Missouri Injury Law Blog

My client suffered serious injury as the result of an Illinois motorcycle accident outside of the Belleville Illinois area in St Clair County, Illinois. She was the passenger on the back of a motorcycle when the driver lost control of the bike and the next thing she knows is that she wakes up in the hospital several days later.

After months of investigation, we discovered that the facts of the case were that my Illinois personal injury client was invited to a party where she knew only a few people, the driver of the bike borrowed the motorcycle from the owner who was hosting the party, she rode along and the motorcycle driver lost control, crashed the motorcycle and knocked her out. The owner or the driver took her to a hospital several hours away as the driver of the motorcycle or the owner had a relative that worked at the hospital. This relative made sure the cops were not called and that the people who dropped the injured victim off were not identified or reported. This falls under the category of an Illinois uninsured motorist claim or lawsuit as the driver or operator of the motor vehicle is unidentified.

Being an Illinois uninsured motorist claim my client must make a claim through her insurance for uninsured motorist coverage. In many states Uninsured motorist coverage is implied as at least to match the minimum liability coverage allowed by law even if the policy holder does not have a specific uninsured motorist coverage policy. Almost every insurance policy has the minimum uninsured motorist coverage stated as part of the coverage.

As stated in previous entries on this blog, uninsured motorist coverage follows the person not the vehicle. In this particular case, my client was insured by a Missouri insurance policy with Shelter insurance. Shelter insurance now includes an exclusionary clause under its uninsured motorist coverage section; this clause states that uninsured motorist coverage only applies to personal injury resulting from an automobile accident. Now this sounds harmless on its face, however, Shelter Insurance takes it a step further to define an automobile as a motorized vehicle with four or more wheels. Thus, they are denying my client uninsured motorist claim because it occurred as a result of an uninsured motorcyclist as opposed to a driver of a car or truck.

One of the purposes of having uninsured motorist coverage is to cover an insured in case they are struck by a phantom vehicle or by a vehicle or driver that has no insurance. That way there is still some redress despite the at fault driver having no insurance or money to cover the personal injury loss. In this case, Shelter is trying to get around well settled public policy decisions by the court by defining an automobile to mean four or more wheels. So under a previous example of a pedestrian getting hit by a car and the driver fleeing with no one able to get any identifying information, clearly that would be covered by the pedestrian's uninsured motorist coverage. Now change one fact, instead of a car, the pedestrian is struck by a motorcycle that flees and is unidentified. Now the pedestrian is left with zero recourse according to Shelter even though they were responsible and had uninsured motorist coverage.

This is an issue that will go to the courts as it appears it has not been preciously decided and I will update this blog regarding important Illinois uninsured motorist motorcycle accident claim issues as this and other cases I am handling progress.

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

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

Bookmark:

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.

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

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

Bookmark:

Recently, two of my clients were injured in St Louis Missouri as the result of a driver changing lanes and sideswiping my two clients who were traveling on a custom Bad Boy motorcycle. The motorcycle is nine feet long and three feet of the motorcycle was past the other vehicle's front end, yet the driver still negligently failed to keep a careful lookout and caused a collision after violating the motorcyclist's right of way by entering his lane and side swiping the motorcycle, causing the St Louis Missouri motorcycle accident. The driver ended up with a fractured ankle and foot and the passenger ended up with very serious injuries to her neck, back, arms, and legs, likely requiring surgery.

As an experienced St Louis Missouri motorcycle accident personal injury lawyer, I have investigated and represented numerous clients that were injured on a motorcycle in Missouri motorcycle accident cases and Illinois Motorcycle accident cases. Most cases are simply the result of a car or truck driver's inattention or simple failure to look for smaller vehicles on the road, as a motorcycle versus car or truck accident rarely results in injury to the car or truck driver.

From the perspective of a Missouri injury attorney, the most common causes of motorcycle accidents and collisions is the failure of a car or truck driver 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; or commonly, I see a fact scenario as described in the case above, blind or inattentive lane changes striking the motorcycle.

