Those of you that follow my blog know that I’m rarely excited about what goes on in the legislature. But the 2007 legislative session brought one great change. Following a tragic 2006 school bus crash, the legislature mandated that all school buses purchased after September 1, 2010 must have lap and shoulder belts to protect our kids.

That law was obviously slated to go into effect yesterday.  But now, the Texas Education Agency has slashed funding for the program, threatening its effect.  I’ve written a lot about school bus safety (and charter bus safety), and it really upsets me that the TEA is threatening the enforcement of this critically important legislation.

KXAN news reporter Josh Hinkle had a wonderful story about the issue last night, and he’s continued  the good work in his blog, where he summarized the Texas Transportation Institute’s study on the implementation of the bill.  For any of you interested in this, I urge you to read his blog and do what you can to help protect our kids.

His story is below:

Back to the property damage video series today.  Today I answer the question, “After a car wreck, am I entitled to compensation for the reduced value of my car?”  (And just a little disclaimer: all of these are based on Texas law.  If you’re out of state, talk to a lawyer in your own state.  If you don’t know anyone, feel free to give me a call, and I’ll try to get you a recommendation for someone in your area.)

After A Car Wreck, Am I Entitled To Compensation For The Reduced Value Of My Car? from brooks schuelke on Vimeo.

If you want to know more about the companies discussed in the answer, feel free to call or email me, and I’ll pass along that information.

Joe Smith, a client, was injured in a wreck.  He came to me much later, and we were talking about the changes in his life after his car wreck.  He mentioned several things, including the fact that he felt like he was upset with his wife and kids all the time.  I asked if he had seen a neurologist, and when he said, “no,” I suggested he see one.

A couple of weeks later, Joe called me back and told me that the neurologist had diagnosed him with a head injury. 

This isn’t unusual.  In my experience, a head injury is the most often over-looked injury resulting from car wreck cases.

And now we can learn something about it from the NFL.  With football season fast approaching  (this is game week, after all, for all of us Texas fans), the NFL is waging a campaign against head injuries, and their poster is one of the best aids I’ve seen to help players (and other people) protect themselves by making sure that brain injuries are diagnosed and treated. 

For those of us in the personal injury business, the key part of the poster may the portion that describes symptoms.  The poster says:

Different symptoms can occur and may not show up for several hours.  Common symptoms include:

• Confusion
• Headache
• Amnesia/difficulty remembering
• Balance problems
• Irritability
• Dizziness
• Difficulty concentrating
• Feeling sluggish, foggy or groggy
• Nausea
• Sensitivity to noise
• Sensitivity to light
• Double/fuzzy vision
• Slowed reaction time
• Feeling more emotional
• Sleep disturbance
• Loss of consciousness

It’s important that people injured in car wrecks also look for those symptoms.  And if you find those symptoms, even if they appear mild, tell your doctor.  You can never be too careful when it comes to your brain.

Today is the second part of our video series related to car wreck property damage claims.

When negotiating with the insurance company, it’s important to know the value of your car. In today’s short video, I discuss how you can learn what your car is worth.

What Is My Car Worth? from brooks schuelke on Vimeo.

We’re starting something new today because car wreck property damage claims seem to be an increasing problem and concern.  Generally, the property damage claims — the claims relating to your car damage — are easy to resolve.  But recently, I’ve had to file lawsuits in a couple of cases over property damage, and I’ve also received an increasing number of calls from potential clients worried about how they’re being treated in their property damage claims.

Because of this, I’m starting a new series of blog posts trying to answer basic questions about property damage claims.  I’m also going to be doing it a little differently because I’m going to do them as short videos.  I hope you find the series helpful.  (And please be forgiving.  I’m not Martin Scorsese; this is new to me.)  If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for the series, please let me know.

So, here’s the first in the series:  Why Won’t The Insurance Company Pay My Property Damage  Claim?  (and depending on your set-up, you might need to give it a few seconds to buffer).

Why Won’t The Insurance Company Pay My Property Damage Claim? from brooks schuelke on Vimeo.

