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

San Antonio motorcycle driver Robert Louis Carter III died in the early morning hours today after he was rear-ended by a hit-and-run driver and subsequent run over by a drunk driver in her 20s. Incredibly, the drunk driver was so out-of-touch with her surroundings that she continued to drive even after her airbags deployed.

Mr. Carter’s death is a tragic reminder that Texas highways can be dangerous, particularly at night and for people driving and riding on motorcycles. As if that’s not enough, reckless and inebriated car drivers make Texas’s heavily travelled roads and highways particularly risky.

Have you or a loved one been injured in a motorcycle accident? It’s time to find out about your legal and financial options so that you can get back on your feet. The experienced, expert attorneys at Fears | Nachawati are prepared to defend your interests and protect your rights. We handle other drivers, lawyers, and insurance agents on a daily basis. We know the tricks they’re likely to use – and how to protect you from them! For your free consultation, call us at 1.866.705.7584 or email mn@fnlawfirm.com.

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A woman suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol is now in serious condition after her reckless driving put her in a hospital emergency room and injured the driver of a school bus. Only by sheer luck were children not injured: the Spring Branch ISD bus had dropped off a group of students after a football game just moments before the accident.

School buses are less stable than their size suggests. Top-heavy and long, when school buses are hit in the rear quarter panel, they are at serious risk of rolling. That’s precisely what happened last night in northwest Houston when the driver of a relatively small car struck the bus at a high rate of speed, causing it to flip.

Has your child been injured in a school bus accident? Every year as millions of children go back to school – and to extracurricular events like football games and debate tournaments, school bus accidents happen, causing injury and, in some tragic cases, death. Fears | Nachawati knows the pain victims feel. For your free consultation, call us at 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to mn@fnlawfirm.com. We can help you!

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In the kind of tragedy that happens all too frequently on Texas highways, an out-of-control driver crossed over the median this weekend and slammed into an oncoming car. What caused the reckless driver’s dangerous – and ultimately lethal – drift into head-on traffic isn’t clear. What is clear, however, is that all the safety protections of the victim’s car and all the medical advances associated with a major metropolitan area like Houston weren’t enough to save Rosemary Rogers Olsen, the victim who died at the Memorial Hermann Hospital.

Lethal automobile accidents happen almost everyday in Texas. In all too many instances, these accidents kill and injure without warning and as a result of dangerous decisions – like texting-while-driving and driving drunk – by negligent drivers. Frequently, punitive and exemplary damages are appropriate in accidents where deliberate recklessness contributes to the victim’s injury or death.

Fears | Nachawati attorneys know what it takes to secure the compensation your family deserves in the wake of a lethal automobile accident. You have rights worth protecting! Let us help you fight for them. For a free consultation, call us at 1.866.545.8364 or send an email to mn@fnlawfirm.com. We’re ready to fight for you!

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A Lubbock High graduate who was preparing to enter Texas Tech University after her year-long training with the Army Reserves died earlier this week when the car in which she was riding broke through a guardrail and tumbled down an overpass. The driver, a Texas Tech medical student, and another passenger were seriously injured in the accident. Both passengers weren’t wearing their seatbelts; based on evidence of alcohol found in the car, investigators suspect that the driver may have been drinking.

Drunk driving accidents are unfortunately common in Texas. They often cause severe injury or death due to erratic driving and excessive speeds. Both recklessness and high speeds appear to be involved in the Lubbock accident.

Fears | Nachawati protects drunk driving victims and their families. If you or a loved one have been injured, talking to our personal injury experts could give you the peace of mind and financial security that you need. For a free consultation, call us at 1.866.705.7584 or email to info@fnlawfirm.com. 

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More than a decade has passed since Jacqui Saburido was involved in a drunk driving accident that left her entirely body severely burned. Ironically, the accident that took the Austin native’s face has led her to become the face of an anti-drunk driving campaign across Texas. To date, Ms. Saburido has undergone 120 surgeries and is slated to have one of her most important – a nose reconstruction surgery – this summer in Brazil.

