Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm has offices based in Fort Worth and Dallas and represents people who have suffered catastrophic and serious personal injuries including wrongful death, caused by the negligence or recklessness of others. We specialize in Personal Injury trial litigation and focus our energy and efforts on those we represent.
Some bus companies are still underinsured or not insured at all. Federal law says that all bus companies have to be registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety administration and carry a DOT number if they are transporting passengers across state lines.
Bus Companies Must Carry Insurance
Bus companies must carry a $1.5 million insurance policy if they carry less than 15 passengers and a $5 million policy if they carry more than 15 passengers.
According to a new report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 25% of fatal automobile accidents are associated with drivers who were tired or fell asleep behind the wheel. There are significant and deadly risks associated with drowsy driving.
In the most recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a study demonstrated that at least one out of every 25 drivers admitted to falling asleep behind the wheel over the last month.
Binge Drinking Risk
Plaintiff Cobalt Death Claims
Megan Phillips, aged 17, was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt with two friends in Wisconsin when the ignition switch moved to the “accessory” position and cut power to the car. The Cobalt hit a telephone junction box and two trees and the air bags didn’t deploy. Phillips was seriously injured and her two passengers were killed.
According to a New York Times investigation, the engineers at General Motors knew about a dangerous and faulty ignition switch back in 2009. At a meeting on May 15, 2009, they knew that data in the black boxes of Chevrolet Cobalts confirmed a potentially fatal defect existed in thousands of cars.
According to legal documents, G.M. told the families of accident victims and other customers that it did not have enough evidence of any defect in their cars. In February, G.M. recalled 1.6 million Cobalts and other models, saying that if the switch was bumped or weighed down it could shut off the engine’s power and disable air bags.
G.M. Denied Liability Repeatedly
General Motors (GM) Co., is exposed to a barrage of lawsuits in the U.S. and Canada over faulty ignition switches. According to sources, GM was served with the first wrongful-death suit involving two fatalities in a 2006 car crash. GM recalled 1.6 million vehicles in February.
Plaintiff Cobalt Death Claims
Megan Phillips, aged 17, was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt with two friends in Wisconsin when the ignition switch moved to the “accessory” position and cut power to the car. The Cobalt hit a telephone junction box and two trees and the air bags didn’t deploy. Phillips was seriously injured and her two passengers were killed.
According to the New York Times, Toyota has decided to enter into a global settlement over sudden acceleration death and injury cases. The announcement comes two months after a Toyota Camry’s electronic throttle system was found to be defective by an Oklahoma jury.
The jury found that Toyota had acted with “reckless disregard,” despite reports of problems in the cars, and was liable for a crash in 2005 that killed one woman and injured another.Toyota Motor Corporation and lawyers pursuing claims alleging the company’s vehicles suddenly accelerated, causing deaths or injuries, will begin an “intensive settlement process” to resolve the lawsuits.
U.S. District Judge James V. Selna in Santa Ana, California, on Friday December 13, issued an order halting the suits after Toyota and the lawyers asked for time to try settling the cases. Selna was scheduled to hear the first trial in March of about 200 federal claims consolidated before him.
I am providing this important update regarding car safety and car accidents. Since our Fort Worth car accident lawyers have represented injury victims for many years we understand that while some accidents are unavoidable the extent of the injuries often depends on the safety of the cars involved.
Very often, the difference between a safe car and one that fails to meet national standards can mean the difference between simply walking away from an accident or being seriously injured or killed.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) is a not-for-profit group financed entirely by the insurance industry. As a Tarrant traffic accident lawyer, we study closely the recently released IIHS 2012 list of Top Safety Picks, with a record breaking 115 passenger vehicles receiving the distinction of being a Top Safety Pick. Utilizing the IIHS study will help drivers make better-informed selections about the cars they drive.
As a Texas Medical doctor and Fort Worth Personal Attorney, I am providing this commentary regarding the state of traffic in our Great State of Texas, particularly in the Dallas Forth Worth Metroplex.
Car accidents in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex
I was sitting here in my office on a Friday afternoon, before the long holiday weekend for Labor Day, when I browsed this interesting article that I would like to share.
As a Dallas Car Accident Attorney I am providing this update regarding the most dangerous time for car accidents in Dallas.
Minimizing risk is not about when you are on the road, but how careful you are while on the road. The most dangerous month, is August, and Saturday the most dangerous day, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Auto accidents kill more than 40,000 people in the U.S. each year; they are the No. 1 cause of death for people between the ages of 1 and 34.
Time of Day Does Matter According to the the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, IIHS, an average 6.6 people are killed between the hours of 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and another 6.6 between the hours of 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Those rates are the overall highest of any time during the day. In 2007, 14,055 people were killed in the 5 p.m. hour. But the hours between midnight and 4 a.m. have the highest number of fatalities when calculated as a percentage of the amount of people on the road, according to AAA. During that time, statistically speaking, 5.87 per 100 million people on the road will be killed.
Time of day plays an important role in evaluating fatal crashes, because other dangerous factors are increased at night. Drunk driving, speeding and driving without a safety belt all increase during the night hours and each factor contributes directly to increased fatality rates.
Speeding is a factor in 30% of all fatal crashes, according to the NHTSA. 18% of fatal crashes during the day are alcohol-related, while 54% of crashes at night are alcohol-related. Two out of three the people killed at night are not wearing a seat belt.
Nationwide, 49% of fatal crashes happen at night, with a fatality rate per mile of travel about three times as high as daytime hours. During the day, the percentage of unrestrained fatalities tends to be under half.
The fewest deaths by crash in 2007, the latest year with complete data, happened early in the morning, between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Those hours see significantly less traffic–only 9% of the average amount during peak hours.
Mid-week days like Tuesday and Wednesday also pose the lowest number of fatalities, both averaging fewer drivers and 96 and 100 deaths per day, respectively. So the answer is if you want to drive without getting killed, limit your driving to Tuesday and Wednesday morning, between 4 and 5 am. Hardly a practical solution to this epidemic.
Weekends–when the greatest number of people are on the road–predictably see the highest numbers of crash victims, with a combined average of 143 deaths for Saturday and Sunday, according to the IIHS.
As a Dallas Car Accident DUI Attorney, I am reporting this tragic pedestrian monster car wrongful death accident.
The parents of a Granbury college student who was struck and killed by a monster truck outside a Dallas strip club, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the driver of the truck and the club.
The lawsuit comes after Kasey McKenzie, 23, was killed while leaving with friends after a party at the Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club shortly after 2 a.m. when Eric Crutchfield, pulled his custom 2003 Ford F-250 truck out of a parking space and ran over her with both front and rear tires.McKenzie died at the scene.
The lawsuit claims that the club was negligent when bartenders served Crutchfield past the legal limit of intoxication and allowed him to get in his vehicle and drive, even though it was apparent he was drunk, according to the parent’s lawyer.
The lawsuit also claims that Crutchfield was driving with a suspended license and was so intoxicated at the time of McKenzie’s death that he didn’t know he had hit anyone.
Crutchfield’s truck had a lift kit that limited his field of vision and was not in keeping with federal and state regulations.
The Dallas resident was charged with intoxication manslaughter after his blood alcohol level was shown to be 0.18, more than twice the legal limit at 0.08, according to Dallas police spokesman Kevin Janse.
Dallas Fort Worth Injury Lawyer Blog