Sadly, it appears that these two issues led to a fatal boating accident over the weekend.   Four boaters from Midland were involved in a wreck on Lake LBJ when their boat hit granite outcroppings just after midnight Saturday.  One of the boaters, Karah Brooks, was killed.  The three other boaters, James Murdock, Michala Murdock and Trey Harper, were injured.

Emphasizing the importance of what I’ve been preaching, the investigating officer noted that the wreck occurred in a part of the lake that is particularly difficult to navigate, particularly at night or for someone who isn’t familiar with the lake.

Once again, I urge you to please be careful out there.  None of us ever think we’re going to be in an accident, especially a deadly one.  You can minimize the risk that you are the unexpected victims by just being aware of the problems, using common sense, and following  a few simple safety rules.  For the sake of you and your family, please do that.

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2. Have A Safe Boating Weekend
3. Boating While Intoxicated & Other Ways To Get Sued While Boating

“Just about anyone that has ever worked on a construction site realizes that accidents can and do happen, despite safety measures and other precautions. While most people figure the main reason for accidents is working with scaffolding or heavy, moving equipment, many of them don’t realize that construction site elevators are often the source of an injury,” recounted Brooks Schuelke, an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP.

Elevators on a work site definitely have their uses and are helpful for moving workers between floors or taking heavy equipment from one place to another without the hassle of using stairs. The problem is, elevators are places where a great many workers have sustained injuries while on the job. “If an onsite work injury is sustained, you may be able to claim workers’ compensation benefits or seek other remedies depending on the facts. However, not all claims go as they should and it’s a smart move to have the help of an experienced lawyer,” added Schuelke.

“Many of the accidents that we tend to see in practice related to working with elevators are falls, cuts, abrasions, lacerations, amputations, people trapped between the elevator and shaft wall, and doors opening onto an empty shaft. Other accidents happen during ascent, descent, stops or while accelerating,” he observed.

Getting hurt on the job often devastates those who were injured. The recovery time may be anywhere from weeks to years. “You may face astronomical medical bills, lose wages or your job, pay for therapy and medications, and never quite be the same again. While it helps to file a claim, in many instances there may be issues with that claim and they result in delays you can’t afford since you are injured,” commented Schuelke.

In addition to possible delays in dealing with claims, the whole process of filing a workplace injury claim is often not only complicated, but frustrating when all the worker wants to do is file a claim and get compensation for their injuries. “This is yet another reason why it’s a good idea to have an experienced lawyer help you. Workplace injuries have a way of becoming other things over time if they are not treated effectively and promptly,” said Schuelke.

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

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3. Present Value Calculation for Death Compensation

It’s hard enough to handle the fact that you suddenly lost a loved one due to the negligence of another, let alone understand how to calculate wrongful death compensation. These cases definitely need the skill of an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer to navigate the choppy waters surrounding death calculations and how an award is translated to present day dollars.

Texas wrongful death claims are unusual. When a person is wrongfully killed, the claims are governed by the Texas Wrongful Death and Survival statute. This statute describes who can sue in a death claim and what damages they may recover.

When a person is wrongfully killed, the person’s estate has a “survival claim.” The estate has the right to seek damages for any medical or funeral expenses that the person incurred as a result of the incident, plus claims for any pain and mental anguish the deceased might have experienced before his or her death.

The statute also allows some family members to make a “wrongful death” claim. In Texas, the only people that can make a wrongful death claim are the deceased’s spouse, children and parents. The spouse and children get to ask for damages of pecuniary loss (loss of care, maintenance, support, services and advice that the person would have provided), loss of companionship, mental anguish, and loss of inheritance. Surviving parents may also seek these damages, except the loss of inheritance damages.

Needless to say, it can be extremely confusing and complicated.

Loss of inheritance is based on the lost income of the person killed. Future lost income is usually figured out based on the amount of income a victim would have earned had they not been killed. This may be calculated by taking the deceased’s income when they died and then multiplying it by the years left until retirement (and finding a formula to compensate for increases in income the person would have received) or until their expected death. As you may have already guessed, retirement ages differ from one person to the next and when a person dies is based on complicated actuarial tables.

An example of how this would work would be a 50-year-old man making $40,000 a year when he was killed and was not banking on retiring for another 15 years. That individual’s income, when he was killed, would be multiplied by the number of years he had left to work. That would be $40,000 x 15 years which would make his future losses of $600,000 (give or take).

