Category: Wrongful Death

Can Lawmakers Make Texas Roads Less Deadly?

June 3, 2019
Evans & Herlihy

While traffic fatalities in Texas decreased slightly from 2016 to 2017 — from 3,794 to 3,721, a decline of 1.92% — the state still holds the disgraceful distinction of leading the nation in motor vehicle deaths. In 2017: One reportable accident happened every 59 seconds. One person was injured every 2 minutes, 4 seconds. One person was killed every 2 hours, 21 minutes. Clearly, we have a long way to go in making the roads safer. If you’ve been hurt in a car wreck or you’ve lost a loved one in a collision, call the Texas car accident and wrongful death lawyers at the Evans & Herlihy Law Firm. Can the Government Help Eliminate Traffic Deaths? Lawmakers and state agencies are well aware of our dismal record when it comes [...]

Pay Attention, Texas: Observing Distracted Driving Awareness Month

April 2, 2019
Evans & Herlihy

April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month As the Evans & Herlihy Law Firm and the National Safety Council observe Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April, help us by doing your part to keep Texas roads safe. Distracted driving is nothing new. People have been eating, touching up makeup, and fiddling with the radio dial while behind the wheel since long before cell phones became part of the equation. But as much as advancements in technology have improved our lives and ability to communicate, they haven’t done many favors for our driving. In addition to all of the old-school distractions, we now have dashboard touch-screens, GPS devices, and those ever-present smartphones to tempt our eyes away from the road. Don’t endanger[...]

Duck Boat Incidents in Other Cities Raise Concern in Austin

October 1, 2018
Evans & Herlihy

You’re riding in a vehicle with dozens of other people, when it suddenly veers off the road and into a body of water. It sounds alarming, but it’s an experience tourists pay for all the time when they board a “duck tour.” Duck boats—vehicles that can operate on land and in water—have been operated as tourist attractions in harbor, river, or lake cities in the U.S. since 1946, many using surplus military amphibious landing vehicles from World War II. And while the majority of duck tours go off without a hitch, there have been exceptions with sometimes deadly results. Since 1999, there have been 12 incidents in the U.S. involving duck boats, resulting in 44 deaths. The most recent of these has also been the deadliest: the J[...]

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Case in Texas?

July 27, 2017
Evans & Herlihy

In September 2016, the family of Sandra Bland settled a wrongful death lawsuit involving the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Waller County jail. Bland, an Illinois resident who came to Texas for a job interview, died in the jail – the medical examiner determined the cause of death as suicide by asphyxiation. As part of the $1.9 million settlement, the jail must have emergency nurses on staff at all times, perform timely and accurate cell checks with automated electronic sensors, and seek state funding for staff training and inmate screening. Bland was just 28 years old, and while many details of the settlement were not disclosed, one can assume that it accounted for the wages she could have earned in her lifetime. Texas do[...]