If you have been in a car wreck and are suffering from any pain, it would benefit you to contact a car accident attorney.  Attorneys are there to look out for you. When it comes to your well-being, it’s best not to take any chances.

Why should you talk to an attorney?

1. The insurance company has lawyers working for them.  To level the playing field, you need a lawyer working for you.
2. The insurance adjustor is an expert.  They negotiate cases every day.  The normal person will be at a disadvantage when dealing with an experienced adjustor.
3. The goal of the insurance company is to make money.  Therefore, they will try to pay you as little as possible to settle your claim.  An experienced attorney knows the tactics insurance companies use to pay you as little as possible and can help you fight against them.

 The Begum Law Group offers a free consultation and works on a contingency basis with personal injury cases. This means that you do not pay attorney fees until you receive compensation on your claim, whether that is through a settlement or a verdict at trial.

If you have been injured in an accident, please contact us today.  It is free to meet with us, and you do not pay any fees until we get you compensation.   

The Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune reports terms of the settlement with Bryan Mizenko have been sealed.

Last month, a jury in Cascade County voted 11-1 that defects in a Firestone tire were a factor in a 2003 crash. Both Firestone and the used car dealer where Mizenko bought the vehicle settled out of court.

Mizenko argued the accident was one of several caused by tread belt separation on this type of Firestone tire.

Ford argued that Mizenko’s tire failed because it was 14 years old and had been damaged.

A one-vehicle accident early New Year’s morning injured four people in Corpus Christi, Texas.  According Caller.com, an 18-year-old man lost control of his SUV, causing the vehicle to roll several times.  The passengers, 18, 16, and 1, were all injured.  The 16-year-old passenger was ejected.

Caller.com states the following:

Officers found alcohol inside the SUV. The driver also appeared intoxicated and a blood sample was taken, according to the report.

No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, Garcia said.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car wreck, please contact the Begum Law Group today.

A three-year-old died in a car wreck in Los Fresnos on Sunday.  Though the cause of the wreck is still being investigated, local police officers and DPS troopers have used this tragedy as a reminder to properly fasten childern in car seats.  You can read more about this story here. 

State laws require that children under eight years old and children under 4 feet 9 inches must be in a safety seat.  While safety seats can prevent injuries, safety seats that are defective may provide little or no protection.  You can read more about the proper use of car seats here. 

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car wreck or as a result of a defective product, please contact the Begum Law Group today.  We would love to meet with you.

Bus crashes can cause serious injuries and even death.  Unfortunately, bus accidents seem to be appearing in the news all too often.

Over the weekend, a Greyhound bus overturned on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  The bus driver lost control of the bus, crossing the highway and going up an embankment before flipping the bus on its side.  Boston.com states the following:

The bus from New York City stopped in Philadelphia and had traveled about 75 miles westbound on the turnpike when it overturned at about 6 a.m. Saturday on the way to a stop in Columbus, Ohio.

The driver, identified as 24-year-old Kareem Edward Farmer of Philadelphia, lost control of the bus while traveling in the passing lane, sending the vehicle careering across the highway and up an embankment before it landed on its side on the interstate, briefly trapping a woman, authorities said.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a bus crash, please contact us today.  It’s very important to contact an attorney quickly so that evidence is preserved, witnesses are contacted, etc.     We would love to meet with you.

Saturday evening, a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair before the band Sugarland was set to perform.  As of Sunday morning, five people were confirmed dead and many more injured.  Reportedly, the rigging for the state lighting fell at about 8:50 p.m.  NBC WTHR 13 out of Indianapolis states the following:

“A lot of people unconscious. Broken legs, broken arms, pretty scary. I helped do CPR on somebody, helped transport people, helped triage people out from under the trapped stage,” Chestin said.

Dr. Rob Klinesiver, a critical care doctor who was sitting in the front row, said he treated a girl as young as two years old for a serious injury.

“She had a severe left arm injury, she was bleeding heavily,” he said.

Rain poured down as emergency workers and Samaritans worked to free the victims. As the rain stopped, the commotion started to clear. Those that could make it out were sent to the Pepsi Coliseum for cover and the victims tried to make sense of what happened.

“The winds came, the big dust storm moved from the west and, no sooner than that, hit. The winds hit and the canopy over the stage was just like a big sail. It just picked it up, twisted it and right on top of everybody standing in front of the stage,” said one witness.

You can read more about this story here.

Many times, tragedies such as these could have been avoided.  In general, property owners in Texas have a duty to make their property safe for their customers.  To show that a property owner was liable for an injury, the injured person must show the following:

1. A condition existed on the owner’s property that posed an unreasonable risk of harm;
2. The property owner knew, or should have known, that the condition of their property posed an unreasonable risk of harm;
3. The property owner should have anticipated that a person on the property would not discover the danger or would fail to protect themselves against it;
4. The property owner was negligent in that they created the condition, knew about the condition and negligently failed to correct it or should have known about the condition;
5. Someone was injured as a result of the condition on the property.

