This case is disturbing as the drunk that killed another person was a 32-year-old son of a cop. He was totally drunk and driving his Jeep Cherokee down the highway at 73 miles per hour. Inevitably, he lost control, swerved across several lanes of traffic, careened off a guardrail and rammed into a 1996 Dodge Ram pickup. The force of the impact flipped the pickup over the guardrail, where it burst into flames. The driver was partially ejected and killed instantly.

As it happened, there was a police car on patrol in the vicinity of the wreck, and it made it to the scene within minutes. The police captain driving the cruiser was stunned to see the Cherokee driver trying to yank the truck driver out of his vehicle. The man was a family friend. His father was a cop too. On closer inspection of the scene, the captain noticed the Cherokee driver had difficulty talking, his eyes were bloodshot and he could not keep his balance.

The man failed a field sobriety test with a blood-alcohol content of .197, just about 2.5 times the state’s legal limit. The man admitted he had been drinking beer before he got behind the wheel of his Cherokee and killed someone. The driver eventually pled guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, and was handed a four year sentence along with a license suspension for three years to life. In court, the man offered sincere apologies to the dead man’s family.

While this was a gesture of contrition, it does not bring back the dead man to his family. His death will always leave a gaping hole in their lives. But for the stupidity of drinking enough beers to be 2 .5 times over the legal drinking limit, the deceased would still be alive. If the man could not talk, walk or see very well, what on earth possessed him to drive? Many others in the same condition think they are invincible and invulnerable, when in reality they are mobile accidents, looking for a place to happen.

If you have been involved in a collision with a drunk driver, do not second guess what your legal rights are. Find out by immediately calling an Austin personal injury lawyer that is trained in dealing with egregious accidents like this one. They know how to get you justice. An Austin personal injury lawyer will protect your rights.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

Big rig accidents are possibly the worst types of wrecks, largely because of the devastation they cause. Very few people survive a crash, and those that do are never the same again. Many face living the rest of their lives in pain, disabled and in some instances, not even cognizant of their circumstances, requiring 24/7 care. This is one of the main reasons you need to speak to an Austin personal injury lawyer about obtaining sufficient damages to care for yourself for the rest of your life.

When accidents like this happen, it is crucial to conduct a post-crash investigation. Seeing the scene, examining the debris, searching for skid marks or defective parts is a large part of mounting an effective personal injury case. You need your attorney to get to the scene as fast as possible. This is because the insurance carrier for the trucking company will already have someone on the way to the crash scene; sometimes within an hour.

They have someone on the scene that fast because truckers who have been in an accident know to call their employers immediately. The employer in turn calls their insurance company, who dispatches an agent quickly. Sometimes they arrive so fast, the victims wonder how on earth they could have done that, and not only that, they usually bring an accident reconstructionist with them.

On scene, the lawyer immediately tells the trucker to keep his mouth shut and say absolutely nothing. In the background, the accident specialist starts measuring the site and constructing a back story. This typically happens before the seriously injured victim has a chance to get a grip on what happened to them. They may not even have come to grips with having been involved in an 18-wheeler wreck and are stunned into shock with their injuries. They usually don’t think about the fact they will need a lawyer to defend their rights, and obtain compensation for their injuries.

Obviously, in the above scenario, the defense has an enormous jump start on the case. When your own Austin personal injury lawyer asks for an account of what happened, they get a well rehearsed story. When they demand the log books for the truck, or the onboard black box, it has sometimes magically gone missing. All of these things are serious disadvantages for the plaintiff. The injured needs protection because the trucking company, their lawyers and its insurance company will not help them, even if they were in the wrong.

While it is true that there are rules and regulations in place for truckers to follow that does not mean that they do follow the rules. It’s well known that many will bend the rules to get their load to their destination fast, even if that means driving overtime. Trucking companies often look the other way when this happens, or conversely, quietly encourage it to be done. Why? It affects their bottom line, and money is what makes the world go around. Thus, they will fight any lawsuit that has the potential to cost them money.

