Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

A wreck last Monday afternoon on U.S. 67 in Cleburne involving two trucks sent three people to the hospital.

20-year-old James Hall of Godley was driving a pickup hauling a flatbed trailer carrying a washer and dryer when he made an illegal left turn from the access road onto U.S. 67. Diana Dillard was driving her truck on U.S. 67 and Mr. Hall struck her vehicle, his truck sliding on its side then eventually landing upright.

Mr. Hall and Ms. Dillard were immediately taken by CareFlite into Fort Worth hospitals. 19-year-old James Peabody of Burleson was transported by CareFlite to Harris Methodist Hospital in Fort Worth after being pulled from the truck when witnesses thought it was on fire. According to police, no one suffered life threatening injuries.

I am glad to read that no one suffered life threatening injuries. But that certainly does not mean that none of the occupants suffered injuries. A wreck of this magnitude certainly can result in severe and permanent injuries. I know from experience that the CareFlite bills are astronomical. Also, depending on the number of scans and type of treatment rendered, the hospital bills could also be staggering. I obviously don’t know the amount of insurance available, but I sure hope the driver not at fault, Ms. Dillard, carries under-insured motorist protection. In my opinion this is the best type of insurance to carry as it protects you, the policy holder, in case someone else causes an accident and does not have enough insurance.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Car Accident Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached in Fort Worth at 817-294-1900, in Dallas at 214-327-8000, or toll free at 877-294-1115. He can also be contacted by clicking here.

This is an off topic post for me, but I thought that this is a story worth sharing. I had a most disturbing encounter the other night. I was at a local Black Eyed Pea restaurant for dinner with my wife and daughter when we were approached by a very gentle, unassuming older man who had the booth next to us. He complimented my nine year old daughter then complimented my wife. He then began to charm us with stories of when he was a pediatric neurosurgeon here in Fort Worth. The conversation continued, the stories were engaging and it all seemed normal, even though as I type this I wonder why I thought it was normal as we had never seen this man before. On the way home, it started to click—why was this nice older man so interested in us? Or, upon reflection, so interested in my daughter.

Within a minute of getting home, I had googled him and found out I had just introduced my innocent daughter to a convicted child molester. His last (known) victim was a nine year old girl. He had lost his medical license when he received two convictions years ago. My wife called the molester (he had given us his number) and gave him an earful. The Fort Worth Police were sympathetic, but he had broken no laws.

Our kids are great at following the rule of not talking to strangers. I know my daughter is. But now I am acutely aware of how I need to do a better job of screening who enters my daughter’s life through me. I am telling you, this guy was smooth. The internet is such a great resource for quick investigations. The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Sex Offender Registry can be searched many ways, including by name or zip code. The DPS’s site can be found at https://records.txdps.state.tx.us. This site has all sorts of information, including name, address, current picture and basis for sexual conviction. I was surprised to learn that there are 82 registered sex offenders in my home zip code and 98 such perverts in my work zip code.

This world has all kinds of people. These bad guys use the internet to their advantage. Believe me, I am going to use the internet to my advantage as well and know who I meet from now on, and be much more careful about to whom I introduce my daughter. I encourage all parents to become familiar with this site.

Information provided by Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson.

A bizarre and fatal car accident occurred in Southlake, Texas at the intersection of Lonesome Dove and Burney Lane yesterday morning. It is not known what caused the Toyota Avalon to leave the road, smash through a metal fence, run into a tree and flip over into a private pond. The two people pronounced dead at Baylor Regional Medical Center in Grapevine were Monty Hardy, 56, of Southlake and Hadassah Vance, 35, of Euless. Then, today the two other occupants of the car, Wendy Akion, 38, of Irving, and Sharon Ransom, 56, of Grapevine, also died at Baylor Grapevine.

The cause of the horrible accident is still being investigated. According to the Southlake Police Department; there were no skid marks on the road. Was it a defect or malfunction of the Toyota? Those cars have been subject to a massive recall for floor mats which cause the accelerator to stick. (see my prior blog here for info on the recall). With there being no skid marks, you have to first think that the accelerator must have been stuck. If so, the families of these four innocent victims might very well have a major products liability case to pursue.

