Houston Injury and Accident Lawyer & Attorney : Vujasinovic & Beckcom Law Firm : Workplace Injuries, Car Accidents, Insurance Claims : Harris County, Texas

We are pleased to announce that one of our clients, a commercial diver who works offshore, has obtained a settlement against his employer and a lift boat company following serious injuries he sustained while diving offshore.

Our client was employed by Seamar Divers and worked on a Montco Offshore lift boat.  According to their websites, Seamar Divers provides offshore commercial divers, subsea construction, and subsea fabrication services to the oil and gas industry.  Montco Offshore provides lift boats to the offshore industry.

Our client was hurt when the Seamar supervisor failed to monitor the dive properly, resulting in our client getting "the bends."  The Montco crane operator brought him up too quickly and dropped him too hard on the deck of the lift boat, resulting in severe orthopedic injuries.

After working on the case for less than a year, we were able to negotiate a settlement that takes care of all medical bills, expenses, attorney fees, and still leaves a substantial monetary recovery for our client to invest or spends how he wants.

Did you know commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act or maritime law?

Many commercial divers (and probably even a lot of lawyers) do not realize that commercial divers may be covered by the Jones Act and general maritime law if they are injured offshore.

To learn more about commercial divers and their rights under the Jones Act, read the following article:

Are Diving Accidents Covered by the Jones Act?

Want to know more about offshore injury claims? 

We strive to provide the best, most professional, and most effective representation to workers in the offshore industry. 

If you want to know more about offshore injury claims, please take a moment to read the following articles:

1.  How to hire the best lawyer for your Jones Act or offshore injury case

2.  What is the Jones Act?

3.  What is a Longshoreman and What Are Their Legal Rights When Injured?

4.  The difference between the Jones Act and the Longshore & Harbor Worker's Compensation Act

5.  The Truth About Offshore Injury Claims.

6.  What Should You Do If You Are Injured Offshore

7.  What you should know if you were hurt offshore and your employer is giving you a hard time

8.  Should I give my employer or the insurance company a "recorded statement?"

9.  Do I need to hire a lawyer for my Jones Act or offshore injury claim?

10.  What happens when you file a Jones Act lawsuit.

11.  6 Critical Things you must know if you are injured at sea

12. The Secrets Your Employer May Not Want You To Know If You Are Injured Offshore.

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According to the New York Times, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 22 complains from people driving Chrysler Jeep Liberty vehicles.

According to the reports, the upper ball joint has been separating on one of either front wheel.

The problem is serious.  It can lead to a disabled vehicle or loss of control. 

Chrysler itself has received 74 complains involving more than 300,000 2002 and 2003 models. 

If you are experiencing problems with your vehicle, REPORT THEM TO THE National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the vehicle manufacturer.  It is critically important that owners of vehicles self-report vehicle problems so the manufacturers will be aware of any defect issues with their vehicles.

You can read the full story by clicking  on the link below:

Government upgrades defect investigation

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An injured worker has sued Matteson Marine Service, his employer, under the Jones Act.

You can read more about the case, the allegations, and find other useful tips and resources by clicking on the link below:

Injured Worker Sues Matteson Marine Service.

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Jury says U-Haul must pay $84 million to injured man -- chicagotribune.com

Do you think a verdict like this will cause U-Haul to be a safer company? Or do you think U-Haul will just ignore the jury's message and continue conducting business as usual?

Please give us your thoughts.

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If you or a loved one are injured in an accident in Houston or the surrounding area, you will probably want to hire the best, most competent lawyer for the case.

So how do you find the best lawyer for your particular case?  And how do you even get an appointment to talk to the best lawyers in Houston?

The best and most experienced attorneys in Houston will have people lining up at their door to hire them.  These lawyers will be very selective about the cases they accept and the people they represent.  It's often hard to get an appointment to talk with them directly.

If it's easy to get an immediate appointment with the lawyer you are thinking about hiring, ask yourself why?  Maybe that lawyer doesn't have much else to do?

Once you get an appointment with a lawyer you are thinking about hiring for an injury, accident, wrongful death, or business dispute case you should ask questions.  Lots of them.

Good lawyers will not be insulted by questions.  They will most likely encourage you to ask as many questions as you want.  Most of the best lawyers in Houston will want you to educate yourself during the hiring process.

