Missouri Injury Law Blog

St Louis Personal Injury Lawyerr Ben Sansone represents the victim of a motor vehicle and bicycle accident wherein the driver of the car failed to yield to the cyclist in a designated bicycle lane and hit him with the front end of her truck.

The St Louis bicyclist suffered from bruises and abrasions and a dislocated shoulder. He received medial treatment at the emergency room and had to undergo shoulder surgery to repair a torn labium.

The cyclist's total medical bills we about $40,000 and he missed several months of work causing about $20,000 in lost wages.

In this case, St Louis personal injury lawyer Ben Sansone was able to make claims under multiple insurance policies which allowed him to secure several settlements for the personal injury victim of the St Louis bike accident totaling in excess of $200,000.00.

Extensive experience in the Personal injury field in crucial for investigating and seeking out all potential insurance policies that may cover an injury. Oftentimes many people stop with just the first policy. CONTACT: St Louis Missouri Personal Injury Law Firm - Sansone Law at (314) 726-1817

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

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Staff Article by Erin Mace.

July 2008, a California ER doctor was driving to work and apparently caused two cyclists to wreck their bikes, seriously injuring them. One biker had to have 90 stitches to put his face back together and the other one also had to undergo surgery for his injuries. Bicycle accident attorneys and cyclists all over the globe have been chiming in on this case since it began. I have read countless articles and blogs on this case and it seems to come down to two questions....did he have road rage and did he “slam on his brakes”? Intention. The good doctor says he did not – on both accounts – though his 911 call kinda says otherwise.

As usual, a couple of points bother me about this case. One: because of either the idiot doctor or the idiot cyclists – or a combination of the two - we are all now going to have even more laws crammed down our throats. Superior Court Judge Scott T. Millington described this as “a wake-up call” and suggested that the “Government must be made aware of the dangerous conditions existing in our city streets and the threat of injury to cyclists”. Government is aware – that is why we have the laws we do such as mayhem, assault with a deadly weapon, etc. By the way, these are the same charges Dr. Thompson was convicted of. If the doctor did in fact “slam on his breaks” to “teach them a lesson” (a quote he later denies saying) then he should have been convicted of assault with a deadly weapon etc. – as California law states. If he was simply aggravated because, once again, cyclist were not following the laws - ultimately putting drivers and their passengers lives at stake - and decided to stop to obtain names/photographs, by which causing a horrible accident – with no malice - does that merit 5 years in prison? I’m not going to bring in drug dealers and OJ at this point. The prosecutor in this case dramatically ended her examination of Thompson by stating, “you could have drove on, but you didn’t”. Even I can think of a thousand counterarguments as to why that really has nothing to do with the situation – other than for a dramatic feel good effect – but she does have a point on the “be a responsible grown up” argument.

Two: “share the road” does not only apply to drivers of motor vehicles. It is supposed to include all transportation devices. The fact that “pedestrians have the right away” does not give me greater freedom to walk whenever and wherever I please. I still have to be cautious and abide by the rules, a.k.a. laws. Unfortunately, some cyclists’ sense of entitlement, which enrages most vehiclists’ sense of driving, has tainted the injured parties claim. They admittedly were not obeying the laws. They ticked off a guy who, at least in the beginning, was obeying the laws, and a horrible accident was the outcome. Are the cyclists not just a bit responsible simply because they were injured?

I drove a motorcycle for years. It was a love/hate thing. I loved the bike but hated the motorist that thought since they were bigger, they could push me around. Most drivers just do not pay attention. In fact, they believe that it is mainly the responsibility of the two-wheelers to watch out for everyone else. Most drivers think that because it is on two wheels, as opposed to four, it can move out of the way faster. Not necessarily true – nor necessarily the point. Most drivers are more likely to exhibit road rage against bikers rather than vice versa. This is ironic, considering bikers are more likely to die when they get hit by drivers rather than vice versa. Ultimately, vehicles do not “share the road” either. Every day, driving to and from work, we see evidence of this. Again, the childish entitlement and arrogance that says you have more of a right to get home faster, be in that lane first and are more important than someone on two wheels yields devastating results.

