer drivers sometimes drive too fast or make decisions that put their own lives or others’ lives in danger. With tractor-trailers, however, the margin for error is less, as their size makes it difficult to stop or maneuver as quickly as automobiles.

A Texas grandfather and grandson died when a truck slammed into the back of a car that had slowed down upon entering a construction zone. The tractor-trailer did not slow down in time and caused a chain reaction of car accidents, resulting in the deaths.

Just weeks after the accident and four miles from where it occurred, three others died when another tractor-trailer failed to slow down for the construction zone. Family members from the first accident have since sued several truck companies and the Texas Department of Transportation for providing inadequate warning signs in the construction zone.

Tips to Avoid Commercial Truck Accident

In many cases, automobile drivers are at fault in tractor-trailer accidents, and here are several tips that they can take to avoid becoming victims in a truck accident:

• Treat trucks differently than automobiles. Try to avoid driving next to them for any extended period of time. Leave plenty of space between you and tractor-trailers.
• Stay out of their blind spots by passing trucks quickly and not remaining alongside of them. Trucks may also have blind spots directly in front of them if the vehicle is small.
• If you have to pull over on the side of the road, pull as far away from the road as possible. If you cannot pull the car far off the road, you may want to exit your car and walk further away from traffic.

To learn more about obtaining compensation for you or a loved one for injuries suffered from negligent truck driving, contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates.

In investigating Glaxo, the Department of Justice found serious deficiencies in the quality assurance processes at a plant in Puerto Rico. Mixed up drugs led to misidentifications on the labels. Additionally, some pills split inappropriately, and others lacked an active ingredient.

Texas, along with sixteen other states, joined in the original lawsuit out of fears that problems at the plant would harm patients. Fortunately, there are no reports thus far that the problems led to any injuries.

The whistleblower who initiated the lawsuit received nearly $100 million of it under a law that gives whistleblowers a portion of money that the government recovers for his or her cooperation in the lawsuit. A Lufkin injury lawyer can advise you on your rights if a dangerous product has caused injury to you or a loved one.

Examples of Dangerous Products and Injuries They Can Cause

Drugs are often the subject of dangerous product lawsuits because they can have serious and life-threatening effects on a large number of people before any problems come to light. Recent lawsuits have involved drugs such as: Hydroxycut (a weight loss supplement), Accutane (an acne treatment drug), Heparin (an anti-coagulation drug) and Vioxx (an anti-inflammatory drug).

Many other products that consumers come across daily can also pose dangers to them or their family members. The following are the types of claims and other products involved in product liability lawsuits:

• Design defects. Defects relating to design are ones that exist from the beginning, before the product even exists in tangible form. For example, some lawsuits have targeted SUVs because of design defects that make them prone to roll over. Toyota’s recent problems concerning stuck accelerators are also design-related.
• Marketing defects. These dangers pertain to things like labels, instructions or safety warnings on a product. Many drug lawsuits concern marketing defects because the drugs and their labels have inadequate warnings regarding side effects and their dangers.
• Manufacturing defects. These problems are a result of the physical creation or manufacturing of the product. Recently, tires have been the target of these sorts of product liability lawsuits. Tire manufacturers may create tires with poor components, poor quality assurance or treads that are likely to come apart. All of these problems have the potential to be disastrous for consumers who end up with the defective and dangerous product.

Dangerous product lawsuits often entail legal battles against large and wealthy corporations, and the testimony of multiple experts is usually necessary. Such cases require experienced and talented legal assistance. Contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates if a dangerous product has harmed you or a loved one.

A recent study by a Texas labor advocacy group found Texas to be the deadliest state for construction workers. It usually leads the nation in all workplace injuries each year, and construction accidents comprise the largest portion of such injuries. In 2009, nearly 500 workers died in Texas, with 133 of those deaths occurring in construction.

