Missouri Injury Law Blog

Its springtime and in Missouri and Illinois motorcycles are everywhere, many states across the country use May as motorcycle safety awareness month in an effort to reduce the number of Missouri motorcycle accidents and motorcycle accidents in Illinois and across the country.

Scary fact is that there is about an 80% chance of serious personal injury whenever a motorcyclist is involved in a car crash. When the motorcycle crash involves another vehicle the likelihood of severe injury or death is 29 times higher for the motorcyclists than the driver of a car or truck. Being a personal injury lawyer handling motorcycle injury cases in St Louis Missouri and across Missouri and Illinois, I can attest that in my experience this is true. A very small percentage of Missouri motorcycle injury cases I have reviewed as a personal injury lawyer are the result of motorcycle operator error. In fact, only one motorcycle injury case I have seen was likely motorcycle operator error.

As a Missouri motorcycle injury lawyer and an Illinois motorcycle injury lawyer I can tell you that most accidents and injuries occur at intersections. Most common type of motorcycle injury case that I handle involves a motorcyclist driving through an intersection and a vehicle approaching the opposite direction makes a left turn on green and fails to yield to the cyclist.

I recommend to all bikers to flash their headlights as they approach an intersection, this will increase the chances that a negligent driver will see you.

9 times out of 10 a collision between a car or truck and a motorcycle is the result of the car or truck drivers carelessness. If you are a motorcyclist that end up in an accident with a car (I have personally been in 2 motorcycle accidents) contact me to discuss your case, I have a unique understanding as a Missouri and Illinois personal injury lawyer, and motorcyclist, and an injury lawyer motorcyclist that has been injured as a result of careless drivers.

Continue reading "May is Motorcycle Safety Month - Promote Awareness of Motorcycle Safety and Top Reasons for Motorcycle Accidents " »

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

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As a St Louis Missouri personal injury lawyer I have dealt with a lot of Missouri motorcycle accident cases and Illinois Motorcycle accident cases. Every case is the result of a car or truck driver's inattention. The absolute most common cause of motorcycle accidents in Missouri and Illinois, at least as far as what I have seen, is the failure of a motorist to yield to a motorcyclist coming through an intersection and the car or truck driver makes a left turn on a green right in front of the motorcyclist, thus causing a collision. Also, the simple failure to yield to a motorcyclist in other situations.

Several examples of this type of injury have occurred recently in Missouri as the bike riding weather and season have begun. Recent news stories below:

A Springfield motorcyclist was injured in Greene County as the result of a collision between a car and his motorcycle. The Missouri motorcycle accident occurred on highway 66 when a driver of a Chevrolet made a left turn in front of a Springfield biker driving a 2005 Harley Davidson.

Article: Springfield Missouri Motorcycle Accident and Injury Case

The driver of an SUV struck a motorcycle and killed the rider. Both the rider and his passenger were killed when the motorcyclist was turning a Honda Goldwing motorcycle left from Hwy 32 onto Davis Crossing Road when the SUV heading the same direction of the motorcyclist passed several vehicles collided with the left side of the motorcycle killing both the motorcycle driver and his passenger. The elderly drivers of the SUV were treated for only minor injuries, however, the motorcyclist and his passenger were declared dead at the scene of the St Francois County Missouri motorcycle accident.

As any Missouri motorcycle accident injury lawyer would know, this is a clear case of liability and a tragic Missouri motorcycle accident wrongful death case.

Article: St Francois County Motorcycle Death Case

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents , Wrongful Death

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$18 million was recently paid by a trucking company operating across Missouri to the family of 4 women that were killed in a tragic truck accident on a Kansas City Missouri highway. A jury had returned a verdict of negligence for 3 of the 4 women, the verdict was $15 million; while the jury was deliberating on the punitive damages issue the truck company decided to settle for $18 million to cover the potential punitive damages award.

There was ample evidence that the trucking company did not properly screen the truck drivers and that the at fault truck driver had several problems that were either negligently missed or intentionally overlooked. Problems that would have kept the truck driver off the road.

From the perspective of a St Louis Missouri injury lawyer and a lawyer that handles St Louis Missouri truck accident personal injury cases, it was smart to resolve this case for $18 million, despite the potential for a massive punitive damages verdict. Families need closure, and despite the sensational punitive damages awards that Missouri lawmaker will often use as examples for tort reform, rarely are the punitive damage awards seen by the families as the appeal process drags on and prevents the closure of a tragic chapter in their lives. Additionally, Missouri law required that 50% of the punitive damage award goes to the state.

More importantly, settlement means no appeals, no more expenses, no risk of reversal. Anytime their is a multi million dollar judgment an appeal will follow, extending the case for years. Settlement means closure and money now.

Settlements are more important than Judgments in many wrongful death cases. In June 2007 we settled a case for $4.5 million regarding a St Louis Missouri gastric bypass medical malpractice wrongful death case. A similar case went to trial against the same doctor and the verdict was $7.5 million; however, the family never saw that $7.5 million; they settled for less than $2 million. The personal injury lawyer that got that St Louis death case verdict did excellent work, however, at the end of the day, his clients never saw the money from the large St Louis wrongful death verdict.

Truck Accident Wrongful Death Case

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Accidents

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Currently we are handling a St. Louis Missouri personal injury truck accident case that involved a commercial truck driver whose truck was being repaired so his employer a Missouri trucking company rented a similar commercial truck from Penske truck rental. The large sleeper cabin in the back of the semi-truck did not have adequate safety equipment or padding for the sleeping or resting passenger who is often the secondary or relief commercial truck driver. The tractor trailer was involved in large truck accident outside of St Louis Missouri while my client was asleep in the back. He suffered serious personal injury while traveling through Illinois, mainly several cervical fractures from the Illinois truck crash, because the sleeper cabin had no padding and no way to secure a sleeping truck driver. Thus, he contacted us, top St Louis injury lawyers.

As a St Louis personal injury lawyer handling large truck accidents, I see this as a truck accident case against the liable driver, but also a Missouri products liability and a Missouri negligent maintenance case for the truck rental company's failure to have and maintain proper truck safety and security for the truck driver resting in the cabin.

I have handled cases in the past regarding rental cars being improperly maintained as they are often abused and the rental company wants to put as little maintenance money in them as possible to boost profit margins. This is a recipe for disaster, as someone is inevitably going to suffer serious personal injury as a result of the negligent truck maintenance.

Recently U-Haul incurred a judgment of $84 million as the result of serious personal injury to a man who was run over by a truck that he rented from U-Haul. The man parked the truck on a slight incline and when the parking brake failed the truck ran him over causing severe personal injuries, including a broken pelvis preventing him from walking ever again. The rental truck personal injury lawyers discovered the truck brakes to be defective and total lack of maintenance after several hundred thousand miles of rental truck driving.

The problem is the total lack of maintenance. For example, I was able to get a great settlement for a client regarding an Illinois bus accident lawsuit after he stepped in front of a Greyhound bus from in between parked cars, however, the Greyhound bus brakes were malfunctioning and the driver was unable to stop to avoid the collision. See - Illinois Bus Accident Injury Lawyer Lawsuit Settlement.

If you or someone you know rent a truck make sure to drive carefully and check to make sure the truck is operating properly. If you or someone you know are the victim of an unfortunate truck accident personal injury in St Louis Missouri or anywhere in Missouri or Illinois, call us, Missouri truck accident lawyers and Illinois truck accident lawyers.

St Louis Personal Injury Attorneys

Illinois Truck Accident and Injury Lawyer

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Truck Accidents , Products Liability / Dangerous Products

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Every year Missouri Lawyers Weekly comes out with their Missouri Top Settlements and Verdicts Issue espousing the largest Missouri personal injury settlements and verdicts for the previous year. According to the January 28, 2008 issue of Missouri Lawyer's Weekly, the largest Missouri medical malpractice settlement for 2007 was 2 million dollars. Due to confidentiality agreements with our 2007 medical malpractice settlement, we did not submit our settlement to Lawyers Weekly; however, our 2007 Medical malpractice settlement was 4.5 million dollars, more than double the highest reported Missouri medical malpractice settlement reported in 2007. This was a Missouri wrongful death case as a result of the alleged negligent medical treatment of post gastric bypass complications. This entry and the other entry discussing this case disclose limited information allowed by the confidentiality agreement.

Co-counsel with me was St Louis injury lawyer Robert Pedroli of Pedroli and Gauthier, we worked side by side on this case from the beginning. Often personal injury lawyers will bring in co-counsel after approval by the client based on the size, complexity, and time commitment required on these multi million dollar medical malpractice and wrongful death injury cases.