I feel very sorry for the families of these four victims. For them, I hope answers come fast.

Information and legal commentary provided by Texas Injury Lawyer Mark A. Anderson, phone 817-294-1900, contact online.

Recently I’ve blogged about Jesus Cisneros, the off-duty Fort Worth police officer who drove drunk in an unmarked police vehicle and caused a car accident that killed Sonia Baker, a mother of two. [see here, here and here] New details continue to be released from the ongoing investigation. Now, 20 other FWPD officers are being investigated after reports indicate they were drinking with Cisneros prior to the accident. It’s also been reported that Cisneros was driving at twice the posted speed limit of 35 mph.

The investigation is looking into 20 other officers who were apparently drinking with Cisneros at The Pour House on West 7th Street. Three off duty officers who were working security at the bar, including two sergeants, are included in the investigation.

According to police, Mrs. Baker was not at fault in the crash. Cisneros was traveling at such a high rate of speed that Mrs. Baker wouldn’t have even seen him as she tried to turn her vehicle onto Columbus Trail from Evening Star Drive.

Cisneros is not the first FWPD officer to drive drunk; this year three other officers were suspended and later fired after being arrested on DWI charges.

As the FWPD is releasing results of their investigation, it seems to answer some questions but raises many others. So how many other officers were driving drunk that night? How many were driving city vehicles? I would find it unusual that Cisneros was the only one out of 20 that had drank too much. And unrelated to the city, what about the Pour House? At some point the cops need to be cut off and not served anymore.

I agree with our Police Chief Jeff Halstead when he says that officers have a duty to step in and help out another officer that might have had too much to drink

I look forward to hearing more about this from our city’s investigation and am glad that the city and the FWPD are releasing information they way they are. This investigation must reveal what really happened and serious changes need to be made to make sure nothing like this happens again. This whole thing makes me sick. And embarrassed for our city and its police force.

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

Sonia Baker

Jesus Cisneros

Photos from The Fort Worth Star Telegram

A man was hit by a Burlington Northern Sante Fe train early Monday morning and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The accident happened at East Avenue and Grafton, east of downtown. The train was pulling three engines and 19 cars. The identity of the man has not yet been released. Also, the initial news reports did not explain how the accident occurred.

In 2008, there were 286 fatalities and 935 injuries at railroad crossings in the United States. In Texas alone there were 17 fatalities; Texas is one of fourteen other states whose combined fatality and injury rates make up 74% of railroad injuries and deaths. In fact, Texas leads every other state in train collisions, with 228 in 2008.

Information provided by Dallas/Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached in Fort Worth at 817-294-1900, in Dallas at 214-327-8000, and across Texas toll free at 877-294-1115. He can also be contacted by clicking here.

Jesus Cisneros, the Fort Worth police officer involved in the fatal drunk driving accident I blogged about here and here, was released on bail Monday. He has been charged with intoxication manslaughter in connection with the crash that killed a mother of two.

As conditions of his $25,000.00 bail, Cisneros is required to install a Breathalyzer in his car which he cannot drive without. He is also prohibited from drinking any alcoholic beverages.

According to Fort Worth police, Cisneros has submitted his resignation. The police have not released the findings of an internal affairs investigation regarding what Cisneros was doing before the crash, and they have not said whether speed was a factor in the accident. If convicted of intoxication manslaughter, Cisneros could spend up to 20 years in prison.

As I have previously written about, this is such a tragic case. The fact he was driving an unmarked FWPD vehicle is horrible and embarrassment for the FWPD and the City of Fort Worth. I am glad he submitted his resignation so the city will not have to go through a costly and lengthy process to terminate him.

Information provided by Texas Board Certified Personal Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached in Fort Worth at 817-294-1900, in Dallas at 214-327-8000, and toll free across Texas at 877-294-1115. He can also be contacted by clicking here.

