PersonalInjury

BED HANDLES

2011-08-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

Public Citizen, a non-profit public interest organization, has filed a complaint with the Food and Drug administration requesting that the agency ban the marketing of bed handles by Bed Handles Inc. contending that their bed handles (aka bed rail devices) cause life threating injuries or death due to entrapment and strangulation or suffocation. These bed handles are for home use and should not be confused with the bed handles used in hospitals. These bed handles create a gap between the bed handles and the mattress. The patient can slip into this gap becoming trapped.

Public Citizen has requested that the FDA investigate if this problem occurs in bed handles manufactured by different firms. According to Public Citizen the FDA has reviewed 5 cases of entrapment since 1999 of people trapped by Bedside Assistant. 4 of those cases resulted in death and one case involved a life-threatening incident. Similar bed handles are made by other companies.

If you are aware of a person injured or killed by bed handles, you should notify the FDA and advise the injured person or the family members to contact their family lawyer. Prompt attention to investigation of such accidents is the key to success.

Ben A. Goff, Attorney

Mitchell, Goff & Mitchell LLP

(disclosure of interest. Ben A. Goff is an attorney representing parties involved in personal injury accidents including products liability cases)

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR EMPLOYER DOESN'T HAVE WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE

2011-06-15T14:12:00.000-07:00

Texas is an unusual state in that it does not require an employer to carry workers compensation insurance. The cases against such employers are know as "non-subscriber" cases.

If your employer has workers compensation coverage, then you should report the injury to The Texas Insurance Department, Workers Compensation Division, 1-800-252-7031. You probably do not need an attorney if your benefits are paid and medical attention is furnished. If you have a more serious claim, one involving permanent disability or scarring or if your claim has been refused, you probably need an attorney. Although we do not handle this type of case, we can refer you to an attorney that does. We do not charge any fee for this service.

Many employers have a small accident policy that pays medical bills and for some loss of income. This is not workers compensation insurance. In cases of serious injury or death, we will review this employee benefit plan to determine if you have other rights. There is no charge for this review. Call 214 651 8218 for an appointment.

If your injury is serious and there is no workers compensation insurance, you may have a "non-subscriber" case. These cases are very technical and usually require an attorney. This is what we do. Call 214 651 8218 for an appointment.

In Texas an employer is required to furnish you with a safe place to work. If you are seriously injured because your employer did not furnish you with a safe place to work or otherwise caused your injury and the injury was not the result of your sole negligence, he must pay for your medical treatment, damages for your lost wages, your pain and suffering, your permanent disability, and your future loss or wages. Please call 214 651 8218, we may be able to help.

Take a look at us and what we have been able to do for others. Visit our website, http://www.mitchellgoff.com/ Then call 214 651 8218 for an appointment.

This information is provided only to help and is not legal advice. Response is not a contract for us to represent you. We cannot take action for you if you do not sign a contract of representation.

Ben A. Goff, attorney

214 651 8218

Mitchell, Goff & Mitchell. L.L.P.

IMPOSSIBLE SMOKE ALARM CASE

2011-06-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

As happens in most cases that come to our office, we were presented with a problem faced by our client. His family was shattered by a fire in their apartment that killed his wife and two of his children. There was no obvious cause for the fire and the owner of the apartment house was denying responsibility. Proper smoke alarms were not installed in the apartment. The case had been reviewed by two other law firms and declined as Texas has a statute that exempts a property owner from liability unless a written request is made for a smoke alarm. Carmen Mitchell of our firm determined that since the apartment was HUD housing that other laws applied and that although the property owner was freed from liability, the management company of the apartment was not. The case was tried to verdict for her clients and settled after verdict for a substantial amount of money.

Under guards on big rigs often fail in crashes

2011-03-09T17:09:00.000-08:00

This news release shows that there may be a basis for a claim against a trucker even in a case where the truck is rear ended.

News Release | March 1, 2011

Underride guards on big rigs often fail in crashes; Institute petitions government for new standard

ARLINGTON, VA — New crash tests and analysis by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety demonstrate that underride guards on tractor-trailers can fail in relatively low-speed crashes — with deadly consequences. The Institute is petitioning the federal government to require stronger underride guards that will remain in place during a crash and to mandate guards for more large trucks and trailers.

Rear guards are the main countermeasure for reducing underride deaths and injuries when a passenger vehicle crashes into the back of a tractor-trailer. In 2009, 70 percent of the 3,163 people who died in all large truck crashes were occupants of cars or other passenger vehicles. Underride makes death or serious injury more likely since the upper part of the passenger vehicle's occupant compartment typically crushes as the truck body intrudes into the vehicle safety cage.

"Cars' front-end structures are designed to manage a tremendous amount of crash energy in a way that minimizes injuries for their occupants," says Adrian Lund, Institute president. "Hitting the back of a large truck is a game changer. You might be riding in a vehicle that earns top marks in frontal crash tests, but if the truck's underride guard fails — or isn't there at all — your chances of walking away from even a relatively low-speed crash aren't good.