As a two-wheelin member of society, you have rights. You have access to an experienced bike accident personal injury attorney when those rights are violated. You also have to obey the laws. Vehicles – mind your P’s and Q’s. When you bump a biker, it hurts them and ultimately you a lot more than having to patiently wait an extra minute or two, to pass.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Staff articles - Erin's Corner

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In May 2008 my client was struck by a Hummer H2 while legally traveling on his bicycle in a designated bike lane in the Soulard area of St Louis MO. He proceeded through an intersection that had no stop sign for his direction of travel, however, the cross traffic had a stop sign and the other driver went through the stop sign and violated my client cyclist's right of way and causing a collision which resulted in serious personal injury. (See police report diagram of St Louis Bike Accident)

This type of vehicle and bicycle collision is referred to as the right cross. As a Missouri and Illinois personal injury lawyer, I represent multiple bike accident and injury clients, two I am currently handling were a result of the above mentioned "right cross". Both were legally and properly either traveling in a bike lane, legally on the shoulder of the road as allowed by Missouri bike law, or properly crossing a pedestrian crosswalk on their bike.

In this case, we recovered $100,000.00 policy limit for our bike accident personal injury client. This amount represents the full policy limit the owner of the vehicle had through GEICO Insurance. However, in this case, the driver did not own the vehicle, therefore, we are also pursuing the driver's insurance policy limit of $50,000.00 as excess insurance coverage.

A few legal hoops need to be hopped through prior to settling the primary personal injury liability insurance coverage, as in this case, the primary insurer (GEICO) has a duty to get all potential liable parties released. Therefore, we entered into a Missouri personal injury release agreement completely releasing the owner of the vehcile from liability and releasing the driver for nay amount of a judgement over and above the additional $50,000.00 policy limit through her personal auto insurance policy.

This Missouri personal injury settlement arrangment keeps the door cracked for recovery in excess of the bodily injury liability insurance policy limits, this is done if the excess carrier refuses to settle within policy limits, if a judgment is then obtained against the driver in excess of the policy limits, then the driver assigns to my client any right for bad faith refusal to settle against the injury insurer, which can potentially make the personal injury insurer liable beyond its bodily injury policy limits. That is the heart of the agreement entered into to settle the primary personal injury auto insurance coverage and still have the potential to still pursue the Missouri bike accident personal injury case against the at fault party. We have done this in several other cases with much success, it is called a covenant not to enforce judgment - See Illinois Drunk Driving Accident - Covenant not to Enforce. This is an example of the injury release we used in this case but it is from another case we handled that involved an Illinois drunk driving personal injury lawsuit that stemmed from a high speed rear end collision that caused a severe head and brain injury to my client as well as multiple other injuries. That case settled for just under $750,000.00 with another $250,000.00 of insurance we are still pursuing.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Verdicts & Settlements

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Recently, a cyclist that was injured due to a dangerous condition on the roadway almost had her case dismissed based on assumption of risk claim by the Defendant. The court of appeals ruled that cycling on the roadway is not assumption of the risk. In their case their was a dangerous "lip" in the roadway due to new asphalt and old asphalt coming together, however, the dangerous part about it was that there was not warning and the lip is not seen until the last second by cyclists. See - Bike Accident Lawyer Article - Refusal to Dismiss based on Assumption of the Risk Arguments.

the primary reasons I discuss this are that I am a bike accident personal injury lawyer and am currently representing an injured cyclist in St Louis Missouri that was injured under similar circumstances. As posted in a previous blog, my client was injured as the result of a a large fire hose laid across the road in spot that is not seen till the last second, at the bottom of a steep hill, and without any warning signs. See - St Louis Missouri Bike Accident Injury Lawyer Case.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

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As a personal injury lawyer based in St Louis, I know first hand that one of my clients' top concerns is insurance liability coverage usually stated to me as "what or whose insurance applies to cover my injury?" There are several types of insurance coverage to indemnify an injured victim in a Missouri car accident. The primary one every driver is supposed to have under Missouri law is liability coverage, which Missouri state law requires a minimum of 25/50. This 25/50 means $25,000 per individual or $50,000 limit if 2 or more individuals are injured.

Oftentimes this 25/50 coverage this is not enough, thus it is a very good idea to have Missouri under insured motorist coverage (commonly referred to as "UIM" coverage") to protect yourself if another driver carrying the state minimum of $25,000 causes injury to you or a family member that justifies a Missouri injury or insurance claim in excess of $25,000. Therefore, if you carry a $100,000 Missouri under insured policy then there is an additional $75,000 an injured victim can recover if the at fault driver only carried state minimums or an amount less then your under insured coverage.