If you or someone you know has been injured while on another person’s property, please contact The Begum Law Group today.  As always, it’s free to meet with us and you don’t pay any attorney’s fees until you receive compensation.  We would love to help you.

Over the weekend, a tragic crash took the life of a 20 year old woman from Progresso.  The crash took place in Boerne, Texas on I-10.  Eydeth Munoz, 20, was pronounced dead at the scene after she was ejected from the vehicle.  Daniel Correa, also from Progresso, and Destiny Correa, 4-years old, were airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio.

The Boerne Star states the following:

The incident occurred at 8:10 a.m. Sunday at Mile Marker 540 when the Correa vehicle was traveling eastbound on I-10.

In his report, Highway Patrol Trooper Eric Kendrick of Boerne said Correa fell asleep at the wheel, the vehicle veered off the roadway and struck the Frederick Creek bridge guardrail.

It was reported the driver’s side of the car was torn off. The car spun around several times before coming to a stop with three passengers being ejected.

Only one passenger was wearing a seat belt.

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car wreck, please contact the Begum Law Group today.  It’s free to meet with us and you don’t pay any attorney’s fees until you receive compensation.  We would love to help you.

Unfortunately, sometimes a large farm animal, such as a cow or horse, wanders onto a busy roadway and causes an automobile collision. Because these are large animals, the collisions typically cause serious injuries. These cases can be complex and recovering compensation takes an experienced lawyer.

Texas is a free range state. People are generally allowed to let regulated animals (cows, goats, horses, etc.) roam freely, except on US highways or State Highways.  However, some counties also have local stock laws that further restrict the roaming of livestock to other types of roadways.  Thus, holding a livestock owner responsible often depends on where the collision occurs.

Did You Hit a Regulated Animal on a Texas Farm-To-Market Road?

The majority of the 254 Texas counties have enacted a local stock law. These stock laws generally prevent owners from allowing their regulated animals to roam at large.  Most owners restrict their regulated animals by erecting wood or wire fencing.  Some owners also electrify the fence.  However, wood and wire fencing require constant maintenance and repair, which some owners fail to perform.  The failure to properly maintain fencing may allow animals to roam onto roads, making the livestock owner responsible for any collisions.

Did You Hit A Regulated Animal on A Texas Highway?

If the county does not have a local stock law and the collision occurs on a highway, the livestock owner may still be liable.  However, hitting a regulated animal on a Texas “highway” carries a different legal hurdle.  The Texas Agriculture Code provides that a livestock owner may not knowingly permit the animal to roam at large on a highway.  A “highway” means a US highway or a State highway, but does not include a numbered Farm-to-Market road.

The key to establishing an owner’s responsibility when a regulated animal is struck on a “highway” comes down to one question: “Did the owner knowingly permit the animal to roam at large on the highway?”  Because proving that an owner knowingly allowed his animal to roam at large can be difficult, you should consider consulting an attorney.

If you have an auto or motorcycle accident involving livestock, please contact the Begum Law Group today.  As always, it’s free to meet with us and you don’t pay any attorney’s fees until you receive compensation.  We would love to help you.

If you’re in a car wreck and can’t reach a settlement, your attorney may  have to file a lawsuit.  But who do you sue?  Many people incorrectly believe they can sue the insurance company of the person who causes the car accident.

However, in Texas you’re not allowed to sue the insurance company.  Instead, you have to sue the driver who caused the wreck.

There’s always insurance, but you can’t tell the jury that.

Why?   The Texas Rules of Evidence forbid an attorney from telling a jury about insurance.  Thus, even though insurance is involved almost 100% of the time, the jury will never be told that the insurance company, not the at-fault driver, will pay the amount the jury awards.

The truth is, the insurance company pays for everything and makes all the decisions.  The insurance company chooses the defendant’s lawyer, pays for the lawyer, and pays the jury verdict (up to the policy limits). 

Why does this matter?

The rule that lawyers cannot tell jurors about the existence of insurance may actually mislead the jury.

First, the defendant’s lawyer might imply (improperly) that the defendant is the one who will have to pay the verdict. This may lead a jury to under-compensate the plaintiff for her injuries because they feel bad for the defendant.

Also, a juror may ask, “Why would someone sue their own spouse or their friend?”  Because a jury is not allowed to be told about insurance, they may not understand that for the plaintiff to be compensated for their injuries, they have to sue the person responsible, not their insurance company.   For example, if your mom is driving and causes a collision and you are the passenger and get injured, you may have to sue your mom.  Obviously, it would help if you were able to explain the reason you sued your mom to the jury, but our law does not allow this.

However, now you know better!

If you or someone you know has been injured in a car wreck, please contact the Begum Law Group today.  As always, it’s free to meet with us and you don’t pay any attorney’s fees until you receive compensation.  We would love to help you.