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	<title>Legal News about Lufkin &#38; Houston Truck Accidents and Whistleblower Claims</title>
	<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com</link>
	<description>Providing up to date information about Lufkin Truck Accidents, Houston Truck Accidents and Whistleblower Fraud Claims</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 30 May 2011 16:13:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Parking Garage Collapse Injures Two Workers</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 30 May 2011 16:13:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[A partially built parking garage collapsed in February at University Hospital in San Antonio, injuring two construction workers, one critically.  Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is conducting an investigation on the collapse.  Emergency air horns alerted 120 other workers, who fled from the collapsing structure, according to MySanAntonio.com. The garage was being erected near the intersection of Medical Drive and Wurzbach Road at the time of the construction accident. Zachry Vaughn Layten is the company overlooking the construction project, which is part of a $900 million expansion at University Hospital. “The garage project is shut down until we have completed an independent analysis of what happened—and can be assured that it won’t happen again,” said Mike Webb, vice president of facilities development and project management for the University Health System. Observers of the construction accident reported hearing two loud crashes.  Jeff Johnson, Project Executive for Zachry Vaughn Layten, says...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/parking-garage-collapse-injures-two-workers/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/parking-garage-collapse-injures-two-workers/</link>
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		<title>Commercial Truck Accident in Texas Claims Life</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 17:58:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[A commercial truck accident in Omaha, Texas on May 1 took the life of one man, according to KLTV.com of 7KLTX in Texas, an ABC News affiliate.  The victim has been identified at 58 year-old Jerry Ray Smith of Omaha.  Smith’s truck reportedly crossed the centerline and struck an 18-wheeeler, according to a Texas State Trooper. Smith was driving his 1999 Ford F-150 in the early morning on Highway U.S. 259 in Morris County at the time of the 18-wheeler accident.  According to officials both Smith and the commercial truck driver, Jared Woosley Wright, 28, were wearing safety belts. Both White and Smith were transported to the Good Shepherd Medical Center.  White received treatment for a knee injury suffered in the 18-wheeler accident and Smith was pronounced dead at the hospital. &#160;]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/commercial-truck-accident-in-texas-claims-life/</link>
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		<title>Texas Watch Speaks Out Against HB 274</title>
        <pubDate>Tue, 17 May 2011 18:40:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[  Texas Watch Testifies Against &#8220;Loser Pays&#8221; in Senate State Affairs Yesterday, Texas Watch Director of Legislative Affairs Ware Wendell gave impassioned testimony to the Senate State Affairs Committee against HB 274.  He talked about the devastating impact this bill would have on Texans of all walks of life – children, first responders, small business owners, and many more.  He told the committee that this bill gives immunity to polluters, insurance companies, and other corporate wrongdoers by threatening families and businesses with having to pay the bloated legal costs of corporate defendants even if they win in court.  Watch Ware’s testimony.   Building Coalitions to Fight &#8220;Loser Pays&#8221; Texas Watch organized a coalition of more than a dozen advocacy groups representing varied interests and constituencies, from Mothers Against Drunk Driving to the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities, to oppose HB 274, the so-called “loser pays” bill.  In a memo to...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/texas-watch-speaks-out-against-hb-274/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/texas-watch-speaks-out-against-hb-274/</link>
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		<title>Tort Deform &#8211; Houston Chronicle DeBunks HB 274</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2011 19:22:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[The following is an editorial appearing in the Houston Chronicle regarding HB274 Tort deformHouse Bill 274 further stacks the legal deck in favor of big-money defendants Houston Chronicle Editorial, May 14, 2011 The campaign by so-called tort reformers in Texas has long since moved beyond its avowed goal of preventing frivolous lawsuits and massive damage judgments. With the passage of HB 274 by the Texas House last weekend, it has graduated to an all-out assault on the ability of consumers and small business owners to seek legal redress in civil courts against powerful business interests. You might call the latest iteration &#8220;stealth tort reform.&#8221; The primary damage isn&#8217;t in what the bill adds to current law. The injustice is in what it eliminates. The last major tort reform legislation passed in 2003 in Austin mandated that plaintiffs who spurn settlement offers and win a jury verdict must receive a judgment...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/tort-deform-houston-chronicle-debunks-hb-274/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/tort-deform-houston-chronicle-debunks-hb-274/</link>
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		<title>Urgent!!  Call Your State Senator &amp; Representative Now!!</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 16 May 2011 16:28:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[Friends, The title to this post could not be more serious.  At a time when our state legislature should be working to address our state budget crisis, they are instead preparing to pass a new law that gives millions (potentially billions) to insurance companies by stripping away the rights of individuals and small businesses to bring a lawsuit when they have been injured or had an insurance claim wrongfully denied. Under this law, HB274, the victim of a drunk driver could have to pay the attorney’s fees of the drunk – even if the victim WINS at trial! Please forward this blog post to your contact list.  Post this on your Facebook pages. I am not making this up.  They are calling the bill “Loser Pays”, but that name is a sham.  The law is worded to guarantee that the insurance company wins no matter what. In a nutshell, here is how...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/urgent-call-your-state-sentator-representative-now/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/urgent-call-your-state-sentator-representative-now/</link>