In the above case, my clients were struck by a driver who did not have insurance, therefore the claim becomes a UM claim or uninsured motorist claim. Basically, in Missouri everyone with insurance has a minimum of $25,000 in UM coverage, meaning if you are injured by an uninsured motorist the injured motorcyclist makes a claim through their policy under their uninsured motorist coverage. Under Missouri injury law, the insurance company essentially takes the place of the uninsured motorist. If an injured person has several auto policies they can often stack the polices, meaning, if you have 2 cars with minimum coverage each, the injured party can make a claim against both policies thus stacking the limit from $25,000 to $50,000 of insurance coverage. This can quickly become a complicated area of personal injury and insurance law based on policy provisions and case law pertaining to stacking, anti-stacking clauses in some policies, set off clauses, other insurance clauses, and the specifics of each fact scenario that may preclude coverage or act to open up additional coverage from other insurance sources.

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

Posted In: Motorcycle Accidents

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark:

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

Bookmark:

Being involved in the motorcycle community and as a motorcycle injury lawyer, I have experienced first hand the inattention motorists have for motorcyclists, represented dozens of clients involved in serious motorcycle accidents in Missouri and Illinois. Additionally, I have myself been the victim of an inattentive driver almost costing me my life while on my motorcycle; needless to say, his insurance company paid dearly.

Missouri Motorcycle accidents yearly increases over previous year and deaths:

2003: 11.1% increase over previous year
2003: motorcycle death every 5.0 hours
2004: 10.8% increase over previous year
2004: motorcycle death every 4.8 hours
2005: 10.4% increase over previous year
2005: motorcycle death every 4.2 hours
2006: 07.3% increase over previous year
2006: motorcycle death every 4.0 hours

Source: Missouri State Highway Patrol - Statistical Analysis Center

Missouri motorcyclists are at an ever increasing risk of injury or death as the result motor vehicle accidents. Every year in Missouri the number of fatal motorcycle accidents increases and the rate of death resulting from a motorcycle accident increases as well.

As a motorcycle accident injury lawyer I see a lot of motorcycle accidents resulting in either death or serious injuries that leave a permanent physical disability on my clients. In my experience, the absolute number one reason and cause of motorcycle accidents is other driver inattention. This results in motorcycles being side swiped, cut-off, rear ended, slammed into head on, and run off the road.

An experienced motorcycle injury lawyer is absolutely critical to any motorcycle accident case. Recently, I took over a case where the motorcyclist was cut off by a minivan that made a right turn from the left lane, thus cutting across the right lane of traffic, the lane of traffic my client was in. She claimed, I did not see him and the prior lawyer secured a weak offer to settle the case. I have taken over the case and we are taking a very aggressive approach as clearly the minivan driver failed to yield, cut off the motorcyclist, and his only option was to drop his bike to avoid a collision. Many lawyers and insurance adjusters approach this case with the attitude of no collision, then not really their fault. The dropping of his bike and avoidance of the collision probably saved my client's life.

2006 Missouri Motorcycle Accidents Summary

2005 Missouri Motorcycle Accident Summary

Posted by Benjamin J. Sansone | Permalink | Email This Post | Comments (0)

Posted In: Our Injury Cases , Motorcycle Accidents

Bookmark:

On September 1, 2007 Jerry was riding his Honda VTX custom motorcycle in Sullivan Missouri on highway 50 when a automobile heading the opposite direction made a sudden and unsignaled left turn about 15 feet in front of him. A Motorcycle and automobile collision resulted as Jerry was forced to lay his motorcycle on its side and slide behind it to avoid fatal injury. He finally decided to contact a motorcycle accident lawyer and called our office. Jerry was comforted by the fact that I am a motorcycle rider myself and have personally been in 2 motorcycle accidents, one very similar to his, and understand the injury issues and concerns that a motorcycle has. Additionally, we have represented numerous victims involved in motorcycle accidents and motorcycle related injury.