An Austin personal injury lawyer knows where to look for the information they need to prove the trucker and/or the trucking company was negligent. That may involve the driver being on the road too many hours, driving while distracted or driving a poorly maintained vehicle. No matter what the reason for the accident, your lawyer will find a way to ensure justice is done in your case.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

This case is pretty controversial, largely for the reason that a Massachusetts court has decided that people who play host for bring your own booze partiers are not liable if underage drinkers get drunk and drive. To many that is unconscionable not to make the hosts responsible to watch their guests’ consumption while on their property. Someone needs to step up and be responsible if the kids are not being smart enough. That’s what adults are for.

The Massachusetts high court handed down a ruling that said social hosts cannot be expected to be the booze police if they are not supplying the alcohol for the gathering. However, should they hold a party or get together and supply the liquor they can be held liable for damages caused by drunk guests. Many parents find this ruling an abomination, wondering whatever happened to the concept of social responsibility.

Underage drinkers should not be drinking in the first place, and if they are bringing alcohol to a party that would be considered to be illegal, not to mention the issue of how they obtained it in the first place and how it is acceptable for someone to host a party where there is illegal drinking going on. The world is a strange place, and it’s not made any better by a court suggesting parents may abdicate their moral ethics, parental responsibility, and allow underage drinking on their premises.

The court indicated a social host may be liable for injuries to third parties caused by a drunk guest only in situations where they served alcohol or made it available. In other words, they would only be liable if they have effective control over the booze. Just because an underage drinker brings alcohol to a party does not mean the social hosts should just leave things be and let them get drunk right under their noses. While there may be prior court cases like this, the decision just does not sit right.

What started this lawsuit was an injury accident that happened when two partygoers left the hosts’ home. The male and his 16-year-old girlfriend slammed into a utility pole, resulting in serious injuries for the female. The 18-year-old host was the named defendant. The male driver supplied all the booze at the party and consumed two mixed drinks and up to seven beers. He had hauled in a 30-pack of beer and a bottle of rum, and it is doubtful he would have expected to drink the whole cache.

The lawsuit suggested the host should be considered negligent for letting the male drink on her property. The court said no, the host is not responsible for their guests’ consumption when they do not control the supply of booze. That clearly begs the question that if the male brought all the alcohol to the party, then why couldn’t the host control the supply of booze? It was on her property for others, including the host, to drink. Who’s to say the male did not pick the booze up for the host?

On the whole, this case has too many holes in it to make good social sense. It is plain as day that drinking and driving, especially by underage individuals, is a serious problem and society has a duty to limit or prevent this happening in any way they can. A hands off attitude just does not cut it.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

“It used to be that people could have an open container of alcohol in their vehicle and not be too worried about whether or not they would be pulled over for a DUI. Things have changed over the years and Texas has put its foot down, big time, when it comes to drinking and driving, which is how it should be,” stated Robert W. Lee, an Austin personal injury attorney of The Lee Law Firm in Austin, Texas.

In 2011, the law changed to read that if an individual is charged with a DUI in Austin, and they have a blood alcohol content or breathalyzer level over .15, they will face far more severe penalties. The legal limit, as most people know, is .08, although many seem to think they have never had that much in the first place, and they still try to drive.

Previously, an individual charged with DUI in Austin may have faced a fine of up to $2,000 and up to 180 days in jail. The new law states that if a person is arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated and has a blood alcohol concentration of .15 or higher, the fine may now range up to $4,000 with up to a year in jail.

“Texas got fed up with the number of deaths as a result of drunk drivers and put the hammer down to up the legal penalties for driving drunk. Will people smarten up and not drink and drive? Tough question. My guess is it will not stop die-hard alcoholics. Hopefully though, it will shake up those who drink and still think they can manage to handle driving a vehicle,” said Lee.

Drinking and driving is one of the stupidest things anyone can do. It is irresponsible, negligent and has the potential to kill not only the drunk, but other innocent people. What has happened to society that getting drunk is more important than caring about the safety of others? Is alcohol so much more important than not killing a child, a pregnant mother, a young father, a family on their way to visit friends?

It is difficult, if not impossible, to figure out the motivation for those who drink and decide to drive. Consider the case of the man who knew he was too hammered to drive, but he went ahead and drove. He got into three accidents that same evening. Even knowing he was not fit to get behind the wheel of a car did not stop him. “Sadly, the only thing that may stop a drunk driver is death. Unfortunately, their own death may not be the only casualty of a wreck,” Lee stated.

