Dallas Fort Worth Car Accident Lawyer Blog

In a move that I very much agree with, the Texas Transportation Commission voted yesterday in a meeting in Fort Worth to remove phone numbers from the standard form used by police officers after an accident. This change goes into effect January 1, 2010.

I recently blogged about this topic (read it here) and said that removing the numbers is a great move. The way things happen now, if you are in an accident there is a good chance you will get called from a “marketer” offering the services of an attorney or a chiropractor. Sometimes these “marketers” are not so honest and represent themselves as being from an insurance company. This leads to all kinds of confusion and irritation to the car accident victims. By removing the phone numbers, it will make the marketer’s job extremely difficult. The harassing won’t stop, but it will definitely slow down.

I also recently was interviewed by Channel 11 News about this topic. Here is a link to the article from their website.

To contact Mark A. Anderson, call toll free 877-294-1115 or click here.

A man faces charges this morning of driving while intoxicated and reckless driving after traveling north in the southbound lane near the Northwest Highway exit of the Dallas North Tollway. While driving the wrong way, 39-year-old Dick Eastin struck a light pole and his truck stopped near the center median. Mr. Eastin was injured and taken to Parkland Memorial Hospital.

This driver was lucky no one else was involved in the accident. This is certainly not the first wrong-way incident on the Tollway; click here and here to read about some of the other wrong-way crashes I’ve blogged about. Four people have died this year in accidents caused by wrong-way drivers on the Tollway. The North Texas Tollway Authority is trying to come up with ways to prevent these types of crashes, including more “Wrong Way” and “Do Not Enter” signs as well as making these signs more visible to drivers. I applaud these efforts to prevent wrong way accidents, and I hope no more people have to die before these changes go into effect.

Information provided by Dallas Accident and Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

A pickup truck driven by an elderly couple crashed into El Mexicano Taqueria yesterday just before the lunch rush. Four people were taken to the hospital for injuries, including the driver.

Witnesses saw the truck drive off of the road, through a fence, strike another vehicle, then crash into the restaurant, which is located in the 1500 block of South Washington. The police are still investigating the cause of the crash. Along with the driver, three restaurant employees were taken to the hospital, one of whom is believed to have a broken leg, another an injury to the head.

According to reports, the few diners in the restaurant at the time were seated at the opposite end of the building. Considering the extensive damage to the building itself, it is amazing there weren’t even more injuries. There is still no word on why the driver lost control of the vehicle. I wonder if he suffered an injury or illness while driving that caused him to wreck. These questions will undoubtedly be explored in the course of the investigation.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached in Dallas at 214-327-8000, toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

Photo from nbcdfw.com

Lerado is issuing a recall of certain Mia Moda child restraint seats. The Viva and Viva Supreme models are affected in the recall. Lerado will notify registered owners of the seats and is offering a full refund.

There are a couple of problems with the seats. The harness splitter plate, located on the rear of the seat, has sharp edges that can cut the harness and leave the child unrestrained. Also, the base of the seat could crack in a crash.

We all know how important it is to secure young children in safety seats. In fact, the Texas Legislature just tightened up on the child safety seat laws, which I blogged about here. That is why it’s so important to make sure the seats we do use are working correctly.

For more detailed information about the seats affected in the recall, click here.

Information provided by Texas Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

A hit and run accident happened this past Sunday evening in Dallas in the 5100 block of South Marsalis Avenue, just south of Loop 12. According to the Dallas Police Department, a speeding vehicle struck another vehicle shortly before 6:00 p.m. The accident caused the second vehicle to hit a tree, killing 35-year-old Kedrick Rattler and injuring Mr. Rattler’s passenger, who was taken to Methodist Dallas Medical Center. The driver of the speeding vehicle fled the scene and, according to the DPD, has not been located.

This is a terrible accident and I feel very sorry for Mr. Rattler’s family and friends. I wonder if the person who caused this accident even knows the results of their actions. I’m sure they know they caused a wreck, but I wonder if they know that their reckless action ended another man’s life. I hope the Dallas Police Department can use all available evidence in their accident investigation and find the speeding driver. Should they be able to find the driver, serious charges, and hopefully prison time, will result.

On the civil side, I hope Mr. Rattler, or the owner of the car, carried uninsured motorist protection to compensate the family for this premature death. In a case like this, uninsured motorist coverage is usually the only available insurance to compensate the family.

Information and commentary provided by Dallas Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson who can be contacted at 214-327-8000 or at www.maafirm.com.

In what I consider to be a justified corporate reprimand, Fort Worth based Burlington Northern Sante Fe was penalized by a judge in Minneapolis, Minnesota for hiding and lying about evidence. The penalty, called a sanction, was issued by the presiding judge who heard evidence in a case involving the death of four young people whose car collided with a BNSF train at a crossing. The judge found compelling evidence that Burlington Northern lost or fabricated evidence, interfered with the family’s investigation of the accident and lied or misrepresented facts to conceal the truth. Basically, all of the allegations of lying involve whether the crossing gate was working. Apparently at the trial, Burlington Northern tried to use fabricated evidence that the crossing gate was indeed working, when all other evidence pointed to the fact that the crossing gate was not working.

The amount of the sanction issued by the presiding judge was $4 million. That sanction will definitely be appealed by BNSF. However, I hope that the appellate courts will uphold the sanction because this kind of conduct is despicable. I hope that this new story is making the national news, even though it might only appear in our local papers as BNSF it is located here in Fort Worth. When corporate defendants do this type of shenanigans, they need to be punished. Our wonderful trial system only works if our jury can make decisions based upon the real truth. When companies start fabricating evidence, they should be punished. And they should be punished severely.

Information and commentary provided by Fort Worth Dallas Accident Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted at 877 294 1115 or at www.maafirm.com.

