Texas Injury Law Blog : Dallas Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Fears Nachawati Law Firm : Personal Injury, Wrongful Death : Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Texas

A catastrophic injury is an extremely severe injury typically characterized by the loss of the use of a bodily system or function. A person who suffers a catastrophic injury may have to undergo multiple surgeries, rehabilitation, lengthy hospital stays and full-time nursing/assistive care. Sometimes a person with a catastrophic injury never fully recovers and may even face a shortened life expectancy.

Examples of catastrophic injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Severe burns
• Amputations
• Paralysis
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paraplegia
• Quadriplegia

Individuals who have suffered a catastrophic injury have far greater long-term medical needs than those who have suffered a less severe injury. A person who has suffered a catastrophic injury will likely have to manage the injury on a daily basis. Often treatment will require an entire team of healthcare professionals providing care.

It is important that you seek the immediate counsel of a qualified personal injury attorney because you do not want to make the mistake of settling too early. The long-term effects of a catastrophic injury may not be immediately apparent. The consequences of an injury can take months or years to manifest. That is why you want to be cautious about settling for an amount of money that will ultimately prove insufficient to cover your medical expenses.

If you have suffered a catastrophic injury due to someone else’s negligent actions, you may be entitled to damages for:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of future earnings
• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Disability
• Disfigurement

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Yaz and Yasmin are two of the most popular oral contraceptives on the market. However, tragically, these birth control pills have proven fatal for at least 50 women, according to reports made to the FDA. Yaz and Yasmin present an increased risk of potentially fatal side effects over other birth control pills.

 Causes of Yaz and Yasmin deaths

Numerous life-threatening side effects are associated with the use of Yaz and Yasmin, including:

• Deep vein thrombosis
• Heart attack
• Blood clots
• Liver damage
• Pulmonary embolism
• Stroke

If a woman does not receive adequate and immediate treatment for any of the above conditions, these side-effects can result in death.

Increased risk for Yaz and Yasmin fatal side effects

Yaz and Yasmin are more dangerous for some women than others. Women with the highest risk of developing a fatal Yasmin/Yaz side effect are those who:

• Are over the age of 35
• Are obese
• Excessively consume alcohol or use illicit drugs
• Have heart disease
• Are undergoing hormone therapy
• Smoke
• Have had a stroke
• Have high cholesterol
• Have high blood pressure

Yaz and Yasmin wrongful death lawsuits

If you have lost a loved one or family member due to fatal side effects from Yaz or Yasmin, you should contact a Yaz/Yasmin lawsuit attorney immediately about bringing a wrongful death lawsuit.

A successful Yaz wrongful death lawsuit can result in compensation for funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses and pain and suffering.  

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If you’ve been involved in an accident and are considering bringing a personal injury lawsuit in Texas, you have a lot to cope with. On top of going to your doctor appointments and recovering from your injuries, you must also consider hiring a Texas personal injury attorney.

Finding a good Texas personal injury attorney, however, is not as difficult or stressful as it may first seem. It is true that you want to give careful consideration to this very important decision. It is also true, though, that you can make a wise selection by following a few simple tips.

Tip #1: Meet with the attorney in person before you sign anything.

Your personal rapport with your attorney matters a lot. You want to be represented by someone who makes you feel comfortable and someone you can trust and be honest with. You should never enter into an attorney/client relationship with a personal injury lawyer until you’ve had a chance to speak with that lawyer in person and determine whether they are a good match for your personality.

Tip #2: Find out whether the attorney is willing to go to trial if you don’t get a reasonable settlement offer.

Not all attorneys are willing to take a personal injury claim all the way to trial. You deserve fair compensation for your injuries, and you also deserve an attorney who will be willing to fight to get you that compensation. Don’t hire an attorney unless that attorney has expressed their willingness to go to trial if the other side doesn’t make a reasonable settlement offer.

Tip #3: Ask the attorney to explain all of their fees upfront.

