Alcohol Suspected As A Factor in Head-on Collision | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog
Dallas Police were called to site of a head-on collision near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Sunnybrook Lane around 12:40 a.m. July 10, 2009. The police indicate they believe a driver crossed a center median and hit oncoming traffic head-on. The driver was traveling westbound on Northwest Highway, and lost control of his vehicle in a portion of the road where the roadway curves. The suspected drunk driver crossed the center median and crashed into oncoming traffic. Both adult male drivers suffered life-threatening injuries. Dallas Police are continuing to investigate the collision as alcohol may be a factor. The identity of the victim and of the other driver have not been released at this time.
It is unfortunately not surprising to learn that the police are considering alcohol as a possible factor in this early morning collision. As our previous blog posts report, Texas ranked #1 for the most accidents involving drunk drivers during 2006 and 2007, and approximately 28% of all motor vehicle accidents that occur between the hours of midnight and 3 A.M. involve a driver with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 (legally intoxicated in the State of Texas) or higher.
If you or a loved one is seriously injured or killed as a result of a drunk driver or driver who is driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of other drugs, we strongly recommend that you contact an attorney to protect your rights. Montes Herald Law Group, LLP aggressively pursues claims against drunk drivers and other impaired drivers who cause accidents. It is important for the safety of all of citizens of our state that these dangerous and irresponsible drivers be held accountable for their actions and to punish them to help make Texas a safer place for everyone. Visit our website at www.MontesHerald.com to learn more about our lawfirm. We are located in the Las Colinas area of Irving, Texas in the center of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. We handle cases all across the state of Texas especially cases in the Dallas, Tarrant, Denton, Collin, Rockwall, Ellis, Johnson, Hood and Cooke Counties. In addition, call Rachel Montes (214) 522-9401 for a free, no obligation telephone consultation.
Lawsuit Claims Shampoo and Other Products Contain Cancer Causing Agents | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog
In May of 2009, a lawsuit was filed against Johnson & Johnson, the world’s largest maker of health-care products, and Proctor & Gamble Co. and other manufacturers sold shampoo and personal-care products containing formaldehyde and other carcinogenic compounds known to cause cancer. Among the products at issue included in the lawsuit are Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo” and other top-selling children’s bath and personal care products. Johnson & Johnson reported sales of $63.7 billion last year alone.
We will continue to monitor the case as Johnson & Johnson will eventually be forced to disclose under oath why they permitted their products to be manufactured and sold with carcinogenic compounds and why this information was not disclosed to consumers with warnings. Consumers have a right to know what chemicals and agents are placed into the products they purchase. More importantly, manufacturers of these products have a responsibility to design, manufacture and to provide warnings on products they place into the stream of commerce that are not unreasonably dangerous.
If you or a family member has been seriously injured by a product that you feel was not designed in a safe manner, or was defectively manufactured or did not include sufficient warnings, be sure to contact Rachel Montes or Tom Herald at Montes Herald Law Group, LLP for a free case evaluation. Visit our website at www.MontesLawGroup.com to learn more about our law firm. Our firm is located in Irving, Texas in the middle of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. Montes Herald is dedicated to representing people who have been seriously injured through the negligence and will disregard of others.
University of Texas Football Player Involved in a Driving While Texting (DWT) Accident | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog
University of Texas Football Player Involved in a Driving While Texting (DWT) Accident
By Rachel E. Montes on Monday, June 29, 2009
University of Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle was involved in a motor vehicle accident. According to the football player’s attorney, Mr. Kindle was “either sending or receiving” a text message while driving when his car slammed into an apartment building in Austin, Texas. Fortunately no one was hurt in the accident other than Kindle who reportedly suffered a concussion.
As our blog has been reporting, incidents of Driving While Texting are becoming more and more common. While several states have enacted laws to make this conduct illegal because studies are showing that a driver who is distracted by driving while texting is just as impaired as a driver who is driving while intoxicated, Texas has not yet taken that action. However, even without a state law making Driving While Texting illegal, the conduct is still extremely dangerous and subjects people to a high risk of severe bodily injuries or even death. If you or a loved one has been injured in a wreck caused by someone who was distracted by driving while texting, contact Rachel Montes or Tom Herald at Montes Herald Law Group, LLP to discuss your rights.
Irving Prohibits Roadside Solicitation | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog
The City of Irving strengthened its solicitation and handbill ordinance to increase pedestrian and motorist safety, and improve traffic flow and the aesthetics of major roads. The revised regulation prohibits:
- Roadside solicitation except as allowed by state law.
- Costume/sign-holding advertisers in a roadway or on public property adjacent to a roadway.
The new ordinance makes good safety sense. Clearly the people who stand near the roadway and wave signs such as going out of business and advertising sales are doing so to catch the attention of passing motorists. It is just that distraction that the City of Irving does not want drivers to be operating under.
