They've helped me do what I feel was justifiable for me and my family to get closure... And I thank them. 
-
V. Jordan
Mother of a Wrongful Death Victim
Car Accident Statistics
Texas Car Accident Statistics and Causes. Information By Attorney Michael Grossman
According to NHTSA, motor vehicle accidents claim 42,000 lives each year and are responsible for millions of injuries. Automobile accidents cost Americans $230 billion in property loss, medical and emergency bills, productivity loss and other costs.
It is estimated that thirty percent of all automobile crashes are alcohol related. Alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes kill someone every 31 minutes and non-fatally injury someone every two minutes, according to car accident statistics by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2005, 14,409 traffic fatalities occurred in vehicles in which at least one driver or non-occupant had a BAC of 0.08 or greater. NHTSA predicts that at least three of out every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol related crash at some time in their lives. Twenty percent of the children 0-14 years old who are killed in motor vehicle crashes are killed in alcohol related crashes.
Speeding is another factor often associated with automobile accidents. Speed reduces the amount of available time needed to avoid a crash, which increases the likelihood of crashing and increases the severity of a crash once it occurs. The relative proportion of speeding related crashes to all crashes decreases with increasing driver age, according to NHTSA. Recent car accident statistics revealed that 39 percent of male drivers aged 15 to 20 who were involved in fatal crashes were speeding at the time of the crash.
Many fatalities and debilitating injuries could be prevented if drivers and vehicle occupants would use their seat belts. Fifty five percent of the people who were killed in automobile accidents last year were not wearing seat belts. Seat belt use, reinforced by safety belt laws, is a proven life saver. Seat belts are credited with preventing 11,900 fatalities are year and 325,000 serious injuries annually. Six out of ten children who died in passenger vehicle crashes last year were not wearing their seat belts, according to NHTSA.
The needless deaths and injuries that result from not using seat belts cost society an estimated $26 billion annually in medical care, lost productivity and other injury related costs. Average inpatient costs for traffic crash victims who did not use seat belts were 50% higher than for victims who were belted. Adult seat belt use is the best predictor of child occupant restraint use. A driver who is buckled up is three times more likely to restrain a child passenger.
In some cases, design and manufacturing defects in a vehicle may cause crashes that result in serious injury or death. Manufacturers have a legal responsibility to notify consumers if their vehicles have dangerous defects, but that does not always happen.
Recovery for motorcyclist who suffered a back injury in an 18-wheeler accident.
$200,000.00
$80,000.00
$5,709.00
Our firm was hired by the minor child and parents of a young man who was killed in a motorcycle accident after being over served alcohol at a South Padre Island bar. The plaintiffs hired our firm to investigate the claim on the basis that the decedent was over the legal limit at the time of his death. In initial attempts to settle the case out of court, the defendants denied liability. Suit was filed soon thereafter.
The defendants initially argued that the decedent never consumed alcohol on their premises. Through physical evidence and deposition testimony to the contrary, we were able to conclusively prove that the decedent had indeed been drinking at the establishment.
The defendants then asserted allegations that the decedent's minor child was not actually his biological child, which would bar his claim entirely. A DNA test was performed and this argument was defeated.
The defendants then asserted the safe harbor defense. Our attorneys argued that the defendants did not qualify for safe harbor protection due to the fact that their servers were not all licensed providers. However, while this element was being addressed, our attorneys focused their attention on addressing the second element of the safe harbor defense regarding the bar's encouragement of the over service of alcohol. The defendants claimed that they would never serve the double-shot Bacardi cocktails that witnesses claimed the decedent drank several of. We sent private investigators into the bar to order the same drinks that the decedent consumed on the night of his death and the very same bar tenders who over served the decedent, without hesitation, served copious amounts of alcohol to the investigators, all of which was captured on hidden camera.
Once the safe harbor defense was defeated, the defendants argued that the decedent's BAC was low enough at the time of his death (as recorded by the hospital) that he would not have necessarily appeared obviously intoxicated to the servers and therefore the bar should not be held liable even if he had been over served. Eyewitness testimony refuted this.
