Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Emotional distress after witnessing the death of a two-year-old girl was the issue at dispute in a recent Missouri truck accident lawsuit. This tractor trailer accident case stemmed from a collision on Interstate 44 in the summer of 2004 (appealed to Missouri Supreme Court July 2008). The motor vehicle accident was allegedly caused by Driver A who lost control of his car in rainy conditions. The car spun across the median and struck Driver B's tractor trailer.

Driver B, a truck driver, was physically injured in the accident after his knees were jammed into the steering wheel, also putting pressure on and twisting his ankles. After the truck accident, Driver B also witnessed the mangled body of Driver A's two-year-old daughter, allegedly causing severe emotional distress. Driver B specifically claimed to have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, anguish and stress.

Driver B and his wife sued Driver A in a negligence action for causing the Missouri truck accident. The allege Driver A was speeding and was negligent in failing to operate his vehicle with the required degree of care. In addition to the physical injuries suffered and the mental and emotional damages alleged, there was also a claim for lost wages and loss of consortium for Driver B's wife.

Continue reading " Missouri Truck Accident Victims Allege Emotional Distress " »

In 2006 there were approximately 40,000 fatal traffic accidents throughout the United States, and roughly 5,000 of these accidents involved large trucks and tractor trailers. It is further estimated that a tractor trailer accident occurs approximately every 16 minutes somewhere in the United States. This means about 150,000 tractor trailer accidents occur per year, most of which cause injury.

In many big rig truck accidents, fault is placed on the driver of the tractor trailer. Fault is often attributed to negligent driving actions and the failure to comply with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. For instance, many tractor trailer wrecks involve cargo that comes off the trailer and the loading regulations come into play.

When commercial products are not properly loaded, they may shift during the course of driving, resulting in the driver losing control. Additionally, overweight cargo may result in a driver losing control and also makes stopping the vehicle more difficult. Overweight loads often make the tractor trailer more difficult to slow.

Truck accident law is defined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and provides the following rules for transportation of cargo, except bulk cargo items that lack complete structure, such as liquids, gases and grains.

Continue reading " Most Fatal Truck Accidents the Fault of the Truck Driver, Study Suggests " »

The plastic footwear, Crocs, have reportedly caused 186 escalator injuries in the United States. An additional 50 incidents have been reported in other countries. These incidents have turned into several personal injury lawsuits, alleging the shoes are unsafe or defective products that can prove harmful to consumers.

The reported incidents deal with injuries resulting from Crocs-wearers tripping, slipping and becoming entrapped on escalators. The company stated the shoes have a slightly marginal risk of being caught in escalators, but refuses to settle any cases as they are claiming any allegations are without merit. However, the company is also adding escalator safety tags on their shoes this year.

The product-liability lawsuits all allege that the shoes can cause harm to consumers and that the company failed to adequately warn consumers about the possible associated harms. The company rebuts that escalator safety features, warning signs along with other premises liability issues and riding behavior are more likely culprits of the said incidents over their products.

Typically, product manufacturers, retailers, distributors and anyone else involved in the production of goods has a duty of reasonable care to ensure consumers that their products are safe when used in the proper, intended manner. If a product is found defective or inherently unsafe, those involved in its production will be likely held accountable for any resulting injuries sustained by consumers.

Continue reading " Crocs a Defective Product? " »

The (OSHA) Occupational Safety and Health Act, enacted by the federal government, mandates safe working conditions for all employees. When an employer does not correctly comply with said workplace safety standards and a worker is injured, a workers compensation claim will generally ensue.

Workers compensation is typically the exclusive means by which an employee can receive compensation for a work-related injury. Although the employee need not prove employer fault or negligence to receive compensation, the employee can only recover certain forms of relief. Workers’ compensation has safeguards for both the employee, in terms of assuring some compensation, and the employer, in terms of only requiring the payout of specified damages.

When an employee is injured in the course of employment, obtaining a skilled personal injury attorney is as necessary as seeking medical attention. Although most believe workers’ compensation claims only involve the injured employee and employer, often times, more than one employer will be brought into a workers compensation claim and several legal issues will arise in the course of investigations. By finding an experienced workers’ compensation attorney, you are completing an essential step on the way to a successful claim.