Recently, a client asked me what is the difference between a personal injury judgment and a settlement and which is better? Clearly, a settlement is an agreement between the parties often prior to a trial or judgment to resolve the case. A judgment is entered by the court after a bench trial or as in injury case more often a jury verdict. However, the more important distinction is that a personal injury settlement is usually paid out immediately in a lump sum or as part of a structured settlement. A Judgment may be subject to significant reduction to bring it within the Missouri statutory damage caps or because the judge rules it was excessive, a judgment is often appealed by the losing party, especially if it is a large judgment, which usually stays collection during the pendency of the appeal and may even result in overturning the judgment and thus no collection, and, most importantly, a judgment must be collected as it is not always voluntarily paid by the defendant. The judgment may exceed the defendant's insurance limits, it may exceed their assets, or they may even declare bankruptcy. Therefore, a large settlement is worth more than a large judgment.

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Verdicts & Settlements

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Recently I settled an Illinois Workers Compensation case for $500,000, see Illinois Work Comp Death Case Settlement. Now that the Illinois worker's compensation case is resolved I am pursuing an Illinois products liability death lawsuit resulting from a improperly manufactured or designed cantilever that did not close and thus failed to prevent the worker from falling to his untimely death. A good Illinois personal injury lawyer must look beyond just the worker's compensation liability and investigate other potential defendants and theories of legal liability that allow the client to recovery beyond workers compensation, as the amount recoverable is limited by regulation.

When is there more to recover than just work comp? In the above case, the clients came to me because their first lawyer refused to pursue the products liability case and just wanted to represent them on the Illinois work comp case. The products liability case in this matter is what is known as a 3rd party claim. Generally, workers' compensation statutes and regulations prevent any other recovery by an injured worker or his family other than from work comp insurance through the work comp courts. Recovery is limited and regulated. However, when another party besides the employer is at fault there may exist a third party personal injury case. Many lawyers just want the work comp case and do not want to pursue the other parties, if you find yourself in this situation call me, because we always look into that possibility, and in the above case lead to an Illinois personal injury products liability wrongful death case. As in the above case, the original Illinois work comp attorney refused to take the products liability case, through investigation we have discovered that the cantilever is defective and thus the family has a claim worth potentially millions of dollars. Fortunately, they contacted me and we were able to explore these options and find a wrongful death products liability case.

What is a products liability case? A products liability case is simply as case wherein a defective product caused personal injury. In the above case, the cantilever malfunctioned or was improperly designed as it failed to close, allowing the lanyard to come unhooked from a water tower and allow the worker to fall, causing his unfortunate death. The specific cause of the malfunction I cannot get into at this point, however, as the picture to the right demonstrates, the cantilever fails to close and leaves over a one inch gap. Therefore, based on the facts and witness testimony regarding the fall it will show that had the clip closed all the way the lanyard would not have come unhooked and the worker would not have fallen from the top of the water tower and died. The defect is the libility, the circumstances leading to the fall are the causation, and the death is the damages, the three general requirements for a successful Missouri or Illinois personal injury lawsuit that an injury lawyer looks for.

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Our Injury Cases , Products Liability / Dangerous Products , Workers' Compensation

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In a recent Missouri personal injury post I discussed a St Louis Missouri products liability personal injury lawsuit I have brought on behalf of my client, a young girl, that suffered a serious eye injury when playing with a toy knife that was unreasonably sharp. For fact details see: St Louis Missouri Personal Injury Lawsuit Eye Injury - Dangerous Product - Toy Knife.

The primary eye injury was a serious laceration to the front of her eye that cut through the cornea and the iris. This required several surgeries, first to sew up the laceration then a cataract occurred and a lens implant became necessary as well. As a result, this young girl will suffer vision problems for the rest of her life as well as an over-dependence on her uninjured eye. To the right is a detailed rendition of the injury as well as part of the medical surgical procedure to repair the eye.

What is the value of an eye injury? A Missouri and Illinois personal injury attorney bases that on many factors, the primary ones being the past and future medical bills and costs. Also, past or future lost wages. These are damages that are referred to as "special damages", meaning that they can be specifically calculated. Additional damages are pain and suffering, often referred to as "non economic damages" or loss of enjoyment of life. These are non economic damages as there is not a receipt, bill, or specific price tag attached with this type of damage. The non economic damages awarded by one jury may be very different than the damages awarded by another jury; assuming both find liability to be clear. This is the area of damages that separates top Missouri personal injury lawyers from the rest.

