Often a series of smaller workplace mishaps are a bellwether for more serious accidents in the future.

While many people don’t realize this, a worksite that has a number of smaller workplace casualties that happen over a period of time is a warning sign of several things: workplace morale isn’t good and the big accident is still to come.

Haphazard job site management generally results in lack of planning and lack of organization. “With that going on, you may be reasonably certain that the work crew has issues with the management. If there is no respect, trust or loyalty on a construction site or no effective leadership, things that should not happen do happen. For instance, regular inspections that should be mandatory may not happen, on the job training may fall by the wayside, safe tools and equipment are not present on the site, and safety procedures are scarce,” explained Beverly Aylmer, who writes for an Austin personal injury attorney at The Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

If the management team on a construction site has a lack of skill or knowledge in how the job needs to be done correctly, this is reflected in the attitude of the workers as well. It’s human nature to not care as much about something if the person who is supposed to be supervising isn’t a good role model.

In addition, there may be low standards of work, poor maintenance on site and other issues that may involve the improper use of equipment. In other words, things just go by the wayside and the job continues in a haphazard way, with no one really paying attention to quality control, safety or good workmanship.

While most workplaces and construction job sites do adhere to the rules and regulations that are intended to keep workers safe and healthy, there are far too many out there that skim along by doing the bare minimum and not doing even that particularly well. Many Austin personal injury attorneys have seen far too many construction accidents that could have been avoided with a greater emphasis on safety.

Consider the case of the woman who died in her car after 26 tons of concrete fell on her while she was driving through the Big Dig Tunnel in Chicago. The concrete collapsed because the construction project had been badly supervised since the project’s inception. That was clearly evident when it was discovered at trial that the wrong epoxy had been used on the concrete and no one caught that.

“If you have been injured in a construction site accident, don’t wait until you have your workers’ compensation claim filed, act immediately and call an Austin personal injury attorney and find out what your legal rights are. While your case may go smoothly, chances are you will find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place trying to get a fair settlement for your injuries. Give The Lee Law Firm a call, they would be happy to meet with you,” suggested Aylmer.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.

It’s hard to know these days what is going to be recalled next. Lately, it seems like there’s a product every day.

Without sounding too pessimistic, it’s downright depressing to realize that a good portion of the goods we all use daily may be defective and therefore potentially dangerous. Welcome to the 21st century where manufacturing is in high gear and concern for consumer’s welfare comes a distant second to profits.

It’s depressing to realize that everything we touch, eat, drink, wear or even drive may cause us serious injuries or even death. Unfortunately, there are some companies that are driven to increase their bottom lines at the expense of those who use their products. “Is there any way to tell which companies will make and sell a defective product? No. Is there any recourse for a consumer who has been hurt by a defective product? Yes, speak to a qualified Austin personal injury attorney,” advised Beverly Aylmer, who writes for The Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

“You’d think that once several companies were sued for putting out a defective or dangerous product, that the others would learn they need to be responsible for their products and the consequences of their products hurting someone. That doesn’t seem to be the case. Often those who were held responsible for negligence in manufacturing continue on their way, sometimes still making the defective product and sometimes moving on and making a different defective product. It’s often a never ending story,” Aylmer commented.

Generally speaking, there are some cases where the danger attached to a product is only relevant to a limited portion of it. Say for instance, a defective pull handle on a chainsaw. However, as is more frequently the case, there is usually a flaw in the overall design of a product that means every similar item made with the same components, etc. will have the same defect. Think Toyota and their sticking accelerators.

In either case, the options a manufacturer has are to take the product off the market entirely or wind up being forced into a consumer product recall. “To say that would ruin their reputation is likely an understatement,” added Aylmer who writes for Austin personal injury attorney R.W. Lee of The Lee Law Firm.

“Just what kinds of products seem to be in the news and recalled more often than not? Usually, you can count on drugs being dangerous and/or recalled, and that would include over-the-counter medicines and prescription drugs; tainted or contaminated food such as meat, shellfish, nuts, sprouts, etc., kids toys and other products for children, and cars and their various parts,” outlined Aylmer.

For those who have been harmed by a dangerous or defective product, it’s urgent to contact an Austin personal injury attorney and discuss compensation, as well as holding the maker of the product responsible for the harm their product caused.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.

A scald is just as dangerous as a burn. Hot tap water is responsible for at least 17% of childhood scald hospitalizations.