A worker recently injured on the job in St. Louis, exemplifies how work injury claims may deal with several issues and employers. In one recent case, an employee was injured while working at an elementary school and was hired by a project manager and subcontractors for construction work. The worker was hurt by falling ceiling debris in an elevator shaft at the elementary school and is claiming OSHA standards were violated because there were no safety precautions taken. The lack of construction nets is being argued as a foreseeable danger.

Continue reading " St. Louis Workers Compensation Claim Follows Construction Accident " »

A recent barge accident off the coast of Vancouver, British Columbia severely injured a barge employee, leading to workplace safety investigations. In this case, barge workers were in the process of raising a small crane onto a larger barge when the mishap happened. What allegedly caused the injury was actually lack of proper training for the young barge employee, who was only 22 years old.

Allegedly the young worker was trying to shift a loose load on the smaller barge while helping a crane operator using a lift. The employee was holding onto the load, which was raised because of the crane, and when the crane was released the employee was thrown into the air over 30 feet. He was rushed to the hospital and sustained back and leg injuries.

After this barge accident led to workplace safety investigations, it was uncovered, allegedly, that the young employee only had 90 minutes of training before beginning barge employment. Extensive training prior to barge employment is typically required of barge employees because barge work is dangerous by nature and may involve several hazardous situations.

Barge employment accidents range from “slip and fall” incidents to chemical exposure and accidents between other sea vessels that cause injury. Under American law, when a barge employee is injured during the course of employment workers compensation is not provided as with other forms of employment.

Continue reading " Barge Worker Severely Injured in Barge Accident " »

It is estimated that car accidents kill over 100 people a day. When car accidents cause damage and injury, it is likely that a car accident lawsuit will ensue in order for those injured in the accident to recover for the harm sustained. In the case of a fatal car accident, typically a wrongful death claim will be filed by the family of the deceased to recover for such things as medical expenses, as well as the loss of a loved one.

A recent wrongful death claim was filed after a car accident when a mail truck killed a woman in Madison, Wisconsin. In this case a 76-year-old woman was driving to the post office and pulled around a mail truck to park. When the woman stepped out from her car, allegedly, the mail truck struck her. She fell to the ground and smashed her head on the curb; she was immediately rushed to the hospital where she died. The woman suffered a skull fracture, and the driver was cited for inattentive driving; he pled no contest.

Here, the decedent's husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. Government, as the mail truck is a government vehicle and the driver is a government employee. The lawsuit claims that the driver was negligent while driving, did not yield to a pedestrian and failed to maintain control of his vehicle. The suit seeks damages for medical expenses, funeral costs, pain and suffering and loss of consortium (a legal term meaning relations / companionship).

It is likely that this lawsuit will prevail because a wrongful death action is proper when a death results, at least in part, because of another's actions even though there was no direct intent to kill the decedent. When negligent actions accidentally kill someone, although the action was unintentional, the negligent person will still be liable for the resulting damages stemming from the incident such as death.

Continue reading " Woman Dies in an Auto Accident Involving a Mail Truck " »

A recent study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported by Associated Press (AP) revealed that approximately half a million commercial drivers throughout the United States qualify for full disability. This means over 500,000 drivers on the road have medical conditions that could possibly affect their driving ability. Although not all of these individuals' disabilities create unsafe driving conditions, several thousand do, such as seizure disorders.

The study further found that 7.3 million commercial driver violations were recorded in 2006, and every state had some medical violations. Violations by commercial drivers are a weighty issue because simple violations can turn into tragic tractor trailer truck accidents, which injure over 100,000 individuals in America every year and kill thousands as well.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) created by the federal government regulates driver medical history and conditions to serve truck accident prevention. Drivers with medical conditions such as poor vision or hearing and disabilities causing seizures, to name a few, are to be strictly monitored or possibly prohibited from driving.

However, the study found that several of these medical regulations were overlooked, whether purposefully or not, and caused accidents. When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are overlooked or purposefully violated and cause an accident, liability can be placed on the trucking company.

Continue reading " New Study Reveals Many Truck Drivers are Medically Unfit to Operate Commercial Vehicles " »

Workplace safety is not an option for employers. The federal government requires that all employers provide a safe working environment free from any hazardous or harmful conditions for their employees. When such harmful conditions are present in a workplace, employers will likely be liable for any injuries from unsafe workplace conditions.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970 mandates safe working conditions in America and provides the workplace standards by which employers must abide. When an employer does not comply with the OSHA standards and an employee is injured, a workers compensation claim will likely ensue.