The fly in the ointment is accounting for raises the person would have received and reducing the overall value to present day dollars because Texas law requires awards of future income to be “discounted” to present value. In many cases, one of the biggest fights is the fight among each side’s economists arguing about the way these two calculations should be done.

Something to remember is that wrongful death compensation figures are not always calculated the same way simply because of the presence or absence of various factors may be different in each case. The only way to get a good idea of what compensation may be in a wrongful death case is to discuss the matter with an Austin personal injury lawyer. They would be able to outline how the process works and what you could expect to see during the course of the trial.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

Related posts:

1. Serious Personal Injury Demands Higher Compensation
2. Wrongful Death and the Babysitter

A story in today’s Dallas Morning News talks about two of the worst offenders.    According to the article, the Morning News analyzed Texas Department of  Insurance complaints and found that Fred Loya and Old American County Mutual (which is owned or run in part by Loya) both far exceed other insurance companies under the state’s “complaint index.”   And then the article gives some examples showing the shoddy treatment that people in wrecks had received from these two companies.

When you’re hit by another driver, you don’t get to choose what insurance company they have.  You’re at their mercy, and the company (and even the individual adjuster signed to  your claim) can make a big difference in how the case proceeds.

But you do get to pick your own insurance company, and you should factor in how that company might respond.  For example, I recently filed a case against Fred Loya on an underinsured motorist claim  (uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is coverage you may purchase on your own policy in case the person that hits you doesn’t have any or enough insurance ).   Fred Loya told me that they were denying coverage because the driver of the car was excluded under the policy.  But when I requested that they provide copies of the policy or other documents to support that claim, they would never respond.  So I filed suit.  Surely you’d expect your own insurance company to get back to you, but that wasn’t the case here.

The article was important for another thing — pointing out that the insurance department has little power over the insurance companies.  As the article said: 

For example, the department cannot force a company to pay a disputed claim if there is no violation of the law.  Also, the agency cannot decide who is at fault in an accident.  

That means that those of us that are trial lawyers are the last defense you have to help wrong these rights.

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3. Because they’re an insurance company…

“If you think it’s bad enough figuring out who is to blame in car accidents, wait until you have been involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler. Apportioning blame in those cases can be very difficult,” remarked Brooks Schuelke, an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP.

In every accident case there tends to be a number of variables that could be blamed for the accident. For instance, the roads, the weather, actions of other drivers, poor mechanical maintenance, defective tires, brakes or other factors could be cited. Of course, there is also the human factor, which many drivers would like to ignore and point their finger at the other guy. Nonetheless, finding out who was directly responsible for a truck crash is often very complex.

In the “usual” car crash scenario, typically each person is responsible for their own actions. That means a car driver who is reckless and causes a collision is usually held responsible and accountable for their actions. Taking this one step further, if an auto maker (like Toyota) sells a car with a defective braking system, they may be (and have been) brought to account.

“In cases involving 18-wheelers, liability often isn’t clear at all because the question becomes whether or not the trucker is the responsible party at fault or whether the trucking “company” acted in such a way that made the collision possible. For example, did the trucking company hire someone that wasn’t qualified or cut corners on safety requirements, such as allowing a driver under the influence to take their truck on the road?” questioned Schuelke.

Questions like this tend to hover about the outside edges of a trucking crash investigation and many of the answers are not that clear unless there is an in-depth investigation – something an Austin personal injury attorney would conduct. Their main goal to serve their client is to get a settlement that reflects the serious nature of the crash, not let the insurance company offer a lowball settlement based on a cursory examination of the crash site.

Many of the reasons for big rig accidents tend to fall into certain categories, ones that many personal injury lawyers see over the years of practicing law. The most common causes of semi accidents are usually related to hours of service violations, negligent hiring, lack of proper training, the trucker DUI, improper cargo loading, driving while fatigued, reckless driving, texting while driving, and truck malfunctions and defects.

In a serious trucking accident, the trucking company will have investigators on the scene within hours, if not earlier. Because of this, victims are always at a disadvantage in investigating the case. And if the victim of the 18-wheeler wreck doesn’t do what he or she can to investigate early, then evidence may be lost forever.

The end results of being involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler are never that good and you may need all the legal help you can get to secure enough compensation for your future. “Don’t delay talking to an experienced lawyer, or you may miss the opportunity to fully investigate your case,” advised Schuelke.