Drunk driving changed Ms. Saburido’s life forever. If you’ve been in a drunk driving accident, it’s likely to change your life, too. To find out everything you need to know about the law surrounding DUIs, contact the personal injury experts at Fears | Nachawati. Call at 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to info@fnlawfirm.com. Let us help you!

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Last weekend a motorcyclist, Carlton Neal Bare, died suddenly and tragically when a drunk driver failed to yield, turning directly into Mr. Bare. The drunk driver, Carlos Loris Lengua, blew a breathalyzer over the legal limit when police officers arrived at the scene of the accident.

Drunk driving kills nearly 15,000 Americans every year. In fact, at more than 1,500 drivers every year Texas is the leading state in drunk driving fatalities. Thousands more are injured – sometimes altering the rest of their lives – because of drink driving.

Have you been in an alcohol-related vehicle accident? If so, you may need help. You may need the personal injury experts of Fears | Nachawati. For a free consultation, call us at 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to info@fnlawfirm.com. Let us help you!

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Last week, Lashawnda Allen was charged with child endangerment. Incredibly, this Houston mother allowed her 20-month-old daughter to drink Four Loko, an alcoholic energy drink. When the child arrived at LBJ Hospital, hospital officials determined her blood alcohol level was 0.09, above the legal limit for intoxication.

Ms. Allen faces criminal charges, however, it’s important to remember that domestic abuse and child endangerment cases can also raise civil liability as well. If you are concerned that your daughter or granddaughter might be in an abusive relationship – whether they are endangered by a spouse or parent – it might be time to call the personal injury experts at Fears | Nachawati. We’re devoted to helping people just like you! For a free consultation, call us at 1.866.705.7584 or send an email to info@fnlawfirm.com. 

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A lawsuit has been filed after a drunk driver smashed his truck into a deli, causing patrons to be hit by flying debris and falling equipment. One of the patrons, a Texas man who lost one of his eyes in the accident, has filed a lawsuit against both the driver of the truck as well as the owner of the deli.

Russell January suffered his eye injury when a meat slicer fell on his head. January and his wife have filed a lawsuit against Rodney Eddie, the intoxicated truck driver, and Gonzuela Williams, the owner of Durham’s Meat Market.

The accident took place on November 14^th at around 5:30 p.m. January was eating at Durham’s Meat Market at the time, which is located in Port Arthur, Texas.

While January was in the deli, Eddie drove his pickup truck into the store, breaking through the wall and hitting several fixtures.

January was struck by a meat slicer, which, according to the lawsuit, caused not only the loss of his eye but also damage to his brain, a fractured skull and a fractured jaw.

In the lawsuit, January is seeking damages for medical costs, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, mental anguish, disfigurement and physical impairment.

January is joined in his lawsuit by his wife who is seeking damages for loss of comfort, solace, care, love and affection because of the accident.

The lawsuit blames Eddie for driving while intoxicated, driving too fast and failing to stay in his lane.

Williams is accused of negligence for having an unreasonably dangerous place of business because of the placement of heavy fixtures. The lawsuit further accuses Williams of failure to provide a barrier to protect his patrons from motor vehicles when it was foreseeable that a vehicle might jump the curb and strike the building.

For more on this Texas personal injury lawsuit, click here to access the complete article.

If you have been injured in an accident, contact Fears | Nachawati today for free legal assistance. To speak with a Texas personal injury lawyer, simply email us or phone us toll free at 1.866.705.7584.

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Mediation in personal injury cases typically occurs after a lawsuit is filed, but before a trial before a jury or judge takes place.  Once an injury suit is filed, mediation is usually your last chance to resolve your case, absent a full-blown trial, and , many cases in fact settle at mediation.  During mediation, the mediator is a neutral arbiter between the parties and their goal is to try and resolve the injury claim in a manner that all parties can live with.  Your lawyer should explain to you how mediation works well in advance.  Typically, mediation lasts a half day or a full day, depending on the complexity of the case.  At the beginning of mediation, parties meet in one conference room where your lawyer makes a short presentation to the mediator and the party being sued concerning the facts of your injury case.  Sometimes, the attorney for the party being sued responds with a brief statement and the parties then break into separate rooms.  The mediator typically goes back and forth into separate conference rooms with monetary offers.  If the parties to the injury suit can come together on a settlement, the mediator drafts a short settlement agreement and the injury claim is finalized usually within 30 days following mediation.  If however, the parties are unable to come together on a fair settlement, the case will go to trial.  It is important to ensure your lawyer is willing to go the distance and take your case to trial if necessary.  Lawyers at my firm, Fears | Nachawati, attend mediation frequently, and more importantly, will absolutely take a case to trial if the negligent party (at fault party) is unwilling to pay a fair and reasonable settlement amount. If you have an injury claim and need legal help or advice, contact me at mn@fnlawfirm.com or by phone - 1.866.705.7584.

