The recent Carnival Triumph disaster, in which a massive cruise ship with thousands of passengers on board lost all power and was left floating in the ocean for more than 24 hours, has made headlines. However, this is not the first time that passengers have been inconvenienced at sea, when a fire broke out on board, cutting off all electricity. ...

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, shut down a Louisiana trucking company Friday as a result of multiple safety violations. Gordon’s Tree Service was instructed to halt all transportation services immediately because of serious safety violations that pose an imminent hazard to pu...

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Young men who score low on cognitive tests, and have a low social economic status, have a much higher risk of suffering a traumatic brain injury, than those who perform high on such tests. A new study firmly links cognitive function, social status, problems with alcohol, and other factors with a much higher risk of suffering a brain injury. The...

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The poor economy is causing more and more American drivers to postpone essential maintenance and repairs of their automobiles. This information, which comes from a survey by Consumer Reports, is alarming to Houston car accident lawyers, because lack of automotive maintenance and repairs increases the risks of an accident. The poll by Consumer R...

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An increasing body of research is centering on the role of pedestrians in causing accidents. In recent weeks, the Houston pedestrian accident attorneys at our firm have come across at least two studies that seem to be the pointing the blame for pedestrian fatalities at pedestrians themselves. The first study by researchers at the University Of ...

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More teenagers are killed in auto accidents every year than from any other cause of death. Many of those accidents occur because teenagers are distracted at the wheel. The University Of Minnesota’s Transportation System Institute has now developed a videogame that has been designed to teach teenagers about the dangers of being distracted while d...

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Teenage motorists are notoriously averse to seatbelt usage, and seatbelt rates in this category of motorists are at unacceptably low levels. The Texas Department of Transportation wants to change that.  Every year, the agency makes a concerted effort to increase seat belt use among teenage drivers, and collaborates with schools across Texas to ...

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An accident in front of a Los Angeles elementary school is once again bringing the debate about driving age to the forefront. A 100-year-old man backing his Cadillac out of a grocery store parking lot struck and injured 11 people, including nine children. The incident has rekindled a debate: How old is too old to keep driving? Some states requi...

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Intercity bus companies that provide low-cost bus services, and pick up or drop passengers curbside instead of at terminals, may have a much higher likelihood of being involved in accidents. That information comes from a report by the National Transportation Safety Board. The report finds that these curbside bus companies have a likelihood of b...

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Oil and gas crews are getting back to work in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Isaac passed. The storm has reportedly caused only minor damage to rigs and platforms. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said Monday that more than 58 percent of daily oil production and 39 percent of daily natural gas production in the Gulf is sti...

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American lawmakers recently approved a plan that would cut as much as $50 million in highway safety grants made by the federal administration to states. That translates into significantly reduced funds for important highway safety campaigns, including those targeting drunk driving, motorcycle safety as well as distracted driving. The National H...

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Living with a brain injury, as any Houston car accident lawyer can tell you, can be devastating not just for the victims, but also the people in their lives. Brain injury takes the highest toll on the spouse, who is now the caregiver of the person with a brain injury. Even a marriage with a strong foundation can give way when one of the spouses ...

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An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed that pilot error caused a collision involving a chemical tanker and a container ship in the Houston Ship Channel last year. The accident occurred in the Houston Ship Channel in October 2011. The Greek-flagged tanker Elka Apollon was sailing outbound in the Houston Ship C...

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Texas continues to lag behind the rest of the country in implementing laws against cell phone use and texting while driving. However, if you are a parent who wants to ensure that your teenage child is not texting while driving or using cell phones at the wheel, there are a number of technologies that can help you do so. Most such technologies i...

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Texas’ graduated driver’s licensing program in Texas prohibits teen passengers below the age of 21 from traveling with teen motorists. New research confirms to Houston car accident lawyers the need for rules like this.  According to the research, teenage drivers, who are driving with passengers of the same age, have a much higher risk of accide...

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The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has been moving towards rules that would require drivers to be evaluated for sleep apnea, thereby helping reduce the number of accidents traced to driver fatigue. Last week, federal transportation authorities adopted recommendations related to sleep apnea diagnosis. The Federal Motor Carrier Safet...