  Can Facebook, Twitter, or other social media sites hurt your personal injury claim? 

You bet.

I’ve long posted on this site that I think it’s critical that injured persons hire lawyers that belong to the Texas Trial Lawyer’s Association, a group of plaintiff’s lawyers around the state that share work and ideas to help each other out.

But we’re not the only ones that do this.  Insurance defense lawyers have a similar organization called the Defense Research Institute, which publishes a newsletter called, “The Voice.”  An article in the June 9 issue was “Discovery of Social Networks: Getting It, Getting the Most Out of It, and Getting It Into Evidence.” 

I’m not going to talk about the substance of the article, but suffice it to say that the insurance companies and defense bar are well aware of the potential gold nuggets that they might find on claimants’ social media accounts.

So if you’re injured and engaging in social media, be smart.  Look at each post through the eyes of the jury, because eventually, they may be the ones judging you.

Kudos to public safety officials in Massachusetts for their hard work in reducing trucking accidents.

Three of the biggest safety hazards presented by the trucking industry are (1) too heavy of loads — which makes it more difficult to safely control the trucks; (2) improperly maintained vehicles; and (3) truckers driving beyond the allowed number of hours.

Police officers have long known that face inherent problems in trying to remedy these issues.

A story in yesterday’s Boston Globe talked about the problems and some of the measures that Massachusetts is taking to improve safety.

When talking about the problem, the story noted:

When a station is operating — we’ve all seen those illuminated open and closed signs — vehicles that meet the criteria must pull over or face a $500 fine. Theoretically, police just open shop and let violators come to them.

In reality, it doesn’t work that way. The moment a weigh station opens, truckers are on their CB radios spreading the news. Drivers with no alternative may pull over until the “closed’’ sign lights up. A company might even delay shipments to avoid inspections.

“It becomes a game of cat and mouse,’’ says Sergeant Peter Littlefield, head of truck enforcement at the State Police barracks in Concord. “A lot of the guys you get are the good guys. The bad guys go around you.’’

The story also pointed out:

Federal law prohibits truckers from driving more than 11 straight hours, but drivers frequently lie about shifts in order to make more money, police say.

But Massachusetts is fighting back.  Instead of the standard weigh stations, the state police have started using portable weigh stations that they can set up at known problem areas or at random points along the road.  And when they do it, they take the enforcement seriously.

The program seems to be working.  The number of fatal trucking accidents has decreased by 20 percent in recent years so that Massachusetts now has the lowest fatality rate in the country for accidents involving commercial vehicles.

Maybe we could use a little of that program in Texas?

What is the most dangerous part of most construction jobs?

Working in confined spaces.

Confined spaces present a number of dangers, including risks of fire, risks of suffocation, and risk of collapse (particularly in trenching situations).  These types of injuries become all too frequent when employers try to cut corners on safety rules.

Recently, a tragedy in Sioux City, Iowa really brought those dangers to light.  Several workers in North Sioux City were working to unclog a sewer line when the men were overcome by sewer gas, resulting in the death of two of the workers.  As is often the case in these types of tragedies, the early reports indicate that safety rules were being ignored, leading to the risks.  OSHA and IOSH (Iowa’s equivalent of OSHA) will be investigating  the confined space issues.

Most in the construction industry know the risks associated with working in confined spaces, and there are a number of regulations and safety rules designed to make these situations as safe as possible.  If these rules are followed, these types of deaths don’t have to happen. And yet, they do.  Instead of trying to figure out ways to cut corners, Texas construction companies would do well to take a minute and look at the Iowa situation to see what we can learn from that tragedy.

My friend Steve Lombardi, of the Lombardi Law Firm in Des Moines, is doing a good job of covering the story.  If you’re interested in learning more, check out his blog.  You can also check out the following:

• Did the Sioux City Sewer Pipe Workers Receive Confined Space Training?
• North Sioux City Sewer Line Worker Death Is Covered By Worker’s Comp
• OSHA Investigates N. Sioux Sewer Death
• OSHA Investigating Deaths of Iowa Men in SD Sewer
• Trench Safety

A person filing a personal injury claim really needs the expertise of an attorney. This will ensure a fair settlement.