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A jury has sentenced 29-year-old Jason Lang Modgling to 10 years in prison for the drunk driving death of 20-year-old Adam Martinez. Modgling was also fined $10,000. The sentence comes after Modgling pleaded guilty to the crime of intoxication manslaughter.

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 This past weekend, the Dallas Morning News reported two different drunk driving accidents that killed a woman and a young child. 

The first drunken driver crushed a 5-year-old boy to death in his car seat early Sunday, Dallas police said.

They said the second caused a pickup to flip over, killing a 47-year-old woman and seriously injuring her husband.

"I can't recall the last time when we had two [such deaths] in one night," said Dallas police Senior Cpl. Kevin Janse. "To deal with a small child like this, it's traumatic even for a veteran police officer."

The crashes happened during a Super Bowl weekend when some area police departments were already on heightened alert for drunken drivers, although there was no indication that either suspect had been at a game-related party.

Police blamed the first crash on Adrian Childs, 28, who Dallas County records say has two convictions for drug dealing. Mr. Childs was driving a Hyundai Sonata at high speed when he rear-ended a Cadillac about 3:35 a.m. on State Highway 310 near Lamar Street in South Dallas, police said. The impact collapsed the Cadillac's trunk and caused the back seat to crush Xavier Williams, 5. His mother, whom police did not identify, was driving and survived, as did two of Xavier's siblings. Mr. Childs' car was then hit by a third vehicle, whose driver was not injured. Mr. Childs was taken to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas for treatment and later jailed on a charge of intoxication manslaughter.

Nearly two hours later and several miles away, Vernie Clark of Ennis was a passenger in a pickup driven by her husband on North Central Expressway at Walnut Hill Lane.

Police said a Toyota 4Runner driven by Patricio Barrios, 63, swerved in front of the Clarks, causing a collision. The pickup then flipped over, pinning the couple inside. Ms. Clark was taken to Presbyterian Hospital, where she died of her injuries. Authorities said her husband was hospitalized and underwent emergency surgery. They did not release his name or condition. Mr. Barrios was jailed on charges of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault.

Dallas police didn't increase their drunken driving enforcement during the weekend, but Cpl. Janse said police expected to make more DWI arrests than usual Sunday night.

"People don't make the right decisions and don't find other means of transportation," he said.

Other area cities took a more aggressive approach over the weekend, seeking search warrants to draw blood from suspected drunken drivers who refused to submit to breath or blood tests.

 

Being involved in a drunk driving accident not only brings criminal but civil action.  The dedicated Texas personal injury lawyers of Fears & Nachawati offer free consultations 7 days a week & 24 hours a day.

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This morning, the Dallas Morning News reported a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver.

On Sept. 11, 2001, a family appointment kept Ms. Marilyn Gates from boarding Flight 11, one of her regular flights. After takeoff from Boston, the Los Angeles-bound plan was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.

But the New Hampshire woman couldn't dodge fate – or tragedy – forever. Less than five years after escaping the nation's worst terrorist attack, the 52-year-old was killed when a drunken driver ran a red light and slammed into her car on a North Texas roadway. The crash injured two others.
The driver, Stephen David Mole, was sentenced this month to 30 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. The 54-year-old Keller man must serve at least half of his sentence because a Denton County jury found that he had used his car as a deadly weapon.

Ms. Gates' unexpected death sent shock waves through her close-knit family and those who came to feel close to her through the criminal investigation.

"She cheated death once but came down here and couldn't cheat it again," said Brent Robbins, an investigator for the Denton County district attorney's office who is credited with working tirelessly on the case.

 

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