Similar eye injury related personal injury lawsuits have settled for several hundred thousand dollars and more. Other cases where blindness becomes an issue have settled or had a verdict in the millions. In the case above, I believe my client's injury is valued close to $500,000. This is based on the general amounts of the verdicts and settlements for similar type cases across the country as well as my evaluation of the case based on liability, medical damages, future problems, and general pain and suffering. Fortunately, my client did not suffer blindness and will be able to lead a normal and healthy life.

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Our Injury Cases , Products Liability / Dangerous Products

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A client of mine who has had various adventurous and dangerous jobs took a job working for an oil drilling company doing the heavy lifting and work with the drilling rig. Unfortunalty he was severely injured as a result of a 2-3 ton drill collar falling and crushing his foot and injuring his right leg. He is now looking at having his right foot amputated as a result of this work related accident and injury.

My client was hired in Illinois and is an Illinois resident, therefore, most likely Illinois worker's compensation law will apply to this case, despite the fact that the injury occurred outside of Illinois. This is important because Illinois has more favorable workers' compensation laws than most other states. So keeping his work comp case in Illinois is a high priority for me.

The lose of a limb, if only one limb, is what is referred to in Illinois work comp law as 'permanent partial disability" because the injured employee is not permanently disabled but only partially. If both feet, or both hands, were lost then it becomes a permanent total disability as the likelihood is that the employee will not be able to work again.

How is PPD (Permanent Partial Disability) defined in Illinois Work Comp Law:

PPD is:
a) The complete or partial loss of a part of the body; or
b) The complete or partial loss of use of a part of the body; or
c) The partial loss of use of the body as a whole.

“Loss of use” is not specifically defined in the law, but it generally means the employee is unable to do things he or she was able to do before the injury.

See Handbook on Illinois Worker's Compensation and Occupational Disease

The employee's benefit is calculated using the Illinois Work Comp disability chart indicating how many weeks of pay an injured employee gets for an injury.

If a body part is amputated or if it cannot be used at all, that represents a 100% loss, and the employee is awarded the entire number of weeks listed on the chart. If the employee sustains partial loss the benefit is calculated by multiplying the percentage of loss by the number of weeks listed.

HOW MUCH IS THE AMPUTATION WORTH:

Amputation or enucleation: 133 1/3% of Statewide Average Weekly Wage (SAWW). Currently the illinois SAWW is about $1,000. The minimum PPD benefit for amputation is 50% of the statewide average weekly wage (SAWW). The dispute comes in as to how much of a disability of the body as a whole, i.e. what percentage, should be attributed for the loss of a foot. That percentage is applied to 500 weeks, to get the number of weeks times the applicable weekly wage to get the amount.

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Our Injury Cases , Workers' Compensation

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We have all heard the claim that personal injury lawyers and medical malpractice lawsuits are driving malpractice insurance costs up for the doctors and hospitals and thus driving health insurance premiums and health care costs up for everybody. But are medical malpractice lawsuits that compensate injured victims and their families really at fault?

In July 2005, Jay Angoff, a former Missouri insurance commissioner, found that the payout on Missouri medical malpractice claims between 2000 and 2005 was practically the same each year. However, during those same 5 years the U.S. medical malpractice insurance companies increased doctors' medical malpractice insurance premiums by 120.2% percent over the same period.

One specific example is Medical Assurance, a Missouri medical malpractice insurer. In 2004 Med Assurance increased its rates by 89% (collecting an extra $151 Million in premiums); during that same year its payouts for claims and lawsuits fell by 1/3. Med Assurance only paid out 10 cents for every dollar collected.

Click here for examples of several other medical malpractice insurers that raise their rates significantly while their payouts remain the same or even fall.

What are the consequences of tort reform? Records profits for insurance companies and denial of justice for injured victims. For example, in Missouri the tort laws were so distorted in 2005 that now legitimate cases are economically infeasible and most top Missouri medical malpractice lawyers will not pursue the cases. What was touted in 2005 by the politicians and chamber of commerce as win for doctors was really a big win for insurance companies; they have seen record profits while doctors' insurance premiums are still rising and vicitms are denied justice.

