Cleburne man in critical condition

A Cleburne man involved in a Sunday motorcycle accident remained in critical condition as of Monday morning, hospital officials said.

The accident occurred about 7:50 p.m. near the intersection of Westmeadow and West Henderson streets. 

Laken Cole Souser, 26, was driving a Suzuki motorcycle westbound on West Henderson Street. Souser was riding a wheelie down the roadway at the time, according to witness statements in Cleburne Police Department reports.

The driver of a Chevrolet 1500 told police he did not see the motorcycle while turning from Westmeadow Drive onto West Henderson Street, which caused the Suzuki to collide with the Chevrolet.

Police are unsure how fast the motorcycle was traveling at the time but noted that Souser had his helmet on. 

A CareFlite helicopter transported Souser to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth. The Chevrolet driver suffered no injuries.

By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com from Cleburne Times Review

Insurance Myth #4: “YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY IS LOYAL TO YOU.”

Insurance Myth #4: “YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY IS LOYAL TO YOU.”

May 15th, 2012

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We’ve all heard the jingle: “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” For over 11,000 homeowners policyholders in five counties along the Texas coast, nothing could be further from the truth. The state’s largest carrier has made the decision to pull up stakes and abandon these customers, many of them long-time and loyal, without even giving a rationale for their abrupt actions.

State Farm’s reckless actions are a man-made catastrophe, sending shock waves through the families and businesses along the coast, who will likely see their insurance costs rise as a result of State Farm’s actions. This disruption to the market will place unexpected pressure on other carriers and will ultimately relegate many coastal policyholders to the Texas FAIR Plan, a state-run provider of last resort that offers bare bones coverage at high prices.

To take their disloyalty to an even greater degree, the company is selling out many of its own insurance agents, who will see their customer bases scattered to the wind due to State Farm’s arbitrary and capricious corporate edicts. These small businessmen and businesswomen have spent years prospecting for clients and building relationships with policyholders; however, more than 11,000 of these policyholders are being forced to take their business elsewhere. Because policyholders receive discounts for having multiple lines of insurance with one carrier – for example, coupling a homeowners and an auto policy together – these customers will be walking out the door.

Because our laws and lending practices require us to buy insurance, it is important that regulators protect the public by ensuring policies are adequate, affordable, and available. Sound public policy demands that the insurance industry not be able to redline or cherry-pick parts of our state.  Unfortunately, the Insurance Commissioner – who has shown little willingness to stand up to insurance giants like State Farm in the past – has been unable or unwilling to intervene on behalf of State Farm’s customers in this case.

The Attorney General, however, recently announced that he is launching an investigation into State Farm’s withdrawal. Instead of complying with the AG’s Civil Investigative Demands, State Farm filed a lawsuit against the state.  It is unclear what this investigation will reveal, but it is important that the AG see this investigation through to the end. State Farm shouldn’t be allowed to tuck tail and run without any explanation. The public deserves to know just what State Farm is up to and how the company’s decisions will impact the cost and availability of insurance.

State Farm’s actions in this case highlight the fact that insurance companies don’t reciprocate the loyalty they expect from their customers. Right now, 11,000 State Farm customers in five Texas counties are learning that firsthand. Could your community be on the insurance industry’s chopping block next?

All of this leads Texas families and businesses to ask: With “neighbors” like these, who needs enemies?

Written by Texas Watch.

Civil jury trials plummet in Texas

Civil jury trials are becoming rare in Texas.

The right to have disputes decided by a panel of fellow citizens is cited in the Declaration of Independence and explicitly confirmed in the constitutions of Texas and the United States.

But new statistics show that the right to “trial by jury” is quietly and steadily disappearing.

The 1,195 jury trials conducted in 2011 are one-third the number held in 1996, according to the Texas Administrative Office of Courts.  during the same period, the number of lawsuits rose 25 percent.

In 1996, juries decided one out of every 48 lawsuits filed.  Last year, only one in 183 new civil complaints resulted in jury verdicts. 

Recently posted in the Dallas Morning News.  

We are doing everything we can to change this, but these are the facts.

Bicycle safety ordinance considered in Plano

By Bill Conrad, bconrad@acnpapers.com

Published: Thursday, December 29, 2011 3:05 PM CST

One of the goals of the

Plano Bicycle Association

is to increase rider safety through education of both cyclists and motorists. A new ordinance being considered by the city council may make its job a little bit easier.

Earlier this month, the council heard a report from Police Chief Greg Rushin concerning an ordinance drafted by his department, with strong input from the association. It is modeled after a bill that was passed by both the state House and state Senate in 2009 before being vetoed by Gov. Rick Perry. Since the veto, several cities in North Texas have passed similar ordinances.

From 2006 to 2009, there were 142 car crashes involving bicycles in Plano, for an average of 35.5 per year. That number jumped to 49 accidents in 2010, and through September of this year the number of accidents was 34. Rushin said all accidents are investigated and the department has determined that the bicyclists are at fault 52 percent of the time, while the motorists are at fault 48 percent of the time. He said 76 percent of the riders who are involved in crashes were not wearing helmets.

The ordinance would set rules for how motorists must interact with riders. When passing a bicyclist on a street with two or more lanes in each direction, the motorist must switch to another lane. On a one-lane street, drivers of cars must pass no closer than three feet from the rider, while drivers of large trucks must give six feet of clearance. Rushin said this is to prevent the cyclist from being blown off the road or otherwise affected by the passing vehicle.

Rules would also be set in place to prevent cars from passing a cyclist and then quickly slowing down to make a right-hand turn, an occurrence Rushin said was particularly dangerous. The ordinance would also prevent motorists from intimidating or harassing cyclists and require then to use due care to prevent collisions with cyclists.

The council members had some concerns over the vagueness of the definitions of harassment, and Rushin said he would work with city staff and the city's legal team to clean up the language.

Councilman Pat Gallagher, an Addison police officer, said he was in favor of the ordinance.

"We are going to keep somebody safe with this ordinance," he said. "This will send out a message and signal that Plano takes it very seriously."

Some concerns were also expressed about how enforceable the law would be and how much of an impact the law would have since there are already laws on the books preventing dangerous driving. Rushin said regardless of the enforcement difficulties, the bicyclist association felt this would give them more tools to educate the public.

Councilwoman André Davidson seemed to sum up the thoughts of many of the council members, saying she supported the ordinance and saw no downside to passing it.

"Even though I am not sure how much of a difference it will make, I do think there is a certain amount of positive marketing for our city and the type of community we want to be so that people know we are a bicycle-friendly community, and we are putting all these trails together and you can commute to work and do these things here," she said. "For that reason, even though I am not totally convinced it puts a lot of meat on the bones, I think there is probably enough positive to make it justifiable."

Rushin said he will bring a revised version of the ordinance back at a future meeting for council consideration.