Any lawyer who seems to discourage your questions or doesn't answer them in a straightforward no-nonsense way should raise red flags.

After all, the best lawyers consider it their job to keep you informed and educated and comfortable during the entire process.

Questions to ask a lawyer you are thinking about hiring

1.  How long have you been in practice?

2.  Do you have any experience handling a case like mine?

3.  Can you give me a list of your past results or past cases?

4.  Have you  ever published any articles about cases like mine?

5.  Have you ever had a case against the same company that was negligent in my case?

6.  Will you actually work on my case?

7.  How much experience does your support staff have in these types of cases?

8.  Have you ever won a large verdict or settlement?

9.  Are you board-certified in any field?

10.  Do you carry malpractice insurance?

11.  Have you ever been disciplined or reprimanded by a bar association?

12.  What is my case worth?

13.  Have you ever represented large companies or insurance companies?

14.  Can I have a copy of my attorney-client contract to take home and study?

15.  Why do you believe you should handle my case and not some other lawyer?

This list does not include every possible good question.  It may depend on your case.  But this list will certainly cover a lot of important areas and get you started down the right road.

Any good Houston personal injury lawyer will be glad to answer all these questions and any other questions you have.  And they will be glad to answer them in a straightforward, honest, no-nonsense way!

If the lawyer is evasive or says he won't answer your questions until you hire him as your lawyer by signing papers, then you should probably just leave the appointment.  That lawyer is either not experienced enough for your case, is desperate for business, or has something to hide.

Have a good question you'd like to suggest? 

If you have other questions you'd like to suggest that are not on the list above, please submit your question to the comments section below.  We will print the most popular and most helpful question in a future post.

For more questions, visit the rest of the entires on this website or go to www.vbattorneys.com.

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Houston, Texas -- Vujasinovic & Beckcom has been prosecuting a truck accident lawsuit against a Victoria-based trucking company, in which one of the company's drivers allowed the over-sized load on the flatbed trailer of his tractor trailer to strike a pick up truck legally parked on the shoulder of US 59 in Montgomery County, Texas, killing a two year old child in the pick up truck. This truck crash happened on October 26, 2006.

Through discovery efforts, the firm recently discovered that the trucking company driver tested positive for cocaine on the day of the crash. Testing documents reveal the driver admitted using cocaine the night before the crash.

The firm further determined that the trucking company's top managers were told by their field manager that the load on the truck was illegal because it was 40,000 pounds over weight and over five and a half feet over wide.

According to sworn testimony by the trucking company's field manager, after he told the managers of this extreme safety risk, the managers told him to ignore the safety hazard and to send the truck on its 250 mile route from Berclair to Woodville, Texas.

The firm further determined that at the time the trucking company hired the driver, it knew that he had a criminal record including three felonies (all of which were drug or alcohol related), a driving record including a DWI, and that his commercial drivers license was revoked.

The law firm further determined that the trucking company ignored a comment on its website in which a motorist told the company that its drivers -- including the driver who killed the young boy -- were driving so unsafely that it was likely they were going to "kill someone," yet the company took no action in response to this warning.

Finally, the law firm discovered that the trucking company falsified the trucker's logs before producing them to the law firm in this litigation, based on a comparison to the drivers logs that were provided to the investigating Troopers at the time of the official DPS investigation. The case is pending in State District Court in Jim Wells County, Texas, and is set for trial in June of 2008.

If you have any information on this truck crash or on the driving and safety habits of trucking companies, please contact us.

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Most people involved in truck accidents in Texas believe they can negotiate with the insurance companies on their own. This is one of the major mistakes we see when handling Texas truck accident cases.

The insurance companies have declared war on injured people. They write letters to injured people trying to convince them not to hire an attorney. They claim that the injured person will not get as much money if they hire an attorney. But the insurance company for the trucking company always hires a team of lawyers. Isn't it suspicious that they hire a bunch of lawyers but don't want the injured person to hire his or her own lawyer?

Why do the trucking companies, and their insurance companies, need a team of adjusters and lawyers but don't think an injured person needs their own lawyer?

Simple.  Because they know that if an injured person is not represented, they are almost certainly going to be able to settle the case for an unfairly low amount.

Trucking companies and their insurance companies also have spent millions and millions of dollars trying to lower the amount of verdicts in truck accident cases. This propaganda has had an enormous effect on jury verdicts in Texas truck accident cases.

