The wrongful death case brought by the Handcock family stemming from the car accident wherein Josh Hancock was killed has been dismissed without prejudice against all Defendants.
PLEASE REFER BACK TO PREVIOUS POST - Missouri Wrongful Death Claimed by the Estate of Deceased Cardinal's Pitcher Josh Hancock - Frivilouis Lawsuit?
FOX 2 ST LOUIS NEWS BROADCAST OF DISMISSAL
After a lawsuit filed by an injured driver a jury verdict was returned for $150,000 in favor of the plaintiff on the claim that the county negligently failed to maintain or repair a downed stop sign and that caused a motor vehicle accident in which the plaintiff sustained personal injury.
The county argued that sovereign immunity should have barred the lawsuit. However, the Missouri Supreme Court held that the cause of action for failure to maintain or repair a stop sign falls within the statutory waiver of sovereign immunity for injuries resulting from dangerous conditions on public property. Missouri Statute 537.600.
This is a victory for victims of injury as the court refused to narrowly interpret the above statute allowing government entities to escape liability for their negligence.
Douglas A. Hensley, Jr., Respondent, v. Jackson County, Missouri, Appellant
Missouri Statute 537.600 - Sovereign Immunity Exceptions
Wrongful death personal injury practice covers cases where families have suffered the tragic lose of a loved one. In one case our client died as the result of a surgeon's failure to treat post op complications about 2 weeks after a gastric bypass surgery. The doctor was enabled by the sponsoring hospital that aggresively advertised the procedure across the midwest and loaded him up with 100s of surgeries per year. The case is still pending against several other defendants, including the hospital, and we expect the case to settle for over 5 million dollars.
I handle a lot of DWI and DUI cases in Missouri and Illinois and have seen a lot of very interesting cases. As a DWI lawyer, it is disturbing, the number of cases wherein the police blatantly step over the line of proper policing by consistently stopping people solely on the the gamble that if a person is driving late at night on a weekend, and particularity a holiday weekend, that they are drunk driving.
Two drunk driving cases I recently handled last month highlight this abuse and the descriptions below are based on undisputed facts:
1. Designated driver goes through a sobriety checkpoint in a convertible, police officer interviews him briefly, indicates he is fine, and tells him to proceed. Well, the driver was taking his friends to a local gas station for beer and on the way back the same officer accused him of drinking and driving and ran him through a battery of field sobriety tests and arrested him without probable cause, why? because there was a case of beer in the back of the car. No other possible explanation for the harassment.
2. Police stop my client who was driving an ATV, specifically, a Rhino 660, which is a side by side seater 4 wheeler that essentially looks like a small jeep. The officer stopped him because he was on the road for a brief time to get to his neighbors property. The officer arrested him for DWI and illegal operation of an ATV on the road. Again, ridiculous! The Missouri definition of an ATV that is illegal to drive on the road is less than 600lbs, straddle seating as opposed to side by side, handlebars as opposed to a steering wheel, and less than 50: wide. My client's vehicle clearly, upon simply looking at it, did not fall under any of these specifications.
My advice to the police, enforce the laws on the books and stop using the ends to justify the means of arrest through harassment an blatantly unfounded charges. I vigorously fight these cases.
Workers' Compensation Claim for post traumatic stress disorder based on the fact that my client, Nathan, witnessed his brother, Jason, fall from a water tower to his death after a safety clip failed to close and failed to keep him attached to the structure after he slipped on ice and fell. Working just a few feet from him, his brother witnessed the entire event.
The alleged causes are the failure to have proper safety measures in place by the employer, as well as product liability based on defective safety equipment. The employer was cited by OSHA and fined almost $30,000. The employer, Phoenix Fabricators, is disputing the citations and that matter is ongoing.
There is also evidence that the caliper (pictured below) failed to close due to a defective design. This matter is currently under investigation by my firm. The picture above was taken from the position my client was when he slipped and fell to his death and from the vantage point my other client, Nathan, was when he witnessed the fall.
We have filed a Workers' Compensation claim on behalf of both brothers (the survisors for the deceased brother). Additionally, third party claims will be filed once the OSHA investigation report is released.