In addition to a basic prohibition against roadside solicitation, the new ordinance also prohibits “Aggressive Solicitation” which is defined as:
- Intentionally touching or causing physical contact with another person or an occupied vehicle without the solicited person’s consent.
- Intentionally blocking, either individually or as part of a group of persons, the passage of the solicited person.
- Following closely behind, ahead or alongside a person after he/she has been solicited or
- Using violent or threatening gestures toward the solicited person.o Approaching or speaking to a person in a manner that would cause a reasonable person to believe he/she is being threatened with imminent bodily injury.
The new ordinance is also designed to prohibit solicitation in settings where people are believed to be at risk for theft because they are either in a potentially vulnerable position or they are likely to be handling their money or engaged in a consumer transaction. By making solication in these settings illegal, the City of Irving is acknowledging the fear that people have when their personal space is invaded by unwanted solicitors, especially when we are in a particularly vulnerable location or position. In addition to making it unlawful to engage in direct solicitation in places such as a public transportation facility or public restroom, the new ordinance also makes it unlawful to engage in such solicitation within 25 feet of:
- An automated teller machine –
- An entrance or exit of a bank, credit union or other similar financial institution –
- A pay telephone located outdoors or on the exterior of a structure –
- A self-service car wash –
- A self-service fuel pump –
- A public transportation stop –
- An outdoor dining area of a restaurant, cafe or cafeteria
- Distribution of handbills/fliers on any vehicle without consent.
The adoption of the improved ordinance will help residents who feel “uncomfortable or threatened by unwanted solicitation” to “have the law on their side,” said Assistant Police Chief Terry Zettle. “This is another element being implemented to ensure a safe and secure city.” For more information, call the Irving Police Department at (972) 721-2518
If you have legal questions, contact Montes Herald Law Group, LLP at (214) 522-9401. We are located in Las Colinas (Irving) Texas. We handle personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis. Visit our website at www.MontesLawGroup.com for more information concerning our law firm and our practice areas. We handle all types of injury cases from automobile accidents, drunk driving accidents, 18 wheeler cases, insurance and bad faith cases, premises liability claims and a variety of other claims involving significant injuries or death.
Survey Evaluates Difficulties in Diagnosing RSD | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog
Those who suffer from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) know how debilitating, painful and mysterious this condition is. As the attached survey details, RSD is commonly caused by injuries and more women than men tend to develop this condition.
In 1994, the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP), after development of consensus by a group of pain medicine experts, suggested that the term complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) should replace reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and causalgia-CRPS type 1 for RSD, and CRPS type 2 for causalgia. However, the IASP diagnostic criteria were never fully validated, and several pain specialists raised concerns about their clinical and scientific value. The criteria have poor diagnostic specificity and may result in overdiagnosis of CRPS.
If you or a loved one develop RSD as a result of being injured, you should contact an attorney to discuss your case. These cases tend to be very complex just like the disorder. Because RSD is difficult to treat and because the pain and physical limitations that pain causes, people who develop RSD often tend to incur substantial medical bills and to be unable to work for extended periods of time. Call Rachel Montes or Tom Herald at (214) 522-9401 for a free, no obligation case review. Our offices are located in Las Colinas (Irving), Texas in the middle of the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.
wo Dallas Neighborhoods Given “Most Dangerous” Status by the FBI | Dallas, Texas Personal Injury Attorney Blog
Two of the Top 25 Most Dangerous Neighborhoods are located in Dallas, according to a recently released study of FBI crime statistics. The neighborhoods include:
9th Most Dangerous Neighborhood in the United States: Route 352 at Scyene Road
12th Most Dangerous Neighborhood: 2nd Avenue and Hatcher Street.
The study ranked the danger in a neighborhood by calculating the number of violent crimes per 1,000 residents in a census tract, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Only Cincinnati, Miami, Kansas City, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Memphis had worse showings.
In Texas, a business owner is supposed to take reasonable efforts to protect their customers from violent crime that occurs on their premises. These rankings should put businesses on alert of the need to take additional efforts to protect their customers from the risk of violent crime. Typically, those measures include security patrols, additional lighting, and video monitoring of the premises. When a business is or should be aware of an unreasonable risk of harm to its customers and fails to take action to protect its customers and employees, the business can be determined to be negligent in providing a safe work place for its employees or negligent in providing adequate security measures to protect its customers from a risk that it knew or should have known about, the business can be held liable for its proportionate amount of legal responsibility for incidents when customers are injured or killed as a result of a violent crime on that took place, in whole or in part on the premises. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured while on a business premises, contact Montes Herald Law Group, LLP for a free consultation of your case. Visit our website www.MontesLawGroup.com to learn more about our firm.