For anyone that has been involved in a car accident where the other driver is drunk, call an experienced Austin personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Do not let the insurance company take the case over and hustle to close the file fast and cheaply. Keep track of all accident related expenses, including medical care. “If you want justice, compensation and recovery, I am here to help you,” added Austin personal injury lawyer Lee.

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

Those big rigs you see on the highways across the nation carry anything ¨C literally ¨C and in this case the truck involved in this accident was packing ammunition. The trucker had to be hoping he would not get into an accident. One needs to be careful what they wish for, as sure enough, the driver was involved in a wreck.

The UPS 18-wheeler actually jack-knifed and burst into flames in the northbound lane of the highway. How did this happen? The driver was distracted just moments before the accident. Whether distracted meant he was on the cell phone, texting, using his computer, playing a computer game, picking something up off the floor or drifting off to sleep will be the subject of an intense investigation.

EMS crews and other support emergency workers, such as fire trucks and police cars were on the scene in minutes. They were marshaling to get maximum access to get the driver out of the wreck when the worst thing you could think of happened; a bullet exploded and streaked towards a fire truck, ricocheting off its side. After everyone picked themselves up off the ground, rescue efforts continued unabated. Luckily, there were no serious injuries and the trucker was listed in good condition with minor injuries.

This accident would have been a lot worse than it was and could have involved an explosion. The point of this case is that truckers are handling big rigs while driving negligently and the results are not always as fortunate as in this case. Driving while distracted is dangerous and in other cases, innocent people have paid with their lives for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

It goes without saying that the trucker needs to have some common sense and not only follow the rules, but drive with safety in mind. In this instance, whatever he was doing before he jack-knifed his rig was utterly irresponsible. The on board black box will tell its story when it is recovered, and the police will take the matter from there.

But for the fate of being on the road in the early hours of the morning when traffic was light, this truck with its load of ammunition could have caused a whole other serious problem by erupting into a deadly fireball filled with projectiles that could maim or kill. Think what might have happened had the truck been hauling dynamite, gelignite or other highly volatile chemicals.

Being involved in an accident with a tractor trailer is something few people survive, and those that do often find their lives a mere shadow of what they once were. They typically require ongoing and extensive medical care for the rest of their lives. If you have been in a road wreck with one of these big rigs, do not hesitate to call an Austin personal injury lawyer with experience in resolving these kinds of cases. You will need compensation to survive and someone to stand up for your rights. An Austin personal injury lawyer is the answer.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

“Driving while distracted is a major issue today with the abundance of devices being used by people while they drive. You cannot drive and text, talk on the cell, eat, drink, comb your hair, put on lipstick, shave or change clothing at the same time. I’ve heard of a couple of other shenanigans people have tried in a moving vehicle, but suffice it to say that should not be done in a car either,” added Robert W. Lee, an Austin personal injury attorney at The Lee Law Firm.

Numbers provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation for the year 2009 show more than 5,500 people died in accidents involving distracted driving, and close to 450,000 sustained serious injuries. More than just a major issue, distracted driving is a serious epidemic and something needs to be done to halt the needless deaths.

While cellphone use is the leading cause of fatal accidents, there is also texting while driving, eating, drinking, talking to other passengers, watching the scenery, playing computer games, programming a GPS system, picking things up off the floor, watching a movie on TV, changing discs in the mp3 player and so on. When distracted driving is the cause, it is an issue that calls for changing driver behavior and perceptions; the perception that it is alright to drive and eat, text, talk on the phone, play games and use a computer.

“Cellphones are the worst form of distraction while driving, there is no question about that. Because that is the case, many states have banned the use of hand-held cellphones while driving and/or have banned texting while driving. These are all good steps, but we also need to remember that some people feel they are above the law and that it does not apply to them,” Lee observed.

In terms of banning cellphone use for anything, the new federal rule making it illegal for commercial drivers to use them while driving is a step in the right direction. Further hope on the horizon is the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommending that all 50 states and the District of Columbia ban using all portable devices while driving. “This is a hefty recommendation, and one that is long overdue. Whether or not it will be implemented is hard to say, but it would certainly reduce the number of senseless fatalities,” opined Lee.

Why the NTSB recommendation to ban everything? It came as the result of a horrendous massive chain reaction accident in Missouri. A pick-up rear-ended a semi and a school bus rear-ended the pick-up. There were two deaths and 38 badly injured. The cause was a cellphone. The pick-up driver had sent and received just about a dozen text messages minutes before the collision.