Fees and expenses are one of the biggest areas of concern for potential litigants. A good, honest personal injury attorney will be upfront and open with you about the fees and expenses that you will be charged. Be sure you understand the extent and nature of the fees before you sign any agreement.

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Every year in the United States, around 2.5 million rear-end collisions are reported. Any number of factors can lead to a rear impact crash, including distracted driving, tailgating and poor weather conditions.

Even at slow speeds, a rear-end car accident can lead to serious injuries. The impact of being struck from behind causes the driver or passenger to rapidly and unexpectedly pitch forward, which can cause spinal injuries, whiplash or even a concussion.

While even the safest drivers cannot prevent all car accidents, there are steps that we can take to reduce the chances of being involved in a rear impact car accident. Protect yourself, your loved ones and your vehicle by being a defensive driver and following these tips to help avoid rear-end car accidents:

• Begin to brake well in advance of your need to stop to alert the driver behind you that traffic is slowing, which gives them more time to react.
• Avoid braking abruptly. Rather than slamming on your brakes to try to catch a missed turn, it is much safer to drive past it and turn around.
• Exercise caution when pulling out in front of moving traffic. Wait for a sufficient break between cars.
• Never tailgate other drivers. Always maintain a safe distance between your car and the vehicle ahead of you.
• Pay attention to the traffic down the road, not just the car directly ahead of you. That way you will be alerted to traffic coming to a stop.
• Give driving your full attention. Never drive distracted, such as driving while eating, talking on a cellphone or texting.

If you have been injured in a rear end collision caused by someone else’s negligence, contact a personal injury attorney today for legal advice.

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A Texas woman is suing after a car accident she claims was caused when the other driver failed to yield to her right-of-way and failed to obey a traffic control device.

The car accident lawsuit was filed on February 26^th by accident victim Perla Sanchez. Included as defendants in the suit are the driver of the car, Gerald Garcia, as well as Standard Alloys and Manufacturing Sales Co. and Blue Tee Corp.

In her lawsuit, Sanchez claims that Garcia was driving the Ford F450 pickup truck that hit her car on January 21^st.

Sanchez has also blamed the two companies for the accident, arguing that they should not have allowed Garcia to operate the vehicle because they knew him to be an incompetent and unfit driver.

Sanchez is seeking actual, compensatory and exemplary damages for her physical pain, physical impairment, disfigurement  and mental anguish. Sanchez also claims to have incurred lost wages and medical expenses.

Click here to read more on Sanchez’s Texas car accident lawsuit.

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A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of a Texas woman whose vehicle was struck by a police bait car.

Members of the Dallas city council have been briefed on the family’s Texas wrongful death lawsuit. The council will vote on Wednesday on whether to authorize a proposed settlement of $245,000.

The wrongful death lawsuit has been filed by the family of Anna Reyes. Reyes’ car was hit by a police bait car being driven by Eddie Ramirez.

Police allegedly chased Ramirez, who had jumped into the car set up by police officers to catch car thieves. Police lost sight of Ramirez and attempted to remotely disable the vehicle.

The police, however, were too late. Ramirez slammed into Reyes at 75 mph, killing her.

Since the fatal car accident took place, a new system has been put into effect that enables officers to disable the bait vehicle more quickly. After the new system was put in place, the bait car program, which has been temporarily suspended following the car accident, was reinstated by a unanimous vote of the city’s public safety committee.

To read more on this Texas wrongful death lawsuit, click here to access the complete article.

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Women who take Yaz or Yasmin should be aware that these birth control pills present an increased risk of arrhythmia, which is an irregular heartbeat.

Under normal circumstances, your heart beats at a rate that is relative to your current level of activity and comfort. An arrhythmia occurs when your heart rate becomes abnormal for some reason.

Arrhythmias can be placed into one of two main categories:

Tachycardia: Tachycardia occurs when the heart is beating too fast, specifically, at a rate of over 100 beats per minute.

Bradycardia: Bradycardia occurs when a person’s heart rate is too slow, specifically, at rate of less than 60 beats per minute for an adult who is awake.