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A fire on a pair of Mobile River barges that sparked explosions and left three workers injured has been put out, according to the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday. The workers, who were getting the barges ready for reloading at the time of the initial explosion on Wednesday night, sustained severe burn injuries, Mobile fire officials said. The work...

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A possible strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association could bring Port of Houston container shipment traffic to a standstill shortly after Christmas.  ILA head Harold Daggett sent a letter to ILA unions across the nation telling them to get ready for a “coastwide strike beginning at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 30.” Contract negotiations...

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Texas auto pedestrian accident lawyers know that auto-pedestrian injuries can be catastrophic. In recent weeks, there have been several accidents of this type in the Houston area, including a 67-year-old woman who was killed when struck by a car while walking her dogs. The woman struck by the car was walking down D’Amico street when she was str...

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In an annual national road safety report released Tuesday, Texas is amongst the worst states in passing highway safety laws. The report graded all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on 15 basic traffic safety laws, and Texas joined about a dozen other states in the bottom tier of rankings. With 80,000 miles of state-run roadways, Texa...

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Every Houston auto accident attorney knows that the number of alcohol-related car accidents has been declining over the past decade. A new study by the CDC confirms the fact.  According to the CDC, the incidence of drunk driving has declined by almost 30% over the past five years. In fact, last year, those numbers were at their lowest levels in...

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It is not the kind of news that should comfort any Houston car accident lawyer. A new study finds that there has been an increase in the number of teenage drivers being killed in accidents. That increase was seen in 23 states, including Texas. In our state, there was a four percent increase in the number of 16 and 17-year-olds killed in accident...

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More high-ranking federal administration officials are throwing their weight behind a proposal to establish an offshore safety institute that would keep pace with growing developments in deep water drilling, and the risks arising from such drilling.  Offshore injury lawyers acutely felt the need for a strong body that would be up to speed with ...

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Alaska oil and gas reserves play a huge part in the federal administration's push to make the United States energy-efficient over the next few years. Exploration activities have already begun in the state, but according to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources, these efforts have only just scratched the surface of the state’s vast reserves....

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According to a new federal study, teenagers whose parents drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs may be more likely to emulate these dangerous practices themselves. That is not exactly what Houston car accident attorneys would call a shocker, but the study does confirm that good parental influence is probably one of the foremost factors ...

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A Coast Guard helicopter crew medically evacuated a man from a tanker in the Gulf of Mexico on Feb. 3 after he was struck by a crane while working on deck. The 435-foot Stolt Flamenco was about 50 miles southeast of the Texas-Mexico border when the Filipino man was struck and lost feeling in the lower half of his body. The Coast Guard Sector Co...

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One person is dead and another injured after an explosion and fire at the Air Liquide cylinder plant in La Porte, Texas, on Saturday. Fire investigators still are looking for the cause of the explosion at the plant, on Fairmont Parkway near Bay Area Boulevard. A company spokesman said 20 employees were inside at the time of the incident. One pe...

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Distracted driving seems to be the new focus for many automakers and related companies that are busy developing technologies that can be used to reduce the risk of accidents caused by distracted and inattentive drivers. The challenge is severe, because of the various forms of distractions that can take a person’s attention away from the road. Th...

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The two crew members, who lost their lives in a deadly fire that raged through a Black Elk Energy-operated offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this month, were Filipino nationals. The incident has spotlighted the poor working conditions facing foreign workers of the company. In fact, Black Elk Energy is currently facing charges of ab...

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The Texas Transportation Commission recently approved a maximum speed limit of 85 mph for a new, 41-mile toll road from Austin to Seguin, making Texas the first in the nation to have a speed limit that high. The roadway opens in November. Most U.S. highways top out at 75 mph speed limits. A few rural highways in Texas and Utah already have 80 m...

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A coalition of environmental groups from five states filed a lawsuit Monday in federal court claiming the Environmental Protection Agency rules on chemical dispersants used in oil spill cleanups do not adhere to clean water standards. The lawsuit says the EPA has not published regulations on acceptable use of such dispersants in response to oil...

