New Tires can be Old and Dangerous

We all know that car passenger tires need to be changed from time to time, either due to deterioration from normal wear and tear or due to some unpreventable damage from a nail or other hazard in the road.

What consumers may not know is that even before your tires show wear or damage they may already be dangerous or defective due to their age. Moreover, when you replace your tires, your new tires may be old and defective even though they haven't traveled a mile on the road. The tire industry has readily acknowledged that the older the tire the more likely it is to fail and cause serious injuries.  Accordingly it is important to protect yourself and your loved ones by researching the age of the tires that are currently on your car and those that are to be installed. 

Finding out the age of your tire is fairly simple, each tire is stamped with a Department of Transportation (DOT) number.  Tires made after the year 2000 have a four digit code that conveys this information- the first two numbers will read from 01-52 which represents the week of the year they were manufactured; the last two numbers will, for example, read 05 which means it was manufactured in the year 2005.  So a DOT number of 2005 means the tire was made in the 20th week of 2005. 

You can read about how dangerous old tires are here, and find out more information about how to read the information on your tires here. 

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a car crash you should promptly investigate whether the reason behind the crash is a defective tire.  The personal injury trial attorneys of Tekell & Atkins, L.L.P. will assist you in this investigation free of charge.    

Ruptured Disc Forces Man to Rob Bank?

The ABA Journal recently reported that a North Carolina man robbed a bank to get prison health care for his two ruptured discs.  According to the report, 59 year old James Verone walked into a bank, handed a note to a teller demanding $1, and then sat down and waited for the police to come arrest him.

While Mr. Verone's method of receiving health care is by a criminal act, his action highlights the seriousness of the pain of ruptured discs and the lengths someone is willing to go in order to receive medical treatment.

You can learn more about a herniated or ruptured disc form these links:

• Cedars-Sinai Hospital
• Mayo Clinic
• Web MD

Dog Attacks in Texas

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) 4.5 million Americans are bitten by dogs each year, with one in five bites requiring medical attention.  Out of those attacked every year, children between the ages of 5 and 9 are the most at risk.

The CDC recommends that parents teach their children the following basic safety tips and review them regularly:

• Do not approach an unfamiliar dog
• Do not run from a dog or scream
• Remain motionless (e.g. "be still like a tree") when approached by an unfamiliar dog
• If knocked over by a dog, roll into a ball and lie still (e.g. "be still like a log").
• Do not play with a dog unless supervised by an adult
• Immediately report stray dogs or dogs displaying unusual behavior to an adult
• Avoid direct eye contact with a dog
• Do not disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating, or caring for puppies
• Do not pet a dog without allowing it to see and sniff you first
• If bitten, immediately report the bite to an adult

Unfortunately, even if you or your child takes every precaution around a dog there are some dog owners who fail to control their dogs and fail to warn others away from their dogs.  In Texas a dog owner can be charged with a third degree felony if their dog attacks someone and they had reason to know that the dog may attack. See Texas Health and Safety Code Sec. 822.005.

If you or a loved one has been attacked by a dog, you owe it to yourself and your community to report the attack to the authorities and to consider hiring a personal injury trial attorney to help you hold the dog owner responsible.

Car Insurance: Are You Covered?

In most states, including Texas, it is mandatory for drivers to be insured for car accidents they cause (referred to as minimum liability coverage).   However, most drivers' experiences confirm the necessity of having additional insurance coverages to not only protect themselves from being sued for accidents they cause, but also to avoid paying out-of-pocket when a driver who caused an accident either had no insurance or insufficient insurance to cover their injuries and damages.

In Texas there are actually 8 different types of auto insurance coverages you can purchase, each with different limits of coverages.  In fact, the Texas legislature has deemed Personal Injury Protection and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverages so important that if a consumer does not want those types of coverage the consumer must specifically reject those coverages in writing.

It is not only important for you to be familiar with the types of coverage you have purchased and their limits, but also to be familiar with the coverages you have rejected, as well as any endorsements and exclusions which further limit your coverage.

In addition to basic liability coverage, most drivers should consider purchasing the following types of insurance:

1. Medical Payments Coverage

What it pays: Your medical and funeral bills resulting from accidents, including those in which the other person is a pedestrian or bicyclist.