Additionally, our firm's testifying medical expert reviewed the medical records related to the emergency helicopter flight that transported the decedent to the hospital after his accident. She determined that the EMS technicians administered numerous blood transfusions while in flight. Armed with this newfound data, our medical expert reverse extrapolated and determined conclusively that the decedent's BAC was actually in the range of .19-.21 at the time of the accident, though it was drastically diluted by the time he arrived at the hospital, which accounted for the relatively low BAC found in the hospital's medical records. This testimony proved to be pivotal in the case, resulting in a successful recovery for our clients.
$350,000.00
$140,000.00
$40,000.00
(policy limits + UIM claim) Recovery for client who sustained soft tissue injuries to neck which required steroid injections and chiropractic treatment.
$71,197.00
$23,852.00
$125.00
(policy limits) Our firm was hired by the wife and children of a retired Army Colonel who was killed in an underide 18-wheeler accident. In addition to being a decorated veteran, the decedent worked both professionally and on a voluntary basis to establish numerous learning institutions and vocational programs for at risk youths. The accident occurred as the decedent was traveling on a rural highway when an 18-wheeler failed to yield the right of way and made a rolling stop through a stop sign.
This placed the trailer of the 18-wheeler in a position whereby it blocked the entire roadway and shoulder, leaving the decedent no option but to collide with the trailer. Witnesses on the scene attempted to revive him but to no avail. Furthermore, while two female eye witnesses struggled to pry open the decedent's door to provide emergency care, the truck driver stayed in his truck and offered no assistance. Despite what appeared to be an incredibly apparent case of negligence on behalf of the defendant, defense counsel refused to accept liability resulting in rather lengthy litigation.
The defendants initially denied the claim based on the allegation that the decedent was speeding and the truck driver therefore could not adequately gauge the amount of time he had to pause at the stop sign. The physical evidence contradicted this notion entirely, notwithstanding the fact that even if the decedent had been contributorily negligent, that would not have outweighed the severe degree of negligence on the part of the defendant. Nevertheless, our attorneys were able to conclusively refute this argument based on eye-witness testimony and the testimony from police investigators who calculated the decedent's speed to be precisely at the posted speed limit. In a desperate and largely unprecedented move, the defendants then designated the state as a responsible third party.
Generally speaking, a defendant will often threaten to designate a third party in order to leverage their position but it is rare that such an arbitrary and arguably frivolous designation is actually carried out. However, that is precisely what occurred and the state was thusly incorporated into the lawsuit by the defendants. The basis of the defendant's argument was that the state erected a large street sign that obstructed the truck driver's view of approaching traffic.
Several months of intense litigation were required to before the defendant finally acquiesced in regard to this argument. The argument was finally abandoned by the defendants when in the first mediation our attorneys presented video footage shot (in a controlled setting) from the perspective of an 18-wheeler driver which showed that the sign simply did not obstruct enough of the roadway in order to be a hazard. The case was ultimately resolved through litigation.
Confidential
Confidential
Confidential
(policy limits) Recovery for pedestrian who suffered a broken leg when he was hit by a drunken driver.
$100,000.00
$33,000.00
$1,000.00
Our firm was hired to pursue a claim against a negligent following a rear-end car accident. The plaintiff was driving her vehicle in traffic on I-30 in Dallas, TX when the defendant approached from behind and collided with her vehicle, pushing it into the vehicle in front of her. The plaintiff sustained disc compression and herniation at C3-4 which required surgery to rectify. The defendant's ultimately accepted liability but heavily disputed the damages. Under threat of litigation, the defendants raised their offer. Our attorneys continued to aggressively negotiate on behalf of our client and a satisfactory result was eventually obtained.
$225,000.00
$95,000.00
$2,500.00
Recovery for woman who suffered a back injury in a car accident.
$80,565.00
$32,226.00
$1,600.00
Plaintiff, a delivery driver, suffered a back injury resulting in spinal fusion surgery when he was injured in an accident involving falling cargo from an 18-wheeler. The defendants cited the plaintiff's failure to take evasive action as a source of contributory negligence and litigation commenced accordingly which culminated in an acceptance of liability and eventually satisfactory resolution.
$530,000.00
$210,000.00
$5,000.00
Recovery for passenger who suffered broken leg in a drunken driving accident.
$109,500.00
$41,000.00
$30.00
Recovery for accident victim who suffered soft-tissue back injury caused by rear-end collision.
$75,000.00
$30,000.00
$2,700.00