Workers' compensation provides guaranteed compensation to employees injured in the course of employment; however, the amount of compensation that can be recovered is limited. Therefore, a workers' compensation claim also safeguards employers from paying any excessive costs beyond which is set for certain bills and lost wages, despite the fact that an employee may suffer greater damages.

An example of an employee who suffered damages beyond that which was set per workers' compensation is seen in the case of a paralyzed truck driver. In this case, a former independent truck driver was involved in a loading dock accident that paralyzed him from the chest down. The injured worker received payment through workers' compensation settlement agreement, however the payments were not great enough for the amount of medical bills, lost wages and life altering damages the man experienced.

Continue reading " Workers' Compensation and Workplace Safety a Right, Not a Luxury " »

A man charged with drunk driving after a motorcycle crash is now facing additional charges for the accident. The man is facing charges of serious injury by a motor vehicle after the passenger of the car he collided with was in a coma.

The accident happened when the motorcyclist was driving towards an intersection and turned left without yielding, directly into the victim’s car. The accident happened early in the morning, after the motorcyclist had been drinking and was found over the legal blood alcohol limit. In addition to major leg injuries, the motorcycle accident caused severe head injuries to the victim, leaving him in a coma.

Motorcyclist accidents, statistically, are often alcohol-related. Meaning, most of these accidents could probably be prevented, and with over 90 percent of motorcycle accidents resulting in injury, many injuries could be prevented. More alarming is that about half of all fatal motorcycle accidents involve alcohol. Thus, not only could some motorcycle accidents and injuries be prevented through alcohol awareness, but also many lives could be saved.

Despite the well-known harms associated with driving a motorcycle after alcohol consumption, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that alcohol-impaired motorcycle driving and resulting accidents continue to grow in number every year.

Continue reading " DUI Motorcycle Accident Leaves Man in Coma " »

Regardless of which of the various types of truck accidents that may occur, a tractor trailer's weight and size may indicate the severity of damage resulting in the event of a motor vehicle accident. The heavier and larger a vehicle is, the more likely it is to cause greater damage when an accident occurs. Because of this, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates commercial vehicle weight and size.

The FMCSA was created by the federal government as a means to provide uniform laws across the United States for commercial drivers and trucking companies alike. The FMCSA regulations target aspects of commercial vehicles and their drivers that may contribute to dangerous circumstances, so as to prevent such occurrences and increasingly perilous situations in the event of an accident.

In a recent Missouri tractor trailer accident, a truck carrying an oversized load of vehicles slammed into an overpass, causing chunks of concrete to break off from the bridge above. The chunks of concrete that fell, luckily, did not harm anyone or hit any other vehicles on the road, and there was no structural damage done to the bridge. However, the commercial driver of the vehicle was still given a citation. He was allegedly speeding and failed to stop after causing damage to the overpass.

Although it has not been specifically reported at this time that the automobiles being carried were improperly attached, any goods attached to a commercial vehicle should be securely fastened so as to prevent situations such as that above. The FMCSA provides specific regulations for commercial vehicles carrying automobiles because transporting such items can create dangerous situations and immense damage if an accident occurs. If a truck accident does occur and it is found that said rules were violated, the trucking company will likely be held liable for any resulting damages.

Continue reading " Tractor Trailer Strikes Bridge in Missouri " »

A recent Missouri car accident lawsuit and three Missouri wrongful death claims were settled for $18 million. Another wrongful death claim associated with the same accident is still pending. The suits were filed after four people were killed in a Missouri tractor trailer crash on I-70 when the tractor trailer slammed into a line of cars backed up in traffic. The accident resulted in the tractor trailer colliding into the vehicles and then breaking through the median and crossing into on-coming traffic. The destruction finally ended when the commercial vehicle was stopped after hitting an embankment.

Allegedly there had been a semi-truck accident ahead on the highway, which was why traffic was piled up. The tractor trailer driver allegedly had a diabetic episode, impairing his motor functions. The diabetic episode basically rendered the man unconscious and allegedly caused the car accident, as the man was unable to control his body and vehicle.

Wrongful death lawsuits often stem from car and truck accidents in Missouri. Automobile accidents are a leading cause of death in the United States. The causes of car accidents are typically related to driver negligence of some form. When someone is injured by a another driver’s negligence, the injured party has a legal right to recover. When the injured party has been killed, their family has the right to recover through a wrongful death lawsuit.

