Houston Accident Attorney on Speed as a Factor in Fatal Houston Wrecks
Houston accident attorney notes that speed kills. Now I know that many of the Houston commuters out there, who suffer endless delays and Houston traffic backups, are probably sardonically thinking: “Good to know. But when do I ever get to go above 9 mph?”
Those annoying Houston traffic delays that we experience each day on our commutes may actually be good for our health. Statistically speaking, slower drives cause fewer accident fatalities and injuries.
Studies by the U.S. DOT and the NHTSA show that speeding on rural roads (where drivers actually enjoy the space to drive at or above the speed limit) represents the nation’s leading cause of roadway accidents and accident fatalities.
We drive more miles annually on our congested urban roads than on our more open rural roads. We drive 1.6 million miles on urban roads as opposed to 1 million miles on rural roads. But we experience far more accidents and accident fatalities on our less congested rural roads than on our challenging urban ones.
Relatively few accident fatalities happen on the urban interstates having the highest speed limits. But these fatal interstate accidents tend to be the ones reported most frequently in our urban newspapers. Rural roads, conversely, show:
A greater number of severe wrecks;
Rougher terrain and poorer road conditions;
Less congestion and traffic;
Greater lag times between accidents and the reporting of them to rescuers;
A lesser level of trauma care following the accident; and
Less widespread coverage in the news.
With the recent increase of the Texas speed limit to 85 mph on some Texas rural roads, this Houston accident attorney expects that the incidence of rural crash injuries and accident fatalities will unfortunately rise even further.
So the next time you’re stuck in slow and heavy Houston traffic, think about this: your lack of speed, while infinitely frustrating, may actually be saving your life from the possibility of a fatal crash. After all, we need something positive to reflect upon while we suffer the lengthy Houston traffic delays that make us late to work.
Controversial raising of the speed limit could raise the number of Texas accident fatalities
Houston accident lawyer notes that in September, a new Texas law brought the nighttime speed limit up to the level of the daytime speed limit. The Texas speed limit change law also raised the maximum speed you can travel on some rural Texas roads to 85 mph.
Proponents say that the Texas speed limit change only recognized realities. Texas was the only remaining U.S. state to have differing daytime and nighttime speed limits on its highways.
Originally, the lower nighttime speed limit, enacted decades ago, intended to give drivers extra time to recognize and slow or stop for nighttime road hazards. A fatal Gulf Freeway wreck in Houston, where a Toyota Avalon slammed into a GMC pickup truck stopped in the freeway because of a previous wreck, illustrates the increased danger of nighttime accidents due to lesser visibility.
Critics claim that the raised Texas speed limit will lead to an increased number of accident fatalities and injuries, particularly with regard to trucks traveling rural Texas roads. Texans already suffer a huge number of fatal and injurious accidents on our thousands of miles of rural Texas roads. Some of these rural roads run narrow courses. Some of our rural Texas roads contain treacherous turns and curves. Others suffer from poor conditions and maintenance.
Texas also already hazards the nation’s greatest problem with illegal street racing, especially in Harris County. The Houston accident lawyers of Denena & Points have previously discussed the illegal street racing problem and its high fatality toll in our region. Critics of the Texas speed limit change say that the higher speed limits will only encourage those who already drive over the speed limit to drive even faster.
Our Houston accident lawyers point out that at higher speeds, it takes longer to stop. And making course adjustments presents risky challenges. A majority of fatal motorcycle accidents occur when drivers lose control of their bikes on curves, turns, or when making quick course adjustments.
Our Houston accident lawyers also remind you that mass increases with velocity. So the forces exerted on the fragile human body by an accident impact also increase with speed. At 30 mph, a driver suddenly noticing a pedestrian in the road 45 feet away has time to stop without hitting the pedestrian. A mere 5 mph increase in speed to 35 mph means that the same driver noticing the same pedestrian will hit the victim with his vehicle while still traveling at 18 mph. That’s enough speed to injure or kill the pedestrian.
And on the highway, a motorcycle striking an object will likely be traveling much faster than that. Such a high-speed wreck might very well kill the bike’s driver and passenger. The body of a motorcyclist suffers all the hazards of an accident impact. The biker doesn’t have the substantial protection from the external forces of a wreck enjoyed by the occupants of enclosed vehicles.
A 2009 study of police and municipal court records in conjunction with reported traffic accidents on Houston’s Allen Parkway showed that a substantial decrease in the number of speeding tickets issued corresponded to a sharp increase in the number of injury accidents reported on the Parkway. A 36% drop in speeding tickets related to a 154% increase in injury accidents. (Note: that number doesn’t even include all of the accidents with no reported injuries.)
