Areas of Practice
I am Board Certified in Personal Injury Trial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.  I have been practicing personal injury law since being admitted to the Texas Bar in 1995. The firm I work with handles most types of personal injury claims in house.  There are a few areas such as certain specialized product liability cases and medical malpractice cases that we can consult with you about but it is likely that those would be referred out to another law firm with your prior approval.  Areas of law I personally handle are:

1) Motor Vehicle Collisions
I handle all types of motor vehicle claims from complex 18-wheeler and bus accidents to common motorcycle, car and truck collisions.

A) Commercial Motor Vehicle Accidents
Commercial motor vehicle accidents range from 18-wheeler accidents to bus wrecks.   Federal Motor Carrier laws strictly regulate large vehicles and large passenger transport vehicles often referred to as “common carriers.”  Drivers are regulated as to the amount of time they can spend driving, amount of “off-duty” time, consumption of alcohol and drugs, and other qualifications.  Failure to adhere to these rules can cause driver fatigue, slowed reaction times and other deadly driving impairments. These types of claims often require in depth investigation to determine the root cause of the accident.  All of these things should be fully explored in a commercial motor vehicle case. We will travel across the country to handle serious injury cases involving commercial motor vehicles.

B) Automobile Collisions
Car, motorcycle and truck accidents occur in Texas every day. Some of the common causes of these are: failing to obey traffic laws and signals, driver inattention, speeding, faulty brakes, talking or texting on a cell phone, ipad or other electronic device, intoxication and driving under the influence of drugs. We handle automobile accidents primarily in the south east Texas area, but will travel across the country to handle cases involving serious injuries.

2) Work Injuries
I handle work injuries range from slip-and-fall accidents by employees of restaurants to construction site and industrial accidents.  Anytime an employee suffers a work injury due to the negligence of the employer or another employee and the employer fails to provide worker’s compensation coverage, there is a potential negligence claim against the employer.  Additionally, when someone is injured while on-the-job by someone other than their own employer such as an independent contractor or negligent driver, a claim can be brought against that third-party regardless of whether the employer of the injured employee has worker’s compensation coverage.

3) Dog Bites & Animal Attacks
I handle dog bites and animal attacks. Dog attacks are unfortunately quite common in Texas.  Depending upon which county and/or city you are in when it happens, the municipal and county laws regarding owner responsibility vary.  All of the state, municipal and county regulations that apply in your jurisdiction should be examined in every dog bite case since they can provide a unique basis of liability.

Suffice it to say, all dog owners who have a dog who is known to have dangerous propensities can be held responsible for failure to properly control and secure their animal. The key is often proving the owner’s knowledge of a prior bite or attack through county and city bite reports or prior attack victims/witnesses.  Once a dog is established as a “dangerous dog,” the owner becomes strictly liable for attacks. Other animal attacks such as exotic or wild animals kept as pets or on display can also be the subject of both a strict liability and/or a negligence cause of action if they are not properly kept. 

4) Premise Liability
I handle slip-and-falls, trip-and-falls and negligent activity cases.  A landowner is not responsible for injuries that occur on his/her property solely because the injury occurred on the owner’s property.  The injury must be the result of the owner conducting a dangerous activity or allowing a dangerous activity to be conducted on the property that results in foreseeable injury; or, the owner having knowledge of a dangerous condition on the property that he fails to warn those persons he has a recognized duty to warn.  A common example of this type of premise liability case is a slip-and-fall in a grocery store by a customer.

Other Areas of Law Simmons and Fletcher Can Assist In
Admiralty and Maritime Claims and Jones Act Claims are typically handled by Keith M. Fletcher.

Product Liability Cases are typically handled by Keith M. Fletcher or referred out if they involve mass tort issues (such as medical products) or other areas of specialized laws.

Medical Malpractice Cases are often referred out to law firms that focus their practice on these type of cases largely due to the area of law being highly specialized.  If kept in house, Keith M. Fletcher would likely handle the case.