Liability in Mass Shootings & Terroristic Acts

Mass shootings and terroristic acts are not new occurrences in most parts of the world today. These are one of the most important issues facing the governments of nations everywhere. Now, the unfortunate thing in these situations is that the liabilities are usually enormous, and sometimes it is difficult to proffer real solutions. For instance, the government can surely not restore dead persons to their families and loved ones.

 

However, there are other mass shootings and terroristic acts aftermath liabilities that can be quite effectively attended to. These liabilities are the objectives of such innovations as active shooter insurance, as well as the terrorism insurance coverage- which is now active in several countries.

 

Active shooter and terrorism insurances for mass shootings and terroristic acts

In recent times, more people are beginning to consider mass shooting insurances (sometimes referred to as active shooter insurance). According to Governing, more private companies, educational institutions, etcetera now want insurance against mass shootings. This type of insurance puts the liabilities of such occurrences, on the insurance company. Hence, the insurance pays for medicals, property loss, counseling and rehabilitation, etcetera.

 

The terrorism insurance on another hand serves a similar function for victims of terroristic acts. However, it is more directed towards property owners, private businesses and organizations- that were the targets of such acts.

 

Current issues in active shooter, and terroristic acts’ liability insurance

While it seems good enough that insurance companies now have such packages that protect people from mass shootings and terroristic acts, there are still a number of grey areas that need to be sorted out. The basic issues in this type of liability insurance, stem from how much liability the insurance company should and can bear.

 

Firstly, terrorism insurance is a delicate type of insurance package, since it is relatively harder to quantify the extent of possible loss that may occur. From observations too, they often times result in huge financial losses on the overall. As such, existing insurance companies say it’s a little more difficult to set premium rates for interested clients, or they may not be able to run the costs for paying the compensations.

Additionally, you’ll find out that most active shooter insurances cost a huge amount of money. Hence, it is sometimes not accessible to the people who need it most, while it may also be too much to bear for those who can manage to pay.

Interestingly, however, governments of developed countries- especially, are finding ways of participating more in the shouldering of mass shooting and terrorist acts’ liabilities. For instance, the United States Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) has been useful in a number of ways.

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Facts about Workers’ Compensation Doctors and Independent Medical Exams

One of the more confusing issues for an injured worker going through a workers’ compensation claim in Texas is the requirement to see a doctor chosen from a list provided by the TX Division of Workers’ Compensation. The workers’ compensation insurer or the Division also may order an independent medical exam by a “designated doctor” selected by the insurer or division.

The workers’ compensation attorneys of Herrman & Herrman in Corpus Christi, TX, can help you pursue workers’ comp benefits after a workplace accident if they are available. We can answer questions during an initial consultation and review your claim and what benefits are available to you. The consultation is always free.

Can I Choose My Workers’ Compensation Claim Doctor?

If an employer in Texas has workers’ compensation insurance, the injured or ill worker seeking workers’ compensation benefits will be provided a list of approved physicians from which he or she may choose a doctor to see for nonemergency medical care. If the injured worker is dissatisfied with his or her initial choice, the worker may file a request in writing to see another doctor from the Workers’ Compensation program’s list.

However, you can’t request such a change just to secure a new impairment rating or medical report. You will need to present a valid reason for making the change, such as the doctor behaving unprofessionally or having a conflict of interest regarding your treatment.

In addition, the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) may select a designated doctor to examine the claimant to resolve questions about an injured employee’s medical condition or resolve a dispute about a work-related injury or illness.

This examination process is known as an “independent medical exam.” The injured employee, the employee’s representative or insurance carrier, or the DWC can request an exam by a designated doctor. The DWC will determine if a designated doctor should be appointed to conduct the exam.

Is the Independent Medical Exam Obligatory?

The independent medical exam is obligatory if ordered by the DWC. Failing to undergo an exam when ordered will likely lead to denial of your workers’ comp claim. Indeed, a workers’ compensation claimant must be careful to follow all orders and directions of the DWC and doctors he or she sees.

The problem is that an employer’s objective for ordering an independent medical exam is often to have their worker declared fit to return to work. The exam may lead to a declaration that the worker can assume light duty, which reduces benefit payments, or that the worker has reached maximum recovery, which may lead to a settlement that closes the claim.

You may expect to be referred for an independent medical exam if:

• The insurance company disagrees with your treating physician’s medical opinion.
• Your claim is becoming too expensive.
• The insurer needs to resolve a dispute about your claim, limit your benefits or deny your claim entirely.

What Should I Avoid Doing with a Work Comp Doctor?