Who it covers: You, your family members, and passengers in your car, regardless of who caused the accident.

2. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Coverage

What it pays: Same as medical payments coverage, plus 80 percent of lost income and the cost of hiring a caregiver for an injured person.

Who it covers: You, your family members, and passengers in your car, regardless of who caused the accident.

An insurance company must offer you $2,500 in PIP, but you can buy more. If you don’t want PIP, you must reject it in writing.

3. Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage

What it pays: Your expenses from an accident caused by an uninsured motorist or a motorist who did not have enough insurance to cover your bills, up to your policy’s dollar limits. Also pays for accidents caused by a hit-and-run driver if you reported the accident promptly to police.

• Bodily injury UM/UIM pays without deductibles for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, disfigurement, and permanent or partial disability.
• Property damage UM/UIM pays for auto repairs, a rental car, and damage to items in your car. There is an automatic $250 deductible, which means you must pay the first $250 of the repairs yourself.

Who it covers: You, your family members, passengers in your car, and others driving your car with your permission.

Insurers must offer UM/UIM coverage. If you don’t want it, you must reject it in writing.

4. Collision (Damage to Your Car) Coverage (If you still owe money on your car, your lender will require you to maintain collision and comprehensive coverages.)

What it pays: The cost of repairing or replacing your car after an accident. Payment is limited to your car’s actual cash value, minus your deductible. Actual cash value is the market value of a car like yours without damages.

Who it covers: You, your family members, passengers in your car, and others driving your car with your permission.

5. Comprehensive (Physical Damage Other than Collision) Coverage

What it pays: The cost of replacing or repairing your car if it is stolen or damaged by fire, vandalism, hail, or a cause other than a collision. Comprehensive coverage also pays for a rental car or other temporary transportation if your car is stolen. Your policy won’t pay for an auto theft unless you report it to police. Payment is limited to your car’s actual cash value, minus your deductible.

If you still owe money on your car, your lender will require you to have collision and comprehensive coverage.

Description of Insurance coverages from the Texas Department of Insurance

Legislative Update: "Tort Reform"

There are a number of proposed bills in the current legislative session in Texas that are taking aim at the civil justice system under the banner of "tort reform" -most notably SB 21/HB 2031 and SB 13/HB 274. While most people agree that frivolous lawsuits should not be filed,  the more important question with regard to tort reform is, "How bad is this frivolous lawsuit problem in Texas, and what additional laws are necessary to stop this problem?"

If anyone has a grasp on the necessity, or lack thereof, of tort reform laws it would be our elected judges who preside over civil cases in Texas.  Below is an article written by Waco attorney Craig Cherry which discusses a recent empirical survey of Texas judges and their views on "runaway juries," "frivolous lawsuits," and "tort reform;" the results of which "tort reform" proponents may find surprising.

Survey of Texas State Court Judges Confirms "Tort Reform" Unnecessary

A new law review article recently published by the Baylor Law Review (Vol 59, Summer 2007) provides empirical data suggesting "tort reform" is unnecessary.

In "Straight From the Horse's Mouth: Judicial Observations of Jury Behavior and The Need for Tort Reform", the authors surveyed state court judges in Texas and found very interesting results, some of which are summarized below.

Regarding actual and exemplary damages, the survey found:

Over 83% of the Texas district court judges had observed not a single instance of a "runaway jury" verdict on either actual or exemplary damages during the preceding 48 months before the survey.

Over 85% of judges had not at all or in only one instance granted relief during the past four years due to an excessive award of actual damages. No judge in the entire sampling had granted such relief during the prior four years in more than three cases.

Over 83% of Texas judges had not witnessed a single jury award too high (compensatory damages).

15% of Texas trial judges observed juries refuse to make any award of punitive damages when the judge believed such an award was warranted by the evidence.

Regarding "frivolous lawsuits", the survey found:

44% of the judges had not personally observed a single frivolous lawsuit in their courtroom during the prior four years.

99% had observed no more than between 1-25% of the cases filed before them as being frivolous.

85% of the responding judges had at most sanctioned a lawyer only one time or less during the prior four years.

Over 86% of the responding judges believed that there was no need for further legislation addressing frivolous lawsuits.