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		<title>Closing Arguments Bring Tears in Construction Accident Civil Trial</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 02 May 2011 16:13:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[On April 8, Travis County District Judge Scott Jenkins heard final arguments in a civil trial involving a construction accident, which lead to the wrongful death of three workers.  The scaffold collapse occurred on the University of Texas’ west campus in Austin, where the workers were erecting a condominium. A scaffold collapse lead to the death of the workers. The widow of deceased worker Raudel Ramirez Cervitos, as well as the two children he left behind, traveled from Mexico to attend the trial.  The mother of deceased worker of Joel Irias Cervitos made the trip from Honduras to attend. Judge Jenkins offered is condolences to the victim’s family members and mentioned losing a son of his own three years ago.  Jenkins and the family members began to tear up in the emotional closing arguments. “The one thing that helped us heal is to love, is to love more,” Jenkins said....<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/closing-arguments-bring-tears-in-construction-accident-civil-trial/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/05/closing-arguments-bring-tears-in-construction-accident-civil-trial/</link>
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		<title>Commercial Truck Accidents on the Rise</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 25 Apr 2011 13:52:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[Commercial truck accident numbers increased for the most part in 2010, according to PRNewsWire.com.  There were over 500,000 commercial truck accidents on record.  Over 100,000 people sustained serious injuries in these accidents. Experts have been debating possible reasons for the drastic rise in commercial truck accidents in 2010 in the United States.  Some experts speculate that the rise in truck accidents is due to increased trucks on the roads transporting goods in a recovering economy.  Experts project a 20 percent increase in the number or commercial trucks on the road by 2012. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the number of truck accident deaths has also been on the rise. Over 5,000 people died in commercial truck accidents in 2010, as opposed to 3,200 deaths in 2009. &#160;]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/commercial-truck-accidents-on-the-rise/</link>
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		<title>SCAFFOLDING ACCIDENT IN AUSTIN KILLS CONSTRUCTION WORKER</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 18 Apr 2011 20:41:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[One construction worker died in a construction accident in Austin, TX at the end of January.  KVUE ABC News in Austin identifies the victim as Elvis Mendez. Mendez was a 29-year-old construction worker from Dallas, who was in Austin working at a construction site.  Mendez left behind a wife and two children in Dallas. The scaffolding accident occurred on Thursday afternoon, January 27 at the Retreat at North Bluff apartment complex in south Austin.  Mendez and another worker were working on caulk for a brick staircase when they fell off the scaffolding.  The other worker received treatment for injuries at an area hospital, and paramedics pronounced Mendez as dead on the scene. Investigators from OSHA (Occupational Health &#38; Safety Administration) arrived at the construction site on the following Friday morning.  They are attempting to determine if the scaffolding gave way or if the men simply fell off.  OSHA has six...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/scaffolding-accident-in-austin-kills-construction-worker/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/scaffolding-accident-in-austin-kills-construction-worker/</link>
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		<title>TRUCK DRIVER KILLED IN 18-WHEELER ACCIDENT IN TEXAS</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 11 Apr 2011 21:13:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[A commercial truck accident killed driver Alejandro Raya on March 28 in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, according to The Columbian. Raya was driving on Interstate 30 when a truck traveling in the wrong direction on westbound I-30 near Bech St. struck his vehicle. Raya leaves behind a wife and three children. Authorities arrested the other truck&#8217;s driver, Louis Nieves, 23, and charged him with intoxication manslaughter for his involvement in the commercial truck accident. A fire ensued after the collision, and Raya was unable to escape the cab before the tanker exploded with him still inside. Police had received several phone calls from frantic drivers shortly before the 18-wheeler accident occurred around 2:30 am. Haz-Mat teams responded to contain the fuel that spilled out, and the Texas Department of Transportation closed I-30 for most of the day. The road will require extensive repairs. Nieves claims he does not recall the...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/truck-driver-killed-in-18-wheeler-accident-in-texas/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/truck-driver-killed-in-18-wheeler-accident-in-texas/</link>
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		<title>ASTROS ROOKIE ARRESTED ON DUI CHARGES</title>
        <pubDate>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 20:49:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[Authorities arrested Delino DeShields Jr., Houston Astros minor-league baseball player, last month in Athens, GA on suspicion of drunk driving, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. Police booked 18-year-old DeShields at Clark County Jail at 1:06 am on January 16. DeShields told Athens police he was leaving a gathering at a Kappa Alpha house and “admitted to having a sip of beer earlier in the evening,” according to The Houston Chronicle.  DeShields registered a .076 BAC; the legal limit in Georgia for individuals under 21 is .002. A blood test at the Clark County Jail recorded a .094, according to The Houston Chronicle.  Police also found four open bottles of liquor in DeShields’ 2010 Cadillac Escalade.  DeShields posted his $2500 bond and was released early the next morning. DeShields faces charges of drunk driving, underage possession of alcohol driving the wrong way down a one way, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. ...<br /> <a href="http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/astros-rookie-arrested-on-dui-charges/">Read More &#187;</a>]]></description>
		<link>http://www.texaslawofficeblog.com/2011/04/astros-rookie-arrested-on-dui-charges/</link>
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