Dominique Jones Killed in Houston, TX, Motorcycle Accident
Houston, TX -- January 16, 2017, Dominique Jones was killed following an accident in which his motorcycle collided with a pickup.
The Houston Police Department reported that the accident occurred at about 6:00 p.m. at the intersection of Homestead Road and Hermann Road.
Preliminary investigations indicate that Jones was traveling northbound on Homestead riding a motorcycle. For reasons that are not clear, the motorcycle crashed into a Chevy Silverado that was attempting to turn left onto Hermann. Jones was ejected onto the roadway.
Jones suffered fatal injuries in the crash. Emergency services pronounced him dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup was not injured.
At this time, authorities have not released any additional details on the accident. Investigations are ongoing.
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Commentary
The preliminary reports seem to state that the motorcycle crashed into the back of the pickup while the pickup was slowing down to turn. It's certainly possible that this is the case and Mr. Jones, for whatever reason, couldn't slow down in time. However, it should be noted that these reports are still early. Early accident reports often have missing details or simply inaccurate details. Since the victim in this case was a motorcyclist, however, many people will readily believe these early reports that put the motorcyclist at fault. This is because there is a common misconception that all motorcyclists are dangerous drivers.
For a lot of people, when they think of a motorcyclist, they think of someone speeding, weaving in and out of traffic, not wearing a helmet, and barreling down the shoulder. While it's true those people are out there, they are the bad apples that are spoiling the bunch. Our firm has represented many motorcyclists over the years, and they've all been very safety conscious drivers who fell victim to a larger vehicle--like a car or a truck--turning into their path or otherwise cutting them off.
The problem here is that insurance companies know that this unfair bias exists, and they try to use it to their advantage. They figure if they place blame on the motorcyclist, they can convince jurors to turn against the victim and side with the at fault driver. They also figure that less experienced attorneys might see this as a risky scenario and decide to settle for less than the victims and their families deserve.
An experienced attorney, however, knows that these are just scare tactics. In order to combat insurance companies trying to use this strategy, they need to be shown irrefutable evidence from the scene. Civil juries might have an unfair bias against motorcyclists, but they can be convinced when presented with cold hard facts. Therefore, the best approach is to let the evidence speak for itself. When insurance companies see a well prepared case of facts, they are faced with a decision of risking a loss in civil trial or just paying victims and their families the compensation they deserve.
The first step after any accident is to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted and all of the crucial details surrounding the accident are collected. Once that is done, those affected by an accident give themselves the tools to make the next steps forward in the recovery process.
--Grossman Law Offices
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