If you were an adventurous kid and into everything causing your parents to go prematurely gray, then you likely have some personal experience with scalds. Remember reaching for that hot pot on the stove, touching it and having mom upset that you scalded your fingers?

The scolding you got, not to mention the painful fingers, served as a reminder that touching hot things isn’t a bright idea. The unfortunate thing is that scalds often happen unexpectedly. Ever been in the shower when someone flushed the toilet or ran the washing machine? Then you have firsthand experience with scalding water.

The traditional definition of a scald is when someone’s skin has close and personal contact with a hot liquid. Anyone remember the McDonald’s coffee case where an elderly woman scalded her thighs with hot coffee? Tap water, if the water heater is set too high, will also provide some tense moments when you turn on the water not expecting water “that” hot.

Generally speaking, if injuries like this – a scald from hot liquids – happen because someone else spilled something on you, they may be held liable for your injuries. One way to know for sure if you have a case is to talk to an Austin personal injury attorney.

While you might think this doesn’t happen that often, you may be surprised to find out that is not the case, and that over 100,000 of these accidents happen every year and involve drinks or food. Think restaurant accident where the waiter or waitress spills something on you. A further 5,000 painful burns happen as a result of exceedingly hot tap water.

That may happen if a babysitter or live-in companion for an elderly person doesn’t check the bathwater first. Burns on the delicate skin of children or seniors are serious. Hot tap water may reach 140 degrees F., and it can cause a full thickness, third-degree burn in five seconds flat.

There are also at least 60,000 accidents that take place every year as a direct result of touching hot objects. Think defective product, as in the case of young Peter Phott (names have been changed to protect the victim’s identity) who touched a hot water steamer that was within his reach while in the care of his grandparents. The steamer was a hazard and should not have been where Peter could get at it. The mom sued and won her case. Peter’s burns were so bad that he faces a lifetime of surgeries to help him use his hands.

The thing that most people don’t realize is that scalds are not only painful, but that they may even be disfiguring if the scald is classified as a second or third degree burn. If you have been scalded, make it a point to talk to an experienced Austin personal injury attorney to find out how you may obtain compensation.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

There’s no two ways about it, there are no good 18-wheeler accidents. Those who survive are often disabled for life.

While it’s true that a commercial long haul trucker is often under enormous pressure to get their load to their destination and get on the road again, this is no excuse to drive irresponsibly, putting other’s lives at stake.

The numbers of things that can go wrong on a highway involving a big rig are legion. Generally speaking though, there are five major factors that may result in a devastating wreck where any survivors will need to consult with an Austin personal injury attorney. First is something that most people have heard about, or at the very least, guessed was the case – driver fatigue.

Take the case of Dave Rossland (all names have been changed to protect the identity of the victims), a long haul trucker for an oil rig company. His usual hours are noon to 8 p.m. He gets home at 3:00 a.m. in the morning. What’s wrong with that picture? What’s wrong is that his regular log book shows 8 hour runs and sometimes the odd 9 hour deviation. His “actual” hours far exceed what the log book shows. The result of long hours and not enough sleep? Dave drove his tanker into the back of an SUV, killing 4 people and injuring himself as well.

It’s not just ordinary citizens who suspect that truckers drive while tired. The NTSB has studies that reveal tired truckers are likely to be implicated in up to 20% of all truck versus car fatal accidents and 7% of all other accidents that involve injuries and fatalities. A startling one-third of truckers who agreed to answer questions about their job routine, confessed to having drifted off while at the wheel. Figures like this tend to be used in court cases handled by Austin personal injury attorneys. And the critical time for falling asleep while driving a rig was between 2 and 6 a.m. followed closely by mid-afternoon.

Next is something a great number of us have witnessed at one time or another, poor driving behavior. This may be the result of needing to make more money to make a living and thus driving faster, or it could be related to employer commandments about getting the job done on time and under budget. Whatever the reasons, some of the stunts truckers have pulled include failing to yield the right of way, driving aggressively and recklessly, driving too fast for prevailing road conditions, and unsafe passing maneuvers. Who hasn’t been just about crowded out of the driving lane now and then by a truck that passes way too close to the side of your car?

The results of these kinds of behaviors? Take the case of John Sterrner, who was booting his double semi down I-95 and came upon an elderly driver who was doing 50 mph. Frustrated and running late, he pulled out to pass without really watching what he was doing, and grazed the side of the woman’s car, causing it to flip into the ditch. The 65-year-old-woman died at the scene of the accident.

