Automobile Accidents

When an individual is injured or killed by a negligent driver, the law provides for money damages to be paid to the person injured or their survivors.

We all use the roads everyday to get to and from home, work, school, the grocery store etc. We don’t have a choice about it and we don’t get to choose who shares the road with us. Unfortunately, we’ve all seen the car swerving all over the road because the person in it was texting or talking on their cell phone. Other drivers are constantly bombarded with distractions in their car and often seem to be doing everything while driving down the road except watching where they are going. Some drivers on the road with us, our family or our friends choose to get behind the wheel while they are physically or mentally impaired because of drug or alcohol use. In light of these facts, it is little wonder that car wrecks happen all the time, often with catastrophic results for the people involved.

If you or a loved one has been badly injured or someone has died as a result of a car wreck, it is important that you don’t try to handle it on your own. The insurance company is not your friend, frankly neither yours nor the other persons. Their interest is their bottom dollar and not in making sure that you or your family are taken care of and all of your damages are handled. They routinely ask for statements which it is often not in your best interest to give. They may also ask for an unlimited medical release and may use it to obtain unrelated medical records to try to shoot holes in your claims, even though there shouldn’t be any. Finally, even in cases where it seems that there is little hope or not enough insurance coverage, it is important you ask an experienced attorney for help. The car that caused the wreck might have been owned by someone else, the driver might have been on the job at the time or the car itself might have some defect which is known by the manufacturers, just not known by you. We are very experienced in investigating all of these issues on behalf of our clients.

The sooner you get legal representation the better it is for you. Important evidence may be lost if proper steps aren’t taken to preserve it. For example, in car wreck cases, I prefer to get the 911 tapes immediately if at all possible. They will often refer to witnesses that are not listed in the accident report. Additionally, they may contain important admissions by the other driver. These tapes are routinely and quickly destroyed by cities or counties unless they are quickly and properly requested. The same is true for the police video and audio from the responding officers.

What makes the difference for success in wrongful death and personal injury cases in a car wreck case?

The answers are ability, experience, knowledge and resources. Our firm has all those bases covered. I have been in countless depositions when another attorney had little or no clue what a witness was talking about when he was discussing a simple accident investigation and routine law enforcement procedures or a doctor was discussing a medical condition or treatment. It is frustrating and sometimes amusing to watch, and often leads to evidence that remains uncovered, which is good for our clients if the evidence is against them.

My mom and dad were sharecroppers. I was raised on a farm, and learned to operate heavy machinery and weld and repair it at an early age. I married at the age of seventeen, and worked my way through college and law school with the help of my wife, (my eventual and one of my current law partners,) working on the farm, in a paint and coatings store, in a hospital, as a painter, as a pumper and well service hand in the oil field, as a sandblaster and pipe coater in an oilfield pipe plant, and I then spent six years as a Texas State Trooper, investigating auto accidents, including numerous fatalities, before I went to law school. I was valedictorian of my Texas State Law Enforcement Academy graduating class. The skills and contacts I still have from this training are extremely helpful in car wreck and trucking accident cases.

After law school, from which I graduated with highest honors and numerous academic awards, I began to represent injured people in various types of cases. We filed one of the first breast implant injury cases in Texas, and one of the first fen-phen cases as well, going on to represent over two hundred individuals in these two areas of product liability, which involved huge amounts of scientific and medical evidence, depositions and testimony.

Our firm has represented clients in death and injury cases arising from tank explosions, drilling rig incidents, fuel truck explosions, truck accidents, auto accidents, medical device failures, vehicle product failures, medical errors and various other scenarios. We have employed and/or deposed experts in a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, including medical, analytical and engineering fields. Whether the witness is a trooper, police officer, accident reconstructionist, welder, a truck driver, a driller, a doctor, an engineer, a metallurgist or an Indian Chief, we typically know what he’s talking about, and when he’s pulling the wool over someone’s eyes or hiding important information. That is an edge that many other firms do not enjoy.

We also remember what it’s like to be without enough money or resources, and to have to live hand to mouth like a lot of the good folks who come in to seek our help with their injury case, or to seek fair and just compensation for the death of a loved one.

Our firm has enjoyed considerable success, and we have the wherewithal to prosecute a case in the manner it deserves. All these factors add up to a big difference in how our clients’ cases are perceived and valued by opposing counsel and insurance companies.