The driver of the other vehicle admitted fault and negligence and was cited by the responding police officer. Jerry currently has severe burns from the pavement over his legs, arms and back. Additionally, he is suffering from multiple cuts and bruises and a potentially broken or dislocated shoulder along with currently unknown injuries to his ribs and upper chest area.

Motorcyclists know, the biggest danger to them is an unobservant driver that simply does not notice a smaller vehicle or is just not paying attention. The main causes of motorcycle accidents in Missouri and elsewhere are speed, driver inattention and failure to yield right of way.

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

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

Bookmark:

Motorcycle accident occurred on August 30th westbound on I-44 outside St Louis Missouri. My client, Paul, was riding a motorcycle in the right hand lane at about 70 MPH when another driver came up behind him at over 100 MPH slamming into the back of his bike, throwing him into the windshield and over the car and left to skid for several hundred yards.

As an accident attorney, I see a lot of serious injuries, I have seen serious injuries from decubitus ulcers, open abdomens and the like. Paul was in the hospital just after back surgery to fuse his lower spine, and he is in traction to prevent his leg from falling out of his hip socket. Most debilitating of all, the road rash or removal of his skin from sliding on the pavement; this is a sight I still have trouble stomaching, especially because I am a motorcyclist myself and start imagining how these injuries would feel.

Car accidents occur daily and motorcycle accidents are very common as well. The vast majority of motorcycle injuries and accidents occur from inattention by other drivers, and this is my experience as an injury lawyer. This is the case here, the gross negligence and recklessness of a driver doing 100 MPH and not even hitting the brakes before ramming into the back of Paul's motorcycle and causing severe personal injury.

The rest of the pictures are not shown for client privacy and the gore would be inappropriate

Paul is lucky to be alive and his helmet saved his life. He is unlucky that the accident occurred but lucky the driver has a high policy of insurance. The minimum amount of insurance a motorist must carry under Missouri law is 25,000 for liability. This would not even come close to compensating Paul for such injuries. The driver surprisingly has a high policy limit.

Question here, do we take the policy limit and settle the case? Or do we pursue the policy limits plus liability personally on the driver? I am of the persuasion to go after the driver due to the recklessness in this case, not just inattention, but blatant recklessness. I will update this blog entry when my client decides if he wants to stop at the policy limits or keep going.

There is evidence the driver was drinking but he was not cited for DWI.

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

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

Bookmark:

Recently, an Alton Illinois woman was killed in motorcycle accident when she struck a concrete retaining wall and a tree. She died from massive head injuries, additionally, she was not wearing a helmet. Apparently, she was learning to ride the motorcycle as she had very little experience.

Unfortunately, when a motorcyclist is in a motorcycle accident in Missouri, Illinois, or anywhere else, they usually lose unless properly trained and equipped with the proper safety equipment, namely, a helmet. In Missouri, motorcyclists must wear a helmet as mandated by state law, however, this is not the case in Illinois as it is legal to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.

I have been in two motorcycle accidents and walked away from both, however, I did suffer a minor head injury from one of the motor vehicle accidents. The reason i walked away from both, I was wearing safety equipment and was trained how to react when in a motorcycle accident.

In St Louis, Missouri I was in a motorcycle accident at the intersection of Clayton and Big Bend when a driver failed to see me on my motorcycle and failed to yield and pulled out in front of me without warning. My reaction, drop the bike on its side and slide behind it. The motorcycle took most of the damage and I slide under the car and struck my head on the rocker panel. I walked away and suffered only minor injuries. If I was not wearing a helmet I would be dead.

A Missouri personal injury claim was filed against the driver through his insurance company and a favorable settlement was quickly reached after I recovered from my head injury and other back and neck injuries. The damage to the helmet makes a great exhibit for the force of the impact when pursuing these claims.

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

Posted In: Injury Law , Motorcycle Accidents

Bookmark: