Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

In a press release issued today, text messaging and driving may soon be banned in all states. It will be mandated that all states ban texting while driving if they want to receive highway funding. If they do not comply with the requirement to ban texting while driving, their funding will be withheld. So far 19 states have banned texting and driving. Texting has been linked to many serious Missouri car and truck accident cases. Experienced personal injury lawyers always explore the possibility of an at fault driver texting before a crash.

Illinois is the most recent state to prohibit texting while driving. The law was signed into effect on August 6 bringing the total of states that have banned text messaging while driving to 19. It is expected that Missouri will soon follow the lead of its neighboring state.

In St. Louis, Missouri a tractor trailer accident causing multiple fatalities on Highway 40 was allegedly caused because the semi truck driver was texting while he was driving and caused a chain reaction accident. Entire families were killed during this horrendous truck accident.

According to the Automobile Club of America, the risk of having a car accident increases by 50% for those who text message and drive at the same time. With 46% of new drivers surveyed saying they text and drive, teens are the largest group texting and driving, increasing the risk of cell phone auto accidents in Missouri and throughout the nation.

Continue reading " Texting and Driving Can Be a Deadly Combination " »

A recent tractor trailer accident in Missouri on Interstate 70 shut down the highway for about six hours. In the early morning hours, the tractor trailer jackknifed and dumped debris across the eastbound lanes of the highway.

The accident happened east of Kingdom City which is between St. Louis and Columbia, Missouri. One lane of eastbound I-70 traffic was blocked and the other lane was backed up as the debris was cleaned up.

Emergency crews were not able to confirm the identification of the debris other than it was not hazardous material that was thrown from the jackknifed tractor trailer truck.

Continue reading " Missouri Tractor Trailer Accident on Interstate 70 " »

The following article from the News-Leader in Springfield, Missouri describes a two-vehicle crash resulting in two injuries and one fatality in Taney County.

This Missouri car accident happened a little after noon on August 9, on U.S. 160, about a mile east of Walnut Shade, Missouri. A 70 year old Highlandville, Missouri man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. It was reported that he was wearing his seat belt during the accident.

The driver of the other car involved in this Missouri car wreck was a 19 year old Forsyth, MO resident. He was taken immediately to St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Missouri with moderate injuries. He was also reportedly wearing a seat belt.

Additionally, a passenger was airlifted to St. John’s Hospital with serious injuries. The 16 year-old Reeds Spring, MO resident was reportedly not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. According to a report from the Highway Patrol, a 1995 Ford F-150 crossed the center line and hit a 2005 Chevrolet van head-on.

The Highway Patrol report says there were no apparent signs that alcohol was a factor. At the time of this article, it is unknown whether law enforcement authorities plan to charge anyone for causing the auto accident in Missouri that led to the unfortunate death.

Continue reading " Missouri Car Accident Kills 70 Year Old Resident " »

A tour bus for the Christian rock band MercyMe, en route to Six Flags in Eureka, Missouri, near St. Louis, was recently involved in an accident resulting in fatalities. The bus collision took place in northeastern Indiana, killing two passengers and the 18 year old driver’s unborn baby. No one in the band was seriously injured.

The two passengers in the car, a male and female, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car was in her third trimester of pregnancy and the baby died. The driver was hospitalized Saturday in critical condition, Officer Liza Thomas of Fort Wayne, Indiana police said.

Reports did not mention whether any passengers were wearing seatbelts.

According to Thomas, witnesses said the bus was going through a green light in the early hours of the morning at about 1:15 am on Saturday, August 8, when the car made a left turn in front of it.

Because of the driver’s condition, it has not been determined why she turned in front of the tour bus. It is unknown if she was trying to beat it through the intersection or just didn’t see it.

A photograph of the damaged bus was posted on the band’s website, depicting moderate crumpling to the front area of the vehicle. Six Flags issued a statement confirming the concert has been rescheduled for Sept. 5 and all concert tickets will be honored for the new date.