There’s no question that speed kills in traffic accidents on our Houston, TX roadways. The question is how much the Texas speed limit change will increase the fatality toll from accidents. Only time will tell. Unfortunately, Houston first responders and Houston accident lawyers will be among the first to notice such a toll.
Some Facts You’ll Want to Know about the ESC in Your U.S. Vehicle
Pearland, TX accident attorney discusses the rise of ESC systems as standard safety equipment in America. The U.S. government requires ESC systems in all SUVs, pickup trucks, and cars as of the 2012 model year. The new cars out on showroom floors in Pearland, TX right now should all contain ESC systems as standard equipment. ESC systems have been shown to produce significant reductions in some types of accident injuries.
Even prior to the federal government’s requirement of ESC systems in all passenger vehicles, automaker incorporation of ESC into their vehicles had already grown to 10 times the 1998 rate.
In the 2011 model year, ESC systems already came standard in 90% of cars in the U.S., 72% of pickup trucks, and 100% of SUVs. (Pickup trucks traditionally lag behind cars and SUVs in incorporating some safety features.)
The first vehicle equipped with ESC as a standard feature was the European model of the 1995 Mercedes Benz S-Class.
An ESC system reduces the costs of a Pearland, TX collision by about 15% compared to losses for prior year models lacking ESC. This data comes from the Highway Loss Data Institute based on the insurance claims resulting from collisions.
The Technical Hurdles of Investigating TX Airbag Non-deployment Cases
When we investigate an airbag non-deployment accident for a client, our first priority is to look at the vehicle’s delta v (change in velocity) along with the angle of the wreck. Our Lake Jackson accident attorneys work in conjunction with specialized accident re-construction experts to determine the technical aspects governing your Lake Jackson, TX collision.
Cars manufactured prior to 2000 use broader criteria for triggering airbag deployment than later cars. In those older cars, the airbag might deploy if the delta v is greater than 14 mph, and the wreck is either a head-on collision, or 30 degrees to left or right of center.
But later cars usually employ higher delta v requirements. They also will suppress airbag deployment under certain circumstances. These circumstances might include seat belt use, pretensioner deployment, or the severity of the accident.
Different manufacturers employ differing airbag deployment criteria within their various vehicle models. Unfortunately, specific information regarding the criteria used for your specific vehicle probably isn’t available to the public. Your Lake Jackson accident attorney might have to obtain details on your car’s airbag deployment triggers through the pre-trial “discovery” process.
After your Lake Jackson accident, you’ll need to leave your vehicle unrepaired until your attorney’s technical experts can conduct a thorough inspection to determine precisely why your airbag did not deploy. Depending upon what the experts find, you may need to leave your vehicle unrepaired for a while. The condition of the car itself may be helpful evidence in your injury compensation claim.
In any claim, your opposition likely will produce experts of their own to testify that the car’s speed, angle, and braking activity before the accident remained below the threshold required to trigger airbag deployment. (And this remains true whatever your speed, angle, and braking activity was.) The opposition might pin their case on your BEV (barrier equivalent velocity), which is different than delta v, the usual airbag trigger.
To win your airbag defect claim, you will need to prove that: · The airbag non-deployment caused your injuries; · If the airbag had deployed, it would have prevented your injuries; · Deployment of the airbag would not have caused greater injuries than the ones you have; · The sensor system designed to trigger your airbag had a defect; · An alternative sensor system design existed that would have deployed the airbag; and · The alternative design would not have deployed the airbag unnecessarily.
You’ll need the help of the biomechanics, medical and sensor diagnostic system experts that your Lake Jackson accident attorney can find. Proving an airbag defect case is highly technical and complex. It involves the conjunction of mechanical and medical intricacies that only a Lake Jackson accident attorney with years of complex accident litigation experience can unravel and present clearly to a jury.
Call us for a free consultation regarding your airbag defect case. At Denena & Points, we’ve been obtaining successful results for our clients in such complicated, technical accident claims for more than a decade. Experience counts. Call us.
What Damages Can I Claim from after a Sugar Land, TX Amputation Accident?
There’s no doubt that the monetary value of your damages will be extremely high after amputations from a hit and run DUI accident. Possibly up in the millions of dollars.