Have you been in a truck wreck and survived? You need to call an experienced Austin personal injury attorney and find out what your options are and how to file a lawsuit. You deserve compensation for someone else’s negligence.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Product recalls are at an all time high. Beware of what you are buying and check product recall sites for up-to-date information.

For a person to have a product liability case, the product that hurt or harmed them needs to be defective in some way. “The best way to explain what a defective product may be is to give you some examples of product recalls. Memorable recalls have involved toxic cadmium filled children’s jewelry (Made in China), woven storage trunks with unstable hinges that dropped suddenly and caught children at the throat, strangling them (Made in China) and a baby walker that fit through a standard doorway that could fall down stairs because they were not designed to stop at the edge of a step (Made in the USA),” listed Beverly Aylmer, who writes for The Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

One of the most frightening recalls we have ever seen was the recall of umbrella style baby strollers (Made in China) that had exposed shear points at the hinges. There were 12 reported cases of finger amputations taking place at that hinge point.

“Generally speaking, product defects fall into three general classifications; those dealing with design defects, those with malfunctions (manufacturing defects) and those where there is a failure to warn consumers of a danger. The woven storage trunks and the strollers fit into the design defect category because they both had a feature that made them unsafe for their intended use and/or lacked something they needed to make them safe,” remarked Aylmer.

The malfunction category is applicable when there’s a flaw in the construction of a product. An example would be a child’s swing made of aluminum, which is normally sturdy and durable. However, if the support bar for the swing had a flaw in the making of the aluminum (an air bubble or some other impurity) and it gave way suddenly, then this would seriously harm a child.

The bottom line in these cases is that each one is different and each one needs to be fully checked into to determine what the fault is or where it lies. “These aren’t always clear cut accidents and discussing things with a qualified and skilled Austin personal injury attorney will let you know what your rights are, and how to proceed to file a claim (lawsuit) for compensation for your losses,” Aylmer explained.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.

Dram shop liability laws help reduce drunk driving. Those who serve alcohol may be held responsible for damages.

DUI is a crime and it has various penalties depending on which state you happen to live. Many states these days are starting to enact something referred to as dram shop liability laws to help reduce DUI. Texas is one of those states.

This particular concept has been around for a fair while. In fact, the first version of the legislation used now, The Texas Dram Shop Act, didn’t pass into law until 1987 as a result of El Chico Corporation v. Poole. That case recognized a common law duty on the part of dram shops, a.k.a. any place that sells alcohol for consumption, to their patrons. As an Austin personal injury attorney, I see a lot of plaintiff’s injury cases as a result of a DUI driver.

It’s interesting to note that the original purpose of the Dram Shop Act was the protection of “the welfare, health, peace, temperance and safety of the people of the state.” (Tex Alco Bev Code Ann§1.03) As it was then, so it is now. Unfortunately, the numbers of drunk drivers out there on the roads in Texas has gone up significantly. In part, the Dram Shop Act does make a difference though.
Not all states have the exact same law on their books, but by and large they do say the same thing. All that you really need to know is that there are several characteristics that help reduce drunk driving. To this end, some states only focus on illegal booze sales. An example of this would be knowingly selling alcohol to a minor who then drives while intoxicated and kills someone. In those states, that bar may be held liable for wrongful death compensation; all of it or part of it.

Other states want to stop social hosts and bartenders letting people drink and then get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Their laws state those who serve should also know how much someone has consumed. Thus, if someone leaves a place and is obviously 4-sheets to the wind, the place serving the booze may be held partially responsible for any damages caused by the drunk driver.

The underlying reason for most states to pass this type of a law is to hopefully encourage those who serve alcohol, and make a tidy profit at it, to take more responsibility in keeping drunks off the road. The last thing that most places that serve alcoholic beverages to their patrons want is to pay out millions in damages when it’s far cheaper and makes more common sense to call the patron a cab.

If you have been involved in an accident and the other driver was DUI, you may want to pursue compensation under dram shop liability laws. You’d need to speak to an Austin personal injury attorney to find out how these actions work and what the process is for filing a lawsuit.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

Do not sign anything from an insurance company after a commercial truck accident. Speak to an Austin personal injury attorney first.