Currently I represent a wonderful lady involved in a bike accident who rides her bike several times a week early in the morning and on lightly traveled roads. About 6 months ago a driver in a hurry to get to work around 6:00 a.m. passed her and then made a sudden right turn directly in front of her causing her to strike the side of his truck and that caused her to be thrown off her bike. The driver got out, asked if she was ok, and then immediately left! She went to the hospital and was found to have a fractured elbow and had to have a bolt placed in her arm. She underwent months of pain and medical treatment. I filed a negligence claim on her behalf against the driver.
The Missouri Driver's Guide States:
If you are following a bicyclist and need to make a right turn, you must yield to the cyclist. It is often safer to slow down and remain behind the cyclist until you are able to turn.
The case is currently set for trial in December 2007. One of the difficulties I anticipate we will have is jury selection. As we all know, drivers do not particularly like bicyclists, they get in our way when we drive! I am an avid bicyclist and I often have these thoughts when someone is riding their bike on a busy street.
Hopefully we can overcome the bias that is apparent in our society, especially considering my client in this case was riding early in the morning, on a side road with a large shoulder area, and she was riding on the shoulder which was several feet wide.
Missouri Law related to Bicyclists - As published by the Missouri Bicycle Federation
Statements from Missouri Driver's Guide about Sharing the Road
St Louis residents familiar with the intersection of Dunn Road and I-270 know that the on ramp cuts across a lane of traffic, known as a "slip ramp". This is particularly dangerous and was almost fatal to the client of a lawyer in my office suite. This was negligent design by MODOT that contributed to the cause of the car accident.
The setup of the intersection at Dunn Road and I-270 made it prime for collisions like Hill's, he said. Cars waiting on Dunn to jump onto the on-ramp must yield to oncoming traffic, but many drivers zip in front of traffic or dart around yielding vehicles. With no traffic islands, signage or stoplights, Pedroli said the area is a chaotic free-for-all.
Ryan Hill's car was struck by another driver using the on ramp that cuts across the lane of traffic Hill was traveling in. Hill almost died, he ended up with near fatal injuries and over two hundred thousand in medical bills.
VIDEO OF FOX NEWS REPORT ABOUT THE ACCIDENT
St Louis Daily Record and Countian Article
Due to the risk of burn injuries and other personal injury risks, the classic "Easy-Bake" oven manufactured and distributed by Hasbro for over 40 years has been recalled. All ovens produced since May 2006, about 1 million, have been recalled as there is a risk that children will get their hands or limbs caught in the door due to its design. Additionally, many children have suffered burns.
The oven has been linked to approximately 280 incidents where kids kids get their hands and limbs caught in the door. There are also reported cases of partial amputation.
SUNTIMES ARTICLE ON PRODUCT LIABILITY RECALL
This reminds me of a similar injury case we currently have pending. Our client's daughter was 6 years old when she lacerated her cornea using a toy kitchen set knife. Upon inspection the plastic toy kitchen knife was serrated and actually quite sharp. The design should have been a blunt or very dull edge and the injury to her eye would not have occurred.
CPSC Defective Product Recall Article
Defective Product Manufacturer Hasbro's Website for Injured and Concerned Consumers
M.A.E. v. Dr Smith, M.D. (confidentiality agreement), Missouri 2006
Medical Malpractice settlement after my client underwent a de Quervain's release, a simple outpatient procedure designed to relieve pain caused from injured tendons at the base of the thumb and wrist. The Dr. negligently cut 90% of the siatic nerve when making the incision, reducing our clients ability to feel the back of her hand and causing a numbing sensation.
My client incurred nominal additional expenses and lost wages as a result of the doctor's negligence. There was a zero offer from defendant to settle the case until 2 days before trial and the case was settled for $60,000. Additionally, because the underlying injury that required surgery in the first place was work related, we settled her work comp case for medical bills plus $20,000.
This was not a record breaker, but given the nature of the injuries it was definitely a victory. The primary reason any offer was made at all on the case was that we destroyed the Defendant's medical expert in deposition the week before trial. He is the type of doctor that believes most, if not all legal cases against doctors are frivolous, in the deposition he all but admitted the doctor was negligent.
