Missouri Injury Law Blog

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.

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

Posted In: Our Injury Cases

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While working for Phoenix Fabricators my client's late husband, Jason, was repairing weld lines on a water tower in Arkansas. He lost his footing and his lanyard and safety clip failed, allowing him to fall to a tragic and untimely death. The surviving spouse and children settled the Illinois workers compensation claim, and have a cause of action against the lanyard manufacturer through a wrongful death products liability lawsuit. The employer was found by OSHA to have violated several regulations including failure to have safety nets among several other serious violations. Unfortunately, in most cases and in this current case, worker's compensation is the sole remedy available to an employee against their employer for injuries sustained on the job. This does not prevent us from filing a lawsuit against any responsible or negligent 3rd party.

Generally, the location of the injury or death dictates the applicable law, so in this case, Arkansas work comp law presumptively applied. However, under Arkansas law this wrongful death case would be capped at about $200,000, an amount that is disgustingly inadequate for the death of a young man. However, Under Illinois worker's compensation law the wrongful death the cap is much higher, therefore, the work comp claim was filed in Illinois seeking work comp benefits pursuant to Illinois law. We argued that Illinois work comp law applied because the decedent was an Illinois resident and was hired over the phone while he was at his home in Illinois.

This allowed us to convince the worker's compensation insurer to agree that Illinois law may very well apply and lead to a favorable worker's compensation settlement of $500,000.00 present cash value. The decent was entitled to payments over a number of years which would have amounted to more than $1,000,000.00.

The 3rd Party Case: We are currently pursuing the manufacturer of the defective lanyard for a negligence and products liability/wrongful death case for the death of our client's husband. This will allow us to recover damages in excess of worker's compensation's limited remedies that are capped by regulation in favor of employers. This case against the lanyard manufacturer is a multi million dollar case to compensate my client and her family for the death of her husband and her children's father.

ILLINOIS WORKER'S COMPENSATION & WRONGFUL DEATH CASE - Initial Blog Entry

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

Posted In: Verdicts & Settlements , Products Liability / Dangerous Products , Workers' Compensation , Wrongful Death

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Earlier this year, my client, a young impressionable freshman at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, sustained serious personal injuries as a result of sorority hazing. She was severely paddled as part of the initiation that resulted in menacing tissue damage on her buttock requiring several days of hospitalization and surgery, including a skin graft.

I am filing a claim and potentially a Missouri personal injury lawsuit against Lincoln University, the Tau Beta Sigma Sorority, and the individual members responsible for the brutal injuries. Two sorority members were arrested as a result of the injuries and the University is having an internal hearing on the matter.

The injuries that my client suffered definitely opens the individuals up not only to an intentional tort claim, but also a claim for punitive damages as well as potentially exposing the national sorority to a negligence and punitive damages claim. Additionally, we have reason to believe that incidents similar to this have happened in the past at Lincoln University and the University may have failed to act on past instances and failed to prevent this one.

I remember my Greek days when I was in a fraternity that had a pretty tough initiation process, but I never saw anyone get physically injured, especially not requiring medical care. Fraternity and sorority hazing are well know for humiliating or breaking down their initiates and then building them back up. Callous physical hazing was thought to be a thing of the past, however it is something that still goes on and needs to be addressed when it become public through an initiate being so injured that they have to go to the authorities.

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

Posted In: Our Injury Cases

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We recently settled a Missouri personal injury case stemming from a motorcycle accident outside of Union Missouri. One of the at fault drivers had a policy of insurance for $100,000 and a few months after filing a Missouri motorcycle accident personal injury lawsuit, the driver's insurance tendered the entire amount of insurance coverage. There were some disputes as to which car caused the accident as one witness claimed that a car abruptly stopped in the left lane causing the driver mentioned above to swerve to the right and strike my client on his motorcycle.

The vehicle that stopped abruptly did not stay around and was never identified, therefore, under Missouri law, it is a uninsured motorist and the injured party's uninsured motorist coverage applies for the negligent actions of the unidentified motorist. Thus, we are pursuing the injury claim beyond the policy limits above by seeking compensation from the motorcyclist's uninsured motorist coverage insurance carrier.

Word to the wise, as a St Louis personal injury lawyer and a motorcyclist myself, I strongly recommend to all motorcyclists to max out your insurance coverage as you may be hit by someone with minimum insurance coverage or even no coverage and your only remedy will be your own uninsured and under insured motorist coverage.

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

Posted In: Our Injury Cases , Verdicts & Settlements , Motorcycle Accidents

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If you are the injured victim of a drunk driving accident in Missouri, Illinois, or any other state your personal injury lawyer should know that the drunk driver cannot insulate himself from liability by declaring bankruptcy. The Federal bankruptcy law is very clear on this point. See, 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(9) exceptions to bankruptcy discharge include "(9) for death or personal injury caused by the debtor’s operation of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft if such operation was unlawful because the debtor was intoxicated from using alcohol, a drug, or another substance"

As discussed in a previous entry, I am currently handling a case where a drunk driver slammed into the rear of my client's car when she was waiting at a stop light in Belleville IL. See Drunk Driving Car Accident Picture and ALLSTATE UNDERHANDED NEGOTIATION TACTICS Allstate has refused to settle the case for a reasonable amount and when my client refused to accept their low offer Allstate, through their insurance lawyers and the insured drunk driver, threatened that their insured, the drunk driver, would declare bankruptcy if my client did not take their low offer for settlement of her Illinois drunk driving personal injury claim as a result of Allstate's insured drunk driver.

After calling Allstate out on their misrepresentation about the law they now claim, through their lawyer, that only punitive damages would be prevented from discharge in bankruptcy and all the compensatory damages would be discharged; another blatant misrepresentation of the law. The motivation behind this bad faith action by Allstate is two fold:

1. They want their insured feel safe that any judgment over the policy limits will not come back on him personally. This is done to explain to their insured why they are not settling a drunk driving case within policy limits when we are willing to do so. Thus opening their insured up to an excess judgment.

2. Allstate, through their lawyers, are hoping that I am stupid and will fall for their threat of bankruptcy and convince my client to take their low offer. Fortunately, I did not sleep through law school. Additionally, as a Missouri and Illinois personal injury lawyer, I have argued this point in past cases in federal court, and it is clear that a drunk driver's liability cannot be discharged.

Allstate is willing to sell out their insured and make ridiculous legal claims in order to save a buck and try to protect a drunk driver that seriously injured my client. This is coming from the self proclaimed "Good Hands" people, that when they take off those white gloves expose their truly dirty hands with their bad faith negotiation tactics.

SAMPLE PETITION - Prevent Discharge of Judgment or other Debt Arising From Drunk Driving Car Accident - Prevent at Fault Drunk Driver from Avoiding Liability by Declaring Bankruptcy

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

Posted In: Injury Law , Automobile Accidents , Drunk Driving Law

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