The Woodlands Personal Injury Law Blog

Cement spill blamed for crash in possible wrongful death

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in Wrongful Death on Monday, February 17, 2020.

Car crashes can have many different causes, but when they prove fatal, it is especially important to determine what happened. When a crash happens because a driver or a company that owns a vehicle was negligent, filing a wrongful death claim may be a necessary result. This is what Texas authorities are attempting to determine after a recent crash took the lives of two drivers. The incident, officials say, may have been caused by wet cement spilled on the roadway.

The crash happened on a recent morning right after a cement truck drove out of its plant and onto the roadway. Police report that the cement drum may have been turning incorrectly when the driver of the truck was making a turn around a corner. Police further allege that this caused wet cement to leak onto the roadway.

It matters if your spinal cord injury is complete or incomplete

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm on Friday, February 14, 2020.

The completeness of your spinal cord injury has a direct impact on whether you will experience secondary complications and on your recovery prognosis. Completeness refers to the degree of sensorimotor function you retain in the aftermath of your injury.

Two categories of completeness exist. The first is a complete spinal cord injury. The second is an incomplete spinal cord injury of which there are several degrees. You may anxiously await your doctor's determination regarding your injury, but unfortunately, you will need patience.

Wrongful death case possible after DUI-related car crash

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in Wrongful Death on Monday, February 10, 2020.

A car accident under any circumstance is an upsetting event. When it results in a fatality, it is all the more tragic, particularly when it seems that the crash may have been preventable. Some families make the choice to pursue a civil wrongful death claim in that instance. This option may be available to one Texas family after a woman died in a car crash that may have involved intoxicated driving.

According to police, the incident happened on a recent late evening. Authorities allege that an SUV traveling on local roads ran into another vehicle. The woman driving the second car died and a passenger in that same vehicle was injured. The SUV driver suffered minor injuries. There is no word on the current condition of the injured passenger.

Wrongful death: Car accident leaves officials with questions

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in Wrongful Death on Monday, February 3, 2020.

Losing a loved one may be difficult no matter the circumstances, but it can be particularly painful when the person dies because of someone else's negligence. Those left behind may struggle to come to terms with what happened and may even have financial struggles that only add to their anguish. They may need to file a wrongful death civil claim to try to ease that strain. This could be the case in the death of two Texas residents who were in a pickup truck that was hit by a large commercial truck.

Authorities report that the crash happened recently on U.S. Highway 181. A pickup truck was headed north and hauling a utility trailer. Police say that a tractor-trailer traveling south on the same road crossed the center line into oncoming traffic. The big rig apparently struck the smaller vehicle head-on. The driver and passenger in the pickup truck were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

Defective drugs: Heartburn meds may cause cancer

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in defective drugs on Saturday, January 25, 2020.

When patients here in Texas are prescribed medicine from their doctors, they trust that it is safe to consume. However, there are times when even the doctor may not realize that the medication may be harmful to patients. Defective drugs can have serious consequences to the patients that use them, some of them life-altering. This is what some people may be experiencing after the Food and Drug Administration warned that three different heartburn medications may cause cancer.

The drugs apparently contain a carcinogen known as nitrosodimethylamine. The FDA sent out notices about the impurity found in three different heartburn drugs from different drug manufacturers. Denton Pharma, Inc., Mylan Pharmaceuticals and Appco Pharma LLC have all issued recalls of specific lots of drugs due to the increased cancer risk posed to consumers.

Wrong-way car accident with semi-truck results in fatality

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in motor vehicle accidents on Saturday, January 18, 2020.

Semi-trucks are a vital part of the Texas economy. Without these vehicles, the transportation of goods would be far more difficult and costly for both companies and consumers. Even so, passenger cars are at risk of having a serious car accident with a semi since they must share the road with these large commercial vehicles. A crash with a tractor-trailer often results in more significant injury to victims, or even fatality, than a crash with another passenger vehicle. This is what may have happened to a woman who lost her life to a wrong-way crash with a semi-truck.

According to authorities, the recent incident happened when the woman was driving her car westward on the interstate. A semi-truck was behind her car. A second big rig, headed east, apparently crossed over the center median. It reportedly hit the woman's car and then rolled and struck the other semi-truck before coming to a stop.

Could paralysis increase your chances of suffering from sepsis?

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm on Thursday, January 16, 2020.

After your accident, doctors told you that you suffered from a spinal cord injury. Whether you will achieve a full recovery depends on a variety of factors, but at least temporarily, you are paralyzed. This situation presents enough of a challenge to your life, but you face other dangers as well. You need to be aware of some secondary conditions you could suffer from that could not only require medical intervention but could threaten your life as well.

One of the conditions you are now vulnerable to is sepsis. If you contract an infection you don't know about soon enough because of your spinal cord injury, it could turn into sepsis, which is a condition in which your body's immune system goes into overdrive and begins attacking your body. Make no mistake, this condition is life-threatening, and if it turns into septic shock, your situation becomes even more dire.

Products liability: FDA cannot stop sales of dangerous cosmetics

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in products liability on Thursday, January 16, 2020.

Consumers in Texas and across the country can typically rely on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to protect them from contaminated and dangerous food and drug products. However, the agency's power to recall potentially harmful products does not extend to cosmetics and skincare products. These products can be tested, and consumers can be warned of dangerous products, but it is up to the manufacturers to remove them from the shelves. This does not prevent consumers from filing products liability lawsuits if they were harmed by the cosmetics they used.

In a recent report, the FDA announced that after pressure from safety advocates and the media, Justice and Claire's have voluntarily removed cosmetic products containing hazardous chemicals from the shelves of retailers. Some products were found to contain asbestos, which is easily inhaled in powder form. Once inhaled, asbestos can cause permanent damage to the lungs, and the damage could lead to several types of cancer, including malignant mesothelioma.

Furniture company agrees to settlement over products liability

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in products liability on Friday, January 10, 2020.

Texas parents are often appalled at the creative ways their youngsters find to get themselves into frightening predicaments. Thankfully, most children walk away with just bumps and bruises from a potentially dangerous encounter. Sadly, several families suffered the unimaginable pain of losing their young child when a piece of furniture proved to be a deadly addition to a bedroom. Recently, Ikea agreed to a settlement involving a products liability claim regarding a line of their dressers.

A 2-year-old boy suffered fatal injuries when a 30-inch tall Ikea dresser toppled over on him. Tragically, his parents found him under the dresser with what proved to be fatal crush injuries to his neck. Reportedly, Ikea agreed to a $46 million settlement. In addition to the compensation, the company agrees to ensure that any of the dressers that remain in homes are retrofitted with anchoring devices to secure the furniture to a supporting wall.

Drunk driver causes crash that proves fatal

On behalf of The Leigh Law Firm posted in Wrongful Death on Monday, December 30, 2019.

Accident sites are notorious locations for additional accidents. People may slow down to look at what happened and cause a crash while rubbernecking, or drivers may drive too fast through the area and cause an accident in another way. A drunk driver could also contribute to another incident. Unfortunately, too many additional accidents happen after initial crashes, and the outcomes can be even worse than the initial incident.

It was recently reported that a family was involved in two accidents in Texas in a short period of time, and the second incident claimed the life of a father. Reports stated that a man, woman and their daughter were traveling through the state while on their way to another destination, and their vehicle was hit by another vehicle. Afterward, the family's vehicle was stopped, and a police officer was on the scene.