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The threat of a strike of more than 14,000 longshoremen across the nation is looming as the deadline to renew a contract between the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance rapidly approaches. The contract, which already was extended for 90 days, will expire at 12:01 am. Sunday. If no agreement is reached between...

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The American Trucking Associations estimates that there is currently a demand for up to 25,000 drivers around the country. Just a few decades ago, those positions would have been snapped up quickly. In 2012, however, it does not seem like there are many takers for the job of a truck driver. The American Trucking Associations blames that situatio...

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This week, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is marking Teen Driver Safety Week in order to impress the importance of preventing accidents involving this group of drivers. To coincide with the commemoration of the week from October 17 to October 22, the American Auto Association has released the results of a study into the safe...

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A man caught beneath a crane while working at the Houston Ship Channel on Tuesday night died after being rushed to the hospital. The man was working at the Barbours Cut Terminal when he was caught beneath a crane that started to move, said Joe Trevino, vice president of the International Longshoremen’s Association. The man’s legs were severed ...

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Aggressive driving contributes to at least one third of accidents and injuries, and up to two thirds of fatal accidents every year. Now, a new study finds that drivers who perceive their car as an extension of themselves have a strong tendency towards aggressive driving. There has been little research conducted into the psychology of aggressive...

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The U.S. Senate has approved a key piece of bus safety legislation that would tighten requirements for bus drivers as well as motor coach companies. The bill had been introduced after a deadly bus crash in Atlanta in 2007 that killed seven people. The bill is the brainchild of Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson and Democrat Senator Sherrod Bro...

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No fatalities were reported after a recent safety incident involving a helicopter that was forced to ditch in the North Sea. There were 19 people on board the helicopter, which crashed into the North Sea while it was on its way from Aberdeen to the West Phoenix semisubmersible. All 19 passengers were rescued, and then taken by helicopter back to...

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No blanket ban on texting while driving for all motorists, poor laws against drunk driving - these are just 2 of the reasons why a national safety group has ranked Texas at the bottom of the pile for highway safety. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety conducts an annual review of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, based on whether th...

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A new report by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association indicates that there has been little reduction in the number of speeding-related fatalities over the past three decades. This is in spite of the fact that automobiles are much safer, and seatbelt usage rates are higher than ever before. High-speed accidents are high-impact accidents that...

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Noble Corporation is continuing investigations into an accident at the Jurong Shipyard that injured more than 80 workers in December. The company now says that it has conducted an inspection of the Noble Regina Allen jack up which tilted on December 3, injuring several workers. The inspection has not revealed any damage to the legs, jacking syst...

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A number of earlier studies had indicated that children who suffer from a traumatic brain injury may suffer from increasing impairment levels as the child gets older. That may not necessarily be true. According to new research, children with a brain injury who are exposed to a healthy home environment and professional rehabilitation and therapy...

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Research reported Monday shows a drop in child car accident deaths, particularly among 6- and 7-year-olds, as most U.S. states have enacted laws requiring booster seats for children who have outgrown traditional carseats. The booster seats position older children correctly so that seatbelts go across the shoulder (not the neck) and the lapbelt ...

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Air Liquide has released the identity of a worker killed in an explosion at a La Porte plant on Saturday. Javier Ortiz was reported missing after the blast and was found by search crews after about 12 hours. Another employee remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition with burn injuries. Fire investigators were looking for the cause o...

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A 45-mile stretch of road southeast of Austin, Texas recently became the road with the highest speed limit in the country after the speed limit was increased to 85 mph. Houston car accident lawyers and others concerned about the implications of such high speed limits on motorist safety could look at the continent of Europe, where regulators are ...

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Australian unions have raised an outcry over the treatment of a large group of crewmembers on board two vessels, who are reportedly severely ill, and are being forced by their employers to continue working. The Australian Manufacturers Workers Union is calling attention towards the poor working conditions and ill-treatment of workers on the 2 v...