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

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2. Even with Icy Roads, Drivers Should Adjust Their Speed Accordingly
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If someone has been involved in a really bad accident and is severely injured – badly enough to never be the same person they were before the accident – their injuries are called catastrophic. It’s an apt choice of words, since it means life-altering. Unfortunately, negligent acts often result in someone’s life being turned upside down so that they require full time medical care with no hope of total recovery.

There are some catastrophic personal injuries that may be quite well managed with good medical attention and actually allow the victim a fairly decent recovery. Other injuries are so debilitating that they result in long-term incapacity, a multitude of various serious illnesses, and even a shorter life span.

In cases like this, you really need to speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer to get an idea of how to proceed with a case to obtain compensation for your injuries. You will want to deal with a lawyer that has an excellent grasp of the nature and type of injuries that you have and who understands the significant life hurdles you will be facing in the future. For instance, a catastrophic injury may mean that for the rest of your life, you will be seeing doctors, participating in therapy or having regular reconstructive surgery.

Once your Austin personal injury lawyer knows the long-term consequences of your injuries, they are better prepared to go to bat for you in court to get the right compensation for your future. Another example would be if someone has a spinal cord injury and was facing a life of dependency and inability to ever walk again or someone with traumatic brain injury may become a totally different person because of damage to the brain. They would face a life of constant therapy to allow them to try and cope with their altered reality of the world in which they live.

If you have been badly injured in an accident, don’t wait. Speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer as soon as you can. Your future recovery may depend on it.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

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This case is a difficult one and one that the plaintiff never dreamed would ever happen. The story unfolded fairly quietly to begin with when 23-year-old Karl Ruby (names have been changed to protect the victim and their family) went to a Tucson hospital to have a biopsy on his right testicle. It was evidently his understanding that the procedure would remain a simple biopsy, unless the biopsy showed the presence of cancer.

When Ruby woke up and found out he had lost his testicle, he assumed, as he had been told earlier, that he had cancer and that was why it was removed. Just a little over a week later during a follow-up appointment he got some stunning news – he did not have cancer. This revelation prompted Ruby to take his case to a medical malpractice lawyer and sue the hospital and the doctors involved in his surgery.

The case made it to court where the jury heard that Ruby had been in an alcohol related roll over, and went to the hospital for pain, which he thought was a result of the accident. The hospital subsequently phoned him and said he had a mass in his right testicle and needed a biopsy. Ruby went to the doctor who said he has a mass on his “left” testicle and calcium buildup on his right. He later corrected the choice of testicle after an ultrasound to the right testicle showed a mass. A biopsy was talked about again with the physician indicating the testicle would only be removed if cancerous.

This is the point where things got confusing, as the doctor supposedly told Ruby he’d do an excisional biopsy – meaning do the tests after the testicle was removed. Ruby said that was not right and he was later informed the mass was a hematoma. The defendants claim Ruby knew doctors could not do a biopsy without removing the testicle to avoid spreading cancer. In addition, hospital records seem to indicate Ruby told a nurse he was there to have his testicle removed.

As you may gather, this is one of those cases where a great deal will hinge on the evidence, the documents and how the case is presented during trial. “This isn’t going to be an easy case, but the attorney obviously felt that there was a good chance Ruby would win, and had the kind of proof that should stand up in court, or the case would not have gone to trial,” indicated Austin personal injury lawyer Brooks Schuelke.

Many medical malpractice lawyers are selective in the cases they choose to take to trial that involve medical malpractice. One reason for this is that many states, including Texas, have medical malpractice damage caps. This means that no matter how serious the injury is, there is an arbitrary limit on the amount of damages that the medical malpractice victim can recover.

This flies in the face of true justice and holding the wrongdoer completely accountable for their negligence. Unfortunately, in some cases of genuine malpractice the true damages would far exceed the cap and the case isn’t accepted because of the costs involved to the client.

“The other thing many people don’t realize is that not every bad medical outcome is the result of medical malpractice. For this reason, some people who feel they have a medical negligence case don’t really have a case. This is something that is difficult to explain, as perception is a big part of any person’s relationship to what happened to them. In any situation where you think you have been the victim of medical malpractice, take the time to consult with an attorney. You will need information to make informed decisions,” added Schuelke, an Austin personal injury lawyer.

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

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But that’s not always enough notice.  A number of cases require immediate attention.  For example, in a premises liability case, for best results, we need to be able to inspect the scene as close to the date of the accident as possible.  When conditions change, it’s hard, if not impossible, to go back and recreate who was at fault.  Sometimes clients can take photos and document the scene so that we do those types of investigations, but it’s safer to get the expert and attorneys out there before any changes are made.