Crush amputations and avulsion amputations from catastrophic car accidents generally cause injuries too severe for limb reattachment. Victims of amputation accidents and other catastrophic injuries suffer under immense burdens after their accidents. The emotional, physical, and financial hardships you might face after a Sugar Land, TX amputation accident place immense stresses upon your already debilitated condition. And none of these burdens result from your own fault, but from the negligence of others. So it’s important that you be able to recover the maximum possible compensation from all negligent parties who contributed to your accident. These parties might include bars and bartenders that served the defendant the alcohol that led to your amputation accident.
At Denena & Points, we’re Sugar Land personal injury lawyers who have dedicated our professional lives to ensuring that innocent victims of catastrophic accidents obtain full financial recoveries for their accident losses. As Board Certified Sugar Land personal injury lawyers, we want you to be able to collect the full economic, non-economic damages, and punitive damages that you deserve for your losses. Your economic damages after your Sugar Land, TX amputation accident might include:
- Medical Expenses: Doctor and hospital expenses, EMS transportation and expenses, surgery costs, rehabilitation expenses, medical equipment costs, and prescribed medications.
- Rehabilitation Costs: All of your expenses relating to re-acquiring the ability to live an active life and do things for yourself after the hit and run DUI accident.
- Lost Wages and Income: Your lost wages while in the hospital and recovery, and lost future income because of the amputation accident.
- Reduced Earnings Capacity: The value of the income-earning potential diminished by your new disabilities from the amputation accident.
- Property Damage: The repair or replacement coasts of your vehicle and any other physical property destroyed or damaged by the hit and run DUI accident.
Your non-economic damages after the Sugar Land, TX amputation accident could include:
- Pain and Suffering: Physical pain and your suffering from the injuries you sustained in the amputation accident.
- Mental and Emotional Distress: The mental and emotional pain, anxiety, and distress you face because of the hit and run DUI accident.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Your suffering resulting from the immense changes to your lifestyle, the grave inconveniences associated with your new amputations, reductions in your ability to enjoy the companionship of a spouse, and your inability to enjoy the activities important to you.
Punitive Damages: These damages intend to punish the defendant rather than to compensate you. A jury where they find the defendant’s negligence and disregard for others’ safety particularly egregious could award punitive damages. Punitive damages are available in some hit and run DUI accident cases. Our skill and knowledge as Sugar Land personal injury lawyers could help you build a successful claim for these extra monetary penalties.
A Sugar Land, TX amputation accident brings enormous changes to your life and your outlook. Let us help you recover financially for the grievous and undeserved harm you’ve suffered because of other people’s negligence. Money can never replace lost limbs or the well being you enjoyed before your catastrophic hit and run DUI accident. But it can give you the satisfaction of holding negligent parties fully accountable financially for their callous disregard for your safety. And it can help give you firm footing for a secure financial future.
Steps to Take after Catastrophic Sugar Land Accident Amputation Injury
You need to contact right away an experienced Sugar Land, TX personal injury attorney familiar with the special considerations of amputation accidents.
Your Sugar Land amputation accident attorney could obtain and review copies of the police and rescue workers’ reports regarding your hit and run accident. Whether your own personal injury insurance protection or uninsured motorist coverage helps pay your claim, or whether it’s the hit and run defendant’s insurance that pays, the Texas Department of Insurance says that insurance companies won’t pay damages unless the accident has a police report. And your attorney’s careful review of first responder reports could reveal important areas for further inquiry and investigation on your behalf.
You need to take action immediately to hire an experienced Sugar Land amputation accident attorney to locate and secure evidence for your case. Evidence begins to disappear almost immediately following an accident. Don’t wait. Don’t let the facts and evidence that you need disappear.
It’s always important to investigate an accident at once. This importance becomes critical in cases involving a catastrophic injury like a limb amputation. For instance, in a hit and run accident involving a DUI violation, your Sugar Land amputation accident attorney could begin investigating the possibility of Texas dram shop liability. If a licensed alcohol-serving establishment served the defendant the liquor that led to the DUI collision, you might have another source of compensation to pay the very high costs of your accident injuries.
Investigating and building a successful legal claim for catastrophic injury compensation from a hit and run accident involve a highly complex process. Your Sugar Land amputation accident attorney must clearly prove fault in the defendant. Extra challenges come into play when you must prove liability in a hit and run accident or a DUI-related case.
Your Sugar Land amputation accident attorney would work with medical experts to assess the full extent of your injuries from the accident. Some injuries and complications from an accident might not appear immediately. The medical experts could help your attorney to determine your future costs from:
· Medical expenses,
· Ongoing medical care and support needs,
· Disability,
· Lifestyle changes or restrictions, and
· Reduced earnings capacity because of your amputations and other injuries.