Out of 389 state court judges in Texas, 303 returned the survey to the authors.

The survey results confirm that most Texas trial judges do not see significant numbers of frivolous filings by people who have no business suing, and plaintiffs with legitimate suits are much more likely to be under compensated than to receive any windfall. Two primary goals for tort jurisprudence are for the victim to receive full compensation and to deter the tortfeasor, and when victims are not fully compensated and tortfeasors are not deterred, neither goal is met."

Reprinted with permission.

DWD: Driving While Distracted

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) mission is to “save lives, prevent injuries, and reduce economic costs due to road traffic crashes.”  With that as its mission, it's no surprise that the NHTSA has begun to focus on how to eliminate car accidents that are caused by "driver distraction."  In fact in 2009, the NHTSA reported that 20% of car accidents with personal injuries involved distracted driving.   

While more people are becoming aware of the dangers of driving while texting, or driving while talking on their cell phone, there are several other distractions that drivers commonly encounter every time they get behind the wheel -including eating and drinking, grooming, and using a navigation system.  However, some of the latest government research suggests that the distraction most associated with crashes is when a driver is engaged in a conversation -even though a driver's eyes might be looking forward their mind is elsewhere. According to the NHTSA, there are three types of driver distraction that lead to crashes:

• Visual distraction: Tasks that require the driver to look away from the roadway to visually obtain information;   
•  Manual distraction: Tasks that require the driver to take a hand off the steering wheel and manipulate a device; 
• Cognitive distraction: Tasks that are defined as the mental workload associated with a task that involves thinking about something other than the driving task.

As you can see from this video the toll of distracted driving is devastating:

If you or a loved one has been injured by a distracted driver, you should consider hiring a personal injury trial lawyer to help hold that driver accountable -not only for your sake, but so that the word will spread through your community that distracted driving is, in the words of the NHTSA, "a serious, life-threatening practice and we will not rest until we stop it."

Crash: You're in a Car Accident. What are you supposed to do next?

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were an estimated 5,505,000 police-reported traffic crashes in the United States in 2009.  While you hope to never be involved in crash, you know that no matter how careful and attentive a defensive driver you may be, you can't control whether others obey the rules of the road.

So if you do find yourself as one of the millions of people who are in an accident every year  it's good to follow these simple rules:

1.  Safety First. If you're able to move your vehicle out of harm's way do so immediately.  If not, turn off your engine, put on your hazard lights, keep your seat belt on, call an emergency or police number, and wait for emergency personnel to arrive.  Allow medical professionals and emergency personnel to assist you, and if you experience pain or discomfort after the accident seek medical care.

2.  Call the Police.  Even in a minor accident it is good to have a police officer create a crash report.  In Texas, the reports look like this.  Make sure to get the police officer's name, badge number, and an incident or case number.  To formally request a copy of a police report in Texas you can complete and send to the Texas Department of Transportation this form, known as Form CR-91, Request for Copy of Peace officer's Crash Report.

3. Exchange information with the other driver.  You will want to get the other driver's name, driver's license number, license plate number, the make and model of the other car, and the other driver's insurance information including the name of the insurance company, the policy number, and a phone number for filing an insurance claim.  It's important to ask if the driver is also the owner of the other car -if not ask for the owner's name and insurance information as well. Some people keep a blank "accident form" in their glove box along with other accident materials like a disposable camera, pen, and paper.  Here is a sample accident form.

4. Document the Accident.  If you are able, you will want to use your cell phone camera or another camera to take pictures of both your car and the other car from a series of angles including the front, back, sides, and views that look at each corner of the car. If there are any witnesses you should get their name and contact information as well.

5.  Contact Insurance.  As soon as you are able, contact your insurance company and the other driver's insurance company.  Some people prefer to have a personal injury trial lawyer make this contact on their behalf.  If you decide to hire an attorney to represent you in your claim you should investigate the attorney and their firm to see if they have experience in handling insurance claims for property damage and personal injury. Also remember that if you are injured you will in all likelihood not know the full extent and lasting effect, if any, of your injuries immediately after the accident so be careful not to agree to a quick settlement with an insurance company before you've received appropriate medical treatment.