Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog

A tragic and bizarre pedestrian-truck accident has spiked my interest. An 82-year-old Troup, Texas man was released on bail from the Rusk County Jail yesterday after he drove his pickup around a barricade and crashed into a Cub Scout troop at a Christmas parade in downtown Overton, Texas Monday night. It’s hard to tell whether the man intended to hit the troop or if the Cub Scouts were just collateral damage. Either way, ten children and two women suffered injuries. The injured scouts were 7 to 11 years old and all but two were treated and released.

Unfortunately, two of the kids were not so lucky. One was taken to the Children’s Medical Center in Dallas and is in good condition while another child—a 7-year-old boy from New London, Texas, is in serious condition and being treated at Mother Frances Hospital.

The 82-year-old, Charles George, lost his license and has been charged with reckless driving. Overton, Texas is located about two hours southeast of Dallas.

As a parent, I would be outraged if this happened to my child. Maybe some sort of injury to a child charge would be more appropriate. The man should have never driven around a barricade. I sure hope this man had sufficient insurance to cover all the medical bills being incurred by these unfortunate families.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident, contact me at 817-294-1900 or Contact Me Online to discuss your rights.

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Posted In: Accident Investigation , Auto Accidents , News to Use , Personal Injuries , Truck & Bus Wrecks

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A teenage boy whose name and age are still unknown is at John Peter Smith Hospital (JPS) this morning after he was hit by a truck last night in east Fort Worth, Texas. Witnesses say the boy appeared to be frightened by some dogs being walked on the same sidewalk he was on and jumped in to the street to avoid them. That’s when a passing truck struck the boy and stopped to help him.

The teen had no form of identification on him but was rushed to JPS with critical injuries. As of this morning, the only clue in his identification is that he may attend Eastern Hills High School. An update on his condition cannot be made without knowing his name.

The accident occurred on Meadowbrook Drive just after sunset.

If you or a loved one has suffered personal injuries from a pedestrian, truck, car or other vehicle-related accident, contact Attorney Mark A. Anderson at 817-294-1900 to learn your rights.

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Posted In: Accident Investigation , Auto Accidents , News to Use , Personal Injuries , Truck & Bus Wrecks

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A charter bus swerved off a rural two-lane highway Saturday night, killing 10 people just 10 miles short of the casino resort it was heading to. The bus, which departed from Sacramento, California flipped at least once, tossing passengers around and crushing some, eventually coming to rest right side up in a ditch.

The injured were taken to many hospitals in the surrounding area, and as of today, 11 were still in the hospital—all with varying conditions ranging from critical to fair. Many of the passengers on the bus were from Laos and did not speak English.

The weird part is that the bus said “Greyhound” on the side, which is a Dallas, Texas-based company. However, spokespeople from Greyhound said the bus had been sold years before. And that was just one of the bizarre factors surrounding the wreck. Among other problems: the bus had an invalid, Texas license plate, the driver was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of prescription or non-prescription drugs and the driver might not have even had the proper permits to have been driving a charter bus in California.

This entire situation is strange-sounding to me. I feel terrible for the victims and their families and am anxious to find out the story behind who owns the “Greyhound” bus. As I have blogged about several times before, many of the bus accidents are easily preventable. Who knows? A little better screening of bus operators might have saved 10 lives here.

If you or a loved one has suffered bodily injuries in any type of bus or other vehicle-related accident, please call Fort Worth Injury Attorney Mark A. Anderson at 817-294-1900.

Photo by wfaa.com

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Posted In: Auto Accidents , News to Use , Personal Injuries , Truck & Bus Wrecks , Wrongful Death

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A bizarre truck accident in Benbrook, Texas left one man dead when the 18-wheeler he was driving swerved off of Southwest Loop 820 and unded crunched up under a bridge. The truck was carrying water bottles. The accident happened at 7:15 p.m. Thursday evening under the Winscott Road bridge. Three other cars driving the same direction as the semi-truck were involved and one man was taken to the hospital with injuries.

The bridge was closed last night until early this morning so it could be checked for structural damage.

As of now, no facts have been released which would reveal the reason for the accident. A thorough accident investigation might turn up what happened. The best source of facts for this investigation will be witness interviews and collection of the scene evidence, like skid marks, for example. The truck should also be equipped with an Engine Control Module (ECM) which may give useful information such as how fast the truck was going at the time of the crash.

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Posted In: Accident Investigation , Auto Accidents , News to Use , On the Job Injuries , Truck & Bus Wrecks , Wrongful Death

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In 2003, five bus passengers were killed when a bus headed to Dallas from Temple crashed on I35. The bus accident occured when the bus driver lost control of the bus in the rain and crossed the median near Hewitt, Texas, slamming into a southbound Chevrolet Suburban. Two passengers of the Suburban were killed and additional passengers of the bus were injured.

A wrongful death lawsuit was brought in Waco against Motor Coach Industries, an Illinois company which assembled the bus. In 2005, the case went to trial and a jury ruled that the crash victims should receive $17.5 million dollars, finding that the bus was defective as it had no seatbelts. Of course, the bus company appealed.

This week the 10th Court of Appeals, based in Waco, overturned the jury’s decision. The main reason for the reversal was that the appellate court believed that the trial judge should have asked the jury whether the bus driver or the charter bus company should share in responsibility. One of the three appellate justices also said the jury’s verdict should have been thrown out as federal law governing seatbelts “preempts” the victim’s ability to pursue that type of claim.

