Missouri Injury Law Blog

In October 2009, St Louis personal injury lawyerBen Sansone was retained by Tiffany H. to pursue a Missouri injury claim against the negligent driver's auto insurance after a rear end style collision occurring after she slowed for traffic on Highway 40 and the other driver not paying attention slammed into her vehicle.

Tiffany suffered from a minor head injury diagnosed as post concussion syndrome , additionally, she suffered from back and neck injuries requiring physical therapy and pain management.

Tiffany's medical bills totaled around $15,000 and her injuries resolved. Missouri head injury lawyer, Ben Sansone, was able to get a settlement for $75,000 by focusing on the head injury portion of the claim. Tiffany's head injury has resolved, however, experienced brain injury lawyers know how to pursue theses types of cases to secure maximum recovery, even when the head injury is relatively minor and resolves after several months.

This case demonstrates how a case that is perceived as a small injury case can be successfully pursued and settlement for a significant amount more given the proper approach and emphasis on head injury.

Our other head injury settlements:

St Louis construction worker suffers concussion - Settlement $500,000.00

Illinois driver suffers brain injury after drunk driving accident - Settlement $575,000.00

Continue reading "St Louis Auto Accident with Head Injury: Settlement obtained by Sansone Law llc" »

As a St Louis car accident lawyer, I have handled 100s of car accident cases where the property damage to the vehicles was minimal. Many times, despite the minor property damage to the vehicles, the impact is described as significant and the injured driver suffers legitimate and real injuries. However, Missouri car insurance companies love to argue that if the property damage is minimal than the Missouri car accident attorney and the claimant are exaggerating their injuries and cannot actually be hurt as bad as they claim.

Prior to trial, Missouri personal injury lawyers file what are called Motions in Limine, which are pretrial motions asking the judge to rule on certain issues of evidence they anticipate will be presented at trial. In such a case as described above, you can bet the insurance defense lawyer will try to present pictures or repair bills and argue minor impact based on the damage to the vehicles.

Under Missouri car accident law, evidence of the property damage should be excluded unless the auto insurance lawyers "lay a proper foundation" to admit pictures or repair bills without expert testimony explaining the correlation between the property damage and the Plaintiff's injuries. Moreover, the evidence must be more probative than prejudicial.

Injury Law Motion on Evidence explaining Missouri Car Accident Attorney Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence of Property Damage

Outside Resources: Missouri Cases Discussing Evidence in Auto Accident Case and Property Damage:

Boland v. Jando

Ford v Gordan - Probative value must be greater than prejudicial effect

Continue reading "Missouri Auto Accident Evidence Issues at Trial: Property Damage Admissible? Sometimes ...." »

In any Missouri or Illinois medical malpractice or health care negligence related case, it is imperative for a personal injury attorney to retain a medical expert witness that can validate the Plaintiff’s claim of health care provider negligence. It is also essential to find a viable medical expert within the specialized medical field pertaining to the claim.

Under Missouri injury law the definition of a “legally qualified health care provider” came in to question in Missouri medical negligence lawsuit, Spradling v. SSM Health Care.

In 1986 the health care affidavit statue (Missouri Statute - 538.225) was first put into place to prevent plaintiffs from submitting expert opinions from providers who had no clear experiential correlation to the procedure in question. However, it did not clearly define “legally qualified”. In 2005, legislation was passed that stated a legally qualified health care provider is one who is “either actively practicing or within five years of retirement from actively practicing substantially the same specialty as the defendant”. By adding to the original bill, they recognized that the Missouri medical expert’s opinion may come from a medical expert that does not necessarily have the exact same board certification as the doctor in question. As a St Louis injury lawyer, selection of an expert is absolutely one of the most vital steps in bringing a St Louis medical malpractice action and can make or break a case.

Experts only need to practice “substantially the same specialty”, as many of the same medical procedures are not isolated to one board certification. According to Missouri House Bill 393, all you must prove is that your medical negligence expert has adequate knowledge and experience performing the same specialized skill.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice Missouri: Injury Plaintiff's Expert Qualifications" »

The Missouri Supreme Court in Mitchell v. Kardesch, reversed a decision this past June based on the trial court's failure to admit impeachment evidence against the negligent doctor on a matter that was collateral to the substantive issues of the case.

A woman and her children filed a Missouri medical negligence and Missouri wrongful death law suit, on behalf of her husband, against his internist alleging that the doctor deviated from the standard of care. A central issue to the case was the Plaintiff's claim the decedent called with complaints of chest pain and was not told to go to the ER, the Defendant doctor and his nurse assistant claimed they did tell him to, however, they had no specific memory of it.