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Two chemical tankers collided in the Gulf of Mexico early Wednesday about 70 miles south of Galveston, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials. Both vessels were en route to Houston at the time of the crash. The Chem Sea, a 385-foot tanker, and Bow Kiso, a 557-foot tanker, collided about 4:30 a.m. Wednesday. The double-hulled Bow Kiso, a Panama...

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A crew member died after falling into the cargo bay of a cargo ship docked in the Houston Ship Channel on Thursday morning. The worker fell from the deck into the cargo hold about 12:30 a.m. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the ship was docked at Texas Terminal NO. 37 near Patrick’s Bayou. The man was pronounced dead after being rushed to Mem...

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A potentially economy crippling strike by port workers on the East and Gulf coasts was averted Friday when the International Longshoremen’s Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance agreed to a 30-day contract extension. The longshoremen had been preparing to strike Sunday, which would have had a dramatic impact on 14 major ports in the United ...

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On Houston freeways alone, there were seven incidents last year involving a truck hitting a bridge because their load was too high. The most recent incident, on Dec. 2 on a connector ramp between the Southwest Freeway and 610 West Loop, cause damage to a bridge beam. Danny Perez of TxDOT said that when extensive repairs are required in incident...

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Booster seats substantially reduce children's risk of injuries in a car accident. However, those risks may not be affected at all if the seat does not come with a proper safety belt fit. According to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, close to 50% of children's car booster seats available in the market do not come with a good...

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A report on drowsy driving by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that as many as one in 24 Americans has driven while drowsy or fatigued. The report suggests to Houston car accident lawyers that drowsy driving is a much more serious problem than the federal administration has estimated. The Centers for Disease Control and ...

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A new study released by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has sobering news for Texas parents. The study finds that one out of every 7 motorists between the age of 16 and 24 has admitted to dozing off or falling asleep at the wheel while driving at least once over the past year. Among drivers of other age groups, approximately one out of eve...

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A final set of federal safety regulations were issued last week for offshore drilling. The rules are a fine-tuning of the emergency measures enacted after the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and subsequent oil spill. The rules deal with how wells are designed and the testing of the cement and barriers that are used to secure them. The go...

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People who are driving under the influence of alcohol are much more likely to be involved in an accident. That is not exactly news to any Houston car accident attorney. However, according to a new study, alcohol in the system could actually help prevent injuries to the intoxicated person. That information comes from a study conducted by researc...

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That hybrid vehicles are more likely to be involved in pedestrian accidents is something every Houston car accident lawyer knows. Yet another study confirms this fact. The Insurance Industry for Highway Safety’s Highway Loss Data Institute has conducted an analysis of hybrid vehicles and pedestrian safety. The researchers examined the frequency...

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Texas remains one of the few states in the country that have no bans on cell phone use or texting while driving. In fact, as many as 39 states and the District of Columbia have already passed legislation that prohibits motorists from using cell phones to have conversations or text message while driving. In fact, 10 states have also banned the us...

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A female Houston port worker had a lucky escape, after she fell inside the hull of a vessel last week.  The maritime accident occurred in the Port of Houston.  The woman apparently fell into the cargo hold.  Emergency rescue personnel, including firefighters from the Houston Fire Department were summoned to the scene.   A total of 15 fire resc...

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Victims’ families, child safety groups, and Houston car accident lawyers, who have been waiting for a rule that would require automakers to install rearview cameras to prevent collisions with child pedestrians, are very disappointed with the delay in finalizing the rule. The Department of Transportation has announced that it requires more time t...

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The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday continued to search for six missing fishermen after receiving a mayday call Sunday from the captain of a sinking ship. The call to the U.S. Coast Guard’s Houston-Galveston operations center cam about 1:15 p.m. and said the boat was taking on water. The captain was unable to report the vessel’s exact location, but ...

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This month, federal agencies released data on accident fatality numbers for 2010. The good news for Texas car accident lawyers was that overall traffic accident fatalities across the country, and especially in Texas, are down. The bad news, however, is that pedestrian, trucking, and motorcycle accident fatalities have increased. In Texas, 2,99...