“The message to those who text and drive should be that it is not acceptable or safe behavior; it can and will kill you and others. Is it worth texting about what to order at a restaurant, how your date went or what to pick up at the grocery store, if you end up dead?” Lee asked.

Anyone finding themselves involved in an accident where the other driver was driving while distracted needs to call a qualified Austin personal injury lawyer and ask what legal options are open to them. If they were injured, they may be able to seek compensation for those injuries. Driving while distracted is clearly negligence, and this is the first thing an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer will tell a client.

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

This is one of those cases where you wonder where people left their brains. The driver of the pickup that caused this fatal wreck was more than drunk when he attempted to drive home at 3 a.m. He wasn’t doing a very good job of staying between the lines or staying on the road at all. In fact, his driving was so erratic that he slammed into a car carrying three younger men who happened to be heading in the same direction the 28-year-old pick-up driver was going.

But for a night out on the town, three men would still be alive today. The pickup driver survived but was in critical condition. The other three victims never had a chance. The hospitalized survivor was charged with driving with a blood alcohol content over .08, impaired driving causing death and manslaughter. While it is unusual to also lay a manslaughter charge in a case like this, there were several factors the police considered: the aggressively high rate of speed the drunk was maintaining and the level of impairment, which was objectively dangerous enough to kill someone.

Whatever happened to common sense? It appears to have gone out the window when the pickup driver made the assumption, or glaringly bad judgment, to attempt to drive when he was totally drunk. The families of the three dead young men have sought legal counsel in this matter, and it is safe to say that all three will likely file wrongful death lawsuits. The families are left with nothing but memories. The survivor is left with memories, but one imagines they won’t make him quit drinking. Somehow, that never happens. Instead, the deaths become another reason to continue getting drunk.

Death by drunk driver is one of the toughest types of accidents to understand and for good reason. The accident just never should have happened in the first place. Those who drive are responsible for the safety of others on the road. That is just the way it is. Those who speed, drive recklessly, drive under the influence of something or drive negligently are responsible for their actions and for their negligence that maimed or killed others.

If you have been involved in an accident with a drunk driver, call an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer to understand what your rights are and how to pursue a lawsuit to recover compensation for your injuries. While cases like this may take some time to go through the court system or be settled, with a seasoned Austin personal injury lawyer handling the case, justice will be done.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

A lot of strange cases cross the police blotter. Some are bizarre. Some are perplexing and others gut-wrenchingly stupid. This case is one of those. What this woman was thinking, and it is clear that she was not, is beyond comprehension.

The 41-year-old woman, arrested by police for drunk driving and causing an accident, was so dead-set on getting and staying drunk that she left her 3-year-old daughter home by herself at night. Three years old and her mother goes out on the town. Life is stranger than fiction. While mom was out kicking a few back and being sociable, she also decided she was able to drive. Why not? She left her 3-year-old at home alone, thinking that was ok. Why not drink and drive as well?

Predictably, the woman nailed another car that had been trying to turn left onto an avenue. Did she stay at the scene? No, she fled. The police found her later, sitting in her parked car, with the airbag deployed and serious front end damage from the accident, silently regarding her steering wheel like it was an alien object. This is likely since she was so loaded. It was not rocket science to ascertain the woman was drunk. What rocked the police officer taking her statement was the admission her 3-year-old was alone at home, and sure enough she was, crying because she was afraid to be alone without her mom.

The cop promptly called social services, and the youngster was taken to a family member’s home until her mother sobered up. That may turn out to be a long time, as she was charged with DWI, neglect and cruelty to a child, was cited for fleeing the scene of an accident, refusing a breathalyzer test, and careless driving.

The other person involved in this accident was thankfully not badly injured, but their car was heavily damaged. Nonetheless, the other driver did head to the hospital to get checked over. What rights does that other driver have? They have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit against the woman to recover damages for personal injuries and damage to their vehicle. Will the case go to court? It may, but if insurance is involved, an Austin personal injury lawyer may be able to negotiate a reasonable settlement with the insurance company. Don’t try this on your own. The insurance company would rather make you take their first low ball offer, than help you.

