Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

A 55 year old man from Aledo was killed Saturday when he was hit while riding his bicycle on the west bound service road between Ranch House Road and Farm Road 5. The man, Larry McQuien, was a Vice President for Lockheed Martin. On Monday, the texas department of Public Safety reported that the the fatal accident happended when a Chevrolet Cobalt "veered into" Mr. McQuien as they were both traveling westbound on the service road at mile marker 417. The Cobalt was driven by Casey Tyson, age 20. The DPS has said the investigation is continuing

I feel very sorry for Mr. McQuien's family and friends for their loss. While bicycling should be a safe outing with friends, it often can be very dangerous. According to the NHTSA, there are around 700 deaths each year from vehicle-bicycle accidents and approximately 52,000 injuries from these types of accidents.

Hopefully this investigation will reveal what caused the accidident. Was the Cobalt driver not paying attention? I recall an accident involving a bicycle which occurred in about the same general area last year where the sun was in the driver's eyes. I have no idea what happened here, but hopefully the family can know soon.

Two men died Friday in a terrible rollover accident in western Tarrant County, Texas. Both were ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.

30-year-old John Farris of Fort Worth died in the accident, as well as a 29-year-old man whose name has not yet been released. The accident occurred at 10203 Confederate Park Road, also known as Farm Road 1886.

Authorities do not know what caused the crash.

This is a tragic wreck. I feel sorry for the families and friends of these two young men. With the cause of the accident unknown, it is hard to figure out if this accident could have been prevented. Were seat belts used? And if not, would these two men have survived the rollover if they had not been ejected? I recently read that seat belt use is up to 84% of vehicle occupants, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Information provided by Tarrant County Personal Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted at 817-294-1900, or by clicking here.

A National Guard Humvee caused a tragic crash Wednesday when it somehow went airborne, over the center barrier on I-35, and into oncoming traffic. Authorities are unsure what caused the Humvee to go airborne as it traveled south on 1-35 in Troy, a small town near Temple, Texas. After going onto the other side of the highway, the Humvee struck an oncoming car and an 18-wheeler. The big rig then crashed into a truck towing a trailer, then into a garbage truck. A soldier driving the Humvee, the tractor-trailer driver, and the driver of the car were all killed.

This is a very bizarre accident. I have never heard of a car or truck just going airborne. So I wonder what caused the Humvee to go airborne and over the highway divider. Was it speed? Was there contact with another vehicle before the Humvee went airborne? I am sure the Texas Department of Public Safety is investigating this wreck. To investigate a large wreck like this takes a lot of work and a lot of luck. The Humvee should be equipped with a data box which will yield some information. There is the analysis of the scene, the wrecked vehicles and witness statements. Sometimes in complicated accident cases, I hire an accident reconstruction expert to recreate the accident and help explain to me what really happened.

I feel very sorry for the families of the three individuals killed, as well as those who were hurt in this accident. We all take traveling on our interstate highways for granted and don't seem to think that accidents like this can happen to us.

Information and commentary provided by Texas Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

A student at Blalack Middle School in Carrollton was left with devastating injuries after being hit by a car on Wednesday. The absence of school zone signs or crossing guards in the area may have contributed to the accident.

13-year-old Caitlyn Self was walking home from school and attempted to cross Rosemeade Parkway at Standridge Drive when she was struck by a vehicle. The impact broke an elbow and leg, fractured her hand, and cracked her pelvis in two places. Luckily as she fell her backpack slipped up and protected her head from even worse injury.

The intersection where the accident occurred is about half a mile away from the school. There are no school zone signs or crossing guards at Rosemeade Parkway, which is a big street with fairly heavy traffic in this mainly residential area. I hate to hear about an injury to a teenager like this, and hopefully after this terrible accident the city will take greater precautions in protecting the students who walk home from school.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted toll free at 877-294-1115, or by clicking here.