You must follow doctors’ orders during the course of a workers’ compensation claim. But you also must protect yourself when dealing with a doctor assigned to your claim. Your medical treatment and what you say to your workers’ comp doctor will be a part of the medical records seen by your employer’s insurance company. It is easy to make mistakes in dealing with a workers’ compensation doctor that can be used to undermine your claim.

To ensure your claim record reflects well on you, you should:

• Seek prompt medical treatment. Seek medical care promptly after an accident and report it to your employer. Failing to seek immediate medical care after a workplace injury makes it easier to contend that you were not substantially injured.
• Keep medical appointments. You should follow doctors’ orders for treatment, including attending all medical appointments. Otherwise, it may look like you are not trying to get better, or that you have not really been hurt. If you truly disagree with your doctor’s recommended treatment, a workers’ compensation lawyer may help you dispute it, and request an independent medical exam. Until a different medical opinion is part of the record, do as the doctor tells you.
• Disclose medical information. When the doctor asks about your medical history and any similar injuries you have had, answer truthfully. The doctor needs this information to properly treat you. If the workers’ comp insurer discovers a prior injury that you have failed to disclose, it may be enough to claim your medical issues are due to a preexisting condition and jeopardize your workers’ comp claim.
• Never embellish your injury. Give the doctor the straightforward facts about the accident and your injury. Don’t use overly descriptive language. If later statements don’t match, it could reduce your credibility and damage your claim.
• Avoid downplaying your injury. This is no time to be a hero. Tell your doctor you are in pain if you are and explain any physical limitations or difficulties your injury continues to cause you. The doctor will record your comments as part of the medical record. This will help ensure you are properly treated and that you are not sent back to work before you are ready to resume your job duties.
• Return to work when ready. If you are not physically and psychologically ready to return to work after an accident, say so and explain why. The objective of workers’ compensation is to assist you until you are fit to return to work, but you must be ready or it can be detrimental to your health and more expensive if you relapse or re-injure yourself. Many employers will pressure workers to return to work before they are ready. Ask a workers’ compensation attorney for assistance.

Contact a Workers’ Compensation Attorney in Corpus Christi, TX

The Texas workers’ compensation system is a complex program with rules that do not necessarily benefit the injured worker. At Herrman & Herrman, P.L.L.C., our workplace injury lawyers in Corpus Christi, TX, pursue work-related injury claims on behalf of injured South Texas residents. Our decades of experience can guide you through a claim and help ensure you recover all of the benefits Texas law says you deserve to have.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation discussion of your claim and the benefits you are due.

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Child Drowning – Accidents & Rights

Beyond the lurking dangers that surround kids and water, their bond is almost inseparable. To most children, water holds an undertone of fun and adventure. But while you want your kids to always have the best time at the water park, pools or beaches, it’s also important you know what your rights are should they get involved in a drowning accident.

Often times, kids drown due to the recklessness or negligence of others. This could be caused by what the pool or waterway operators did or failed to do or just sheer recklessness of other swimmers. For instance, if a lifeguard or another kid behaved in ways that may have resulted in the drowning of a kid, what the victim’s family do?

Know the pool regulations

The truth is, you wouldn’t know what your rights are if you don’t know the regulations that should guard the operation of a pool, water park, and hot tubs. There are Federal and State laws that have been put in place to prevent (especially children) from drowning. For example, operators of public swim houses are mandated to install drain covers to prevent kids from drowning by suction. When that is not in place, then you have strong evidence to build your case.

Sue if you may – it’s your right

You don’t have to go through the trauma and hurt alone; you have the right to sue for wrongful death. Make all necessary contacts to get an expert personal injury attorney as soon as possible. It’s their duty to carefully examine all evidence against whoever is responsible for the downing as well as to protect your rights while pursuing recovery.

Your family has a right to due compensation

There’s already the pain of losing your little one to deal with, the financial burden shouldn’t be added to that. We know that no amount of money will fill the void the incidence left behind; however, due compensation will definitely help with the cost of a funeral, medical expenses and intangible losses like companionship or consortium. Your family deserves this money; therefore get it if you can.

 

Drowning accidents, especially one that takes away the breath of the source of one’s joy, can be a hard pill to swallow. As is usually the case, you can be trapped in the ‘if only…, then this could have been avoided’ for a long while. Don’t go through it alone. Get all the help you need, arm yourself with your rights and have the negligent party and their insurance company drink from your cup of pain.