"The Institute has studied the underride crash problem for more than 30 years, including mid-1970s crash tests demonstrating how then-current guards were ineffective in preventing underride.

In the latest study the Institute analyzed case files from the Large Truck Crash Causation Study, a federal database of roughly 1,000 real-world crashes in 2001-03, to identify crash patterns leading to rear underride of heavy trucks and semi-trailers with and without guards. Underride was a common outcome of the 115 crashes involving a passenger vehicle striking the back of a heavy truck or semi-trailer. Only 22 percent of the crashes didn't involve underride or had only negligible underride, a finding in line with prior studies. In 23 of the 28 cases in which someone in the passenger vehicle died, there was severe or catastrophic underride damage, meaning the entire front end or more of the vehicle slid beneath the truck.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has estimated that about 423 people in passenger vehicles die each year when their vehicles strike the backs of large trucks. More than 5,000 passenger vehicle occupants are injured.

Crash tests: The study raised questions about how and why guards failed and at what speeds, so the Institute conducted crash tests evaluating 3 semi-trailer rear guards complying with US rules. Two of the trailers also are certified to Canadian requirements, which are more stringent than the United States when it comes to strength and energy absorption. The tests involved crashing a 2010 Chevrolet Malibu into the rear of parked trailers.

The goal wasn't to evaluate the Malibu's crashworthiness. The midsize sedan is an InstituteTOP SAFETY PICK and earns a 5-star safety rating in NHTSA's New Car Assessment Program.

"The aim was to see if some underride guards perform better than others and to identify what crash speeds and configurations produce different types of failure," Lund says. "Damage to the cars in some of these tests was so devastating that it's hard to watch the footage without wincing. If these had been real-world crashes there would be no survivors."

Decapitation is a serious threat in underrides. In 3 of the crash tests the heads of the dummies in the car made contact with either the intruding trailer or the car's hood after it tore free and pushed into the occupant compartment. One such test involved a Hyundai trailer whose underride guard bent forward, sheared its attachment bolts, and broke after the Malibu hit it in the center rear at 35 mph. This was the weakest guard tested. The trailer was manufactured by Hyundai Translead.

This is how a car looks after a 35 mph full-width crash into the rear of a Hyundai trailer with a weak underride guard.

This is a car after a 35 mph full-width crash into a Wabash trailer with a strong guard. The occupant compartment is intact.

In contrast, a Wabash trailer outfitted with a guard certified to Canadian specifications successfully prevented underride of the Malibu's passenger compartment in a center-rear test at 35 mph. The trailer was made by Wabash National Corp. Its guard was the strongest of the 3 evaluated.

"Strong attachments kept the Wabash guard in place so it could engage the Malibu, allowing the car's structure to absorb and manage the crash energy," Lund says. "In the real world, this would be a survivable crash."

Offset tests: The Institute also ran tests with overlaps of 50 percent and 30 percent to find out what happens when a car hits the trailer with only part of its front instead of head-on.

In a 35 mph test with a 50 percent overlap, the guard on a Vanguard trailer allowed severe underride. The trailer was made by Vanguard National Trailer Corp., and the guard is certified to US and Canadian standards. In contrast, the Wabash trailer's guard successfully prevented underride in the same test. The outcome for the Wabash was different when the overlap was reduced to 30 percent. The struck end of the guard bent forward, and there was severe underride.

This test shows that even the strongest guard left as much as half of the rear of the trailer vulnerable to severe underride. The guard only worked as intended when the striking car engaged the center.

SEVERE UNDERRIDE was the result of this 35 mph, 50 percent overlap crash test with a Vanguard trailer.

NO UNDERRIDE resulted when the car struck the back of the Wabash trailer in the same overlap test at 35 mph.

Offset tests stress guards' unsupported outboard ends. The vertical frame supports that attach guards to their trailer chassis are closer to guards' centers than ends. Preventing underride in narrow overlap crashes like these might mean devising a new way of attaching guards to trailers to utilize the side rails, in addition to requiring manufacturers to conduct compliance tests with guards on trailers.

"Under current certification standards, the trailer, underride guard, bolts, and welding don't have to be tested as a whole system," Lund says. "That's a big part of the problem. Some manufacturers do test guards on the trailer. We think all guards should be evaluated this way. At the least, all rear guards should be as strong as the best one we tested."

Another problem is that regulatory gaps allow many heavy trucks to forgo guards altogether. When they are present on exempt trucks, guards don't have to meet 1996 rules for strength or energy absorption.

"Underride standards haven't kept pace with improvements in passenger vehicle crashworthiness," Lund says. "Absent regulation, there's little incentive for manufacturers to improve underride countermeasures, so we hope NHTSA will move quickly on our petition."