A man whose car left the road and struck a tree last Thursday has died from injuries he received in the accident in Arlington, Texas. He died Friday at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth.

20-year-old William Alexander Wilson was thrown from his vehicle when his Ford GT left the road and hit a tree in the 1700 block of W. Lamar Boulevard near Fielder Road. Although the accident is still under investigation, police said speed was a likely factor in the accident.

This is such a tragic accident for the family and friends of Mr. Wilson. If he was driving at excessive speeds, as police seem to believe, he could easily have lost control of his car, and striking a tree at high speeds would lead to devastating injuries.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted at 817-294-1900, or by clicking here.

Early last Monday morning a man fell onto the tracks near the W. Kellis Street crossing in Fort Worth. Union Pacific crews saw him fall and tried to make an emergency stop, but could not stop in time.

Witnesses saw the man stagger before he fell onto the tracks. Even though the crew blew the horn, he was unable to get off of the tracks in time. Police suspect he might have been impaired in some way.

There is no word whether alcohol or drugs were involved, but I agree with the police assessment that this man must have been impaired in some way to fall on the tracks then be unable to get off of them before the train arrived.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Personal Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached at 817-294-1900, or who can be contacted by clicking here.

83-year-old Ruth Miller died Wednesday morning at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth after she was injured in an auto accident on Tuesday. The passenger in Miller's car, 89-year-old Leota Hopkins, went to the hospital as well and was later released.

The accident occurred when Miller was driving westbound on East Henderson Street and 55-year-old Alejandrina Cardona turned her SUV left onto Washington Street in front of Miller's car. The SUV rolled over and stopped upside down. The passengers of the SUV, which included four children, were treated at a hospital and released. Miller was being treated in intensive care until she passed away.

The fault for the accident of course falls on the driver turning left. Turning left on an unprotected green light is always dangerous, and can lead to bad wrecks-in this case, a woman lost her life. Some cities are experimenting with flashing yellow arrows to alert drivers that they must yield the right-of-way to oncoming traffic, which I blogged about today.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Accident Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted at 817-294-1900, or by clicking here.

A man standing by a hot dog stand in front of Lowe's this morning suffered facial burns as the result of a propane tank flash, or small explosion.

The propane, which was used to heat the hot dogs, flashed unexpectedly and injured the man standing nearby. An ambulance took him to a local hospital to treat the burns. The incident occurred at the Lowe's on Eastchase Parkway in Fort Worth.

Many questions arise about this accident. Was the propane tank in good working order? Did the employees of the hot dog stand know how to operate it properly? Hopefully these questions will come to light during the course of the investigation. In the meantime, I sure hope this man is alright.

Information provided by Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached at 817-294-1900 or who can be contacted by clicking here.

Two women were injured when they were hit by a car while walking on the 4600 block of Fossil Ridge Circle Wednesday night. They were walking near the home of one of the women.

The women, ages 48 and 62, were taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. The street was dimly lit, and the car that hit them stopped right away. The 46-year-old Bedford driver wasn't hurt.

Even on a dimly lit street, it the driver's responsibility to watch out for pedestrians. This driver did the right thing by stopping to help the women. Even though the responsibility is on the driver, however, pedestrians must be careful as well and should consider walking only when it's bright enough outside to be seen by a passing car.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Accident Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached at 817-294-1900 or who can be contacted by clicking here.

As I blogged about recently, Fort Worth police department officers were out in full force looking for drunk drivers this Labor Day weekend. Well, the effort paid off, because police made 125 driving while intoxicated arrests, and there was only one traffic fatality in Fort Worth over the weekend.

The extra police effort was part of a Texas Transportation Department statewide effort to give grant money to police departments so additional officers could be on the streets. In addition to the statewide effort, the Fort Worth police department conducted a “Stop the Madness” program over Labor Day weekend as well. Additional police officers were put on traffic duty, and officers obtained search warrants for blood tests in incidents of suspected drunk driving. More than 30 officers volunteered to supplement the eight officer DWI force this year.