The study concluded that poor and dangerous working conditions occurred throughout the construction industry in Texas and that the state failed to ensure even basic safety protections. The group found that many workers labored in unsafe conditions, such as working in temperatures up to 112 degrees. Many worked overtime without rest breaks, and nearly two-thirds of workers reported that they did not receive basic safety training before beginning work. A Lufkin injury lawyer can help you hold employers responsible for dangerous work conditions if such conditions have harmed you or a loved one.

Ways to Prevent Construction Accidents

The most common construction accidents involve falls, electrocutions, heavy machinery accidents, or falling objects. Below are several ways that both employers and employees can prevent such accidents from occurring:

• Regularly check and service equipment
• Make sure stairs have rails
• Anytime scaffolding is in use, use fall prevention systems
• Workers should use helmets and eye and ear protection whenever there is the slightest risk of damage
• Use insulated, rubber gloves when working with wiring and electricity
• Workers and managers at the job site should regularly receive training in accident prevention and safety on the job
• Keep holes and weak spots in floors marked off
• Use covers when any energized cables or power lines are nearby

When accidents do occur, employers and employees should report them promptly. Without prompt and accurate reporting, government agencies and statistics do not adequately account for the dangers that construction workers face. Injury reports can put state and federal agencies on alert as to problems with a particular company. The Texas study mentioned above found that workers and their employers regularly violate workplace regulations, but that they do not do anything about it and government agencies never find out about the violations.

Contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates to learn what options you have if a disregard for workplace safety has harmed you.

The company ignored its investigators’ advice and took the case to trial. Campbell had considered getting his own lawyer, but State Farm assured him that it would defend his best interests and that he would have no liability. At trial, Campbell ending up losing and the jury returned a judgment of nearly $200,000. State Farm at first refused to cover the amount over the $50,000 policy limit. A State Farm lawyer told Campbell he might want to put up “for sale” signs on his house to get things going.

Campbell consequently joined the victims’ family and sued State Farm for its bad faith acts. A Utah state jury awarded Campbell and the others $2.6 million in compensatory damages and $145 million in punitive damages. The US Supreme Court described the insurance company’s conduct as “reprehensible”. A Lufkin injury lawyer can help you fight for your rights if you have had difficulties with an insurance company following an accident or claim.

Guidelines to Deal with the Opposing Side’s Insurance Company

• The first guideline that you should remember is, if you have an attorney, simply direct the opposing insurance company to speak with your attorney. Let him or her handle all communications with the other side.
• Remember that the other side’s goal is to pay you as little as it can to make the problem go away. A settlement that the opposing insurance company offers you that seems reasonable may not in fact be reasonable. Consult with an experienced attorney before accepting it because acceptance may limit your legal options down the line.
• Avoid speaking with an opposing insurance company’s representatives, particularly their insurance adjustors. Though they may appear nice, remember that they do not work for you. They work for the insurance company, which is trying to minimize its costs. What you say to an insurance adjustor for the other side can significantly impact your case. Insurance adjustors usually record your statements too.
• Get all statements and agreements that the other side’s insurance company makes to you in writing. For example, in a car accident, there are typically many hoops to jump through for the other insurance company to authorize repairs. It has to find a car shop of which it approves, and it has to ensure that the work is cost effective. In some states, the company cannot force you to take your car to a specific shop. An experienced attorney can advise what your rights are.
• Do not give up hope if the other insurance company refuses to pay. The person at-fault may have told his or her company that you were the person to blame for the accident. Insurance companies use this as a tactic to avoid paying claims. They know that they can continue to drag their feet as long as you do not have a lawyer.

If you have been having difficulties dealing with another side’s insurance company, contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates to learn what rights you have.