The Fort Worth Police Department announced yesterday that the blood alcohol content of Officer Jesus Cisneros was over twice the legal limit when the car he was driving crashed into the car driven by Sonia Baker, killing her. In Texas, the legal limit is .08 BAC, but Officer Cisneros’ blood alcohol limit was measured at .17 BAC. Because he was legally drunk when he caused the fatal crash, Officer Cisneros might be charged with the crime of intoxication manslaughter.

Mrs. Baker was married and had two young boys. She, and her family, are nothing but innocent victims in this terrible tragedy. What makes things worse is the Officer, even though off duty at the time, was driving an unmarked police vehicle. A million questions need to be asked and must absolutely be answered by our city officials:
• What was he doing in the city vehicle?
• Why does our city allow its employees to drive city on vehicles for personal time?
• Who authorized him to drive it?
• How long had he been drinking?
• Was he drinking while on duty?
• Who had knowledge of his drinking and driving a city vehicle?
• Why was this man even allowed to be a FW a police officer? (the Star Telegram lists out his previous infractions, including shooting a gun out the sun roof f his car while intoxicated).

This entire situation is appalling. There is no excuse for his actions and he deserves serious punishment, including jail time.

And someone needs to take a look at the FWPD policies and actions and determine if this could have been prevented if a little common sense had been used in dealing with this particular cop, considering is less than stellar past. And having a group of police officers look into this doesn’t exactly cut it. The City of Fort Worth needs to bring in impartial outsiders to look into how the city deals with bad cops and also its policies of allowing cops to drive city vehicles while off duty. And this analysis needs to happen immediately before another senseless act kills one of our innocent citizens.

Commentary provided by Fort Worth Accident Attorney Mark A. Anderson, 817-294-1900.

Early Friday, Fort Worth resident Sonia Baker was tragically killed in an auto accident when the PT cruiser she was driving was hit by un unmarked FW Police vehicle driven by off-duty FWPD Officer Jesus Cisneros. Mrs. Baker was pronounced dead at the scene and Mr. Cisneros was taken to JPS Hospital. At the Hospital, according to a FWPD statement released yesterday, it was determined that alcohol may have played a role in the accident.

This is absolutely a horrible story. My sincere condolences go out to the friends and family of this lady. Mrs. Baker was the married mother of two young boys, age four and five. Now, during the Christmas season of all times, Mrs. Baker’s husband must tell the young boys that their mother has died. And it very much appears that the Officer was drinking and driving. Come on, of all people a FWPD Officer should know better than to drink and driver. Each year over 1,400 people die in Texas due to drunk driving. It is a senseless act to get behind the wheel after you have had too much to drink. And for a cop to do this is even more senseless. It is an incredible act of negligence.

It will be interesting to learn the results of the official accident investigation. Was Officer Cisneros legally drunk? How did the accident occur? If he was drunk, will he be charged with Intoxication Manslaughter? Will the City of Fort Worth be held liable for the death? Should the cop have been allowed to drive a city vehicle? That is just the tip of the iceberg as far as unanswered questions. For the sake of Mrs. Baker’s husband and young boys, I hope answers come fast.

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

Firefighters rescued two maintenance workers Thursday morning from the roof of Cowboys Stadium after they slipped on ice and slid 250 feet down onto a gutter. One was taken by helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas for chest and head trauma and a broken leg and the other by ambulance to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth for a back injury.

The men, who have not been identified, work for the subcontractor Birdair. They were not wearing their safety gear when they went out onto the roof, according to firefighters. According to the Dallas office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, an official has already gone to the stadium to start an investigation into this accident.

12 to 15 firefighters were involved in the rescue, which required them to use stretchers and ropes to secure the injured men. Thankfully, fire fighters have been preparing for such a rescue and becoming knowledgeable about every aspect of the building since construction first began

Since work began on the stadium in April 2006, 175 work-related injuries were reported. One person was killed in June 2008, an electrician who touched a high-voltage line.

Information provided by Personal Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson, who can be reached in Dallas at 214-327-8000, in Fort Worth at 817-294-1900, and anywhere in Texas toll free at 877-294-1115. He can also be contacted by clicking here.