As a result of these developments, people injured in Texas truck accident should strongly consider hiring an experienced and aggressive lawyer so they can level the playing field and have a better chance of getting a full and fair settlement.

Simply put, you are almost certain to get an inadequate settlement without an experienced Texas truck accident attorney because the trucking company and insurance company know they can take advantage of an injured person much more easily if they do not have to deal with an experienced, aggressive attorney.

Why? Because an experienced Texas truck accident attorney will know what cases like your have settled for in the past, or what juries have given in the past when truck accident cases have gone to Court.

And the experienced truck accident attorney will be ready, willing, and able to take the negligent truck company to Court if the trucking company or its insurance company doesn't make a fair and adequate settlement offer.

Finally, an experienced accident attorney will be know the tricks that the trucking companies commonly use and will be prepared to deal with those tricks.

Level the playing field.  Strongly consider hiring an experienced and independent truck accident lawyer before trying to settle a serious truck accident injury or wrongful death case.

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When a parent puts their baby down in a crib they expect the crib to provide a safe and comfortable place for their baby to sleep.  Often parents have done their very best to research cribs and crib bedding, looking for safety features and cribs with favorable product ratings.  Mother and father may carefully follow the instructions when putting the bed together, attempting to ensure a safe haven for their sleeping babe.

Even when a parent has “done their homework” and bought what they assume to be a safe crib the worst can happen.  The latest recall is of a crib produced in Indonesia by Munire Furniture, Inc. The cribs do not allow the mattress to be lowered enough, posing a serious threat to children as they become more mobile and are able to stand in their crib.  If the mattress is not low enough babies may topple out.  This fall can be dangerous and even deadly.

Too Many Cribs Cause Injury and Death

This latest product recall is just another in a long list of recalled cribs and crib parts.  In 2007 nearly 1.5 million cribs and play yards were recalled.  The recalls often affect cribs that were not made to stand the test of time.  They may lose screws, the wood may splinter, or parts may become loose over time.  After less than a year of normal use cribs have been know to quite literally fall apart.  While it is best to never buy used cribs or to use cribs for many years, there are also new products that are faulty from the beginning. 

A recall on a crib made by Simplicity was too late for three families who lost their children after they were strangled between a faulty side rail and the mattress.  Seven infants were trapped but survived and over 50 complaints were filed before anything was done.  It took the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) two years to pick up that the crib that had killed a nine month old baby.  This delay, along with the lack of action on the part of the manufacturer, speaks to the gap between reported injuries and an active recall.

According to their most recent data, CPSC reported 43 deaths and 12,400 injuries a year involving cribs and play yards.  Though not all of these injuries and deaths were related to faulty products, even one death due to a badly made crib is too many.

There Are Ways to Prevent Tragedy

First of all parents must keep tabs on the latest crib recalls.  Even if you have not heard that your crib has been recalled be sure to check the recall list often to ensure your crib is not mentioned.  Even if your particular crib is not on the recalled crib list, you can check consumer product ratings for your crib to see if you have purchased a safe and reliable crib, crib mattress and bedding set.  Though checking recall lists and knowing your crib offers no guarantee, you may feel better knowing that you are up to date on the latest crib safety news.

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While driving his 1997 Nissan Pathfinder, Michael Guillory was hit by a vehicle that failed to stop at a stop sign.

Although he states he was properly wearing his seatbelt, Guillory believes he was injured because the Pathfinder failed to protect him and the seatbelt unlatched and failed to restrain him.

Guillory filed a product liability suit against Nissan on March 10 in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas.

The lawsuit states that another vehicle, driven by Jeffrey Moon, disregarded a stop sign and crashed into Guillory's vehicle. The plaintiff says his injuries are a result of the Nissan being "not reasonably crashworthy, and not reasonably fit for unintended, but clearly foreseeable, accidents."

Teaching Point

There is a legal doctrine called the doctrine of "crashworthiness."  That means that cars and trucks are supposed to be designed to protect the people inside in foreseeable crashes.

All too often, however, seatbelts fail, roofs crush in, cars roll over, tires fail, vehicles catch on fire, peole are ejected, etc.  None of these events should occur in a foreseeable vehicle crash.

You can also read more about defective products cases by visiting www.vbattorneys.com.

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