What if the other driver had no insurance or fled the scene? Then that would usually be a claim under Missouri Uninsured Motorist coverage (commonly referred to as "UM"coverage"). Everyone that is insured in Missouri automatically carries a minimum of $25,000 of uninsured motorist coverage in Missouri as this is required by Missouri state law. It is based on the view that it is against public policy to carry the minimum liability coverage and not have a minimum uninsured motorist coverage. However, as a Missouri personal injury lawyer, I have seen countless situations where clients wished they carried more than $25,0000 of uninsured motorist coverage, I recommend to anyone to carry the maximum of both uninsured motorist coverage and under insured motorist coverage.

Here are a few fact examples from Missouri and Illinois injury cases I am currently handling.

Jefferson county personal injury client allows her friend to drive her car, the friend loses control, runs off the road and crashes into a tree. What policy covers my client for her injuries? In most cases her insurance policy that she had on the car because by allowing her friend to drive it is a "permissive use" thus the policy on the car applies. Now, this is not true in every situation and sometimes specific facts may change which Missouri insurance policy coverage applies.

Different situation, I currently am handling a St Louis city motorcycle accident case that arose from an uninsured motorist striking a motorcyclist and his passenger. Both the driver of the motorcycle and the passenger have their own insurance policies on different vehicles including the motorcycle for the driver only. Usually, under this scenario the Missouri Uninsured Motorist policy for each one of their vehicle applies. Therefore the driver makes a UM claim under his motorcycle policy as well as under his UM policy coverage for his other vehicles, as UM coverage also covers the named insured. The passenger is making a Missouri uninsured motorist claim under the drivers motorcycle policy as well as the policy on her primary vehicle. This brings up many other issues such as stacking, anti-stacking clauses, set off clauses, and other exclusionary clauses the insurance companies use to limit their exposure in cases such as these.

Often clients don't understand exactly why coverage for a car or vehicle that was not involved in a Missouri car collision could apply. Simple example clears that up. Say you are crossing the street and a driver runs a red light, hits you, and flees the scene. No one gets any type of identification on the driver or the vehicle. This is a Missouri uninsured motorist claim and the coverage you have on your vehicle or vehicles will apply for your to make a claim against as if they represented the driver himself. Cars are not covered by Missouri uninsured motorist policies, people are. The property damage portion of the Missouri insurance policy covers damage to cars or other vehicles.

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Posted In: Injury Law , Automobile Accidents , Bicycle Accidents , Motorcycle Accidents , Our Injury Cases

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As a St Louis Missouri personal injury lawyer and a bicyclist, one of the main areas of personal injury law that I focus on are bike and motorcycle accidents. If you select the bicycle accidents tab of my blog and the motorcycle accidents tab, you will see that I have discussed this topic at length and have some current cases up on appeal in an attempt to make the laws more favorable to Missouri bicyclists.

I keep track of the multiple cases of serious injury and often death that occur in Missouri on a weekly basis, below are just a few of the articles across Missouri from this week discussing bike and motorcycle injuries.

Missouri Motorcycle Accident - Man injured after losing control of motorcycle
The accident occurred around 3 pm today about a mile south of Carl Junction, according to a report from the Missouri Highway Patrol. ... Missouri Motorcycle Accident Article

Missouri bicyclist dies in collision with vehicle, patrol reports the accident occurred when the bike rider rode his southbound bicycle into the path of an eastbound 2002 Chevrolet Suburban ... SEE Missouri bike accident article.

Ballplayer's Cousin Makes Plea Deal In Deadly Wreck Killing Missouri Bike Rider. Wilfredo Pujols pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, resisting arrest and two counts of fleeing the scene of a motor vehicle accident which resulted in the death of a teenager crossing the road on a bicycle after Pujols ran a red light while fleeing from police. See article discussing the wrongful death Missouri bike accident.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

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As a Missouri and Illinois personal injury lawyer based in St. Louis and having handled several Missouri bike accident cases currently and in the past, I see the intolerance many motorists have towards cyclists; additionally, I have been that cyclist that is cut off or almost hit on a few occasions as well. Recently a story out of LA has shown how far this intolerance can go; a doctor passed a few bike riders, yelled at them, then after he passed them cut in front of them and slammed on his brakes. Once cyclist's head went through the rear windshield and he has had about 90 stitches in his face, the other bicyclist is suffering from a serious shoulder injury. Unfortunately, it took an egregious case like this for the prosecutor to take any action, as the driver had done this before (no injuries in prior incident) but nothing was done about it. See - Road Rage Bike Accident Injury Article.

