Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

An article in the stltoday.com website relates that investigators are trying to determine the cause of an early-morning fire that led to the evacuation of the Northwest Airport Inn. The fire broke out just after 2 a.m. at the hotel which is located at 3570 North Lindbergh Boulevard. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. Witnesses said flames were shooting through the roof of the complex and everyone got out safely. The fire gutted two rooms and left the rest of one building with smoke and water damage.

All of the hotel guests, many of them long-term residents of the hotel, were left without a place to stay. They were taken to Ramada Airport North on Dunn Road. A desk clerk at the Ramada said about 30 rooms will now being used by the guests displaced by the fire at the Northwest Airport Inn.

Although this fire is still under investigation and the cause is still unknown, it is possible that the cause of the fire will be attributed to the property owner’s negligence or inadequate maintenance of the premises. Landlords and property owners are obligated to protect persons on their property from injuries resulting from hazardous conditions that the owner knew or should have known existed. If anyone had been injured in this particular fire, it is probable that the property owner would have faced multiple liability suits.

Continue reading "Hotel Guests Flee Blaze at Northwest Airport Inn" »

An early morning house fire struck the South Side of St. Louis, Missouri on Saturday, February 6, 2010. A report states that the family of six was not aware of the fire when it began around 5 a.m. on the first floor of their three-story home. The 17-year-old son had been sleeping on the first floor when he awoke and discovered that furniture had caught on fire. He then alerted his family upstairs. The parents and two sons managed to escape safely through a third story window that had access to a flat area on the roof.

After escaping, the father made several attempts to re-enter the home to rescue his two daughters, who were trapped on the second floor. Due to heavy smoke and flames, he was unable to succeed. One of the trapped family members, a 13-year-old girl, was located near a window and was easily rescued once fire officials arrived at the scene. Unfortunately, firefighters were unable to reach the second daughter, who was 10-years-old.

The fire severely damaged the home, causing the roof to collapse the structure completely. The surviving family members were rushed to the hospital and treated for smoke inhalation and other minor injuries. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

Continue reading "Girl Dies in St. Louis House Fire" »

Employees at a St. Louis plant, where a shooting spree in early January left four people dead, have returned to work. A spokesman for the ABB Inc. plant revealed that the first day back was devoted to helping employees deal with their emotions. Counselors were on hand to help employees cope with the fact that a disgruntled worker killed three co-workers and injured five others before taking his own life.

Authorities say the suspect arrived at the plant on January 7, 2010, armed with four guns and opened fire. They have not released a possible motive. All but two of the injured have been released from the hospital. No details about the conditions of the two who remain hospitalized were released.

Workers who sustain injuries on the job in Missouri are entitled to fair compensation for their expenses and loss of wages. As an injured worker, you could seek compensation for medical treatment including hospital stays, physical therapy, medication, and any other medical treatment that is needed for you to recover from your injuries. If a worker dies as a result of his injuries, then his family is entitled to receive these benefits as well.

Continue reading "St. Louis Plant Reopens One Week after Shootings" »

Early Thursday morning, a male gunman attacked a transformer manufacturing company in St. Louis, leaving three dead and five others wounded. Local reports indicate that three of the injured people are in critical condition. Police estimate that 40 to 50 workers were on the premises during the time of the shooting, many of whom were hiding in offices or on the roof. The suspected shooter, armed with a handgun and assault rifle, apparently opened fire in the parking lot before storming the factory. He committed suicide by shooting himself shortly after the ambush.

The accused was also involved in a legal dispute with the company against the administrators’ management of employee retirement funds filed in 2006. He and several co-workers were part of a group of ABB employees who felt that their retirement accounts included excessive fees and expenses for investment options. The trial on this matter began Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri.

Company owners and manufacturers have a responsibility to protect all employees on the premises. This includes maintaining proper working conditions, fire and hazardous materials safety, and adequate security.

Continue reading "Gunman Kills Three, Injures Five at St. Louis Factory" »

When a southwestern Missouri couple bought their dream home near Mount St. Helen, Washington, they never imagined they’d end up losing everything. The seller and real estate agent neglected to disclose that the house had once been a meth lab. The couple found out from folks in town that there had been a drug operation and a drug bust two years prior. Meth making chemicals had permeated virtually every surface of the house. The occupants of the house had been arrested and the landlord put the property up for sale.

The couple was afflicted with rashes, insomnia, mood swings and called the health department. The property and all the contents within it were condemned. A four year legal nightmare ensued, their credit rating was destroyed, and they lost all their family heirlooms. The husband was subsequently diagnosed with kidney cancer.

Eventually, the Washington courts ruled in their favor and the seller was required to purchase the property back and pay off the mortgage. The couple has since returned to Missouri where they rent a home near Springfield.

Continue reading "Missouri Family Wages Four Year Legal Battle Over Undisclosed Meth Lab" »

Missouri nursing home and elder abuse attorneys have always been concerned about the escalating rates of nursing home abuse and neglect in the state. A report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed that a Medicare program intended to evaluate the conditions of nursing homes in the United States has overlooked hundreds of facilities that provide substandard care. According to the news report, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has listed up to 13 nursing homes as "special focus facilities," which means that they are inspected more frequently because they received low grades for their living condition. However, a recent GAO report finds that Medicare and Medicaid still may have overlooked 580 nursing homes in this category.