If your heart rate drops below 50 beats per minute, enough blood may not be pumping to your organs. As a result, you can begin to experience serious side effects, including:

• Dizziness
• Fatigue
• Chest pains
• Fainting
• Confusion
• Heart palpitations
• Weakness
• Shortness of breath

In the worst cases, complications from arrhythmia can include:

• Stroke
• Cardiac arrest
• Blood clots
• Death

Sadly, there is no cure for arrhythmia. Instead, patients must undergo long-term treatments and rehabilitation as well as attend regular checkups.

If you believe you have experienced arrhythmia as a result of taking Yasmin or Yaz, you should immediately contact your physician. Additionally, you can also contact the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuit attorneys of Fears | Nachawati for free legal advice.

Women who have been injured, including by arrhythmias, as a result of taking Yaz or Yasmin birth control may be able to bring a lawsuit against the maker of these drugs.

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The number of lawsuits filed over the birth control pills Yaz and Yasmin is now at nearly 1,100. This is according to an annual report released by Bayer, the manufacturer of Yasmin and Yaz.

Experts are predicting that the number will continue to rise as thousands of women in both Canada and the United States are considering bringing lawsuits after suffering injuries from taking Yasmin and Yaz.

According to Bayer’s 2009 annual report, which was released last month, among the lawsuits filed have been five Yaz and Yasmin class action lawsuits – three in the United States and two in Canada.

The lawsuits all involve similar issues, which are claims that Yaz, Yasmin and the generic version Ocella increase a woman’s risk of suffering a heart attack, stroke, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism or gallbladder disease, among other injuries. At least 50 deaths in the United States alone have been linked to the use of Yaz or Yasmin.

In their Yasmin and Yaz lawsuits, the plaintiffs are arguing that Bayer failed to perform adequate research on the safety of the birth control pills and failed to warn users of the increased health risks associated with Yaz and Yasmin.  

Additionally, many of the Yaz and Yasmin lawsuits allege that Bayer was deceptive in its advertising of the birth control pills, over-emphasizing certain supposed benefits of the drugs without also fully disclosing the  potential increased risks of serious side effects posed by Yaz and Yasmin.

In fact, Bayer was formally warned about the deceptive advertising by the FDA and subsequently forced to run a series of ads correcting the misleading claims made in previous commercials.

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of taking Yaz, Yasmin or Ocella, contact a Yaz/Yasmin lawsuit attorney today for legal advice.

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The family of a Fort Worth, Texas, woman killed last December in a car accident involving an intoxicated, off-duty Fort Worth police officer has filed a lawsuit against the bar that allegedly served alcohol to the officer.

The lawsuit has been filed under the Texas Dram Shop Act, which is a law that enables victims and victims’ families to hold an establishment legally liable for damages that arise when the establishment sells alcohol to an obviously intoxicated person.

Named as defendants in the drunk driving car accident lawsuit are the Pour House, bar owner Eric Tschetter and Pueri Inc., a related business entity.  Cisneros and the city of Fort Worth are not listed as defendants.

According to the lawsuit, the Pour House continued to serve alcohol to Jesus Cisneros – the off-duty Fort Worth police officer – to the point where Cisneros became “dangerously inebriated.” Afterward, the bar allowed Cisneros to “stagger out” and drive away from the establishment in a city vehicle.

Cisneros left the premises of the Pour House at around 2:25 a.m. Accident report states that Cisneros was driving at 70 mph in a 35 mph zone. Cisneros then struck a PT Cruiser being driven by victim Sonia Baker. Baker, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident took place on December 11^th near Baker’s Fort Worth home.

After the accident, Cisneros was taken to a hospital for blood tests. The results of those tests indicated that Cisneros’ blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

Last month, 37-year-old Cisneros was charged with intoxication manslaughter. He remains free on bail. Cisneros resigned from his position in late December.

For more on this drunk driving car accident lawsuit, click here for the full article.

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