Missouri has been rated very low regarding bicyclist safety, see Missouri Bicycle Injuries and Safety - Roadway Injuries and Deaths in Missouri however, I do not believe that bicycle safety in St Louis will improve much until the State legislates harsher and more specific laws regarding bicyclists and the State and local prosecutors actually prosecute these cases. Below are links to several article on this subject:

Missouri and Illinois Bike Statutes - Progress is being made to help protect Missouri & Illinois Bike Riders from Injury by Motor Vehicles & Negligent Drivers

Bicycle Accidents - How to Avoid Them - Common Causes of Bike Accidents Resulting in Injury or Death

St Louis Missouri Bicycle Accident - Recent Case Demonstrates Lack of Attention Given to Cyclists by Motorists

Missouri Wrongful Death - young Bicyclist Killed by Truck

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

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My client was riding her road bike on Old Gravois Rd. in south St Louis county on a Sunday afternoon, when she was thrown from her bike and seriously injured. The injured St Louis cyclist ended up with a broken clavicle and a host of other abrasions, scars, road burns, lacerations, and contusions.

What caused this biker to be thrown from her bike? A three inch diameter black hose laid across the street on a downhill slope in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. This created a dangerous condition for Missouri bikers as there were no warnings or other notices to the public using that road that a 3" obstruction was on the road just down the hill. Additionally, the black color and fact it was on a steep downhill slope created limited visibility of the hose and a bicyclist would not see the hose until it is too late to stop. This road is routinely used by cyclists and that coupled with the dangerous conditions above make the accident and injury to cyclists legally foreseeable.

On behalf of my client, I am pursuing a Missouri personal injury bike accident claim against the builder that was using the hose and hydrant outside of its permitted use and in such as way as to create an unreasonably dangerous condition on a St Louis Missouri public roadway.

This hose was hooked up to a fire hydrant across the street from a construction site the at fault party was using. They had a permit for use of the hydrant, but it was limited for a specific purpose and not allowed use on the weekend. The builder was using this hydrant outside of the permitted use certificate. The improper use and improper warning was the cause of this Missouri bike accident injury.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Our Injury Cases

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Several months ago I posted a Missouri personal injury lawyer blog entry regarding the top causes of bicycle accidents with motor vehicles and trucks, (bike accident article link) and discussed a case I was handling that was caused by the "right hook". Recently I was retained to represent an injured St Louis bicyclist that was injured as a result of "The Right Cross". See image for bike accident description. In this current St Louis bike accident case, my client was riding in a designated bike lane on Russell in downtown St Louis city and the negligent driver was driving a Hummer H2 when she made a right turn directly into him as he was crossing the intersection. Traffic on Russel at that intersection does not have a stop sign, however, cross traffic does. Again, this is a common cause of bike accidents, simple failure of drivers to recognize or even be aware of cyclists around them.

As a practicing Missouri bike accident lawyer, I have handled a lot of bicycle personal injury cases in St Louis and throughout Missouri and Illinois, and in almost every case the police report is written with a clear bias toward the cyclist, however, in this case I must commend the St Louis city police officer for writing a proper and non biased report. As discussed in a previous bike accident injury lawyer post, I had to take a bike injury case to trial because the insurance company refused to pay based on the police report blaming the cyclist. After a St Louis bike accident personal injury trial, the jury decides that it was the driver's fault and came back with a Plaintiff's verdict in favor of the bike rider I represented and blamed the driver for the accident, despite the police officer's report, because they saw the bias and poor reporting that I and other Missouri personal injury lawyers often see.

Just recently, an Alton Illinois bike accident with a large truck resulted in the tragic death of a bicyclist. The details of the accident are being held as the family is still being notified. From what little is known, the Alton bike accident seems similar to an accident in Pennsylvania when a truck hopped a curb when making a right turn and killed a woman bike rider. The truck company settled that case for $5.1 Million. See Personal Injury Wrongful Death Bike Accident Lawyer Settlement.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Truck Accidents

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An important aspect of my St Louis personal injury practice is the representation of injured cyclists in Missouri and Illinois who have been injured as a result of a bicycle crash caused by a negligent driver of a car or truck. As a St Louis Missouri personal injury attorney and an avid cyclist myself I see these cases through the eyes of a St Louis personal injury lawyer and the I see bike accident personal injury cases through the eyes of a cyclist.

