Car Accidents

January 14, 2009

California to Rescue Good Samaritans

CA lawmakers are planning to introduce legislation that would offer greater legal protections to Good Samaritans in light of a recent California Supreme Court decision.

Legislators have introduced three bills to address Van Horn v. Watson, 08 C.D.O.S. 15199, which held that a state statute only shields rescuers from liability if they provide medical care in an emergency situation. The ruling puts at risk aid-givers who inadvertently hurt victims while removing them from a burning building or other potentially dangerous scenarios.

January 4, 2009

Truck’s Lane Change Blamed For Car Rollover

by Dr. Shezad Malik

On Sept. 30, a driver and his passenger netted a total of $1,456,874 for injuries they sustained in a collision with a tractor-trailer.

In 2006, Ronny Martinez, then 35, was traveling with Kenneth O’Neal, then 48, when an 18-wheeler owned by Celadon Trucking Services veered into their lane. Martinez swerved, but gravel off the roadway caused him to lose control and drive back onto the interstate.

He collided with the truck, causing his car to flip and roll several times. Martinez, a restaurant manager, sustained a fractured vertebra and was unable to work for two months.

January 3, 2009

No Blame in Car Crash That Injured Woman

by Dr. Shezad Malik

On Oct. 1, a jury found that neither party was to blame for a collision that resulted in neck and back injuries for one driver.

In 2004, Christy Chaney’s car was struck by a vehicle driven by Alan Sunberg as both drivers were traveling in opposite directions on Hwy. 190 near Heidenheimer, Texas.

Chaney alleged Sunberg caused the crash when he entered her lane as he attempted to maneuver around a truck that was turning left in front of him.

December 25, 2008

Ambulance And Car Accident in Leonard, North of Dallas

by Dr. Shezad Malik

LEONARD TEXAS— An ambulance collided with a car at a rural North Texas intersection, killing all three people inside the sedan.

Police in Leonard say the ambulance driver failed to see the Chevrolet Malibu before turning onto U.S. Highway 69. The car slammed into the ambulance, sending both vehicles off the road and leaving the ambulance on its side in a ditch.

December 23, 2008

Dallas To Start Towing More Uninsured Motorists

by Dr. Shezad Malik

DALLAS, TX.- The Dallas Police Department will begin enforcing the Uninsured Motorist Ordinance with the start of the new year.

Approved by the Dallas City Council on May 28, the new law says that drivers who are stopped for a traffic violation and cannot provide proof of the state-required auto insurance will have their vehicle towed at the owner’s expense.

Currently, uninsured drivers in Dallas are only towed in the event of a traffic accident. The new ordinance extends towing to any traffic violations.

December 20, 2008

Texas Roadway Hazards From Trucks Leaving Gas Well Sites

by Dr. Shezad Malik

TEXAS-Johnson County officials are concerned about “mud” spills, the mess that some companies leave behind when waste is hauled away from drilling sites.

When trucks loaded with the mud used in the gas drilling process travel too fast along county roads, some of it spills out, and county officials are sometimes left to clean up the mess.

The Johnson County’s emergency management coordinator, said cleanup costs are mounting, and the problem is also plaguing other counties in the Barnett Shale.

The mud contains lubricants and toxic chemicals used to make the drill bit turn more easily. When mud spills onto roadways, it is like ice, sometimes leading to serious accidents.

December 19, 2008

4 Die On Icy North Texas Roads

by Dr. Shezad Malik

DALLAS — Four people, including a 14-month-old toddler, died in accidents on icy roadways as a wintry storm moved through Texas over the past week.

Authorities blamed icy roads for all four traffic fatalities. In three of the four deadly accidents, Monday night and early Tuesday, the drivers of the vehicles were speeding on slick roads, officials said.

November 30, 2008

Texas Family Fights Insurance Company Over Car Wreck

by Dr. Shezad Malik

A man was fleeing from Texas police at speeds topping 100 mph, when he crossed into oncoming traffic, ran through stop signs before his pickup smashed into another driver’s car in an intersection.

The 1999 wreck left a 7-year-old boy comatosed for a week, in the hospital for a month and in physical therapy for five years.

The man was later charged with using his truck as a deadly weapon, jumped bail and disappeared. He left behind a $300,000 auto insurance policy, money the family hoped would pay for their son’s medical bills.

But Nationwide Insurance, declined to pay, saying man violated his insurance contract by leading police on a wild chase all but guaranteed to end in a horrific wreck. Two courts have agreed with Nationwide.

Now the Texas Supreme Court will decide who deserves the law’s protection: a family whose car was in the wrong place at the wrong time or an insurance company with a reckless and irresponsible client.

November 29, 2008

Dallas Funeral for Mexican Bridge Crash

by Dr. Shezad Malik

About 500 mourners attended a funeral service for the seven people who died this week in northern Mexico when their vehicle plunged into a river off an unfinished bridge that apparently lacked warning signs or barriers.

The mourners gathered at a west Dallas church, around the seven caskets containing the remains of three adults and four children who died in the accident, which occurred early Thankgiving morning as they drove from Texas to visit relatives.

The family were two miles from their destination, the village of El Mezquite, according to the uncle of one of the victims.

October 11, 2008

Dallas North Tollway Collision

by Dr. Shezad Malik

There was a Dallas North Tollway collision early last Saturday, when a man drove the wrong away. His car collided with two others, killing a female passenger in one of them.

A Dallas police officer noticed a Honda Accord driving north in the southbound lanes of the tollway about 1 a.m. Saturday. The Honda, continued north until near Walnut Hill Lane, where it slammed into a Lexus sedan. The Honda then collided with a Chevrolet pickup. The driver was unhurt.