Recent wrongful death case that may be filed as either a Missouri or Illinois lawsuit is the result of a December 2006 fatal accident of our client's late husband when fell to his death when working on a water tower. The possible defective clip to his safety harness failed to close and secure him as debris from welding builds up in the closing mechanism. Allegedly, the employer, Phoenix Fabricators, failed to replace the safety equipment, additionally, the safety clip itself may have been poorly designed or malfunctioned.
Its a disturbing case to me especially considering his death could have been prevented by taking the required safety measures. OSHA has issued several citations to Phoenix Fabricators based on their continued failure to follow safety measures.
These tank workers have high risk jobs and they deserve the proper safety equipment. Below is a link to an article talking about the dangers of the job and the experiences of several workers for Phoenix Fabricators.
General Article about Water Tank Workers
In a tragic truck accident, Josh Hancock crashed his car into the back of a tow truck asissting another driver. However, he was drunk and his BAC result was twice the legal limit.
Hancock was not only drunk but he was speeding and using his cell phone at the time of the car accident. So what does his family do? They sue everybody! yes, they are suing Shannon's restaurant for serving Hancock alcohol, the towtruck driver for doing his job, and the owner of the broken down vehicle.
The lawyer for the towtruck driver claims he will file a countersuit against Hancock's estate for brining this meritless lawsuit against the towtruck driver.
STL Today - Car Accident Death Article
I hear the term frivilous lawsuit thrown around a lot by people who dislike lawyers and lawsuits, but this is truly a frivilous case for obvious reasons. It is not very often malicious prosecution claims against people filing these types of lawsuits make the news and it will be interesting to see how this case plays out.
The FDA recalls the Kugel Hernia Patch because the plastic memory coil that was used to open it is dangerous as it has broken and led to injuries in many patients. The hernia patch is placed over the layer of skin that insulates the gastrointestinal tract known as the peritoneum; therefore, the broken coil can cut into the peritoneum and the bowels, stomach, or intestines.
Cutting through the peritoneum and cuts into the bowels can cause gastrointestinal or septic leakage into the peritoneum and outside of it as well. This can and will cause a serious infection, renal failure, peritonitis, and a multitude of other rapidly progressing medical problems.
FDA Product Recall Site for Kugel Patch
National Library of Medicine Article on Kugel Patch Procedure
December 2003, my client was in a car accident when she was rear ended by a driver who claimed she hydroplaned and lost control of her vehicle. My client sustained about 10k in medical bills, however, the other driver's insurance company, The Hartford Insurance Company, would only offer a few thousand over my client's medical bills.
In February 2007 in the face of a low offer (but more than the medial bills) by the insurance company we took the case to a jury and recovered $30,000, more then double the offer on the case and three times the amount of the medical bills.
This is not a huge case, but it is significant, many lawyers want to take the easy money and not take the risk of pushing for just compensation as the result of the personal injury sustained. We do not take this approach and will take a case to trial whether it is large or small.
Nursing negligence caused my client to suffer 2nd Degree burns on his legs when a home health nurse negligently allowed his shower water to get too hot. Daniels is parapalegic and needs assistance in and out of the shower which includes the duty to set the water temperature, especially due to Daniel's lack of feeling in his legs.
As a result Daniels was treated for his burns and endured several infections through the burns causing a significant impact on his health. We were able to secure a significant settlement for Daniels just a few weeks before trial and after consistent zero offer from the insurance company as they claimed Daniels burned himself for monetary gain and that he lacked feeling in his legs and therefore suffered only a little.
Our medical expert was highly critical of the procedure the home health nurse followed and her lack of oversight during the shower preparation process. The grueling discovery process finally revealed enough evidence to show that despite any desperate claims of self infliction of the wounds, there was so much evidence of negligence established by us that they had to settle or risk a potential multi million dollar verdict after a trial.
Bus accident resulting in personal injury: Our injured client was struck by a Greyhound bus at a rest stop when he walked between parked cars and failed to look before crossing. Several other law firms refused to take the case, and understandably so, because he admitted to not looking where he was going.
Attention to detail by us lead us to this great settlement. Upon extensive investigation we learned that the Greyhound bus recently had brake problems and we tracked down a witness who was on the bus that was willing to testify that the brakes were malfunctioning and that was the reason the bus stopped at the rest stop to begin w