Mitchell, Goff & Mitchell, LLP

10440 North Central Expressway, Suite 1100

Dallas, TX 75231

214-651-8218

The duty of a landlord to supply a smoke alarm.

2011-03-09T08:05:00.000-08:00

Smoke detectors properly installed and maintained can reduce fire deaths and injuries. There are two types of smoke detectors; Ionization, and photoelectric smoke detector available for residential use. They might be battery powered or hard wired, with or without a backup battery.

Ionization Smoke Detectors

The majority of residential detectors are ionization detectors. They respond more quickly to the presence of numerous small particles, such as those produced by a flaming or fast fire.

Photoelectric Detectors

Photoelectric detectors use beam of light directed into a chamber. Smoke particles enter the chamber and interfere with the light activing the alarm.They are well suited for areas subject to fires such as kitchens. They minimize unwanted alarms from cooking or humidity.

Combination Smoke Detectors

Combination smoke detectors include both ionization and photoelectric sensors in a single unit. Texas requires this type of unit.

A Texas statue places a duty on the landlord to install smoke detector or alarms, Property Code, Section 92.255 et seq This statute applies to all types of of residential rental housing including mobile homes. It is the duty of the landlord before you move in to install and test the smoke detector. The smoke detector must be designed to detect both the visible and invisible products of a fire.

It is important to determine type of smoke detector in your unit. The importance of knowing the type of smoke detector is that they detect different types of fires, some are better at detecting fast hot fires and other detect slow smoldering fires. The difference may mean the difference in life or death in the event of a fire. You have the right to know what type of smoke detector was installed and it's characteristics. The most common failures of smoke detectors are improper installation, improper location and improper maintenance. If you have a question about whether your unit is properly equipped contact the local fire department. They will generally inspect the detector on request.

If you a victim of a fire, try to learn what type of smoke alarm was installed, where it was installed, by whom and operating condition.

For more information about smoke detectors, visit:

http://products.howstuffworks.com/smoke-carbon-monoxide-detector-reviews.htm

For more information on fire prevention, visit:

http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/fire/fmpo.html

For more information about our law firm visit our web site.

Mitchell, Goff & Mitchell, L.L.P.

10440 North Central Expressway

Dallas, Texas 75231

214 651 8218

Areas of practice which allow specialization

2010-07-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

What are the areas of specialization in Texas?

There are twenty areas of practice which allow specialization:

· Administrative,

· Business Bankruptcy,

· Civil Appellate,

· Civil Trial,

· Consumer Bankruptcy,

· Consumer and Commercial,

· Criminal,

· Estate Planning and Probate,

· Family,

· Health,

· Immigration and Nationality,

· Juvenile,

· Labor and Employment,

· Oil, Gas and Mineral,

· Personal Injury Trial,

· Commercial Real Estate,

· Residential Real Estate,

· Farm and Ranch Real Estate,

· Tax and Workers' Compensation Law..

To become Board Certified in a specialty area, an attorney must have:

· Been licensed to practice law for at least five years;

· Devoted a required percentage of practice to a specialty area for at least three years;

· Handled a wide variety of matters in the area to demonstrate experience and involvement;

· Attended continuing education seminars regularly to keep legal training up to date;

· Been evaluated by fellow lawyers and judges;

· Passed a 6-hour written examination.

For more information see the web site for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

What kind of client do we want?

2010-07-16T13:47:00.000-07:00

What kind of client do we want?

First, we do not want clients who just go down a list and hire the first lawyer who answers the phone. You are important to us. Give us time to help you.

Second, law suits are serious business so we want clients who take their cases seriously. Client who take the time to determine what type of lawyer they need. Who ask is the lawyer certified by the Bar of the State of Texas to specialize in the area of law they need. The experience of the lawyer in the area of the law needed. The results the lawyer has had in the past in handling cases similar to your case. Has the lawyer been reviewed by other lawyers.

Third, are you seriously injured by the careless conduct of a financially responsible third party? Your injury is probably serious enough to pursue if you have taken the time to evaluate us and think we can help you. You will need help in evaluating whether the third party conduct is the basis for pursuing a claim. Is the third party financially responsible? We can help you determine this.

We are serious about our business. If you are serious about your claim, call us at 214 651 8218 to arrange an appointment. There is no charge for the evaluation.

Mitchell, Goff & Mitchell, L.L.P.

10440 North Central Expressway

Dallas, Texas 75231

214 651 8218

ERISA Remedies

2010-04-20T13:29:00.000-07:00

CIGNA HealthCare of Texas, Inc. v. Calad et al., and Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila held that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) completely took the place of all common law or statutory remedies of the employees and dismissed their claims for damages. The plaintiffs were left with only equitable remedies against the plan. Most plans have built in procedures to appeal benefit denial decisions that must be followed. Employees may in the event of a denial pursue equitable remedies in federal court. It has been suggested that they also demand arbitration under the Texas healthcare liability act, but this would seem to be a precluded legal remedy unless it was included in the plan.