Recently, the Missouri Bicycle Federation released its first annual report card regarding biking in Missouri. The report card gave Missouri a D. One of the primary reasons is that in Missouri bikers and pedestrians make up 5% of traffic yet are the victims of 15% of the Missouri roadway injuries and crashes and 7.5% of the roadway deaths in Missouri.

Another reason for the low grade, Missouri has done nothing to change the law for bicyclists in 2007. In a previous Missouri Bike Accident post I discussed some of the minor changes that have been made in years past to benefit bikers. However there are still major changes that must be done to Missouri bicycle and pedestrian law.

See previous blog posts:

Right Hook - Primary Cause of Missouri Bike Accidents and Injuries

Common cause of bike accidents - St Louis bike accident lawyer

St Louis personal injury bike accident lawyer gets injury jury verdict against motorist that failed to yield

Bike Law Resource

MO Bike Federation - Missouri Bike Accidents and Safety Report

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

Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

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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.

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Posted In: Injury Law , Bicycle Accidents

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This week we secured a Plaintiff's verdict in favor of a bicyclist who was hit at an intersection when a driver of a pick up truck made a right turn and crossed the shoulder the cyclist was in, causing her to hit the side of his truck, get thrown from her bike, and break her elbow. The driver claimed he saw her, made and extra wide turn, and that she panicked and lost control of her bike all by herself. Additionally, the police officer, who did not witness the accident, testified against the cyclist essentially claiming the bike accident and injury was her own fault.

Despite the evidence presented by the defense we were able to overcome that bias many people have, and clearly the police officer had, towards bicyclists and our right to use the roadways and the degree of care motorists must exercise towards bike riders.

Almost no cases, at least none that are available in court records or that I know of, regarding collisions between cars and bicycles are taken to trial in Missouri. In fact, many Missouri lawyers drop bicycle accident cases or do not aggressively pursue them. The simple fact of the matter is, despite some good statutes in Missouri protecting bicyclists, there are still many laws that could be passed to protect cyclists. For example, Missouri statutes require a safe distance be maintained when passing a bicyclist, however, there is no state statute regarding the duty of a motorist to yield to a bicyclist traveling in the shoulder when making a right turn. As in the case above, the entire case had to be tried on a "failure to keep a careful lookout" legal theory as the judge would not allow me to argue failure to yield, claiming that there is no specific law creating that duty. A point that we are appealing along with a few others in an attempt to clarify Missouri bicycling law and the legal responsibility in Missouri of drivers towards bicyclists.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Verdicts & Settlements

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A speeding driver hit and killed a 17 year old boy after he crashed into the back of the bicyclist at about 100 mph. The cyclist was killed by the collision. The wrongful death was clearly the driver's fault, however, despite his excessive speed no criminal charges were brought. Even more insulting to the cyclist's family, the driver sued them for the damage to his car.

In reaction to the property damage lawsuit, the parents were quoted as stating, "It's the final straw, a stab in the back ... [b]efore the lawsuit we thought the poor guy would find it hard to live the rest of his life with the thought of having caused our son's death."

As previously discussed in my other bicycle accident and injury related blog entries, I have seen first hand, as a St Louis Missouri injury lawyer representing injured cyclists, the prejudice and disrespect shown by drivers, witnesses ,and even jurors towards cyclists. It is important to work around this aversion many people have against cyclists, primarily from their frustration from a few cyclists they have encountered on the road. This is crucial to successful resolution of a bike injury case.

As an experienced St Louis Missouri and Illinois bicycle accident and bicycle injury lawyer I have successfully dealt with these hurdles in bike accident cases that often find their way to me after the initial injury lawyer drops the case or does not pursue it very diligently for many of the same reasons discussed above.

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

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June 2007, in Springfield Missouri, a bicycle accident occurred when Mike was riding his bicycle North on Campbell Rd, and a truck owned by an electric company and operated by an employee, overtook Mike and proceeded to make a right hand turn cutting him off and causing a collision between the truck and the bike. This common bicycle accident scenario is referred to as the "Right Hook". See the Police Report Excerpt Below.

Under Missouri law, bicyclists are to be treated as other vehicles; for instance, under Missouri law a vehicle is not to cut a bicyclist off, pass a bicyclist unsafely, or pull out in front of a bicyclist. Many drivers ignore the safety and well-being of cyclists and feel they should no be on the road and thus sometimes act hostile towards bicyclists.

