Naman Howell is proud to announce that one of the Firm’s lawyers
has been published in DRI’s The Voice. In his article, Shane O’Dell,
along with biomechanical engineer, J. Quinn Campbell, Ph.D., explore the
evolving status of the law and admissibility of seat belt evidence. They
discuss how with 29 states currently not allowing evidence of seat belt
use to be admissible in civil actions this can make it difficult for the
defense to go for reduced damages when a plaintiff’s injuries can
be linked to his or her failure to wear a seat belt. However, as times
change and these old laws from the 1970’s and 1980’s start
to get revisited there is a hope that more accurate verdicts may be rendered
in the future. Until these laws are changed though, excluding this evidence
is resulting in higher verdicts in cases, which, in turn, leads to higher
insurance premiums for all. Trucking companies may also be unjustly paying
an even greater portion of this cost because these companies are bigger
targets for plaintiffs.
Click here to read the full published article.
About the Author:
Shane O’Dell
Shane O’Dell focuses his practice on driving value for his clients.
Whether evaluating a situation to determine if litigation is necessary,
drafting, reviewing, or revising documents to avoid litigation, or revising
current policies and procedures to attempt to avoid litigation and maximize
risk transfer, Shane’s primary goal is to effectively and efficiently
advise the client as to the best result. Advising clients to make sound
business decisions, pre-litigation, during a battle in court, or in the
post-judgment phase, is the ultimate goal.
Shane’s practice has commonly involved representing individuals and
businesses as Defendants, but has represented his clients as Plaintiffs
if necessary. His clients and experiences span a large variety of industries
and areas of the law including construction, real estate, franchise, restaurant/hospitality,
transportation, commercial general liability, commercial litigation, construction
defect, workplace injury, nonsubscriber, landlord/tenant, professional
liability, personal liability, first party property, bad faith, entrepreneurs,
oil and gas, and among others.
To learn more about Shane O’Dell, or the many other skilled attorneys
in the Firm, please visit the Firm’s
attorney profiles section.
About Naman Howell Smith & Lee, PLLC
Since 1917, Naman Howell Smith & Lee has been providing individuals
and businesses throughout Texas with the personal attentiveness and expertise
they need on their legal matters when they need it most. We pride ourselves
on our heritage, vision, and exceptional results. For more information
about Naman Howell, please visit
namanhowell.com.