After the full extent of your injuries and ongoing expenses from the hit and run accident becomes clear, your Sugar Land amputation accident attorney can make a detailed calculation of the monetary value of your damages. These valuations become part of a demand for damages from the defendant and the insurers liable for paying your claim.
Your Sugar Land amputation accident attorney will know the “statutes of limitations” that set deadlines by which you must file your claim. He could ensure that your case meets all filing deadlines so that you don’t lose your chance a successful financial recovery. Your attorney’s in-depth knowledge of catastrophic amputation injury cases would also ensure that he doesn’t file your case too soon, before the full extent of your costs from the accident becomes clear.
At Denena & Points, we’re your experienced, Texas Board Certified, Sugar Land amputation accident attorneys. We possess the personal injury knowledge and ability that situates us to best handle your catastrophic personal injury claim and ensure a successful outcome. Our skill and knowledge could provide the proper guidance for your case to protect your interests and maximize your financial compensation recovery from the accident.
We have more than a decade of experience successfully handling complex injury accident claims for clients with situations similar to yours. We could take care of many of the urgent aspects of your case for you, and ensure that you make the best possible recovery on your claim. Call today for a free legal consultation. We’re here to help.
Some of the Questions You Want to Ask after a Pearland, TX Truck Wreck
Truck wrecks are complex. Many causes might have contributed to a Pearland, TX truck wreck. In fact, it’s more than likely that several of the following factors combined to cause the truck wreck.
- Did the truck driver have a medical condition that helped cause the wreck?
- Did driver fatigue play a role in the Pearland, TX truck wreck?
- Was the driver distracted at the time of the wreck? What do his cell phone records show?
- What was the driver’s delivery schedule like, and what does his logbook say?
- Does the FMCSA record any previous violations by the driver or trucking company?
- Who owned the truck? Who owned the trailer? Who employed the truck driver?
- Did the truck’s owner properly service and maintain the truck?
- What condition were the trailer and cargo fasteners in?
- Who planned the truck route, and was it appropriate for that truck and its cargo?
- Who loaded and secured the truck’s cargo, and did they do it properly?
- Were there any recalls affecting the truck, its trailer or components?
- Were there any other defects that might have caused the Pearland, TX truck wreck?
- How fast was the truck going at the time of the accident?
- Was the truck engaged in a turn, lane change, or negotiating a curve?
- Did the truck attempt to brake before the Pearland, TX truck wreck?
- Was over-correction of the truck’s course a factor?
- What does the truck’s “black box” say?
- Were there any witnesses to the Pearland, TX truck wreck?
- Did road conditions or other vehicles play a part in the wreck?
These questions represent just some of the many factors for which you want to account before bringing a claim for accident compensation. Our experienced Pearland truck wreck lawyers at Denena Points, PC could help you cover all your bases to ensure that you present a strong and valid claim for financial compensation.
You deserve just recompense for your losses from a Pearland, TX truck wreck. Call us today for your free legal consultation. Let us put our knowledge and experience to work for you so that you could make a full recovery for your accident injuries.
What Kinds of Injuries Can Pearland, TX Truck Rollover Accidents Cause?
Pearland, TX truck rollover accidents tend to cause catastrophic, even fatal, injuries. Government agencies like the NHTSA and the FMCSA have attempted over the years to promulgate safety standards to enhance vehicle rollover resistance. But fatal truck rollover accidents still occur on an alarmingly regular basis. And Pearland, TX truck rollover accidents still present many life-threatening hazards.
- Collapses of the vehicles’ structural integrity that trap drivers inside.
- Vehicle doors that could warp during an impact.
- Door latches that could open during rollover accidents and eject drivers.
- Roof crush leading to traumatic brain injuries or neck and spinal injuries.
- Rollover accident impacts that can cause even more severe injuries than roof crush.
- Strains of the neck spinal column from rollovers that can lead to either permanent disability or death.
- Getting trapped under or crushed by the truck and its load.
After a Pearland, TX truck rollover accident has injured you or a family member, you need to have your own dedicated Pearland truck accident lawyer investigate the wreck and discover its true cause. Your chances of recovering financial compensation hinge on the cause of the wreck and the sources of the negligence behind it.
At Denena Points, PC, we’re highly experienced, Texas Board Certified Pearland truck accident lawyers. For more than a dozen years, our diligent investigations, thorough case preparations, and well thought out legal strategies have been helping injured victims recover the monetary compensation they need to become financially whole again after their undeserved accident losses.
Get the information and the help you need to recover on your accident claim. Call today for a free legal consultation an case evaluation.
