Houston Personal Injury Law Blog

How To Make Sure You Don't Drive Drowsy

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in car accidents on Sunday, July 7, 2019.

Driving Drowsy: A Serious Matter

If you think that driving while you're tired is okay, think again. Drowsy driving can impair your skills and lead to tragic consequences: According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drowsy driving accounts for an average of 56,000 car crashes per year, resulting in 1,550 deaths and 40,000 nonfatal injuries.

Signs you're a drowsy driver

The primary cause of drowsy driving is inappropriate rest. This is often due to lack of sleep but can also be due to medical disorders or the consumption of medicine or alcohol. Signs that you are drowsy while driving include:

You find yourself drifting in and out of lanes
You have difficulty keeping your eyelids open
You need to concentrate extra hard in order to focus
You yawn and blink frequently
You have trouble keeping your head up

If you find yourself falling asleep at the wheel, it's a good idea to pull over. Take some time to rest or switch off with another driver.

Tragedy illustrates the importance of motorcycle awareness

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in motorcycle accidents on Thursday, June 27, 2019.

A tragic story about the deaths of seven motorcyclists in another state recently made national news. In addition to the seven motorcyclists who died, two other people suffered significant injuries.

The accident happened in the dinner hours on a rural stretch of a federal highway in another state. Police say that the driver of a pickup truck apparently slammed in to a group of motorcyclists who were riding together, possibly on the shoulder of the road.

How a new technology might affect your workers’ compensation

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. on Monday, June 24, 2019.

It doesn’t take a tech expert to see that technology is developing at a high rate. We’ve all seen how new inventions can change both industry practices and our personal lives overnight.

One example of this may soon be the introduction of “digital twin” technology to oil workers. This development could change how we understand worker safety and fault in work-related injuries.

Rules are in place to prevent truck driver fatigue

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in trucking accident on Friday, June 14, 2019.

Houston is relatively close to Louisiana and forms part of the Interstate 10 corridor, a thoroughfare that runs across the United States. There are therefore a lot of truckers on the roads who frequently cross state lines to conduct business. These truckers may be subject to federal rules, including rules governing how long they can stay on the road before being required to take an extended break.

For example, with respect to truckers hauling property, drivers may only be on the road for 11 hours before having to take a 10-hour break. A related rule is that truckers must take their 10-hour break after being on the clock for 14 hours. Unlike the 11-hour limit, the 14 hours continues to elapse while a driver is stopped for a restroom break or to fill up the vehicle with gas. Weekly limits also apply, after which a driver must take a 34-hour break.

Determining fault and liability in a multi-car accident

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in car accidents on Friday, May 31, 2019.

When someone is injured in a car accident caused by another driver's negligence, the negligent driver can be held liable for the injured party's damages. But first, the court must determine who was at fault for the accident and the victim's injuries. This can be difficult in many two-car accidents, but it is especially tricky when more than two vehicles are involved.

Recently in Houston, a woman was killed in a three-car accident. According to news reports, the woman was traveling through an intersection heading east on Harwin near West Sam Houston Parkway when a northbound car collided with her vehicle. A second vehicle then collided with her car.

4 ways to avoid a road rage crash

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. on Monday, May 20, 2019.

When you read news stories about driving trends these days, you are more likely to hear about distracted or drunk driving than road rage. But that does not mean that road rage crashes aren’t still a big problem in Houston. Maybe you have been targeted by an out-of-control driver trying to injure you (or at least scare you) for something “wrong” you supposedly did.

You can’t predict if a road-rage driver will ever force you into a car crash, but you can take steps to reduce your risk. Here are four tips for preventing road rage:

Can I recover compensation if I was partly at fault?

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in car accidents on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

Most of the time when this blog discusses car accidents, we talk about cases where one party caused the crash through negligence, while the other party was completely blameless. Issues of liability are relatively straightforward in these cases. For example, when a drunk driver crashes into a sober driver who is legally stopped at a stop light, and the sober driver is injured, we can see that the drunk driver caused the accident through negligence and therefore should be held liable for the sober driver's damages.

Many accidents are not so simple, and many personal injury cases are not so straightforward. In many accidents, more than one party contributes to the accident. Can injured people recover compensation if they were partly at fault for their accident? Under Texas law, the answer is sometimes yes.

Car drivers at fault in most car-motorcycle collisions

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in motorcycle accidents on Friday, May 3, 2019.

May is National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, in which the National Safety Council and other organizations educate the public about the unique dangers faced by motorcyclists. While many of this month's activities are geared toward motorcycle riders, the organizers also hope to attract the attention of car and truck drivers. It is crucial to traffic safety that other drivers are made aware of the two-wheeled vehicles sharing the roads with them.

Researchers say that most accidents involving a car-motorcycle collision are caused by car drivers who violate a motorcyclist's right of way. According to some reports, this is the case in as many as two-thirds of car-motorcycle collisions.

Statistics show sharp rise in truck and bus accidents

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in trucking accident on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.

Safety features in passenger cars have been getting steadily better over the years, and inventions such as airbags have saved countless lives. However, there's only so much an airbag or a seatbelt can do when a car collides with a much larger and heavier vehicle. That is why trucking accidents are so dangerous. A collision that might have led to minor injuries if it were between two cars can easily lead to catastrophic or fatal injuries if one of the vehicles involved is a tractor-trailer truck or a large bus.

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, 4,889 large trucks and buses were involved in accidents in 2017, the most recent year for which statistics are available. That number represented a 9% increase over the year before. The number of these crashes that was fatal rose by 8%.

Tips for driving safely in heavy traffic

On behalf of Law Office of Richard J. Presutti, P.C. posted in motorcycle accidents on Monday, April 15, 2019.

It can be safe to say that no one likes driving in heavy traffic. When there are many cars on the road at the same time, there is a greater chance for an accident or even a catastrophic pile up if one driver is not careful.

If you routinely drive in heavy traffic, below we have six key safety tips to keep in mind: