It can be very scary to be a passenger in a car driven by a risk-taking driver. There is very little you can do to prevent a car accident when you are not in the driver’s seat. Getting out of the car may not always be a good option. Asking the driver to please slow down or get off their phone may be ineffective, and doing so could even cause the driver to behave even more recklessly. 

If you get into an accident due to your driver’s negligence, you may be able to recover compensation. There can be differences in how your case should be handled depending on your relationship with the driver. For example, your case might be different if you are a friend of the driver as opposed to an immediate family member. If you were injured in a car accident as a passenger of the at-fault driver, your best option is to speak with an attorney. 

Recovering Compensation as a Social Passenger

If you were a friend, acquaintance, or even in some cases a family member of the careless driver who caused the accident, you may be able to recover compensation through the driver’s insurance policy. If the driver had the right types of coverage, you may only need to file a claim as one normally would after an accident. You may even have a bit of an easier time showing that the driver was negligent, as you likely had a very clear view of exactly what the driver did to cause the accident. Seeking compensation for medical bills through your own insurance coverage may also be an option for some. 

Texas has experienced some truly wild heat waves this summer, and it may not cool off for some time. In our hot southern state, public and semi-private swimming pools are a popular way to cool off during the hot summer months. Children and adults alike flock to Texas swimming pools to enjoy swimming, sunbathing, or spending time with friends. While we think of pools as a great place to enjoy warm weather, there is considerable danger associated with swimming pools. Sadly, children are the most common victims of serious swimming pool accidents. Many of these injuries and deaths are entirely preventable when the pool owner just takes a few simple steps to head off common injuries. If you or your child was injured or killed at a swimming pool this summer, you may be able to recover compensation under a premises liability theory. 

Common Types of Negligence by Pool Owners

One of the main things you will need to prove to prevail in a lawsuit over a swimming pool injury is that the owner of the pool was negligent in causing your or your child’s injuries. This can be tricky - no swimming pool is 100% safe. Even when all appropriate precautions are in place, there is still some risk that people could get hurt or drown - but negligence makes accidents much more likely. 

A few types of negligence commonly identified after serious accidents include: 

While car crashes can be devastating, accidents involving a big rig can be devastating on a much larger scale. Multi-vehicle accidents with multiple casualties are a common result when a truck driver fails to drive cautiously. An important part of safe trucking practices are hours of service laws. These laws govern when drivers must take a rest break, and how long that rest break must be. The purpose of these laws is to prevent driver fatigue.

Fatigue is the enemy when you are operating an enormous vehicle capable of causing so much harm. If a truck driver falls asleep even for a moment, he is likely to move out of his lane just enough to cause an accident. One of the first pieces of evidence your attorney may want after a truck accident is the driver’s hours of service log. 

What Are Hours of Service Laws?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration sets out hours of service regulations. Hours of service represent the amount of time a truck driver can keep driving without making a rest stop. In the past, drivers were not required to take rest breaks, so many of them did not. This led to quite a few needless car crashes when exhausted drivers fell asleep or became hypnotized by the road. 

The term “attractive nuisance” refers to something that is likely to attract children, but is not exactly safe for them. A swimming pool is the classic example - most children love swimming pools and would be tempted to go to it. However, unsupervised children can drown or become seriously injured in an instant at a swimming pool.

In Texas, anyone who keeps an attractive nuisance on their property has a duty to take steps to protect the children who may be drawn to it, even if they do not allow children on their property. Property owners have a special responsibility towards child trespassers who are attracted in by a hazard. If your child was harmed on another’s property by an attractive nuisance, we may be able to help you recover compensation. 

More Examples of Attractive Nuisances

To determine what is and is not an attractive nuisance, you have to look through the eyes of a child. Would they see it and immediately want to go explore it, climb it, or jump into it? If they did, would they be likely to get hurt? If so, you may be dealing with an attractive nuisance. Common examples include: 

Airbags in cars are a safety feature that has been around for well over fifty years. The idea is that when you get into a crash, your airbag inflates and cushions you from the impact. When an airbag works correctly, it can save your life. When it does not work correctly, it can make an accident much, much worse than it had to be. Defective airbags can cause severe injuries that may be worse than the injuries you would have sustained with no airbag at all.

Manufacturers, designers, and installers could all be the party ultimately responsible for putting a defective and dangerous product on the market. Unlike a typical car accident case, a case involving defective airbags is based on products liability. You will need to work with an attorney who can investigate to pinpoint the party whose negligence led to the defect. 

What Types of Injuries Can Defective Airbags Cause?

Airbags are supposed to prevent injury, not contribute to it. One of the most common types of airbag defects is a failure to deploy when needed. If you were in a serious car accident and your airbags did not deploy, then they may have been defective. If this is the case, it is a question of what injuries your airbags would have prevented if they functioned correctly. You may have a claim against the driver who caused the accident, and possibly against the airbag’s manufacturer as well.