More Construction Accident Deaths in Texas
The Dallas Morning News uncovered some surprising and troubling statistics concerning deaths in the workplace in Texas. After conducting a statistical review of workplace deaths, Texas was the deadliest state for construction workers, experiencing 4,593 deaths, which is 579 more deaths than researches expected to find. This is in stark contrast to the state of California, whose construction work force is larger than Texas, but experienced over a thousand less deaths than expected. Read More
Injury Law: Will You Get More Money if You Settle By Yourself?
I am a board certified personal injury specialist. I have devoted my entire legal career to representing individuals and families who have suffered a tragic loss, either a life-changing injury or the death of a loved one, because of the negligence of someone else. After trying numerous cases in front of juries and judges, and being entrusted with hundreds of my clients’ caes over the years, I feel confident in answering this: no.
Why?
The insurance companies representing people and businesses that have been careless, reckless and/or negligent have been trained in negotiation, claims handling, and how to get the best deal that he/she can for the insurance company. In other words, adjusters are paid to save the insurance company money, not to take care of you or your family. They do this very well, and the insurance companies’ profits are proof of this. The bottom line is that insurance companies are billion dollar companies, and they got there by making the best deals for themselves, not for you, the injured person. Insurance companies and their employees are specifically trained to know how get away with paying as little as possible to take care of you and your family, why not have someone in your corner who knows how to make sure that the insurance companies are covering all of your harms and losses? Why not have someone who will present evidence and proof of all of your harms and losses, with the goal of making you 100% whole again? Read More
Rachel Montes on Depositions: Use and Benefits
We at Montes Law Group, PC are trial lawyers. We hold 3 Board Certifications between us, which means all of our attorneys have tried numerous cases to a jury, passed a rigorous test, and received the praise of fellow colleagues and judges we have practiced in front of.
A deposition is the best way to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both your case, as well as your opponent’s case. It also enables you to gauge your adversary. Often, an adversary who conducts himself poorly at deposition, will exhibit the same poor behavior at trial.
Other discovery devices are available which will help gather information and evidence about your case, such as written discovery, comprised of interrogatories, requests for production of documents and things, and requests for admission, none is so valuable as the deposition.
Oral depositions give you the chance to realize the nature and degree of the deponent’s knowledge. Depositions should always be taken with trial in mind, as though a jury were present. Taking a witness’ deposition will serve to put you on notice of the testimony which can be expected at trial. On occasion, a deponent will be unavailable to testify at trial, and the use of a deposition will effectively preserve that testimony and be useful at trial. Similarly, exhibits which have been marked at deposition, along with transcript testimony, are very effective cross-examination devices. Read More
Check out this news story from Houston news KHOU-TV. Cops allegedly cheat the system
A Houston police officer handed another man a speeding ticket and probably didn’t realize that the offender he was citing was also a cop. What this ticket-receiving officer noticed on his paper slip though has led to a department-wide investigation.
“I immediately [knew] that something’s hinky with the ticket,” the man KHOU-TV only identified as Jerry said. “There was no other officer, he was the only officer there.”
The ticket, however, listed another officer as an additional witness.
KHOU launched an investigation into Jerry’s claims and uncovered an alleged “ticket-rigging scheme,” where cops listed on tickets who were not actually present at the time of the offense were cashing in on overtime when they appeared in court later.
The Houston Police Department is conducting its own internal investigation into the issue, putting three officers — Gregory Rosa, Robert Manzanales and John Garcia — on desk jobs during this time.
KHOU reported that a fourth officer identified as Rudolph Farias, who was also being investigated, committed suicide earlier this week in a police parking garage. The 51-year-old was on the force for 21 years and, according to KHOU, made $158,000 in overtime within the past three years. How much of that could be due to falsely reported tickets is unknown at this time. Read More
Police Departments and Their Officers: Too Much Power?
WHY POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR OFFICERS SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE AND RESPONSIBLE WHEN POWER IS ABUSED
We look to our police officers for safety, security and community. We tell our children to “look for a police officer” if they are lost. We donate to help the families of officers killed in the line of duty. We need our police force, and we need good officers to protect and serve us, so we, as a society of reasonable people, grant them powers which are above and beyond the average citizen. We arm them with guns, we train them, we arm them with tasers. We trust them.
But is our trust misplaced? Read More
Fatal Accident Closes Westbound Highway 114 at Belt Line Road/635 to Close
Truck Jumps onto Car, Crushes Passenger’s Seat
Thursday, March 15th, 2012
A fatal car accident forced the closure of westbound State Highway 114 at Belt Line Road/635, causing hundreds of commuters to halt immediately and eventually divert to alternate routes.
These drivers, as well as others involved in similar accidents, often find out that being involved in the accident, being injured, trying to get their property damages to their vehicles repaired, or getting their cars replaced is just the beginning of the nightmare. It is important to realize that the insurance company has a different goal than you do in these situations. The insurance company is not concerned with whether or not you get paid in full. The insurance company simply wants to reduce its exposure to lawsuits and to paying claims.
What Should You Do If You Are Involved In a Crash?
If you are involved in an accident like this one, you need to get legal advice as soon as possible. In the case of a multi-car crash, it is essentially a race to get your claim paid. In these cases, the person at fault has a limit of insurance coverage. Once those funds have been paid, even if you have a valid claim, you are likely to find that there is no insurance coverage remaining to pay your claim and that the person who caused your wreck does not have enough personal assets to pay your damages.
In 1994, the Texas Supreme Court in the case of Texas Farmers Ins. Co. v. Soriano et al, 881 S.W.2d 312 (Tex. 1994) addressed the responsibilities of a liability insurance company when it is faced with a settlement demand arising out of multiple claims and inadequate proceeds, an insurer may enter into a reasonable settlement with one of the several claimants even though such settlement exhausts or diminishes the proceeds available to satisfy other claims.
It is essentially a first come, first serve rule. The first person to present a valid and reasonable demand is entitled to get paid even if other valid claims are known to exist. Depending upon the unique facts of the case, there are a number of specific requirements that have to be included in the demand to make it a valid demand. If the demand does not include these specific requirements, technically speaking, it is not a valid demand and the insurance company may be forced to pay other people’s claims before paying you. It may even exhaust the policy limits and have no additional funds to pay your claim if you delay or fail to present a valid demand. As a result, if you are involved in one of these multi-car crashes, you should run, not walk, to a lawyer to get immediate legal advice. Do not let yourself end up in a situation where you are victimized twice.
In addition, you need to make sure you report the accident to the police and notify your insurance company of the wreck promptly. You may have coverages under your policy – such as Personal Injury Protection (PIP), Medical Payments (Med Pay), and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM) coverages – that will pay for your damages, whether or not the person who is at fault is uninsured or underinsured (they do not have sufficient insurance coverage to pay for your damages).
Montes Law Group, PC.
Attorney: Rachel Montes
1121 Kinwest Parkway, Suite 100
Irving, Texas 75063
Telephone: (214) 522-9401