Posted on July 01,2012 in Uncategorized

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Texas overturned a precedent which allowed workers to sue insurance companies for bad faith handling of claims. The decision was 5 to 4 in favor of Texas Mutual Insurance Co., the state’s largest workers’ compensation company. The judgment removed the rights of a worker to sue an insurance company for acting in bad faith. Timothy Ruttiger of Galveston had originally made a workers’ compensation claim saying that he was injured on the job. The Texas Mutual Insurance Co. originally denied the claim because they believed that Ruttiger injured himself playing softball. Ultimately, the company decided to settle out of court. Ruttiger took exception to the decision to make him wait for his payment so he decided to sue the company. His issue was that this delay caused his hernias to worsen, damaged his credit, and caused him mental and physical pain. The original jury in Houston awarded Ruttiger $173,500 plus attorney fees for his suit against the insurance company. Referencing the insurance code and deceptive trade practices laws, the Supreme Court ruled that Ruttiger should receive nothing. Also, by overturning the 1988 Aranda vs. Insurance Co. of North America, the court decided that the workers’ compensation system is capable of satisfying a claimant’s suit. “One of the legislature’s unquestioned goals was to make decisions about benefits as objective as possible, and thereby reduce disputes and litigation over them,” the majority ruled. “The Aranda cause of action with its subjective standards for damages is antithetical to such a system, and it has no dispute resolution process other than litigation with its associated delays and expense.”

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 Posted on June 23,2012 in Uncategorized

We all know by now that most states, including Texas, require all individual passengers in a moving vehicle to wear a seatbelt. Texas statute §545.413 mandates this and even allows a judge to sentence a Texas passenger who is not wearing a seatbelt to take a course on seatbelts. However, it is less common to hear of issues, or for that matter, laws that mandate that pets be restrained in a moving vehicle. One pet owner who is a self professed responsible pet parent did restrain her two pet dogs while driving them in her vehicle. That day, she happened to crash into another vehicle. Her pets were not injured and she believes the lack of injuries was due to the pet restraints. A pet safety advocacy organization called Bark Buckle Up is trying to get their message across the nation including Texas: restrain your pets when traveling. According to ksat.com, the founder of Bark Buckle Up, Christina Selter, has cited many important reasons for restraining your pet while you are driving, including preventing the pet from distracting the driver and of course the pet’s safety. But one less obvious reason seems important as well. When pets are in accident and scared they may act out and become aggressive, preventing first responders from giving their full attention to the injured individuals. Further, Selter explains that “[i]n an accident, an unrestrained animal is dangerous to the human passengers as well. Even in an accident of only 30 mph, a 15-pound child can cause an impact of more than 300 pounds. A 60-pound dog can cause an impact of 2,700 pounds, slamming into a car seat, a windshield, or another passenger.” If you have been injured in a car accident, you should contact a New Braunfels personal injury attorney who is experienced in dealing with unusual situations.

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 Posted on June 23,2012 in Uncategorized

During the first weekend of June, a deadly car accident took a young Seguin’s man’s life. Thomas Andrew Howard, 21 years old, who is known as Drew to friends and family, was driving a Toyota Tundra on Highway 80 and FM 466 on June 3, 2012 when he, according to state Troopers, ran through a stop sign and side swiped an F-350 truck. The truck was driven by an oil worker, Justin Lee Kirkland, and the passenger, Herman Anderson, was an oil worker as well. Drew died at the scene of the crash. Emergency workers rushed to aid the two oil workers who were both flown to University Hospital. Kirkland suffered from significant injuries, but, luckily, the injuries are not life threatening. Anderson received minor injuries and hopefully will make a full recovery. As the oil industry in Texas explodes, the rural roadways in southern Texas see more traffic. Drew’s family believes that this accident should be a wake up call to make Texas’ rural roadways safer. According to Fox News in San Antonio, Drew’s father stated “There’s always room for safety, especially with the oil business like it is.” His father further stated, “I want people to know he didn’t wake up and intentionally slam into the young men in that truck. My heart goes out to them too and I pray for them and their family.” There is no doubt that Drew’s family is in the middle of the grief process. The tragic loss of a son can never be forgotten. Nevertheless, the other two individuals are now facing exorbitant medical bills. If you have been involved in a major motor vehicle accident in the San Antonio area, contact an experienced attorney in New Braunfels, Texas who has experience resolving issues in sensitive manner.

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 Posted on June 20,2012 in Uncategorized

When I go out Saturday night to a restaurant, I may order a T-bone steak, but I surely will not order a T-bone motor vehicle accident. A T-bone motor vehicle crash is when a vehicle, usually at an intersection, crashes the side of another vehicle, forming the shape of a T. Due to the side impact, injuries are often severe. Further, the vehicles often hook onto each other and many times the vehicles, while connected, spin out of control on the roadway. When the vehicles do not attach, the vehicle that was impacted could flip over from the impact.

According to KGNB news, recently a T-bone accident occurred in New Braunfels, Texas at the Creekside Shopping Center that is located just off the northbound I-35 access road near FM 306. A passenger vehicle was struck on its side by a Suburban in the parking lot of a Subway sandwich shop. The driver of the passenger car was trapped inside the vehicle, which is fairly common in a T-bone accident. Fire and other emergency crews immediately arrived on the scene and had to extricate the trapped driver from his vehicle by cutting off the roof of the vehicles and the driver’s side door before reaching the driver. The driver was airlifted by a helicopter to University Hospital in San Antonio and is expected to survive.

