San Antonio Injury Attorney Blog

It is a parent's worst nightmare. You hear that your child entered the area of a swimming pool and sustained a serious injury like quadriplegia. As the weather heats up, swimming pool injuries and accidents rise in San Antonio and greater Texas.

Many Texas residents do not know that swimming pool injuries often occur due to the negligence of the swimming pool owner. For example, perhaps the owner fails to properly mark the depth of the pool. In some cases, the owner may have failed to install a gate to keep small children out of the area of the pool. What about temporary swimming pools which often lead to injury as well ? We often hear about people diving into pools where the water depth has not been properly labeled or where water depth is incorrectly tagged (i.e. the water depth is shallower than marked).

In addition, owners have to be wary of structures from where a person can dive into a swimming pool from a height that can cause paralysis or death. Negligence actions by an experienced San Antonio and greater Texas personal injury lawyer can help you achieve justice when a home owner does not safeguard their swimming pool.

As a Texas resident, you may have been the victim of what you considered false, misleading, and deceptive business and insurance practices. Perhaps a Texas company you were doing business with breached its warranty or committed an outrageous business practice.

What can you do? Luckily, Texas has enacted the Deceptive Trade Practices - Consumer Protection Act ("DTPA") which outlaws certain practices that deceive customers. If you believe you are the victim of a deceptive trade practice, it would behoove you to consult immediately with a San Antonio and greater Texas consumer fraud attorney .

The DTPA allows for both public enforcement and private civil resolution. The Texas Attorney General can seek a court order preventing the particularly deceptive practices, while you as an individual have a right to have your grievances addressed in a court of law.

What types of consumer transactions does the DTPA apply to ? The answer is a very broad spectrum of goods and services. "Goods" include tangible things or property that are purchased or leased for use would be covered, while "Services" include any type of work that your purchase or lease. The DTPA however does not apply to professional services involving advice such as for example a lawyer. (Darn!)

The DTPA often used the magic word "unconscionable" to describe particular actions. "Unconscionable" means an action that serves to take advantage of a consumer's lack of knowledge to a grossly unfair degree. Here are some typical actions that would be covered under the DTPA: a) an unnecessary $100 car repair; b) a homeowner buying a home in San Antonio or greater Texas ; c) a business buying a million dollar corporation; and d) buying a LEMON car. The DTPA can be used from the consumer sale to a large business transaction.

Consumer fraud is a form of economic personal injury and you should consult with a a San Antonio and greater Texas consumer fraud lawyer immediately if you believe you have been the victim of fraud. Chances are you are not alone!

What do President Abraham Lincoln and Texas billionaire Howard Hughes have in common ? If you guessed they died without a will, you would be right. Today, 60-75% of Texans die without a will, a legal concept called "dying intestate". Intestacy forces the real and personal property of a Texas resident to pass to individuals based on whom the Texas legislature believes should receive the decedent's estate upon death.

Why do Texas residents die intestate i.e. without a will ? One reason people think they do not need a Texas will is that they own very little property. Yet even if you own little property, you should employ a San Antonio and greater Texas wills and estates attorney to develop a simple will. If you have children, as the surviving parent, you can choose who will be the guardian, rather than leaving that decision to the court. In addition, even if you have a small estate now, at the the time of death, you may have a sizeable estate (ex. inheritance or lottery). In some cases, if you die as a result of someone's negligence, your estate could have a wrongful death action against a drunk driver or auto manufacturer.

There is no question that sometimes a will may require considerable time and effort, because you will need to gather information and documentation. You will also have to reveal personal information including such issues as children born out of wedlock, property assessments, medical conditions like cancer or AIDS, and family issues like marital problems.

We will explore issues of individual property distribution (unmarried intestate) and the distribution of community and separate property (married intestate) in future blog entries. In the meantime, consider consulting with a San Antonio or greater Texas estate planning lawyer to either draw up a will or update a will that may need to be modified if there has been a new event in your life.

The state of Texas has become notorious for a lack of construction safety. Recently, the Department of Labor announced increased enforcement of construction safety regulations in San Antonio Texas. An unacceptable 67 workers have died on the job in 2008, and another 33 died to date in 2009.

There are many types of Texas industrial accidents that occur needlessly, and they occur as a result of employer negligence and failure to implement safety measures. For example, cranes often tip over causing injuries. Crane injuries are often due to inadequate warnings about the load capacity of the crane and the altitude those loads can be lifted. Cranes possess devices that warn if a dangerous load could potentially cause a crane to tip over.

Forklift injuries in greater San Antonio are also common especially for the operators of stand up forklifts. The operator backs the forklift and is injured by materials that penetrate the position where the operator is standing or the operator's foot or leg is just outside the platform and the leg or foot is seriously crushed. Forklift manufacturers are easily able to install "falling object protection" devices that prevent forklift injuries.

There are numerous types of industrial equipment accidents that result in injuries or death which could be prevented through redesign and safeguards. A San Antonio and greater Texas personal injury attorney can determine such alternative designs and safeguard simply by reviewing the patents on the equipment.