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What To Know About DUI Accidents in McAllen, TX

Drunk driving accidents continue to be a deadly threat on American roads, and Texas has the dubious distinction of consistently ranking among the states with the highest number of drunk driving fatalities year after year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says 40% of all traffic deaths in Texas in 2018 were caused by alcohol-impaired driving. Only Montana had a higher percentage of alcohol-related traffic fatalities at 43%.

In Texas, a person with a blood or breath alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 g/dL is legally intoxicated and can be charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI). A Texas driver can be convicted of driving while impaired even if his or her alcohol level is lower than .08 if the person does not have normal use of his or her mental or physical faculties as a result of alcohol or drugs. If you are under age 21, it is illegal in Texas to have any detectable amount of alcohol in your system while operating a motor vehicle.

If a person who caused a car accident was found to be legally intoxicated – guilty of DWI – this is considered “negligence per se.” In other words, no other evidence is necessary to show that the drunk driver bears responsibility for the accident and injuries that ensued.

Because driving drunk shows willful disregard for public safety and the law, the defendant in a drunk driving accident lawsuit is more likely to be assessed punitive damage by a jury. This is an extra payment to the injured exacted as punishment for gross negligence or intentional acts that cause harm and as a warning to others who would act with similar disregard for the well-being of others.

Texas’ Dram Shop Law Regarding Commercial Establishments and DWIs

Texas also has a Dram Shop Act that allows bars and restaurants in Texas to be held liable for drunk driving accidents in certain situations. An employee at a Texas bar or other place that serves alcohol may be liable in a drunk driving accident if the server:

• Sold alcohol to an individual who was obviously intoxicated
• Sold alcohol to a minor who caused a drunk driving accident.

Owners of commercial establishments can protect themselves by requiring employees to attend training before selling alcohol and by encouraging employees not to ignore the Dram Shop Act.

In a claim made under the Texas Dram Shop Act, the plaintiff will typically rely on witnesses and security footage to establish that the person being served alcohol was “obviously intoxicated.” Additional evidence, such as recent debit card deductions for alcohol purchases, are strong evidence of intoxication, as well.

In a personal injury claim, such evidence may allow individuals injured by a drunk driver to seek compensation through the negligent bar or restaurant owner’s business liability insurance. This is beneficial when the actual drunk driver in the case is found to be uninsured, for example.

Texas DWI Statistics and Recent Fatalities

Harris County (Houston) had the most DWI crashes of any Texas County in 2018, with 3,186, according to the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). These crashes resulted in 121 deaths. Hidalgo County had 717 DWI accidents, with 22 people killed.

There were 24,211 DWI-related crashes in all of Texas in 2018, according to TxDOT. Of them, 850 were fatal accidents resulting in 940 deaths.

David Garcia Jr., 22, was arrested for DWI after an accident on North 10th Street in McAllen in August 2019. News reports say Alma Rodriguez and 2-year-old Patricia Vargas were killed when Garcia’s pickup truck struck the SUV they were riding in. Seven others in the SUV were injured.

In December, Orlando Rodriguez admitted to drinking beer and liquor, as well as using cocaine and marijuana, before he drove through a stop sign and crossed the median on Highway 281, crashing head-on into Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher Sandra Coronado’s vehicle and killing her. A news report says Rodriguez had a previous DWI conviction and that the night before the fatal collision, friends told Rodriguez he would be arrested if he left home to party in downtown McAllen. He responded that he could control himself.

Community Response to Drunk Driving

Since 1982, drunk driving fatalities on our nation’s roadways have decreased 50%, while total traffic fatalities have declined nearly 17%, according to the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility. Among persons under 21, drunk driving fatalities have decreased 81%.

From 2008 to 2017, the number of alcohol-impaired driving fatalities per 100,000 population in Texas increased by 12.1%, according to the Foundation. Alcohol-impaired driving fatalities per 100,000 population among drivers under age 21 fell by 7.5%.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says these strategies to combat drunk driving have been effective where adopted in the U.S.:

• Stricter laws. Drunk driving laws have made it illegal nationwide to drive with a BAC at or above 0.08%. For people under 21, “zero tolerance” laws make it illegal to drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in their system.
• Sobriety checkpoints. Checkpoints allow police to briefly stop vehicles at specific, highly visible locations under standardized procedures to see whether drivers are impaired.
• License suspension and revocation. State laws allow police to take away the license of a driver who tests at or above the legal BAC limit or who refuses testing when arrested. States decide how long to suspend the license; a minimum of 90 days is effective.
• Ignition interlocks. Interlock devices prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver has a BAC above a certain level, usually 0.02%. People convicted of drunk driving may be required to have them installed, and they are highly effective at preventing repeat DWI offenses, the CDC says.
• Public awareness. Mass media campaigns have been used to spread the message about the physical dangers and legal consequences of drunk driving. They can persuade people not to drink and drive.
• Public school programs. School-based instructional programs can teach teens not to ride with drunk drivers. More evidence is needed to see whether these programs can also reduce drunk driving and related crashes, the CDC says.