It is a shame that these victims’ claims have to go back and start over. The question of which parties’ conduct the jury considers is an important part of all injury cases where more than one party may be responsible. Who the trial judge ultimately “submits” to the jury depends on many things, including the requests made by the various parties’ attorneys and the type of claims being asserted. What is troubling here is the “preemption” argument asserted by the dissenting justice. It seems like federal preemption arguments are being increasingly relied upon by appellate courts to throw out plaintiffs claims. So much for state rights and the decision of juries.

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Posted In: Trial News , Truck & Bus Wrecks , Wrongful Death

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The news surrounding our charter bus industry here in Texas seems to get worse every day. It all started with the tragic Sherman, Texas bus wreck which killed 17 innocent churchgoers from Houston. Soon thereafter, we started to learn about how the bus was operating illegally and how that horrible accident was easily preventable. Then, this week it came out that over the last 24 months, over 200 motor coach operators have had their authorizations to operate on Texas road revoked, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (“TXDOT”). That is an amazing 40% of all bus companies operating in Texas. Now, there are about 300 companies currently authorized to carry customers in Texas.

But the question remains: How may operators have resurfaced under another name, thereby disregarding the fact that their license has been revoked? That is what happened with the owner of the bus involved in the Sherman wreck. A company called Angel Tours lost its right to operate, so the owner reformed the company and called it Iguala BusMex. As I wrote about in Dallas Bus Company Ordered to Quit Operating, Green River Buses of Dallas was order to quit operating in April, so the owner renamed the company Autobuses Rio Verde, and started operating buses again. I know the government and the several federal and state agencies that deal with road safety are working on this "resurfacing" problem, but it has to be solved, and soon.

For some of my other thoughts on how to make traveling on buses safer, read Predictable News: Tragic Sherman Bus Wreck Easily Preventable.

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Posted In: News to Use , Truck & Bus Wrecks

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In the aftermath of the tragic, and preventable, bus accident earlier this month in Sherman, Texas, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ordered another Texas bus company to immediately cease all operations. The company, called Autobuses Rio Verde, is based in Dallas, Texas. The government has determined that it is in reality the same company as one called Green River Buses—which was ordered to halt operation in April.

The government is getting this part right. Too many companies, after being put out of business by the government, have “resurfaced” without getting caught. Maybe the government is catching up to them now. After the horrible Sherman bus wreck, I wrote about the many ways in which that accident was preventable. This latest news regarding Green River (Spanish translation: Rio Verde—not too original) is encouraging. But let’s do more and step up the monitoring of these charter bus companies. Too many people die each year in bus and truck accidents.

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Posted In: Truck & Bus Wrecks

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The still developing news surrounding the bus wreck in Sherman, Texas is extremely disturbing. When I first blogged about this accident that killed 17 Vietnamese church-goers, the word of the accident had just reached the news media. At that point, no one knew what caused the wreck to happen. I had a feeling that the investigation would reveal it would be yet another preventable accident involving a charter bus. Well, my suspicions were correct. Here are a few of the many ways this wreck could have been prevented.

Better Driver Screening – the driver had been convicted of DWI and also had convictions for assault, criminal trespass and a felony of unlawful use of human services--not the kind of person you want driving your bus.

Better Company Screening – the owner of the bus company had been shut down in late June due to a poor review by federal regulators. So, the owner simply started a new company and applied for a new license. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has now stopped granting licenses nationwide to new bus companies until it gets it computer system updated to catch these types of name games. Did the federal government not think of this before this wreck?

Mandate Safer Buses – Per the National Transportation Safety Board, the owner put on recapped tires in violation of federal law. That is hard to police, as “bad” bus operator will always try to skirt the law. But the federal government should at least mandate that buses use available safety features and not allow the buses on the road until the buses comply. A good start would be to require lap and shoulder belts and to use laminated glass (to help prevent ejections). Until the government mandates these changes, the bus companies undoubtedly will not step up and do the right thing.

These suggestions are easy to implement. Let’s get them done now before another preventable bus wreck occurs.

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Posted In: Accident Investigation , Truck & Bus Wrecks , Wrongful Death

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A report on CNN just detailed a horrible bus accident which occurred earlier this morning in Sherman, Texas. The bus was carrying passengers of all ages from a church with a large Vietnamese congregation. The scene is currently being treated as a crime scene, but the current speculation is that the bus apparently blew a tire and ran off the road, catching fire. There were eleven passengers who were pronounced dead on the scene. Eighteen medical helicopters transported many injured passengers to hospitals in Dallas, Texas and in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The CNN report also said that two more passengers died in the hospital, bringing the total current death toll to 14. The National Transportation Safety Board is on the scene and conducting its investigation.

While we take the safety of commercial buses for granted, it seems like every year there is a terrible crash in Texas. Oftentimes this is the result of driver error by the bus driver of inadequate maintenance by the bus company. I don’t know what the ultimate cause of this accident was, as it is still too early. A detailed investigation needs to and will occur. But my fear is that we have just witnessed another accident that could have been avoided. Tragic news.

Posted by Mark A. Anderson | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Accident Investigation , Truck & Bus Wrecks , Wrongful Death

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