It goes without saying that anytime someone is involved in an accident with a big rig, the injuries are either very, very serious (catastrophic) or fatal. The massive weight of a moving semi is just too much for any smaller vehicle to stand up to and come out in reasonable shape. Those who do survive such horrendous accidents will have astronomical medical bills, lengthy rehabilitation, time lost from work or a lost job, property damage, vehicle damage and numerous other devastating financial consequences.

“If you want fair compensation; the kind that will guarantee you may live the rest of your life being properly cared for as a result of your injuries, you need to discuss your case with an Austin personal injury attorney. Don’t wait, as timing in these cases is critical. Your attorney will figure out who was at fault in your case and outline the process for filing for compensation or negotiating with an insurance company,” explained Beverly Aylmer, who writes for The Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

While every state has a set of laws on their books about what victims can recover in a lawsuit, none of them are the same, with the possible exception of the plaintiff being able to recover all past and future medical costs. “Check with your Austin personal injury attorney to see what is applicable in Texas,” suggested Aylmer.

Generally speaking when it comes to compensation for medical costs, the courts take a look at two factors: the quality of your life before being involved in a truck wreck and what your life is like after the wreck. From there, the damages you may be able to recover are in two categories, economic losses (which speaks to lost wages and doctor’s bills) and non-economic losses (which speaks to pain and suffering you endured for your injuries).

A fact of life is that trucking companies carry substantial amounts of insurance in the event of a wreck. “Despite this being true, their lawyers and insurance company will try to reduce or minimize your claim. They will try to get you to sign things that might mean you’ll end up with a really lowball settlement. Do not sign anything an insurance company hands you until you speak to your Austin personal injury attorney. You may be signing away your rights if you don’t,” advised Aylmer.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com.

If it isn’t one thing, it’s another when it comes to what causes auto accidents. Stay alert and be safe.

While you may be a good driver, it doesn’t mean that others on the road are or will be at any given time. Since you don’t have that much control over other drivers, your best recourse is to be aware of what the most common causes of accidents are so you can be on the lookout, avoid negligence when you see it, and avoid winding up in the office of an Austin personal injury attorney asking about compensation for an accident.

Let’s start with what is likely the most obvious number one cause of car crashes, driver behavior. You’d be right if you said that driver behavior is usually the primary cause (foundation) for the “other” causes we’re going to take a look at as well. But first, let’s discuss driver behavior, knowing that we have all likely done one of these very things ourselves at some point in time; for instance, driving while distracted (using a cell phone or texting), driving while dead tired, speeding, aggressive driving, and DUI/DWI. There are other behaviors that really should not happen behind the wheel of a vehicle, but unfortunately, they do.

While you might not think about this, if you slow down to look at an accident, you may be the next crash on display. It actually happens in about 16% of all accident cases where the driver was bemoaning another driver’s fate when they got hit. As far as cell phones go, a lot of jurisdictions will only allow hands-free cell use while driving in an effort to reduce distractions. Frankly, cells phones and cell phone conversations, handheld or hands-free are distractions, no matter what way you look at it.

Other causes may involve equipment failure such as faulty tires, shaky steering, bad brakes and a questionable suspension. Just because the more modern vehicles have onboard computers that do just about everything, the tires, etc. still need regular inspections and maintenance. While that accounts for the car itself, the other external factor is roadway design.

Theory has it that roads are supposedly laid out to reduce the chance of accidents happening. Street signs and signals are placed at certain locations for the same reason. Unfortunately, not all road designs are that safe, and the location of some signs and signals are less than brilliant. As an Austin personal injury attorney, I’ve seen a lot of nasty accidents that happened because of poor roadway design.

Aside from a somewhat less than ideal roadway design, there is poor maintenance of the roadway as well that tends to cause accidents. Ever seen a stretch of road that has more potholes in it than your dog could dig in the backyard in a year? For some unknown reason (likely budget concerns) maintaining a road seems to come dead last for many jurisdictions.

And last, but not least, weather conditions will play a large part in some accidents, particularly in the winter. If drivers don’t adjust to the road conditions, they can likely expect to find a place to have their accident. And it’s not just men drivers that have poor driving behavior. Men and women, no matter what age, share the trophy for really bad driving habits.
Take care out there, because if you don’t, no one else will do it for you.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

In a perfect world, everything we bought at the store would work. In a perfect world, a product would not harm or kill us.