Contact a DUI Accident Lawyer in McAllen

Unfortunately, innocent drivers, passengers, pedestrians and others continue to be injured and killed by drunk drivers in McAllen and across Texas. If we cannot stop drunk driving accidents, we at Herrman & Herrman can help the accident victims to hold drunk drivers accountable.

Our drunk driving accident attorneys in McAllen are committed to helping individuals and families who have been harmed by another driver’s carelessness or disregard for safety. At-fault drivers and their insurance companies should pay for the damages they cause.

We work aggressively to obtain full compensation for those who have been injured through the fault of others. Contact us today for a free initial legal consultation about your rights and how we can help you.

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What You Should Know About Automation & Automobiles

Going by all the information available, we believe everyone would agree with us that the period of transitioning to automated automobiles is very close. Automation automobiles have been talked up in many quarters over the years with limited success, but if any of the developments coming up in recent times is anything to go by, then, we can all be sure that the time to rely on self driven automobiles is really around the corner.

What the proponents of automated automobiles are trying to do is providing artificial intelligence for automobiles that would enhance them to drive themselves with minimal or no interference from humans. The argument has been that the process would make things better on many fronts, including safer driving on our roads, an extreme reduction in traffic gridlocks, lesser fuel consumption, among other benefits.

As expected, there have been a number of critics, but none of these criticisms have been successful in derailing the match towards the era of driverless automobiles, which is expected to hit us anytime soon, going by what we have seen so far. Since the whole process cannot be ushered in fully at the same time, the proponents of automation have created five different levels of automation that would be embarked on once the whole process kicks in. The levels include:

• Level 1-Autonomy: In level 1-autonomy, the driver still has a lot of work to do in driving the car. Although the automobile is equipped to perform some basic functions like steering and accelerating at different times, yet, the whole process still requires the guidance of the driver to work safely and effectively.
• Level 2 Autonomy: In level 2-autonomy, there is a slight difference as the human influence is somehow reduced to just observation and checking out that everything is working fine within the automobile. Here the car can drive and park itself with little or no interference.
• Level 3 Autonomy: In level 3 – autonomy, the game goes up a notch, as the automobile would be able to do nearly everything by itself without any form of interference. Sometimes, the only human interference needed might be to help in scanning the environment to ensure everything is in order.
• Level 4 Autonomy: This is the next step to full autonomy. At this point, all you need do is relax in your vehicle and allow the robot do all the driving. You don’t even need to look out through the windows or scan your surroundings as that is taken care of. The only thing you might need to do is waiting for the system to ask for any assistance by itself if it deems it fit.
• Level 5 Autonomy: Level 5 autonomy is the highest level of sufficiency. Here, you are all good without any form of interference. The automobile will drive itself, scan the environment itself, overcome any obstacle on the road and deliver you to your destination without any incidence.

What Countries are Embracing this Change?

A number of countries have started embracing the change to an era of self-driven cars. These countries have provided the platform and enabling environment in the past and they continue to lead the way as we head into the era. Leading countries in this aspect include; the United Kingdom, Singapore, Netherlands, USA, Germany, Sweden, United Arab Emirates, to mention but a few.

Final Notes

Without any doubt, we can all agree that it is more about when and not if automated automobiles would become a part of our lives in the not too distant future. All we can do as people is to get as much information needed to prepare us for the transition.

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Man killed in Camp Bullis Road wreck identified

(SAN ANTONIO, FEBRUARY 2020) — The victim in the Camp Bullis Road car accident has since been identified. According to authorities, 21-year-old Abdullah Alghurabi was driving his black Mustang on the road when he lost control of his vehicle and slammed into two nearby trees. The wreck occurred late Tuesday night.

Bystanders who heard the crash pulled the victim out of his car, but medical personnel was unable to revive him.

Our thoughts are with the victim’s family at this time.

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Island University cheerleader killed in car wreck in San Antonio

(SAN ANTONIO, FEBRUARY 2020) — 19-year-old Jasmine Goudeau was killed after being hit by a drunk driver in San Antonio on Monday morning. According to authorities, the drunk driver, 28-year-old Erick Casas, slammed into Goudeau near the intersection of Culebra Road and Micron Drive.

Goudeau was a cheerleader and nursing student at Island University, better known as Texas A&M at Corpus Christi. Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this time.

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