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WARNING! Be Careful What You Post

Dallas, Personal Injury, Texas

Do you have a Facebook, MySpace or other social networking account? Could anything on your site be considered inconsistent with the claims in your lawsuit? Have you posted anything that you would be embarrassed to talk about in open court if your case goes to trial? Do you believe that your postings are private” only available to those you allow access so the insurance defense lawyer can’t get them? If you answered yes to any of these questions, please continue reading.

Kathleen Romano’s personal injury case made headlines when the judge ordered her to deliver a signed consent allowing the defense access to her current and historical Facebook and MySpace pages, including postings and other information she thought was private. Ms. Romano alleged in her lawsuit that she suffered serious permanent injuries when she sat on a defective chair manufactured by Steelcase Inc. that caused her to fall. Her claimed injuries included herniated discs, restricted motion in her neck and back, progressive deterioration, pain and loss of enjoyment of life. Ms. Romano also claimed that she had been largely confined to her house and bed since she fell. However, the defense lawyers in her case found her Facebook profile photo showed her standing outside of her house smiling happily and other content that indicated she had recently taken a trip to Florida.

The judge ruled that because the public portions of [Ms. Romano’s] social networking sites contain material that is contrary to her claims and deposition testimony, there is a reasonable likelihood that the private portions of her sites may contain further evidence, such as information with regard to her activities and enjoyment of life, all of which are material and relevant to the defense. The judge ordered Ms. Romano to give the defense access to her private postings to look for other information to attack her claims. The judge ruled that Ms. Romano had no reasonable expectation of privacy online.

You should expect that the insurance defense lawyers in your case are checking social networking sites for information they can use against you. You should assume that if the insurance defense lawyers ask, the judge in your case will give them access to your private postings. Don’t be surprised if the defense lawyers in your case ask for and receive access to postings that you deleted from your site. Here’s a good rule to follow before posting: Assume anything you post can and will be used against you in a court of law.

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What Does It Take to WIN Your Slip and Fall Lawsuit?

Dallas, Personal Injury, Texas


The Texas Supreme Court has not been a friend of the slip and fall victim. Over the last decade the Texas higher courts have handed down multiple decisions making it increasingly difficult for slip and fall victims to obtain any recovery for their injuries and losses. Many victims have even lost their right to a jury trial due to No Evidence Summary Judgment rulings that kill the lawsuit prior to trial, denying slip and fall victims even an opportunity for justice. This is why you cannot fight this battle alone! You must find an attorney who understands what it takes to overcome these obstacles and WIN this battle! You cannot afford to trust your lawsuit to just any attorney. Choosing the wrong representative could be very costly!

To prevail in a premises liability (slip and fall) claim, you must prove:

  1. the owner or operator of the premises knew or should have known of the condition/substance that caused the injury
  2. the condition posed an unreasonable risk of harm
  3. the owner did not exercise reasonable care to reduce or eliminate the risk; and
  4. the owner’s failure to use such care caused or contributed to your injuries

Often, the most difficult element of your slip and fall claim to prove is that the owner of the premises knew or should have known of the dangerous condition or substance that caused the injury. This proof can be established in one of three ways:

  1. the owner or an employee created the harmful condition (i.e., an employee left water on the floor)
  2. the owner or an employee saw or was told about the harmful condition (i.e., a customer told an employee there was a spill); or
  3. a showing that the substance or condition was present for so long that it should have been discovered through reasonable inspection

If you become injured in a slip and fall incident, taking the following steps may prove invaluable in winning your lawsuit:

  1. Gather witness information from both employees and customers who may have knowledge pertaining to the incident
  2. Determine whether there is a video camera that may have recorded the area where the incident occurred and request that recording
  3. Observe the area, looking for the probable source/cause of the condition that caused the injury
  4. Listen to what the employees and witnesses are saying. Did anyone mention that the condition was there before for example, I was about to clean that or I told you to fix that? Any employee statement that indicates someone knew the condition was there before you fell is EXTREMELY helpful.
  5. Contact an attorney who is an expert in representing victims of slip and falls immediately.
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TAKE COVER AND HOLD ON TO YOUR RIGHTS: THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION

Auto Accidents, Dallas, Houston, Personal Injury, Texas


The Texas legislature is in session again, and as they say in the capitol, no one is safe. Instead of focusing on our state’s very real budget shortfall – which by the way the former comptroller, once gubinatorial candidate warned and was chided about in her unsuccessful bid to unseat Governor Perry – rumblings of tort reform are heard in the capitol rotunda. Governor Perry is talking it up with lobbyists and legislators to pass more tort reform laws that include:

  • Creating an early dismissal option for frivolous lawsuits;
  • Ensuring victims of frivolous lawsuits do not bear the financial burden of defending themselves through the creation of a loser pays system; this “one-way loser pays” bill will only make the losing plaintiff pay the prevailing defendant’s attorneys fees.
  • Ensuring new laws cannot create causes of action unless expressly established by the Legislature; and
  • Setting up expedited trials and limited discovery for lawsuits with claims between $10,000 and $100,000.

The Governor needs to ignore special, self preserving interests and stick to the really important business of paying our state’s bills. The legislature has their hands full without being distracted by Govenor Perry’s political agenda. Leave Texans and what remains of Texans’ access to the courts alone!

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I Can Understand Buying a Car Without A/C, But Not Without Turn Signals

Auto Accidents, Dallas, Houston, Personal Injury, Texas


This article may appear to be about the annoying people who change lanes and make turns without the courtesy and safety of using their turn signals. It’s not. It is about safety devices, designs and equipment that are found on consumer products.