Any time you are faced with a mess like this accident, call an Austin personal injury lawyer and find out if you have a case. Never assume you have nothing, or conversely, have something without talking to qualified legal counsel. Knowledge is power and offers you the right information on which to proceed.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

It is bad enough out there on the highways when you are traveling at high speeds, and your travel companions on the roadways are 18-wheelers as those larger than life monsters can cause horrific accidents. More often than not, the cause of a wreck with a big rig is driver error. This is not to say that mechanical failure cannot be a cause, because that happens as well. It is just that human error is more likely the cause of a wreck.

Take the case of the trucker who bent down to pick some papers up off the floor of the cab, while he was driving, and slammed into a line of cars waiting at a construction stop. The wreckage in that fiasco was strewn more 100 yards. There were three deaths and at least seven other people seriously injured.

Or consider the case of the man who drove himself to complete exhaustion to get his routes done on time and earn more money. One day while on the way to deliver a load of metal, he fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into the oncoming lane of traffic. The Jeep Cherokee he hit was completely obliterated, killing all four occupants in the vehicle.

Then there was the case that was just about a wreck, but not completely. The reason why the accident almost happened will shock you, but it should almost not come as a surprise as truckers seem to be taking more and more stupid risks these days while behind the wheel. In this case, police charged a trucker with watching TV while he was driving on one of the nation’s busiest highways.

Another driver on the same highway called police to let them know he was sure he had seen a TV mounted on the dashboard of a tractor-trailer barrelling down the highway. Sure enough, when the police caught up with the trucker, he had a portable DVD player on the dash. Can you just imagine what would have happened, if not on that trip, but on another one? You can be sure that driving while distracted will result in a collision. When you are piloting a big rig, paying attention to the road and everything else around you is important.

Why truckers seem to think they can drive a deadly machine while on booze, high on pills, or texting, watching TV or while sleep deprived is the million dollar question of the year. Sure, it is a job for them and they need to make money. However, while trying to make money, they may end up losing everything, including their lives, by driving while distracted or under the influence.

Have you been in an accident with a big rig? Don’t know what to do? Call an Austin personal injury lawyer right away. In these kinds of cases, time is of the essence to preserve vital evidence. These cases are never easy for anyone, and your Austin personal injury lawyer will get on it right away, assess the situation and discuss his recommendations with you.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.

Sometimes, fate plays a hand in someone’s life, or in the lives of many. That is what happened in this case. Forty-three year old John Doe (name changed to protect the kids), was going down the road when he was pulled over by state troopers. They initially noted he was not wearing a seatbelt.

When they were talking to him, they caught the very strong smell of alcohol from inside the truck and noticed that there were two kids in the truck with him, ages 13 and 10. The driver miserably failed the field sobriety test and was arrested, bundled into a police car and taken to state police barracks. His blood alcohol content was .17, which is more than twice the legal limit. The man was promptly charged with felony driving while intoxicated, because he had children in his vehicle.

What possesses people to drive while drunk? What makes them think they are immortal and invisible to law enforcement while they are trying to pretend they can drive? What on earth propels them to take children along for the ride, when there is the very real possibility the kids could be killed in an accident? There is an old saying, “You can’t fix stupid.”
Stupid decisions aside, this man could have wrecked a lot of havoc on someone, including himself, had the police not stopped him for what they thought might be a seat belt infraction. Somewhere those children’s guardian angels were working overtime.

If this man had been involved in an accident and harmed or killed someone, including the two children, he could be sued for wrongful death or personal injuries. To prove a personal injury case or a wrongful death case, there needs to be negligence involved. In this instance, the negligence is two-fold: drinking excessively and choosing to drive. The link to prove the case is made between the negligence being the direct cause of the accident and thus the cause of the injuries or death.

When someone is killed due to the negligence of another, the surviving relatives may file a wrongful death lawsuit. This suit would seek compensation from the person responsible for the death or injuries. Damages may include medical bills, lost wages, loss of future earnings, loss of companionship, funeral and burial expenses and may also include punitive damages that are often awarded for egregious, intentional acts.

When you speak to an experienced Austin personal injury lawyer about a wrongful death case, one of the things discussed is limits on damages in a personal injury case. Some states place limits on compensatory or punitive damages. You need to know how that may work in your situation and how your Austin personal injury lawyer can help you find justice.

Robert W. Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer 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.