No one goes to the store thinking they might come home with a defective product that might seriously harm or kill them. They figure the item is safe and they will be fine using it. They read the instructions, all the warnings and then do what the product was intended to do without any problems.

“In a perfect world, everyone would actually read all the directions and actually use the item for what it was made to do, not something else. In a perfect world the manufacturer, designer and so on would have the proper warnings, clear and detailed directions, and cover absolutely everything a consumer needed to know. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and manufacturers, etc. don’t always do a good job of warning the public about the dangers of their product,” explained Beverly Aylmer, a personal injury lawyer with the Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

The other thing to bear in mind when discussing product liability is that the maker of the product has their own agenda when it comes to products – selling them for a profit. Often selling defective products out trumps safety concerns for the end buyer or user, much to their detriment.

The idea is that people should be able to buy products and assume it won’t hurt them or anyone else for that matter – like the neighbor who borrows your new chain saw and loses his fingers because the guard came off. “The shocking thing is that every year thousands of Americans are badly hurt and killed due to a dangerous product. It’s definitely a serious problem, and one that not much can be done about until after the fact,” Aylmer pointed out.

Stopping defective goods in their tracks isn’t always possible simply because an item may become something dangerous at any step in the process of its creation. It could happen in the design stages, manufacturing or during distribution. “Add to this that some products are dangerous just because of their nature – a chain saw, something with razor sharp edges or a product with a heating element. That being said, end users have a right to fair warning about the dangers of such items,” said Austin personal injury lawyer, Beverly Aylmer of the Lee Law Firm.

The bottom line is that companies who make goods from start to finish are tasked with the responsibility to make sure those items are safe for the general public. If the product has the potential to be dangerous, fair warning needs to be issued. If someone is hurt, that company may be responsible for their injuries, and they need to take courage in hand and recall their product disaster.

To learn more, visit http://www.rwleelaw.com

Burns happen for many reasons other than just fire. Electricity may burn you to death.

Burns can happen to anyone, but most often they do tend occur on worksites or in the workplace. Fire isn’t the only source of a burn, and anyone who has suffered electrical burns and survived can tell you those burns are painful. What many people don’t realize is that an electric shock may break bones and cause other severe internal injuries. Depending on the patch of the electricity when it enters and leaves a body, it may also result in death.

We’re all familiar with electric shocks in a minor way; static electricity. Static electricity is an electrical transfer on a much smaller scale than coming into contact with a live high tension power line. While static electricity doesn’t usually harm us, it could be very dangerous at the gas station.

Touching a badly insulated electric wire or device has the potential to serve up some really nasty injuries. See a bare wire? Don’t touch it. See one that isn’t all that well covered? Leave it alone. Why take the chance that something bad could happen? Be aware of what protects you from shocks: rubber material, glass and plastics. Also know what conducts electricity: charged gases, salt water, many metals and the infamous water in any form.

‘Water in any form’ reminds us of a case we heard of where a man survived a bad rollover into a ditch by an electrical pole. He walked away to call police and needed to answer the call of nature. What he didn’t see was the downed electrical wire in the ditch. He was electrocuted on the spot. Pay attention to your surroundings no matter where you are.

If you do happen to touch an exposed wire, your injuries will be the result of two things: the power of the current that shoots through you, and the length of time you’re exposed to the current. The longer the duration and the higher the power, the worse the outcome.

Generally speaking, there will be two burns, an entrance and exit burn. The stronger the current passing through, the higher the chances of extreme muscle contractions and/or seizures. The contractions may break bones, as can the thrashing on the ground as you are being electrocuted.

If the current enters the head, it may prompt seizures, paralysis and you may quit breathing. A chest hit may damage your heart or stop it entirely. If you have a pacemaker, a shock will interfere with how it functions and may also cause death.
These kinds of cases are always difficult for the victim who needs an experienced Austin personal injury attorney to help recover compensation if the electrocution was the result of someone else’s negligence. Don’t wait to talk to a personal injury lawyer, as time is of the essence in cases like this.

They’re never easy for anyone, and you may be facing long-term rehabilitation and many surgeries. Your care, medical bills and therapy, loss of income and other factors are taken into consideration for any lawsuit claim that may be filed on your behalf by an Austin personal injury lawyer.

Beverly Aylmer writes for The Lee Law Firm. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from The Lee Law Firm. Visit RWLeelaw.com.