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 Posted on June 18,2012 in Uncategorized

For residents of the New Braunfels area, summertime fun in the sun has always involved tubing on one of the area’s snaking rivers. Yet according to the Lockhart Post-Register, an argument on Memorial Day weekend “nearly turned violent in Martindale, prompting the Caldwell County Commissioners’ Court to reconsider their timeline for installation of traffic control devices on Meadow Lane and Spring River Drive in Martindale.”

Recently, the communities of Bexar County and New Braunfels have tightened restrictions on tubing, though the traffic from the burst of tubing businesses has been an injury hazard for several community residents. According to the Post-Register, the increase in traffic has caused residents to worry “that possibly intoxicated drivers are speeding near the homes where their children and pets play.” Not only must community residents worry about their livelihood being impacted by drunk drivers, there’s also the worry of laws—such as “no glass” on the rivers—being disobeyed and resulting in personal injury as well.

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 Posted on June 15,2012 in Uncategorized

Poisoned wells are unfortunately not the stuff of fairy tales for Texas residents in the San Antonio area, as the Bear Creek Well was taken out of service in early June after a “raw water sample tested positive for E. coli,” according to KSAT News. while the Bear Creek Well does not supply residents as far northeast as New Braunfels, the idea of E. coli in a public water source is a definite sense of worry for area residents, who risk not even knowing the safety status of their home’s water supply. The Environmental Protection Agency requires under the Groundwater Rule that public notice must be provided if wells “test positive for E. coli or fecal bacteria,” according to KSAT News. According to Environmental Health News, “throughout the nation, metals and other elements are tainting private drinking water wells at concentrations that pose a health concern.” The most pervasive elemental polluter in wells across the country is manganese, and in Texas, lithium has reared its ugly head in many residential wells. E. Coli, of course, poses different challenges, causing severe diarrhea and kidney damage, according to Accepta.com. Each year, according to the annual Human Development report issued by the United Nations Development Program, 1.1 billion people lack access to safe water and nearly two million children die each year for want of clean water and proper sanitation. This, of course, affects populations in underdeveloped nations far more than in developed nations such as the U.S., but some environmentalists argue that the decreasing water supply could soon affect Americans similarly if the resource is not preserved. If you or someone you know has been affected by the water situation in Texas, you may be eligible for compensation. Contact a New Braunfels-area personal injury attorney today.

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 Posted on June 14,2012 in Uncategorized

On May 26, 2012, the residents of McAllen’s Padre de Vida Apartments were shaken up Saturday evening by a deadly car accident. One resident reported that everyone could hear the crash inside their homes, which caused them to come rushing to the scene.

This accident could have been even more tragic if an iron fence had not stopped the car. Just beyond where the car came to a stop and burst into flames were the living rooms and bedrooms of several residents. This horrific accident was the result of a police chase through the tiny streets of McAllen, Texas. For the residents of the apartment complex, this was a personal injury claim just waiting to happen.

The sharp curve in the road has been complained about many times, and the complaints have yet to yield a change. One resident reported that there are always vehicles speeding and taking the curve too fast. Many local residents are in fear of their children’s lives as well as their own.

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 Posted on June 08,2012 in Uncategorized

On May 31, 2012, shortly after 2:00 p.m. two pick up trucks crashed near the intersection of Highway 123 and Farm Road 1339.

A Chevy pick-up truck was traveling north on Highway 123 when a dump truck pulled out in front of it. The Chevy’s driver was Roman Esparza, 20 years old, of Seguin. According to an article in the Seguin Gazette, the dump truck pulled out from FM 1339 and Esparza swerved, attempting to avoid a collision with the dump truck. Esparza lost control of his vehicle and careened across the highway into the southbound lane where it crashed into a Dodge pick up truck. The Dodge was being driven by Patricia Rivera, 46, of Seguin and Rivera had a passenger, 80 year old Estefana Sanchez. As the passenger side of the Dodge was crashed into, emergency personnel had to extricate Ms. Sanchez from the truck. Both she and Ms. Rivera were immediately transported to San Antonio’s University Hospital.

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 Posted on June 05,2012 in Uncategorized

In New Braunfels, Memorial Day weekend got off to a dangerous start. On Friday, May 25, 2012, shortly after 6 p.m., multiple vehicles collided at a New Braunfels Shell gas station on Highway 46 West.

KGNB reports that a Ford pickup truck exited off the Highway onto the gas station’s property at an extremely high speed. Instead of slowing down and stopping, the pick-up truck flew through parking lot hitting the vacuum and air station. The truck did not stop there, but rather continued on, violently crashing into several vehicles in the parking lot. A total of four vehicles were involved in the crash.

The collision injured several individuals, two of which were immediately transported to the nearest hospital for medical treatment. Their current condition is unknown. In addition to the injured individuals, the crash caused major damage to the vehicles involved and property damage to the gas station. New Braunfels police are still investigating the accident and are unsure what caused the chaotic crash.

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 Posted on June 03,2012 in Uncategorized

Memorial Day weekend is a an extra busy weekend on the roadways, and unfortunately, busy roadways have more accidents. This year, on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, an unexpected tragedy struck one San Antonio family. Erica Parra was driving her family from Corpus Christi back to San Antonio on I-37 near SE Miltary at about 9:30 pm with her four children asleep in the backseat, and her husband riding in the front passenger seat. Kens5 reports that Ms. Parra’s contact lens began bother her making it diffiult for her to see.

In an attempt to adjust her contact lens, Ms. Parra closed her eyes for a brief moment and swerved into the gaurdrail hitting it head on. Her SUV flipped over onto the side of roadway. All six passengers were thrown from the vehicle. The vehicle landed on one of the children, a ten year old girl, instantly killing her. The other children and Ms. Parra were taken to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. Ms. Parra’s husband, Arturo Parra, was seriously injured and was life-flighted to a hospital.

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