Posted on July 16,2021 in Distractive Driving

Distracted driving is known to be one of the most common causes of car accidents these days. In fact, in 2018 alone, more than 2,800 people were killed and approximately 400,000 people were injured in accidents that were caused by a distracted driver. If you were recently injured in a distracted driving accident, consider speaking to a personal injury lawyer about your legal options.

Common Types of Distractions Drivers Face

One of the most common types of distractions for drivers is cell phone use. According to a study conducted by Zendrive, 69 million drivers use their smartphones behind the wheel each day. It is estimated that drivers are on their phones for 1 minute and 52 seconds for each hour they are driving. At night, drivers use their phones for 30 seconds longer than that.

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 Posted on July 08,2021 in Defective Products

Car accidents do not always result from driver error, like distracted driving or speeding. Sometimes a defective auto part is to blame. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that as many as 44,000 car accidents occur each year because of car defects. If you were injured in a vehicle crash caused by a faulty car part, you may be entitled to receive compensation. 

Common Types of Defective Car Parts

Vehicles are made up of thousands of parts that have to work together. If one part is defective, it can lead to an accident. Here are several examples of faulty auto parts and how they can result in collisions.

• Tires - If a vehicle’s tires are defective, they can blow out, causing a driver to lose control of the vehicle and get into an accident. The vehicle can also roll over if there is a tire blowout.

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 Posted on June 23,2021 in Dog Bites

There are many situations where a person may be injured through no fault of their own, and in these cases, a victim will want to determine whether someone else was responsible for the harm they have suffered. Dog bites often fall into this category, and because they can inflict serious harm on a person, a victim may look to recover compensation from the dog’s owner. However, it is important to understand the situations where an owner will be liable for injuries inflicted by their animal. By working with a personal injury attorney, a person can determine their best legal options for holding a dog’s owner responsible for their injuries and damages.

Liability for Dog Bite Injuries in Texas

Texas uses what is sometimes called the “one bite free” rule when it comes to dog bites. That is, the state’s laws allow a dog’s owner to be held liable if they knew that their dog was dangerous and the dog attacked someone without being provoked and inflicted serious bodily injuries or caused wrongful death. 

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 Posted on June 11,2021 in Truck Accidents

Drowsy driving is a problem that affects many people, and when someone nods off or falls asleep while behind the wheel, this can lead to a dangerous collision. Drowsy driving is even more dangerous for drivers of large semi-trailer trucks since truck accidents are likely to result in serious injuries for people in other vehicles. Unfortunately, driver fatigue is a common issue that affects truck drivers. Those who have been injured in collisions caused by a drowsy or fatigued truck driver will need to work with an attorney to determine how they can hold the driver and/or the trucking company that employed them liable for their damages.

The Dangers of Truck Driver Fatigue

Drowsy driving can have a major impact on a person’s ability to drive safely. Truck drivers who fall asleep behind the wheel may collide with other vehicles or pedestrians, run other cars or trucks off the road, or collide with obstacles, which can result in rollover accidents that affect multiple other vehicles. 

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 Posted on May 28,2021 in Uncategorized

When the light turns green, you remove your foot from the brake and drive into the intersection. Suddenly, a vehicle from your right races through the intersection because the driver is trying to beat the light that has already turned red. It may have been a near miss, but perhaps you weren’t so lucky.

Intersections are among the most common places for accidents to occur. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration reports that about half of all motor vehicle accidents happen at intersections, and almost all of them are the result of a driver making a terrible mistake. If you are recovering from injuries resulting from an intersection crash or you lost a loved one in such a tragedy, you likely want answers to your questions, particularly when it comes to knowing who is responsible.

What goes wrong?

Even in a quiet Dallas County neighborhood, chances are that there is a lot going on at any intersection. Not only might there be traffic coming from any direction, but a driver may also have to deal with children playing, pedestrians, people on bikes, directional signs, animals and other factors. Additionally, many drivers have their own distractions inside the vehicle, which increases the chances of an accident. The most common reasons why crashes occur at intersections include the following:

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 Posted on April 02,2021 in Uncategorized

Getting enough sleep is an important factor in living a happy, healthy life. It is also an important factor in staying safe on the road. Unfortunately, there are a lot of Texas drivers who get behind the wheel even though they are far too tired to do so. This lax approach to drowsy driving is seriously injuring and even killing innocent people.