Continue reading " Tour Bus Accident Fatalities " »

A July 3 incident in an Arkansas County Jail has officials looking at safety strategies for preventing jailhouse suicides. New reports from TodaysTHV, an Arkansas online news article, say a 32-year-old inmate, a resident of Missouri, has been hospitalized for injuries relating to a suicide attempt in the Saline County Jail.

The report indicates there were three suicides in that particular jail over a period of one year. Incidents like this one lead to discussion of liability for all America's many inmates of prisons and jails across the country. Suicide is a serious problem among those who are incarcerated. Prisons and jails are places of specific detention and limitation of the individuals held there. Due to the very nature of that environment, cities and states have a special responsibility to prevent suicide attempts, self injury and injuries due to violent behavior by others.

Though some may downplay the significance of these kinds of situations, the reality is that incarceration is a “high risk” environment. Emotions run high in jails and prisons, and a vast variety of injury cases often result. Because of the arrangement and special interactions between guards, inmates and anyone else in a facility, these incidents often become more complex. Historically, there is a strong trend in avoidance of injury reports in a prison or jail. Today, advocates work to expose situations where those incarcerated are vulnerable to violent situations or situations that may trigger behavior such as a suicide attempt.

Continue reading " Jailhouse Risk Assessed After Missouri Resident Suicide Attempt in Arkansas Jail " »

A July 8 article in St. Louis Today indicates that the safety regulations of Missouri's day care centers are about to get a much-needed boost after nearly 20 years, with a 165 page document that outlines new standards for Missouri's estimated 2,300 day care centers across the state.

At issue, according to the reports, would be more advanced training for workers, better guidelines for environmental considerations and even smaller ratios providing more supervision to each child.

Missouri state officials say the change stems partially from incidents like one two years ago involving a sleeping infant who was left in a vehicle during a day trip. In this case, officials said tragedy was prevented by someone who spotted the baby, but the currently proposed regulations will make sure this kind of thing is not left up to chance in the future.

Those advocating stricter controls for Missouri day care centers have pointed to this kind of situation in urging the state to adopt greater regulation on how day care centers operate.

But not all of this is popular with those who own and run these businesses. Specifically, provisions that would require more staffing are under the spotlight. Many of Missouri's day care operations say they cannot afford to provide more staff than they currently use.

While the debate over the best way to regulate these kinds of businesses continues, the responsibility for child safety is in limbo. When tragic and unfortunate situations occur, parents are often left to sift through the facts and the mitigating factors to figure out where responsibility lies for an injury, or worse, a fatality involving one of their children.

Continue reading " Missouri Signs Day Care Law " »

According to a recent story from KPLR 11 in St. Louis, a Missouri mayor was among many caught up in police operations for catching drivers under the influence of alcohol this July 4 season. The report indicates the mayor was detained on the evening of July 4 returning home from holiday festivities.

This kind of incident shows just how serious DUI and DWI violations are becoming in America. When public officials are caught in this kind of behavior, the situation becomes all the more dangerous and pervasive. Drunk driving violations are a major part of police operations all across the country, as law enforcement continues to crack down on unsafe operation of motor vehicles to limit the inevitable injury and fatality associated with drunk driving.

Everyone on the road is vulnerable to the effects of drunk driving. It is unfortunately an “equal opportunity” hazard. As reports continue to show the high rates of injury and fatality associated with DUI and DWI, law enforcement continues to work harder to keep drunk drivers off of the road and, in many cases, keep racking up more and more DUI and DWI convictions. Drunk driving continues to claim lives and lead to life-changing injuries for many Americans.

Often, an individual or family dealing with the result of a drunk driving accident in Missouri has to multitask, coping with the emotional burden while handling all of the financial and legal ramifications. It can be hard for these individuals to simultaneously figure out how these events impact their day-to-day budget and schedule, while doing the fact-finding about who may be responsible and how to get compensation for an injury or fatality.

Continue reading " Missouri Mayor Caught in July 4 DUI Operations " »