Over the weekend, police issued 407 traffic citations and 49 DWI arrests were made as part of the “Stop the Madness” program; additionally, 79 DWI arrests were made during the statewide campaign from August 21 through August 31.

Information provided by Fort Worth Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached at 817-294-1900, or contacted by clicking here.

A three-year-old boy died on Saturday afternoon as the result of a tragic accident in Dallas, Texas.

Jacob Vega was riding his bike when he was struck by his mother's vehicle. She didn't see him as she drove forward from her parking spot in front of their home. Jacob later died at the hospital. The police are not pressing charges on his mother as they have ruled the incident an accident.

I can't even imagine the grief this family must be going through. Unfortunately, children are injured in horrible accidents such as this one every day. According to www.kidsandcars.org, 95 children in the United States have died since late June of this year in this type of accident. That's why it is so important that parents don't let small children play unattended where they might be in danger of getting hit by a car.

Information provided by Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached at 817-294-1900 or by clicking here.

Searchers found the body of 20-year-old Morgan Clark on Saturday at Canyon Lake near San Antonio, Texas. She had been thrown from a 22-foot Blue Wave motorboat when it turned sharply and ran onto the shoreline.

68-year-old Robert Gilson was driving the boat and he and Clark were thrown into the water when it suddenly turned. Gilson was hurt in the accident and Clark was last seen sinking below the surface of the lake. No one was wearing a lifejacket.

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, there were 61 boating accident deaths in 2008, and most boating deaths are caused by falling overboard. Nearly 85% of drowning victims are not wearing life jackets, as in this case. Life jackets are so important when you're out on the lake. Many people may think they're good swimmers, but being thrown suddenly into a large body of water can leave anyone vulnerable.

Information provided by Texas Board Certified Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be contacted at 817-294-1900 or by clicking here.

Ana-Maria Landa, 53, died at the scene of a tragic auto accident early Friday morning after a drunk driver rear-ended her and forced her car into the underside of a bridge.

31-year-old Lawrence Carter was arrested for intoxication manslaughter after causing the fatal accident at the 800 block of I-35 E near Fox Avenue in Lewisville. Carter was driving a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck when he struck the back of Landa's Isuza SUV. The impact of the crash sent the SUV off the highway, across the service road, up the embankment of the Fox Avenue overpass, and into the underside of the bridge.

Carter received only minor injuries. According to police, it was raining heavily at the time of the accident. This probably contributed to the seriousness of the crash. Harsh weather conditions require even more caution while driving, and drunk driving in the rain causes an even more dangerous situation. This car wreck is so tragic because it could have been prevented if only Mr. Carter hadn't gotten behind the wheel of his truck after drinking.

Information provided by Texas Board Certified Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached toll free at 877-294-1115, or contacted by clicking here.

The Fort Worth police department will have as many as 16 officers per night looking out for drunk drivers this Labor Day weekend. If you're going to drink and travel, they recommend getting a cab.

Last Labor Day weekend 196 people died in drunken driving crashes across the country and 27 people were killed in Texas. Fort Worth police hope to prevent any fatalities this year. When they took similar measured during the July 4th weekend, no one died in traffic accidents. Police did arrest 43 people that weekend on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

A new law that went into effect on Tuesday will make it even easier to make drunk driving arrests. Now mandatory blood tests to determine blood alcohol content can be performed on anyone with felony DWI cases, suspected drunken driving crashes where someone is injured and goes to the hospital, and DWI arrests with a child younger than 15 in the car. Police will get search warrants to perform blood tests on suspected drunk drivers who don't already fall into those categories.

Drunk driving is always stupid, and your chances of getting caught will increase this weekend.

Information provided by Fort Worth Accident Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached at 817-294-1900 or contacted by clicking here.

Photo from The Fort Worth Star Telegram