And don’t get me started with trucking cases.  In a serious trucking case, the trucking company will have its experts at the scene, inspecting vehicles, etc within a few hours.  That’s a huge advantage.  An injured person obviously won’t be able to timely research a trucking case unless they hire an attorney early.

Even in some of the most basic car wreck cases, early investigation can be important.  Police officers investigate hundreds of accidents per year.  You don’t need to talk to them in every case, but when you do, you need to talk to them early so they remember the wreck you were in.

So that’s the answer.  Talk to a personal injury lawyer early.  Once you miss the time to do investigation, you can’t get that back.

Waiting too long to contact an attorney is only one of many mistakes that accident victims make that can hurt their claims.  If you’ve been injured in a Texas accident and you want to avoid those mistakes, order our free book HOLDING WRONGDOERS ACCOUNTABLE: Avoiding Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Texas Accident Claim.  We’re on a mission to make sure that insurance companies and other lawyers don’t take advantage of accident victims, and a lot of the advice in the book is designed to prevent that from happening.

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Premises liability is an area of the law that holds property owners and people who legally occupy property responsible for injuries that happen on their land. As an example, let’s say you were in a grocery store and you slipped and fell on a wet patch in the produce section, or you tripped over an uneven cement block near a construction site. In both of these examples the injured party may be able to claim damages from the owner or occupier of the land by filing a personal injury lawsuit with the assistance of an Austin personal injury lawyer.

The general idea behind the law of premises liability is the property owners and occupiers must keep their property safe for anyone that uses it. They must locate dangerous conditions and repair or adequately post them as being dangerous. In other words, the warnings need to be highly visible and clear. If the particular condition is “left” unfixed and does not have a proper warning, liability may be assigned to the property owner or occupier for anyone that is hurt on their premises.

You might wonder about trespassers on another person’s property and whether or not they may sue for damages if they hurt themselves while trespassing. The answer to that is maybe. In general, the owner is only responsible for watching out for all visitors, “except” trespassers. However, if the owner also “knows” trespassers are likely to come on the land, they must still post a visible warning to prevent trespassers being injured. If this is confusing, you should talk to an Austin personal injury lawyer and find out how that is possible.

The long and short of this is that if you have been injured on someone else’s property and your injury was a direct result of hazardous conditions or negligence, you might have a good case to recover your medical expenses. Speak to a qualified Austin personal injury lawyer for the right information, to find out your rights and to know what your options are in your circumstances.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

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This particular accident was not only tragic, but hard to explain. The driver of the car involved was swerving erratically all over the highway, lost control and went into a spin that swept the car across the center line right into the path of a big rig.

The impact was so catastrophic that the truck and car went careening into a bank of trees, trapping the car between the truck and the trees. Responding EMS crews arrived at the scene quickly, but unfortunately, the driver of the car, 36-year-old Eren Dalwall (names have been changed to protect the identity of the victim and their family) was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

The trucker was taken to a medical facility for treatment and was fortunate enough to not have serious injuries. The truck wasn’t in great shape though.

Why did this happen? Police reports indicate that Dalwall may have been speeding and playing chicken while on the highway, which may account for the rapid swerving in and out of the lanes and the eventual loss of control.

It’s not clear yet if there were other factors at play in this accident, such as alcohol, texting while driving, driving while distracted, DUI or driving under the influence of drugs – either prescription or street drugs. And no one seemed to notice if there was another vehicle that was racing with the Dalwall car in some sort of drag race scenario. The police have their work cut out for them in this investigation.

Even though the trucker was not seriously injured, he lost time off work, lost wages, incurred medical expenses and a significant amount of property damage. It may well be that the trucker and/or trucking company will elect to file a personal injury lawsuit against the Dalwall estate to recover compensation.

Car accidents that involve big rigs very rarely have a good outcome. This case is no different. Generally speaking, when a semi and car crash, it is often the fault of the trucker. This isn’t a hard and fast rule by any means, but it is what the accident statistics reveal. It is also what Austin personal injury lawyers tend to see in their practices.

If you have been involved in an 18-wheeler accident and were gravely injured, you need to speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer who has experience dealing with trucking crashes. You need to know your rights and the lawyer needs to know all the relevant details to start collecting necessary evidence. Don’t delay, as timing in cases like this is critical.

Brooks Schuelke is an Austin personal injury attorney with Perlmutter & Schuelke LLP. Contact an Austin injury lawyer at Civtrial.com or (512) 476-4944.

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