Those who have been hurt in an accident have a variety of options to seek recompense for their injuries. The most frequently pursued avenue is filing a personal injury lawsuit asking for damages for their pain and suffering and even loss of wages from being off work. Filing claims needs to be done just the right way, or there is a real risk that the settlement offer will not be fair.

“Personal injury accident claims really do need to be filed by an experienced attorney, even if you think hiring one may be too expensive. Those that try handling claims on their own have not been terribly successful in obtaining a fair settlement, simply because the insurance companies will aim to keep the settlement low and/or deny it. Insurance companies are not your friends, and don’t make the mistake of chatting to them like they were. Anything you say to them may come back later in a manner that will surprise you,” explained Brooks Schuelke, an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP.

One thing that people need to remember about personal injury litigation is that attorneys tend to work on a contingency fee basis, which in a nutshell means if they win the case, they take a percentage of the settlement. If they lose the case, the plaintiff usually pays nothing, although some attorneys do bill for paperwork, photocopying, etc.

“The biggest advantage a car wreck victim has in hiring an Austin personal injury lawyer to handle their case, is the fact that the attorneys deal with the insurance company. The attorney knows precisely what to do and what say to get them to do right by you and your claim. That is why their experience is so invaluable when it comes to netting you a fair settlement,” added Schuelke.

“For those who are contemplating doing a claim on their own, if your injuries only seem to be minor and you settle for a low amount because that is all you think you will need, don’t be surprised if that minor neck injury turns out to be serious whiplash and disables you from working for a few months. If you have already settled your claim, you can’t reopen it and do it over. That means having to pay for any further expenses out of your own pocket,” Schuelke advised.

If that kind of scenario does happen, there has been no money saved by not hiring an attorney. In fact, there may be “more” spent on paying for extra medical bills; bills that could have been paid for with a fair and equitable settlement. Most injured people have no idea how to assess an injury’s economic worth. If they underestimate it or ignore it, they have potentially cheated themselves out of a lot of money and opened the door to physical problems down the road.

“You really should know that insurance companies will often send out adjusters who will swoop in and try to get you to settle early and settle low. They do this before you know the true extent of your injuries and know what legal rights you have. Unfortunately, many adjusters don’t explain the nature of the settlement they’re advocating the victim sign, and they are known to make misrepresentations about the victim being able to bring future claims,” clarified Austin personal injury lawyer Schuelke.

Contact Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP at http://www.civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

In the first two parts of this short balcony collapse series, I’ve looked at the potential liability of the owner and the liability of the engineer or architect that designed the balcony.

Today, I’ll try and answer, “Does the builder or contractor have any potential liability relating to the balcony collapse?”

And the answer is, “Yes.”   When a contractor or builder doesn’t build a building or other structure properly, then the builder faces liability for injuries caused by the improper construction.

Like the cases against the designer, these cases are often negligence cases.  To prevail, the injured person will have to prove that the builder’s improper actions led to the injuries.  From what’s been reported in the news so far, it seems clear that the builder didn’t get the proper permits and inspections for the work.

But the liability of a contractor can go much further than that.  Did the builder construct the deck in accordance with the design?  Did the builder use the types of materials called for in the plans — the right support, joists, fasteners, etc?  Did the builder make sure that he hired competent employees/contractors to work on the project?  All of these will need to examined in any future litigation.

Another potential problem that builders face in a number of these residential construction jobs is that the builder tries to act as the designer, either formally drawing up plans or just having a rough sketch or idea of the finished product in mind.  These would be clear mistakes by the builder.  Most builders aren’t qualified to make the engineering calculations necessary to determine what design is necessary to support the expected balcony load, and they likely know they aren’t qualified.  In these situations, the builder might be opening himself to liability not only for the actual damages the injured people sustain, but also possible punitive damages.