During the trial it was brought forth that the doctor had lied on an interrogatory answer by denying that his medical license had been suspended or revoked. He admitted later in his deposition that it had been suspended. The trial court would not allow the Missouri wrongful death lawyer to impeach the doctor on this lie.

The jury returned a verdict on behalf of the doctor. But the Missouri Supreme Court reversed this decision based on previous decisions stating in part that the credibility of a witness is vital in any lawsuit.

Since this case, parties are permitted, with limited ability, to use extrinsic evidence of prior conduct involving a witness's character for truth and veracity following the trial court's determination "whether admission of the extrinsic evidence would be more probative or more prejudicial." See State v Allison.

Continue reading "Missouri Medical Negligence Law: Impeachment of a Defendant Doctor on a Collateral Issue not Material to Substantive Issues of Case" »

In February 2009 we were retained to represent a St Louis area pedestrian that was dragged by a drunk driver's car and severely injured. The pedestrian came upon a van parked in the middle of Lindbergh Road with the driver slumped over the steering wheel. Our client attempted to assist the driver of the van by reaching into the car and trying to put the car into park. The driver appeared to be passed out at his wheel in the middle of the road. The driver woke up and rapidly drove off, for details see Pedestrian Hurt by Drunk Driver.

When we represent someone hurt by a drunk driver or the family of someone killed by a drunk driver, we handle all aspects of the civil case but also act as a legal liaison between you and the prosecuting attorney's office when dealing with the criminal case. The criminal case is not the victim versus the drunk driver; it is "The State" or "The People" versus drunk driver. Many prosecutors' offices will keep the victim or their families informed, however, all too often do the prosecuting attorneys quickly dispose of the criminal cases through plea deals without ever contacting the victim or their family. It is very important for your DWI accident attorney to contact the prosecutor's office very soon to make sure their file has been properly marked to reflect that an injury resulted from the driver's actions of DWI.

Recently, we entered into a case just in time to stop the guilty drunk driver from getting away with a sweet deal that would have kept the DWI and injury he caused off his record. We informed the court just a few weeks before the deal was going to be final and demanded that the driver not get such a sweet deal. Any deal has to be approved by the judge and when we present to the judge a victim statement, the Judge will think twice about giving a good seal to a drunk driver that injured you.

This is not only important to make sure the criminal punishment fits the crime, but also to ensure that the driver's admission of guilt, required to get a probation deal, is admissible in the civil case. If the driver gets a "No contest" plea then the admission of guilt is not usable in the civil case. But a "plea of guilty" regardless of probation received, is admissible as evidence in the injury case to prove legal intoxication and thus a major hammer for the victim in getting a favorable settlement or verdict.

In Missouri prior pleas of guilty to a DWI are admissible in the civil case if the plea was pursuant to an SIS, SES, or resulted in a conviction. However, plea of guilty pursuant to an SIS in a municipal or City court may not be admissible. If the situation arises that the criminal charge is dismissed or the plea or conviction is not allowed into evidence, that is ok, as an experienced injury lawyer with a past of defending DWI cases years ago, I know exactly how to present all the evidence necessary to convince a jury that the driver that injured you was drunk at the time of the accident.

Continue reading "$2.3 Million Judgment - Missouri Drunk Driving Accident with Pedestrian in St Louis County. " »

Staff article - by Erin mace

Today’s blog serves a dual purpose. First, I hope that it is informative for those that are seeking information on what to do regarding your potential Missouri or Illinois Personal Injury case. Second, I hope it serves as a caveat to all you neighborhood speeders – mainly the three teens and/or their parents from my neighborhood with whom I have had countless confrontations regarding this very subject.

A St. Charles County woman has settled her Missouri personal injury case with a teen and his insurance company to the tune of $1.15 million dollars. In 2008, the injured woman was struck head on by a 17-year old who was driving 50 mph in a 25 mph neighborhood. The Missouri automobile accident occurred when he crossed the center line while going around a curve. The impact of the crash pushed the woman’s upper body into the dashboard and crushed her lower body causing severe Missouri injuries and leading to a St Louis area personal injury auto claim. As is typical in these types of cases, the negligent driver walked away with bruises, while the injured party underwent several surgeries to repair fractured hip and leg bones. Two years later, she continues to walk with a cane. She has not been able to return to work since the St Charles auto accident and injuries.

During discovery, the plaintiff’s St Louis injury attorney found that the negligent teen driver was covered under his father’s $1 million umbrella policy. Attorney for the plaintiff stated, “That changed our outlook on the case”. It was not information that the family’s insurance company voluntarily provided.

