Posted on July 20, 2012 in Uncategorized

Two people were arrested and thrown into jail in mid-July after fleeing the scene of a crash, according to KSAT.com. San Antonio police told the radio station that “the driver of a Cadillac Escalade was speeding on South Loop 410, right before Interstate 35, when he lost control and crashed.” Both the driver and the passenger of the car were lucky, as neither were injured. But they both fled the scene, which will ultimately land them in more trouble. “Police said the two didn’t get very far and were caught a quarter of a mile down the road.” They were both given a DWI test soon after being taken into custody and now both face charges of evading arrest. The driver of the vehicle faces charges of driving while intoxicated. Most crime scenes when a driver flees are those in which a third party has been injured, generally referred to as a Hit and Run. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, more than 1 in every 10 crashes (11 percent) involved a hit and run driver. Peter Kissinger, President and CEO of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety told CarInsurance.org that “about 60 percent of the people killed in hit and run crashes are pedestrians.” Most of these are in the evening, with 47 percent of total fatal hit and run crashes occurring between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. In the nighttime, 55 percent of all fatal accidents in the U.S. involve alcohol-impaired drivers. The drivers involved in the recent crash near San Antonio were lucky that they didn’t hit another car or injure any passengers, but their offense of running away carries penalties similar to a hit and run. If you or someone you know has been involved in an accident, especially one in which someone has been hurt, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated New Braunfels injury attorney today.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 17, 2012 in Uncategorized

A U.S. Border Patrol agent was killed in an ATV accident while on patrol near Fort Hancock early Friday evening, officials said Saturday.

Agent Leopoldo Cavazos Jr., 29, died in an ambulance on the way to an El Paso hospital, Border Patrol spokesman Doug Mosier said.

Border Patrol officials did not release any details on how the crash occurred because they said the accident was under investigation. Fort Hancock is about 40 miles east of El Paso.

The Border Patrol regularly uses all-terrain vehicles to patrol the desert and other areas that regular vehicles have difficulty reaching.

“Every day, agents of the U.S. Border Patrol face inherent dangers as they serve our nation and their citizens with commitment, professionalism and enthusiasm,” the Border Patrol said in a news release.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 14, 2012 in Uncategorized

The warm days of summer mean more time spent outdoors for families, children, and their canine companions. Unfortunately, a lovely day can quickly take an ugly turn when people, and especially children, get bitten by a dog. Sources say that the number of dog bite incidents is higher during summer months than it is during the rest of the year. According to Dr. Adam Weinfeld, a plastic surgeon, the increase in emergency room consults related to dog bites is noticeable during the summer. This goes for consults in general, but children are far more likely to get bitten than adults are. Weinfeld says that children are more exposed to dogs than adults, and in Weinfeld’s opinion, this is mainly because children are out of school, and they have more unsupervised time with dogs than they normally would. In addition, infants and toddlers are at the same eye level with dogs, which might seem threatening to some animals. Children are three times more likely than adults to get bitten, says Prevent a Bite, a nonprofit organization. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons also reported 29,000 dog bite-related reconstructive surgeries nationwide for last year. It is wise to keep your dog on a leash, and if you are out where dogs are running around freely, keep your distance to the animal. A dog bite can be a serious injury, and it could require surgery or other medical treatments. In case of such injury, you will need skilled and dedicated legal support. To get this support, contact a New Braunfels personal injury attorney.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 11, 2012 in Uncategorized

Emergency service crews in Comal and Bexar counties responded to numerous traffic accidents last week in what proved to be an unusually busy time. In New Braunfels, crews responded to several accidents, with the first occurring at 1:45 Thursday afternoon.

Following the accident that occurred in the 1600 block of Highway 46 near Independence Drive, one of the vehicles involved flipped upside down as a result of the collision. EMS transported the driver to University Medical Center in San Antonio with what were termed non life-threatening injuries. The debris from the accident was so severe that crews took over two hours to clear the road and allow normal traffic to resume.

There were two additional wrecks reported on Thursday afternoon. The first was a two car accident that occurred in the 1400 block of Huisache just before 2:30 pm. One driver was later sent to Christus New Braunfels with non life threatening injuries. The final incident occurred at the 3000 block of FM just before 5pm. One person was also transported to Christus New Braunfels with non life-threatening injuries. Crews worked the scene of the accident for half an hour before the roads were cleared.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 08, 2012 in Uncategorized

On June 1, according to KGNB.am, the “former New Braunfels police officer accused of injuring his son was exonerated by a Comal County jury.” The 50-year-old SWAT sniper, Michael Cochran, was found not guilty of 2nd degree felony injury to a child. He was charged after allegedly “striking his son in the head with a stick while disciplining him over the results of a homework assignment.” The defense argued that Cochran was within his right as a parent to discipline his son as such. The police detective that had originally investigated testified that his force was reasonable. Cochran was fired from the police department in 2011 after an indictment “was issued by the Comal County Grand Jury”, and the man still faces another “injury to a child charge for allegedly slapping his son” in 2002. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is a United Nations (UN) Human Rights Law signed by almost all member countries of the UN, and requires signatories to “protect the child from al forms of physical or mental violence… while in the care of their parents.” Yet the U.S. has NOT ratified this convention, and disciplining one’s own child by use of physical punishment is indeed still legal in the country. Regardless, several advocacy groups continue to promote the idea that any form of physical punishment against one’s child is a form of abuse, and can have psychological repercussions in addition to physical. According to report issued by the International Journal of Pediatrics in which children were interviewed in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the U.S., “54% of girls and 58% of boys had experience mild corporal punishment, and 13% of girls and 14% of boys had experienced severe corporal punishment in the last month.” If you or someone you know is facing personal injury charges, don’t go through it alone. Contact a dedicated New Braunfels injury attorney today.

Continue Reading ››

 Posted on July 05, 2012 in Uncategorized

A New Braunfels truck driver was killed in a Florida crash mid-June, due to a medical condition that led him to “crash into another vehicle head-on,” according to WXTL, Florida. Lance Oliver, 43, was “driving a 2006 semi truck in the Love’s Truck Stop parking lot” when he crashed into another semi parked in the lot. The 42-year-old driver of the hit semi was not injured in the crash, though the front of Oliver’s truck, which had been disconnected from the trailer, was pushed underneath the other truck “due to the impact of the crash.” Epilepsy, often thought of as the most common medical condition leading to fatal car crashes, in reality causes very few annual fatal accidents, according to WebMD. Between 1995 and 1997, for example, only 86 drivers per year died due to crashes caused by seizures, as opposed to 44,000 drivers who were killed in automobile crashes (for any reason) during the same period. Researchers from John Hopkins University told WebMD that “the total number of deaths due to alcohol-related fatal crashes is 6.6 times greater than the number of fatal crashes associated with medical conditions and 156 times greater [than] those associated with seizures.” Authorities have not yet released the medical condition that caused Oliver to lose control of his vehicle. Other medical conditions—in addition to epilepsy—that are known to cause vehicle include cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. While special licenses are not required for people afflicted by these diseases, if a patient causes a deadly crash it is possible that he could be charged with manslaughter and reckless driving. If you or someone you know has been in an accident caused by a person suffering a chronic disease, you could be entitled to a settlement. Contact a dedicated New Braunfels injury lawyer today.

Continue Reading ››

 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.”

Continue Reading ››

 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.

Continue Reading ››

 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.

Continue Reading ››

 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.

Continue Reading ››