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Medical Malpractice

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As a St Louis based Missouri and Illinois personal injury attorney, I have represented several injured cyclists that have been hurt as the result of the negligence of a motorist. Over the last several years a few good foundations have fought for the legislation of better statutes and laws to protect bicyclists from cars in an attempt to reduce the number of bike accidents and injuries caused by drivers.

In Missouri the law requires that motorists maintain a safe distance when overtaking a cyclist, See Missouri Statutes 304.678 and 300.010:

Distance to be maintained when overtaking a bicycle.
304.678. The operator of a motor vehicle overtaking a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on the roadway, as defined in section 300.010, RSMo, shall leave a safe distance when passing the bicycle, and shall maintain clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle.

An excellent Missouri Bike Laws Resource: Missouri Bike Federation

To date however, there are many holes in Missouri's bike laws. For example, there is no law in Missouri giving a bike rider the right of way if a bike and a car approach an intersection at the same time going the same direction and the driver makes a right turn and hits the cyclist. There is no Missouri law in that case giving the cyclist the right of way, as any reasonable person would think. This may sound trivial, however, should this issue go to trial and a jury, then the personal injury lawyer for the injured bicyclist is not allowed to argue the car failed to yield. This could make a big difference to a jury and is a major claim of negligence that a judge may not allow a Missouri bike accident personal injury lawyer to submit on behalf of a bicycle accident victim.

Illinois Bicyclist Laws are progressing as well, as of January 1st Illinois law now requires:

1. Motorists must leave a minimum of 3 feet when passing a bike
2. Cyclists may "take the lane" (ride further from the curb) where right turns are authorized
3. Cyclists have the option of using a right arm hand signal when turning right

A Great Illinois Bike Law Resource: League of Illinois Bicyclists

More laws protecting cyclists will hopefully lead to less accidents and injuries, however, even if it does not, these laws are critical when protecting a cyclist's right in court. As I have learned through experience, a bike rider is fighting an uphill battle as most reporting police officers will report the case in favor of the driver, and most jurors tend to lean towards the driver, as all jurors are drivers, but few are bikers. The more laws stating the obvious protections then the more teeth an injured cyclist has in recovering from a negligent driver's insurance.

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Injury Law , Bicycle Accidents

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April 15th is rapidly approaching, meaning it is time to pay up to Uncle Sam. As a St Louis Missouri personal injury attorney I very rarely delve into tax law and issues, I save that for the lawyers who spend most of their lives in a library and behind their desks.

However, for all my Missouri and Illinois personal injury clients, there is one very important tax regulation that applies to personal injury lawsuit verdict or settlement money. If you are the injured victim or family member that recovers money as the result of a personal injury lawsuit or claim then the money received is not taxed. Under Federal Treasury Regulation § 104(a)(2) Gross Income (potentially taxable income) does not money (unless punitive damages) received as the result of a personal injury lawsuit settlement, judgement, or verdict.

The section reads specifically: "Section 104(a)(2) excludes from gross income the amount of any damages received (whether by suit or agreement) on account of personal injuries or sickness. The term “damages received (whether by suit or agreement)” means an amount received (other than workmen's compensation) through prosecution of a legal suit or action based upon tort or tort type rights, or through a settlement agreement entered into in lieu of such prosecution."

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Recently I took a case to trial in St Louis Missouri regarding a bicycle accident and injury of a broken elbow. The bicyclist underwent surgery and had a bolt put into her arm to secure her bone as the fracture was complex. See Image Below.

On the day of trial often and victim of personal injury, as in this bicycle accident injury case, will look like they are in good health, primarily because it is usually several years since the injury and they have had time to heal from the external and more obvious symptoms. Additionally, the injured party is sitting in a comfortable chair most of the time. This often creates a disconnect in the mind of the juror. Jurors have told me before that one of the difficult issues during deliberation was that the Plaintiff did not look hurt. St Louis Missouri Personal injury trial lawyers need to use demonstrative evidence to get the severity of a client's injury across to a jury when it is not visually obvious.

In the above referenced Missouri bike accident injury case, the injured cyclist's broken elbow at the time of trial, 2 years after the bike accident, was not obvious and the illustration used was very effective in explaining to the jury the severity of the injury. Demonstrative evidence and courtroom technology are very important personal injury lawsuit trial tools. Elaborate presentations, videos, audio, and graphics grab the attention of the jury and the visual impressions make a more profound impact on jurors.