A few months earlier, another drunk driver killed a Time Warner cable worker as he worked on utility lines strung high above the ground. The 38-year-old worker was in the bucket above the ground when the drunk driver of a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo struck the back of the worker’s van. The accident ejected the worker from the elevated bucket and he fell to the ground. Emergency responders pronounced him dead at the scene. Authorities charged the Rodeo’s driver with intoxication manslaughter. If you or a loved one has been the victim of a drunk driver, a Lufkin injury lawyer is available to help you obtain compensation for your medical bills and suffering.

Texas Drunk Driving Numbers

• Texas usually leads the country as the state with the most alcohol-related driving deaths. In 2008, for example, Texas had 1,463 such deaths, a great deal more than the state in second place—California with 1,198. 1982 was the year Texas had the most drunken driver-caused deaths. It lost 2,801 Texans then.
• The legal limit in Texas is 0.08. Most adults reach this limit after just a couple of beers or alcoholic drinks.
• As mentioned above, just about half of all fatal crashes involve alcohol. This number soars for fatal crashes occurring after midnight and during the early morning hours. Over three-fourths of such accidents involve a drunk driver.
• Austin Police conducted a ‘Super Bowl no refusal’ initiative on February 7 between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., during which they made 17 drunk driver arrests. The blood alcohol content of the drivers ranged from 0.15 to 0.28, substantially over Texas’s legal limit.

Obtaining Compensation for Injuries that Drunk Drivers Cause

The following are some of items for which you may be able to obtain compensation if a drunk driver has injured you:

• Medical bills. This includes expenses for ongoing treatment of severe and permanent injuries like physical therapy, as well as costly emergency room trips.
• Lost wages and loss of earning capacity. You can recover income that you lost while you were unable to work and future money you may never be able to earn because of the accident’s effect on your health.
• Wrongful death claims. If you lost a loved due to a drunk driver, you can pursue claims to cover medical expenses, funeral expenses, and lost wages and employment benefits.
• Punitive damages. In particularly egregious cases, a court may order extra damages (so-called punitive damages) against a defendant.

Contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates if a drunk driver has injured you or a loved one.

Defective product lawsuits are more common when a product causes injury. Earlier this year, a jury rendered a $16 million verdict against Ford on behalf of a woman was paralyzed in a car accident. The woman was a passenger in the back seat of a Ford Explorer when the driver of another car caused the accident. During the collision, the rear seat latch failed, causing the seat to fold onto the woman and slamming her into the front console. The accident left her paralyzed from the neck down.

The jury found that, based on the evidence, Ford knew about the dangers of the lap only seatbelts for more than 30 years given the company’s extensive crash test research. Ford failed to correct the problem, the jury found, by continuing to use lap seatbelts instead of safer shoulder ones. If a dangerous product has injured you, a Lufkin injury lawyer can help obtain compensation for your injuries and suffering.

When Companies are Responsible for Defective Products

The three, general areas in which companies can be negligent with their products are:

• Manufacturing defects. These occur during the manufacturing process and involve manufacturing decisions like the types of material or what processes to use. Using weak plastic, for example, instead of steel, as the design calls for, could jeopardize the safety of consumers who ultimately use the product.
• Design defects. Design defects are inherent flaws that occur regardless of a manufacturer’s actions. The manufacturer could take all the precautions in the world, but an inherent design defect will continue to manifest itself. For example, if a company designs a car without an important safety feature, that is a design defect. Regardless of what the manufacturer does, the car is inherently flawed.
• Failure to warn. Businesses owe a duty to their consumers to warn about their products’ dangers if the dangers are not obvious. If a certain shampoo, for instance, causes abnormally severe damage to eyes, the company that makes the shampoo must provide adequate warnings about the potential danger.

Defective products law is a large field, however, and these general areas do not account for all of the recent changes in the law. The doctrine of strict liability is becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the country. Strict liability holds manufacturers (and sometimes other parties) liable for defective products, even if the manufacturer was not negligent. Courts have moved in this direction in order to protect consumers.

Contact a Lufkin injury attorney at Mike Love & Associates for more information about defective products and obtaining compensation for your injuries.