Both parties agreed to the settlement after a Missouri car accident injury mediation. As she did not have medical insurance at the time of the accident, part of the settlement included a stipulation that she would have a portion of the settlement amount put in a Medicaid set-aside trust. This is so she will be able to repay Medicare or Medicade for any future medical expenses.

Missouri law allows an injured party to collect from the negligent party’s umbrella insurance policy. The umbrella policy is set up to protect the insured’s assets, such as a house, boats, etc. If a judgment amount extends over your policy limits, the umbrella policy covers your legal liability. This injured party sustained substantial injuries and was allowed to collect from not only the auto insurance coverage, but also from the supplemental coverage, thereby ensuring her medical bills and future sufferings would be compensated.

The motorcycle world has been following a case involving an Illinois firefighter that lost control of his 2004 Harley-Davidson Screamin’ Eagle Electraglide, sustained catastrophic Illinois personal injuries and is paralyzed from the chest down. A confidential Illinois personal injury case settlement was reached recently, after the jury informed the judge they were deadlocked.

See previous Missouri and Illinois Motorcycle Accident Injury and Insurance Issues Discussed by St Louis Personal Injury Attorney, Ben Sansone.

In the case mentioned above, the injured motorcyclist alleged that a manufacturing defect caused the motorcycle to wobble violently and crash. The injured driver, along with several friends, was driving on a stretch of highway when one of the other bikers motioned that he needed to stop for gas. As the Illinois injured plaintiff accelerated to let the other drivers know, he testified that the bike started to shake, so he sped up and lost control of his bike and crashed. He was knocked unconscious and did not have a pulse when the paramedics arrived. They had to put him into an induced coma while they allowed his body to heal as much as it did.

Illinois personal Injury motorcycle accident attorneys for the plaintiff and Harley-Davidson argued that the extensive testing proved each of their cases. Illinois Personal injury lawyer for the plaintiff said that important bolts were loose, which caused the accident. The Illinois injury law firm also represented three other clients with similar issues with the bikes. Attorneys for Harley-Davidson claim it was driver error – that he came upon a curve and failed to properly turn.

Since we were not at the Illinois motorcycle injury lawsuit trial, nor privy to any other information regarding the trial, one can only assume that the jury was deadlocked on the issue of liability in this case. The Illinois injury law trial lawyers argued that it was a manufacturing defect.

One thing is clear in this Illinois products liability personal injury and motorcycle injury lawsuit, Harley-Davidson has had some issues with “high speed weave”. They have modified components to combat this issue, therefore, they had actual legal notice of the potential problem.

Whoever is ultimately to blame, whether it be a true manufacturing problem, or driver error, Harley- Davidson did make some type of monetary restitution, which presents a better public image of their company.

The Missouri and Illinois injury attorneys of the personal injury law firm of Sansone Law, llc have handled product liability cases and fought hard to make sure manufactures are held liable when they release a defective product to consumers.

Franklin County Motorcycle Accident and Serious Injury Case Settled By St Louis Injury Attorney

Recently, a jury handed down a decision in a Medical Negligence case in the amount of $4.08 million in damages. The medical malpractice personal injury lawsuit ensued after a patient negligently had his gallbladder removed. Three months after the negligent gallbladder removal surgery, the man was rushed to the emergency room with a high fever and in severe pain. CT scans showed that not only had a surgical sponge been left inside of him, but his gallbladder had not even been removed.

For more detail on Missouri medical malpractice related to gallbladder removal surgery (lap-choli) see this previous Missouri injury law article by by St Louis Personal Injury Attorney and Missouri medical malpractice lawyer Ben Sansone - Negligent Gallbladder Removal Missouri

After several months in the hospital and suffering from the complications of the negligent gallbladder surgery the personal injury victim accumulated several hundred thousand dollars in medical bills. Even after the medical malpractice victim was released he still suffers ongoing medical problems and symptoms from the negligent acts of the doctors.

The Defendant and accused negligent hospital argued that the man came to the hospital with prior stomach problems, and though they were willing to take responsibility of the sponges left in him, they were not willing to accept full responsibility nor agree to the amount of damages the plaintiff sought.

The negligent doctor removed a mass that was shown on the scans taken prior to the surgery; however, the mass, despite being in the same area as the gallbladder, was not the gallbladder.

As a Missouri personal injury lawyer who has handled St Louis medical malpractice lap-choli / gallbladder removal cases, I am amazed that this could happen and to me this is a situation of the doctor and the hospital staff asleep at the wheel. How could a random mass be confused with a gallbladder! The gallbladder has very distinctive anatomy, contains bile, and has very specific arteries and ducts that run to it that the surgeon must identify so that he can properly cut the bile ducts and arteries without cutting off blood supply to the liver or causing a severe infection.