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Two vessels collided near the Texas City Dike on Tuesday morning, shutting down a portion of the Houston Ship Channel. Both boats were deep-draft motor vessels, said a U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson. No injuries, damage or pollution were reported as a result of the accident, which happened just after 8 a.m. The vessels were anchored where the c...

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After a law passed last September, Texas boaters born on or after Sept. 1, 1993 were required to have boater safety education when operating personal watercraft, vessels with 15 or more horsepower or wind-powered vessels longer than 14 feet. Until recently, the boater had to pay out of pocket for such a course, which started at about $20. Howeve...

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Even as oil and gas exploration opportunities open up in the state of Alaska and other parts of the world, the Gulf of Mexico is poised to retain its position as one of the biggest petroleum-producing areas of the globe. According to analysts, this region is, in fact, all set to enter the next stages of extended growth, and is expected to conti...

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Texas reported a slight drop in the number of teen drivers killed in accidents during the first half of 2012, compared to the same period of time the previous year. During the first 6 months of 2012, there were 14 car accident fatalities involving teenage motorists in the state of Texas. That was a drop from 17 fatalities during the first 6 mont...

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The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s Alaska Pacific Office recently conducted a survey of the best types of personal flotation devices for fishermen. The survey included fishermen, trawlers, longliners and gillnetters. The researchers found that fishermen in different types of work may prefer different types of flotation d...

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It’s no secret to Houston car accident lawyers that teens are among the biggest group at risk for being distracted while driving. Before letting your teenager hit the highways, review this list of the most dangerous driving distractions. 1. Cell phones, navigation systems and other communications devices2. Adjusting radio system3. Other vehicle...

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Just a few days after the disastrous fire on board a shallow water offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal administration has issued a subpoena to Houston-based Black Elk Energy. The subpoena has been issued by the US Chemical Safety Board, which is seeking details about Black Elk Energy’s safety and environmental management strate...

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Most personnel on board the floating hotel rig, the Floatel Superior in the Norwegian Continental Shelf had to be evacuated after the discovery of a damaged ballast tank recently. The workers woke up in the early hours of the morning to the news that they would have to conduct an emergency evacuation of the rig because of the discovery of a lea...

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The overweight, the obese and the morbidly obese are much more likely to die in accidents, compared to people of normal weight.  According to new research, obese drivers, or those who have a body mass index of between 30 and 35 are approximately 20% more likely to suffer fatal injuries during a car accident, compared to persons of normal weight...

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Much of the debate on impaired driving tends to center on persons driving under the influence of alcohol. However, a person who smokes marijuana before driving can have his accident risks double.  Moreover, persons who smoke marijuana before driving tend to be less aware of their impaired driving compared to drunk drivers. Researchers at Dalhou...

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U.S. authorities have ordered that defective components on subsea equipment on several oil rigs currently operating in the Gulf of Mexico be inspected, because of possibly dangerous consequences. At least 24 oil rigs are believed to be equipped with the faulty component, a bolt which connects blowout preventers manufactured by a General Electri...

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On December 3, 2012, a jack up rig collapsed at Singapore's Jurong shipyard, injuring more than 80 workers on the rig. Another worker who was working on the recovery of the rig died recently after losing consciousness on board. The jack up rig, the Noble Regina Allen, tilted suddenly last month, due to suspected brake failure. It tilted approxi...

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Oil and gas exploration company Apache Corporation has announced that it managed to prevent a possibly disastrous well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico recently.  According to the company, it identified an “abnormally pressured gas zone” during drilling operations conducted in the shallow water Main Pass 295 in the Gulf Of Mexico. The problem was ...

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After a deadly fire on a Black Elk Energy-operated platform in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal administration asked the company to boost safety in its offshore operations. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement informed Houston-based Black Elk Energy that it must improve safety at its offshore operations. That call from the federal ...

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It appears to Houston car accident lawyers that the steady progress that has been made in reducing car accident fatalities over the past few years is on the reverse. Preliminary estimates from the National Safety Council find that auto accident fatalities rose 5% last year, compared to the previous year. That is the first time auto accident fata...

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