A tandem trailer truck jackknifed and overturned on the wet highway in Fairview, Texas this morning. The truck blocked the highway and caused the road to be closed for several hours.

According to news reports, the driver of the big rig failed to see the construction barriers in the northbound lane and over-corrected as he tried to miss them. The truck cab and the trailer attached directly behind it overturned while the other trailer remained upright. Because of dense fog, the driver couldn’t see the warning signs posted about the upcoming barriers. The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog advisory for North Texas until the previous morning, but apparently conditions were still dangerous this morning.

Police said they hoped the North Texas Tollway Authority and the Texas Department of Transportation will add additional, well-lit signs that could help prevent another wreck. But all drivers, especially tractor trailer drivers who possess a CDL permit, should adapt their driving to the weather. If the fog is too heavy to see, they should exit the road way and park in a safe, non-obstructive spot until the fog lifts. Luckily no one was injured in this accident, which is great news.

Information provided by Texas Board Certified Personal Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

Picture from WFAA.com

Over 100 bicyclists gathered outside of Dallas City Hall on Wednesday to push for safer and more accessible roadways for cyclists and pedestrians.

The event was organized by Bike Friendly Oak Cliff, and supported the decision of the city council to endorse the policies of the National Complete Streets Coalition. The Coalition supports city planning with bicycle and pedestrian safety in mind, such as creating or enlarging bicycle lanes, making physical barriers between bicycle and car lanes, and adding signals and signs to improve traffic control. Although Dallas has not yet created a specific policy, the city supports making changes in line with the Complete Streets initiative.

I really do hope the city can make some of these changes. I have written several times about tragic bicycle accidents that could have been prevented by things just like this. It’s good to hear that Dallas recognizes the need for bike safety measures.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Accident Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

When people hear of ambulance chasers, they usually think of those unscrupulous injury lawyers who track down injury victims after a car accident and offer their services. Such conduct is against the law and I applaud any effort to prevent this practice from happening. And it’s not just the lawyers who do the ambulance chasing—but also body shops and medical facilities like chiropractors.

The most common way the “chasers” get their information is through police generated “crash reports” which are filled out after most automobile accidents. The “chasers” buy the crash reports from the police department (sometimes out the back door) for $6 and call the injury victim directly. So last year the Texas Department of Transportation removed the phone numbers of the parties from the reports. This made it much harder for the chasers, as many people either have unlisted phone numbers or they only have cell phones, and those numbers are not publicly available. But the Texas Department of Transportation wanted the phone numbers put back on the reports to help with their investigations, so they were put back on this March—so the calling and chasing resumed.

This summer, our Texas Legislature passed a law making it illegal to directly contact a person involved in a wreck in the first thirty days after a wreck. That law supposedly had already applied to lawyers, but now it applies to everyone. Unfortunately, a lawyer and a chiropractor have filed a lawsuit challenging that constitutionality of that new law. Who knows what the outcome will be—but I hope the law will be upheld. And more importantly, I hope the law will be enforced.

But I think the best way to stop the chasing is to stop the access to the information. I understand that both the Dallas and Fort Worth Police Departments have now restricted the availability of reports to those that either (1) know the actual report number (which is given to the parties involved in the accident at the scene) or (2) know the date of the accident and one of the names of the drivers involved in the crash. This restriction is a good idea and I hope it keeps the reports out of the hands of the chasers—whether they are lawyers, chiropractors or auto body repair shops. And for those who ge the info somehow and still chase, let’s hope the law enforcement officials are willing to prosecute those who violate the law.

Commentary provided by Dallas Fort Worth Accident and Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted online or at 877-294-1115, in Dallas at 214-327-8000 and in Fort Worth at 817-294-1900.

A truck driver is in critical condition at John Peter Smith hospital in Fort Worth after a car incorrectly entering 1-20 caused a crash involving two 18-wheelers.

Yesterday, 18-year-old Lauren Vitale was traveling westbound on the 1-20 service road when she suddenly entered the highway by driving across the grass between the highway and the service road instead of using the entrance ramp. 31-year-old Joshua Pottker swerved to miss her but her car struck the right front tire of his big rig. The tractor trailer was then forced into the highway’s eastbound lanes, which put it in the path of the 18-wheeler driven by 57-year-old Pascual Rincones Cisneros Jr. Cisneros’s 18-wheeler hit the trailer behind Pottker’s truck, cutting it in two pieces and severely damaging the front of Cisneros’s big rig. Pottker’s vehicle landed on its side.

Pottker was treated at Weatherford Regional Medical Center and released. Cisneros is still in the hospital on life support. Vitale, who caused the crash, was unharmed.

What a horrible accident. My prayers go out to the family of Mr. Cisneros. A collision of two big rigs like that is devastating. I can’t believe this whole thing was caused by a driver entering the highway by going across the grass. Why would she do this? While I have seen cars exit the highway through the grassy area, I have never seen or heard of anyone entering the highway this way.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

On September 22 a school bus carrying members of the Rockwall Heath High School swim team ran off the road and into a pond about three feet deep. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

The cause of the accident has not been determined, police said. I wonder if there a problem with the bus or the driver? According to the Texas Department of Transportation, more than a million children and teens depend on buses to get them safely to over 9,000 schools every day. Proper bus maintenance and adherence to safety standards is essential in protecting our students.

Luckily no one was injured, but if they were, these families would certainly be in need of an accident injury attorney. In an accident like this, especially concerning a bus with the possibility of dozens of victims, it would be an absolute mess trying to deal with the insurance company by themselves. When seeking the advice of an attorney for a personal injury, it’s important to find the right lawyer.

Information provided by Board Certified Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115 or contacted by clicking here.