The Senate Aging Committee is considering expanding the program to include facilities that are still underperforming, but have not been included in the special focus list. This is important because many consumers who are looking to place their loved ones in nursing homes are counting on Medicare and Medicaid's information to select a nursing home. However, many don't realize that the "approved" homes on the Nursing Home Compare list may not really provide quality care.

Continue reading "Many Nursing Homes Not Up To Standard, New Report Finds" »

A recent report in The Record claims that a St. Clair County woman has filed a Missouri premises liability lawsuit against a grocery store and an ice company for injuries she received when she slipped on melted ice and fell. The injured woman filed the lawsuit in St. Clair County Court on May 1, 2009, in connection with the slip and fall accident which allegedly occurred on June 6, 2007. The complaint claims that ice had melted on the supermarket floor after an employee of the ice company had stocked bags of ice in a freezer, and ice cubes had dropped from one or more of the bags. The complaint also claims that the ice company employee and employees of the supermarket:

• Failed to mop up the melted ice
• Failed to display warning signs of the wet floor
• Failed to warn the woman of the presence of water on the floor
• Failed to adequately inspect the floor

The woman claims that the fall caused injuries to her neck, back, spine, arms, elbows, right shoulder, torso, knees, legs, right ankle and right foot, and strains to her right interior cruciate ligament and right posterior cruciate ligament. As a result of this slip and fall accident in Missouri, the woman claims that she incurred medical costs, the use and function of her injured body parts have been substantially impaired, and she has been unable to enjoy some of her favorite activities.

Slip and fall accidents often result in broken bones, deep bruising, back injuries, and other debilitating injuries. It is the responsibility of property owners to protect people who are lawfully on their property from injuries resulting from hazardous conditions that they knew about or should have known about.

If you or someone you care for has been injured in a St. Louis slip and fall accident, the premises liability attorneys at personal injury law firm Page Cagle may be able to help. They can help injured people hold property owners responsible for the negligence that caused the injuries and prevent others from being injured. Call the injury lawyers at Page Cagle today toll free at 866-620-5757 to schedule a free consultation with experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyers. You can find more information related to this topic at www.injuredclient.com.

An injured citizen in Connecticut recently sued his township for personal injuries after a trip and fall accident. In this case the plaintiff fell into a moveable dumpster at the town waste transfer station while attempting to discard waste. The man suffered serious injuries from this incident that could have been prevented through routine maintenance in citizen common areas by the city.

The plaintiff claims he tripped and fell because of a broken and separated concrete block near the dumpster. As he approached the platform with trash in hand, he tripped across the concrete block, crashing into the dumpster. The plaintiff filed a claim against the township because the township has a responsibility to him and fellow citizens to make sure that safe premises are maintained throughout the town.

Municipalities owe a duty to their residents. Citizens should not have to tolerate unsafe premises; town common areas ranging from sidewalks to highways should be reasonably safe for travel when used and traveled in a normal (anticipated) manner. When such areas are not maintained in a reasonably safe manner, the city, essentially, is failing to uphold its duty; a breach of duty means the town can be held liable for injuries sustained.

Continue reading "Premises Liability Suit stems from Trip and Fall Accident" »

A recent personal injury lawsuit in Connecticut sought to determine what duties a homeowner owes to a business invitee. A business invitee is someone invited on land or property for business reasons. In this case, the business invitee was invited to the land by the homeowner to assist in performing electrical work.

Here, the invitee Plaintiff fell through an opening in the third floor of an uninhabited home. The home was being renovated and while assisting in electrical renovations, the invitee fell through the hole, sustaining severe injuries due to hazardous conditions. The injured invitee brought a claim for negligence against the homeowner for the personal injuries sustained.

The district court found the plaintiff, business invitee, could not recover. In order to recover, the elements of a basic negligence claim must be proven, establishing a homeowner’s duty to warn or protect the invitee, a breach of that duty, and an injury that was caused by the breach. The district court said the invitee knew the home was being renovated and that possible dangers involved in reconstruction were present. The court specifically said “the failure to warn an invitee of something he already knows is without legal significance.” The court found for the homeowner.

Continue reading "Premesis Liability Case Appealed; Homeowner Expected to be Liable" »

The legal battle over the drowning of a Missouri child continues as the family of the boy claims the pool is liable for damages because of inadequate supervision at the swimming facility. The 6-year-old boy drowned last summer at the Swimmin' Hole, a private water park in rural Joplin, while on a field trip with the Boys & Girls Club.

Authorities ruled the death an accident, but alleged "a lack of supervision" on the part of club chaperons and the water-park employees. The parents have filed suit against the Boys & Girls Club and the water park owners.

Actions to recover for swimming-pool accidents at hotels, motels, resorts, and private or public association or club facilities generally follow standard negligence principles. This means that the swimming pool owners and chaperons in this case must have had a duty of care to the little boy, breached that duty, which resulted in injury that was directly caused by the breach of duty. The plaintiff often attempts to show that the defendant violated statutory requirements for swimming pools. According to the American Jurisprudence 2nd, in actions to recover for injury or death suffered in a swimming pool, plaintiffs can successfully establish the defendant's liability on numerous grounds.

In some cases, the defendant's failure to provide any lifeguard or other supervisory services at its pool has been found to render the defendant liable. In other cases where the defendant provided lifeguard or other supervisory services, but the plaintiff claimed they were inadequate, such as the case above, courts have split decisions, depending on the magnitude and reasonableness of the inadequacy of the supervisory services.

Continue reading "Parents File Premises Liability Suit After Son Dies At Missouri Water Park" »