I have seen many lists on what to do if you are in a Missouri car accident. However, there are also many things you do not want to discuss when you are involved in a car accident, unless it is with the police or other emergency personnel.

Continue reading " Missouri Car Accident Suit Settles for $18 Million " »

A married couple in Texas has filed a benzene claim against… 41, yes 41, chemical and oil companies. The couple has filed on a myriad of claims in regard to the husband's cancer he allegedly got from unsafe benzene exposure at work. The couple alleges the oil and chemical companies did not adequately test products before making them available in widespread markets. They also claim the availability caused several individuals harm through health complications and contracting cancer.

The man alleges that the chronic lymphocytic leukemia he was diagnosed with was directly caused through routine benzene exposure at work. The man worked in a chemical lab as a technician and was exposed to benzene and benzene products on a daily basis. This allegedly led to the development of his cancer. The suit alleges that the oil and chemical companies failed to warn them of foreseeable health risks related to benzene exposure, as well as stating the companies failed to study other risks associated with being around benzene routinely.

With help from a products liability attorney, products liability claims against the product manufacturers and workers' compensation claims against the man’s employer were filed. Other personal injury claims were filed for the wife’s suffering and losses in dealing with her husband's traumatic situation.

Continue reading " Texas Couple Files 41 Products Liability and Workers Compensation Suits " »

Manufacturers of products have a duty to make sure their goods are safe and they work for their intended purpose without causing injury. When a defective product causes personal injury, the product manufacturer may be held liable in a products liability claim.

Typically in a products liability claim, the consumer of a product must prove that either a design defect, manufacturing error or marketing misrepresentation caused an injury that could have and/or should have been prevented. Recently, the company Segway has been under heat for their transportation product and possible design defects and/or manufacturing errors that have caused consumers harm.

The manufacturer of the two-wheeled standing personal transportation tools, Segway, has recalled their product twice after several people were injured through using the transportation device. Several people have filed products liability lawsuits against the manufacturer, but the product is still thriving in sales.

Two product liability lawsuits were settled out of court for undisclosed amounts this year, and several previous claims against the company were also settled out of court. One of the settled suits involved a young Minnesota boy. I am not aware of any Missouri personal injury attorneys that have filed a Segway case.

Continue reading " Product Liability Suits Prompt Segway Recalls " »

When you are involved in a work-related accident and suffer injury, there are many important things you need to know in order to make sure you are justly compensated for your injuries. First, make sure that you receive immediate medical attention; it is crucial to your case that you have firm evidence from a credible source. By visiting a medical professional and having formal evaluations of your condition, you are putting yourself in the best position possible to prove your case and show sustained injuries.

Next, it is important to obtain a skilled workers' compensation lawyer who has a reputation for successfully and aggressively handling said claims. Your workers compensation lawyer will be an asset to a successful work-related injury lawsuit. An experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to advise you of what steps to take to ensure just compensation and will also be able to tell you the processes involved so you are in tune with everything that goes along with a lawsuit.

Basically, evidence is crucial to any lawsuit, and especially those involving work-related suits. By speaking with an attorney you will learn how to handle the suit in order to protect your rights. Unfortunately, employees are sometimes quick to speak to their employers and lose out on additional recovery simply because they do not know the proper procedure to handle a lawsuit in order to preserve all possible claims.

Continue reading " Workers' Comp Claim… What You Need to Know " »

In a split-second, a motorcycle accident can change lives, leaving irreversible damage, disfiguration or even death. Although most accidents occur in a few quick seconds, there are common riding practices to safeguard you from traumatizing events during motorcycle travel. After all, even though most motorcycle accidents are not caused by motorcyclists, most often motorcyclists are the ones injured. It is to your benefit to follow safe driving practices to avoid any slip-ups that could contribute to an accident.

It is important to look at common causes of motorcycle accidents to see where you can improve and what things you can do to lessen your chance at being involved in a motorcycle crash.

The most common causes for motorcyclist-fault motorcycle accidents are:

1. Lack of basic riding skills
2. Lack of regard to inherent motorcycle operating characteristics
3. Lack of regard for motorcycle machine limitations
4. Failure to use special precaution while riding
5. Failure to use defensive driving techniques
6. Lack of specific braking skills
7. Failure to follow the speed limit

Continue reading " Motorcycle Riding Tips: Don’t Become Another Statistic " »