How to Find the Trucking Company Liable for Your Houston Truck Crash
Trucking companies know the risks of sending massively loaded vehicles out onto busy roadways under the command of often overworked and fatigued drivers. So they create elaborate layers of subsidiaries, holding companies, parent companies, sister companies, and brokers to help protect themselves from liability in the event of a costly Houston truck crash.
In fact, there exist cadres of trucking liability defense lawyers that teach trucking companies how to create these confusing layers of corporate relationship in order to shield themselves from liability for your injuries. Just one catastrophic Houston truck crash can result in millions of dollars in damages.
If you suffered devastating injuries from a Houston truck crash, you might have lifelong medical conditions and impairments from the truck wreck. You might have lost beloved family members to the same Houston truck crash that injured you. But you might be confused about who’s actually responsible for paying for your injuries and the other massive costs from the truck wreck.
- You can sue the truck driver who was there behind the wheel of the truck at the time of the Houston truck crash. But he may not have many assets.
- Another company may own the truck itself. The company’s books may show few assets, and it may subscribe to only the minimum required liability insurance on the truck.
- The truck’s trailer may be owned by yet another entity. The truck’s cargo belongs to some other company.
- An apparently unrelated freight broker, or logistics company, brought the truck and the cargo together.
- A holding company might exist at a level above the small, asset-poor company that owns the truck.
Separate subsidiary companies might be responsible for various functions related to the operations of the truck and its driver.
- Maintaining the truck.
- Qualifying the truck driver and performing audits of his logbooks.
- Hiring and screening the truck drivers.
- Negotiating cargo loads and delivery schedules.
- Loading cargo.
- Determining the truck’s routes on deliveries.
- Marketing and registering the truck trailers.
In many cases, these varied companies will all operate out of the same building and use the same address, even though they register themselves and operate as separate entities. And one parent company, to which much of the companies’ profits flow, sits at the top, quietly supervising everything behind the scenes.
You’ll need a Houston truck accident attorney with years of experience in complex trucking liability cases to help you pierce this elaborate corporate veil and obtain the financial compensation due to you. Your practiced Houston truck accident attorney could pursue an alter ego theory of liability to get you the full amount of compensation you deserve from your traumatic Houston truck crash.
Call us at Denena & Points to schedule a free consultation and case evaluation regarding your devastating Houston truck crash. We’ve been delving into complex Houston truck crash cases for more than 12 years. We know how to find the evidence you need to pierce the shielding corporate veil. We could help you find the controlling companies with the assets to pay your high value claims from your Houston truck crash case.
Call us today. We’re here to help. Our goal is to get you the full financial recovery you deserve after a horrific truck wreck caused by trucking company negligence and deception.
Punitive Damages Could Add to Your Houston Truck Accident Recovery
Punitive damages intend to punish the defendant for unacceptable behavior. Punitive damages should deter the defendant and others who might engage in negligent, bad acts similar to the one that injured you in a Houston truck accident. A jury considers the following factors when deciding on the amount of punitive damages.
- How bad the defendant’s behavior or disregard for others’ safety was in causing the Houston truck accident.
- The amount of the damages awarded to compensate you for your actual injuries and losses from the accident.
- The worth of the defendant’s assets.
A punitive damages award that doesn’t make a dent in the defendant’s net worth also doesn’t have a deterrent effect. Your Houston truck accident attorney should perform some focused and diligent research to uncover the extent of the defendant’s wealth.
Many defendants, especially profit-oriented entities like trucking companies, go to great lengths to hide both their assets and their liabilities. So your Houston truck accident attorney may have to delve pretty deeply into corporate books and government records to find the assets you’re seeking to pay for your injuries from the accident the defendants caused. SEC data serves as a good resource for corporate financial data.
Some of the Houston truck accident cases where you could seek punitive damages include these examples.
- Where the truck driver drove under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
- Where the driver falsified his logbook regarding hours driven and rest breaks taken.
- Where road rage contributed to the truck crash.
- Where rushed delivery schedules and excessive speed played a role in the truck accident.
- Where the driver engaged in particularly reckless maneuvers on the road.
In most instances, the trucking company becomes vicariously liable for its employee’s behavior while on the job. So you would be able to ask punitive damages from the trucking company as well as from the actual truck driver.
Contact the skilled Houston truck accident lawyers at Denena & Points for a free legal consultation regarding your Houston truck accident case. We’ve been helping the innocent victims injured by heinous truck wrecks to successfully recover full financial damages for over 12 years. We could help you too.