Turn signals, seat belts, fire retardant children’™s pajamas, safety locks on guns and rifles, and shields and other protective covers are just a few of the safety devices, designs and equipment that consumers enjoy because of decades of litigation by trial lawyers on behalf of innocent victims. These safety devices, designs and equipment actually work when they are not tampered with, removed, circumvented or altered. So, if you buy a car with law-mandated safety equipment such as seat belts, why would you not use them? If you bought a table saw with a law mandated safety guard over the sharp, spinning blades, why would you remove? If you bought a gun with a safety lock, why would you not use it until ready to fire the gun? It is hard to understand, but many people do ignore safety devices, designs and equipment. Worse yet, these safety devices, designs and equipment are often tampered with, removed, circumvented or altered on a regular basis. Not only are all consumer protections lost at that point, but the ability to bring a lawsuit to recover for injuries and damages is severely impaired if not completely destroyed by such conduct. The consumer must respect not ignore – the warnings and safety devices, designs and equipment that are there for their protection.

Prescription drugs have safety devices, designs and equipment, too. Prescription drugs are dangerous and do have side effects, and need these safety devices, designs and equipment, called warnings. Warnings are contained in the œpackage insert that comes with the prescription either from the company or the pharmacists. Warnings work only when they are accurate, complete and adequate. Further, accurate, complete and adequate warnings work only when strictly followed: The drug must be taken as prescribed by the physician, and a prescription drug prescribed for one person must not be taken by someone else.

The drug companies must accurately and completely disclose all of a prescription drug’s dangerous side effects so the warnings accurately, completely and adequately warn the patient. Drug companies must also constantly update the warnings as new information is obtained. More times than not, however, the drug companies are not inclined to give accurate, complete and adequate warnings because more numerous and severe the warnings, the fewer prescriptions will be written for that drug. The prescribing physician will find a better, safer alternative drug that is equally effective without the same risks.

Litigation against the drug companies is based on inaccurate, incomplete and inadequate warnings, as well as manufacturing and design defects. The prescribing physician has the responsibility to discuss a prescription drug’s side effects with the patient, as well as the risk of those side effects and the benefits of the drug. It is only when the warnings that the physician has access to do not include all known dangerous side effects that a case exists against the drug companies. After all, we know all drugs have side effects. We as the patient have the absolute right to know what those side effects are so we can have that risk/benefit discussion with the physician and make the decision whether to take the drug. As a patient, we have the right to know what the drug company knows about their prescription drugs before we take it. After we take the dangerous drug and are injured by it, the questions becomes what did they know and when did they know it.

You can’t claim ignorance of the drug’s warnings any more than you can claim you bought the car without turn signals or that the seat belt is too uncomfortable to wear. All are safety devices that are there for your safety.

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Texas Auto Accident Lawyers

Auto Accidents, Dallas, Houston, Personal Injury, Texas

Texas Auto Accidents

Auto Accident Litigation Law Firm

At the Houston / Dallas law offices of Bailey & Galyen, our Texas Auto Accident Lawyers represent clients in the negotiation and litigation of serious auto accident lawsuits related to:

Catastrophic Personal Injury

Possibly the most common form of catastrophic personal injury, the negligent operation of an automobile on our roadways results in thousands of needless injuries and deaths each year.

The consequences of these accidents can be devastating to both you and your family, leaving you struggling to pay medical bills and replace lost wages while you recover. Adding insult to injury dealing with an insurance bureaucracy concerned only with its own financial well-being rather than fair compensation for your very real injuries.

  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Brain Damage
  • Amputation
  • Paralysis
  • Burns
  • Scars
  • Paraplegia
  • Back
  • Neck Pain
  • Broken Bones
  • Blindness
  • Deafness

Car Liability Insurance

Our lawyers are intimately familiar with your state’s liability laws and insurance regulations and won’t hesitate to take a case to trial if it’s the only way to secure maximum compensation. In addition, we utilize the latest technology in the investigation of auto accident liability, including accident reconstructions and expert witnesses, in order to identify all liable parties, including:

  • Operator
  • Manufacturer
  • Repair / Maintenance
  • Government (roadway & signage issues)
  • Liquor / Alcohol establishments (“dram shop” laws)

The cost of litigating an automobile / car accident claim against an insurance company is considerable, with substantial up-front expenses related to expert witness testimony, depositions and accident reconstruction. That is why Bailey & Galyen takes all car accident lawsuits on contingency, with NO FEES until we recover a positive judgment as compensation for your injuries.

The auto accident attorneys at Bailey & Galyen offer quality legal services and representation to clients throughout Texas, including Arlington, Bedford, Dallas, Fort Worth, Grand Prairie, Carrollton, Plano, Weatherford, Mesquite, Houston, Clear Lake, TX.

Bailey & Galyen is a nationally recognized Texas law firm with a nationwide practice in the litigation of personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits on behalf of clients across the country. Our TX trial lawyers and accident attorneys provide sound legal advice and aggressive trial representation to clients at multiple satellite offices, including:

Call Our Nearest Office for Prompt HELP:

Bedford Ph 817.868.5500 | Dallas Ph 214.252.9099 : 866.378.4705 | Fort Worth : Ph 817.263.3000 | Houston : Ph 281-335-7744 : 866-715-1529 | Arlington : Ph 817.276.6000 : 877.345.6767 | Grand Prairie : Ph 972.642.7900 : 866.380.3369 | Weatherford: Ph 817.594.5428 | Mesquite: Ph 972.682.7868