All Topics

• Using an Accident Reconstruction Expert In A Car Wreck Case

  Brooks Schuelke | January 25, 2008 3:22 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  California personal injury attorney John Bisnar has an interesting post about the importance of hiring an accident reconstruction expert when the accident reports are not filled out properly. Like John, and probably most personal injury lawyers, I've found accident reconstruction experts helpful in combatting report errors. But accident reconstruction experts are also helpful in other...

• Brain Injuries Go Undetected

  Brooks Schuelke | January 22, 2008 9:08 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  New York injury lawyer Michael Kaplan reported in his blog last week on a new study from the Army that up to 20 percent of the troops returning from combat have undiagnosed brain injuries. As a result, the Army is alerting returning troops about the symptoms of brain injury and encouraging those with symptoms to get treatment.But undiagnosed brain injuries are not unique to the Army. According...

• Texas Gets a "C" For Emergency Medical Care

  Brooks Schuelke | January 18, 2008 9:03 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Earlier this week, the American College of Emergency Physicians issued their report card for the state of Texas. Overall, Texas received a "C," but the way we received the grade is interesting. Apparently, Texas is a haven for poor emergency room medical care. We received a "D" in public health and safety, a "D+" in access to care, and a "D+" in quality/patient safety. Then how did we...

• Delays Increase in Emergency Room Care

  Brooks Schuelke | January 16, 2008 9:01 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Yesterday, a group of Harvard doctors released a study that may have a bearing on medical malpractice cases. The study reveals that patients are now waiting longer in emergency rooms. The Wall Street Journal, which covered the study, wrote:The median wait for adults rose to about 30 minutes in 2004 -- meaning half waited more and half waited less -- from 22 minutes in 1997, a 36% increase,...

• Medical Malpractice Reform Criticized by W. Va. Supreme Court Justice

  Brooks Schuelke | January 03, 2008 11:15 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Last week, the West Virginia Supreme Court was faced with the question of whether the state's medical malpractice reforms (including damage caps and requirements of pre-suit expert reports) applied to a claim against a hospital for providing contaminated sutures. The court eventually found that the reforms applied. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Larry Starcher railed on the malpractice...

• A Turn Around In Medical Malpractice Litigation?

  Brooks Schuelke | December 07, 2007 12:22 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Medical malpractice cases are hard, and for the last several years big insurance companies and big businesses have spent millions of dollars to convince the American jurors that a medical malpractice crises exists. As a result, it has been harder for plaintiffs to win medical malpractice cases, and when plaintiffs do win, the damages have been lower. But I have some hope that is changing...

• Hit and Run Victim Identified

  Brooks Schuelke | October 24, 2007 2:35 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Police today identified a 16 year old victim of a weekend hit and run car wreck. It doesn't appear that they have many leads, but with any luck, someone with information will step forward.This latest incident follows two motorcycle hit and run wrecks in June, an August hit and run wrongful death, and an unusual stabbing hit and run earlier this month. For more information on this subject,...

• Austin Man Convicted of Murder for Drunk Driving Death

  Brooks Schuelke | September 27, 2007 10:20 AM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Not completely personal injury news, but for the second time in a month, an Austin driver was sentenced to prison based on a murder charge for a death caused by the driver's drunk driving. Earlier this month, in the first trial of its kind in Travis County, a jury convicted the drunk driver and sentenced him to fifty years in prison. Yesterday's case was a result of a plea bargain that...

• Video Showing Forces Imparted In Auto Accidents

  Brooks Schuelke | September 25, 2007 1:13 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  Marietta, Georgia personal injury lawyer Matt Flournoy has posted a video on YouTube that shows some of the forces that are imparted in even a "minor" car wreck. While you might find the editing of the video (and its numerous inserts of text) annoying, it does have some decent information.Thanks to Lowell Steiger's Los Angeles Personal Injury Law Blog for the link. For more information on this...

• Flash Flood Kills 4 in Texas

  Staff Writer | June 19, 2007 3:35 PM | 0 CommentsAustin, TX

  At least four people were killed in a flash flood that took place in north Texas, and many more people are still missing. Among the dead was a 4 year-old girl from Fort Worth and a 5 year-old girl and her grandmother from Gainesville. The 5 year-old's sister is still missing. Another women was confirmed dead after her car stalled and she was swept away by the water.The damages to homes,...