The average person needs anywhere from 7 to 9 hours of sleep just to function properly. Lack of sleep is only one contributing factor to drowsy driving though. Certain medications can also make people feel very tired, while sleep disorders might also interfere with some people’s ability to drive.

Drowsy driving is not uncommon

Maybe you have heard more about the dangers of distracted or drunk driving, so drowsy driving might not seem like that big of a threat. The reality is that drowsy driving is shockingly common. According to the American Automobile Association at least 40% of drivers admit to having fallen asleep while driving.

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 Posted on February 01,2021 in Uncategorized

Vehicle safety has improved greatly over the years. Things like airbags, seatbelts and improved structural design keep you and everyone else on the road safer than ever before. Unfortunately, there is something that is counteracting these new safety features — higher speed limits. New speed limits are making car accidents even more dangerous.

Even cars that boast the best safety features and ratings simply cannot stand up to higher and higher speed limits. In fact, even as cars have gotten safer, rising speed limits have directly contributed to 37,000 deaths over the last 25 years. So, why are speed limits still going up?

All in the name of traffic flow

Improving traffic flow is one of the reasons that Texas state officials choose to raise maximum speed limits. One aspect of traffic flow that officials seek to improve is the variance in speeds between vehicles. Since some drivers tend to always go faster than the posted limit, the thought process is that raising those limits will get everyone traveling at the same speed.

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 Posted on January 05,2021 in Truck Accidents

Large trucks are an essential part of Texas’ economy. Truck drivers traverse across the entire country, bringing goods from all over. While these vehicles and drivers might serve an important function, they also pose a serious threat. Large truck accidents are life altering and, in some cases, even life ending.

In accidents involving large trucks and smaller passenger vehicles, victims in the smaller vehicles are much more likely to suffer fatal injuries. Part of the problem is that tractor trailers simply weigh more than cars — a lot more. The average large truck weighs as much as 30 times more than passenger vehicles. Sadly, several issues could result in these massive vehicles causing a serious accident.

Poorly maintained equipment

Trucking companies are supposed to ensure that their vehicles are properly maintained and free of defects. Unfortunately, defective equipment is a common factor in large truck accidents. Brake defects factor into an astounding 42% of all investigated trucking accidents. A single defect can increase the risk of a crash by 200%.

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 Posted on December 01,2020 in Uncategorized

Work does not just stay at the office anymore. With the advent of technology like smartphones and video chatting, bosses are expecting more from their workers than perhaps ever before. Like a lot of people in Texas, your boss might expect you to answer work calls or reply to emails regardless of what else you may be doing. Unfortunately, this extra work pressure is making the distracted driving problem worse.

Distracted driving certainly is a huge problem. Around 80% of drivers talk on the phone when they are behind the wheel. At least 30% of drivers admit they have nearly caused accidents while driving too. Since these figures were self-reported in a Travelers Companies survey, it is possible that the real numbers could be much higher.

What if your boss is calling?

Connected culture — the idea that people should be constantly connected to their devices and available — could literally be killing workers. In a survey of company executives, nearly 75% said they do not think distracted driving is a big concern. Instead, these executives seem to prioritize being “on” all the time. That same survey found that 87% of executives think they should be able to either always or frequently contact employees outside the office.

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 Posted on October 30,2020 in Uncategorized

Drunk drivers do not just endanger their own lives. They also put everyone else in Texas at risk for serious injury or even death. Unfortunately, many men and women still act as if drinking and driving is safe. This dangerous attitude toward drunk driving makes it difficult to get the problem under control.

Part of the problem could be that drunk driving is not necessarily as visible as distracted driving. While it is easy to spot a driver staring at his or her phone, it might be harder to identify someone who is under the influence of alcohol. So while you might find it easy to believe that distracted driving is the most common cause of car accidents, you may not realize that drunk driving is the second.

Does age matter?

A 2020 study from the Zebra found that age plays a huge factor in determining who is most likely to drink and drive. When asked which generation has the most drunk drivers, nearly 36% of respondents pointed to drivers between the ages of 25 and 39 — millennials — followed by 31% of drivers aged 16 to 24 — Gen Z.

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