Missouri Statute § 307.188 - Rights and duties of bicycle and motorized bicycle riders: “Every person riding a bicycle or motorized bicycle upon a street or highway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle as provided by chapter 304, RSMo[.]”

Missouri State Statute § 304.678-"Distance to be maintained when overtaking a bicycle - 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."

As many drivers feel about cyclists, so do injury lawyers and insurance adjusters. I was hired to represent Mike after his local lawyer secured a settlement for his medical bills only and did not want to pursue it any further. Insurance adjusters need to be convinced that a cyclist's case is just as worthy as if they were in a car and were cut off. Legally, the liability is no different, however the prejudice against cyclists as a nuisance on the road is ever present and must be overcome by aggressive legal representation of your injury claim.

Missouri Bike Accident and Injury Lawyer Reference - Petition for Collision caused by the Right Hook or Failure to Yield

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents , Our Injury Cases

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As a St Louis Missouri personal injury attorney I speak to dozens of bikers that are hit by cars. In most cases, injured bicyclists are the victims of driver inattention, which causes or allows the motorist to strike the bicyclists and cause a bicycle accident. The primary cause of bicyclists being hit by cars, driver inattention. In my experience as a personal injury lawyer, the most critical injuries occur when a motorists underestimates a bicyclist's speed, over takes them, and then makes a right turn directly in front of the bicyclist, thus causing a collision. The results are often severe injuries to the bicyclist. In most cases I handle, the bicyclist suffers from broken bones, road rash, multiple bruises, and lacerations.

This type of bike accident or injury is often referred to as the "The Right Hook" (see diagram). It is very common and i am currently representing two Missouri bike accident victims that were injured as a result of this very type of action by a driver. In both cases, the driver swears they never saw the bike or the cyclist or that they passed them and made an extra wide turn, but someone they still cut the off. Fact of the matter is, motorist often are hostile to cyclists and do not respect their own duty to share the road.

The "RIGHT HOOK" - Bike Accident

Bicycle Safety - Top 10 Most Common Causes of Bike Accidents

Bicycling Safety Tips - Be Predictable to Avoid an Accident and Injury

Bicycle Crash Statistics - Bicycle Almanac

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Posted In: Bicycle Accidents

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Our new client, Erin, was recently involved in a bike accident in St Louis MO while on the Grant Trail. The Grant Trail crosses Grand and at that intersection there is also a gas station. Erin suffered serious personal injury as the result of a driver who failed to yield to her right of way when crossing the intersection. She had the walk signal and the driver simply did not see her, why? because many driver's simply do not look out for cyclists. Erin wound up int he hospital for 4 days with lacerations, bruises, and a severely broken ankle.

The driver admitted fault to Erin and another cyclist witnessed the admission, however, when the police arrived the driver's story changed. Fortunately this is a case supported by evidence of independent witnesses and the fact of the light and crosswalks signal timing, which will show the driver made and illegal right turn on red.

Some bicyclists end up a lot worse than Erin, there are several reported cases of Missouri bike accidents where the bicyclists have died, over 4 dozen in the past 5 years. One such instance was about 30 days ago when 2 cyclists died when rammed from behind by a pickup truck. Charges against the driver are under review, chances are a fine and community service will result.

Bicyclists all know it, many drivers do not like us! and, unfortunately, that sentiment is no different in the legal system. As I have posted before, I am an avid cyclist, I will go for a weeks without missing a day of 20 mile rides and 50 mile rides on the weekend. It is a great activity, however, many drivers just do not pay attention to us or do not care to; that is when injuries or even death occurs.

I am one of the few injury lawyers I know who take bicycle accident cases (unless it is an egregious case, most lawyers take those cases), in fact, some of the best bicycle cases I have are "orphan cases" meaning other lawyers did not want them for whatever reason. I think many injury lawyers draw on their experiences as a motorists and maybe they have had frustration with cyclists in the past and therefore cannot see the side of the cyclist.

Coming up in the nest couple of weeks is the MS 150 in Columbia MO, I am on a a team riding in the event and I hope this year is as great as the last 5 years we have attended, no serious accidents!

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Posted In: Injury Law , Bicycle Accidents , Our Injury Cases

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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

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

Posted In: Injury Law , Bicycle Accidents , Our Injury Cases

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