Missouri Injury Law Blog

When you think homeowners insurance, you may first envision protection for your house against fallen trees, flooding and other natural disasters. But parts of your homeowners insurance policy are specifically designed to help protect you legally. For example, if Nancy Neighbor slips and falls on wet leaves in your driveway or some other potential injury claim against you, you could be held accountable. That means if she decides to sue, you could be liable for attorney fees to defend the claim, court expenses and possibly even her medical bills; assuming she can prove you were legally negligent which is harder than you may think. However, if you've purchased enough personal liability coverage, your homeowners insurance policy could really pay off.

What is personal liability?

If someone is injured on your property, even if you're not home, you could be held legally liable. That means if they decide to sue, you could face devastating bills on your own. Here are just a few expenses that come with a bodily injury lawsuit:

• Court costs and legal fees. It costs a lot to get sued, even if your case never sees the inside of a courtroom. When you're hit with court filing fees, marshal's fees, investigator's fees, medical records and report fees, court reporter's fees, travel costs, consultant fees and more, it doesn't take long to rack up a huge tab at your lawyer's office.

• Property damage. If a guest is parked in your driveway and a tree falls on his or her car, you could be liable for the cost to repair the damage.

• Medical bills. If Nancy Neighbor breaks her hip after tripping on one of your kids' loose toys in the yard, you may have to foot the bill for her surgery and any subsequent treatment.

Depending on how much personal liability coverage you purchase, these expenses could be covered by your homeowners insurance policy should you ever face a bodily injury lawsuit and file a claim.

How much coverage should I get?

Typically, a standard homeowners insurance policy includes a minimum of $100,000 per liability claim occurrence. However, many homeowners choose to purchase $250,000 or more in coverage depending on their specific needs. For example, if you have a swimming pool or a trampoline on your property, you may have a higher liability risk than a homeowner who doesn't. If you feel the need for protection against libel, slander, defamation of character, invasion of privacy or other threats, you may require a separate umbrella policy.

When does it pay off?

Here are just a few examples of when being covered with personal liability coverage can pay off big when you need it the most:

• Your dog FiFi bites off more than you can chew when she attacks the mailman in your yard. He hits you with a multi-thousand dollar lawsuit to cover his subsequent ambulance ride, emergency treatment and post-operative care. Your personal liability insurance covers most of the expenses so instead of paying off a $20,000 lawsuit, you'll be in the clear.

• One of your children's friends decides the area around your pool is the perfect place to practice cartwheels while you're not home. His parents sue you for negligence in addition to damages for the hefty hospital bill resulting from their child's injury on your property. Your coverage can help you stay afloat during the settlement, but it's probably a wise investment to install a locked gate or fence around the pool to prevent accidents like this.

Personal liability insurance typically is part of a standard home insurance policy. You'll be glad it is if you're ever the subject of a lawsuit because of an injury on your property. But you should still study your policy - or ask your agent - to decide whether you have enough coverage.

This article was contributed by Carrie Van Brunt-Wiley, Editor of the homeinsurance.com blog. Carrie has been writing insurance news and consumer information for HomeInsurance.com since 2008. She graduated from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington in 2005 with a B.A. in Professional Writing and Journalism.

Continue reading "How Much Does Homeowners Insurance Pay Out In A Bodily Injury Lawsuit?" »

Though workplace serious injury and death have been falling on farms in America, one category remains hard for regulators to bring under control. The number of workers dying or becoming injured due to grain bin or silo accidents has stayed consistently high in recent years, reaching a peak back in 2010 of 26 deaths.

Though they may seem benign, silos pose very real dangers to those that work around them. The bins full of corn, wheat or soybeans can become deadly when grain falls out of control, suffocating victims. Since 2007, some 80 people have died in silo accidents. Even more tragic is that 14 of them were teenage boys.

Experts interviewed by the New York Times say that the reason for the high rate of death is the huge volume of corn being grown in the U.S. to keep up with global demand. An emphasis on ethanol production and steady corn prices has kept farmers busy growing and storing the product.

Given how deadly grain bins can be for young workers, with 20 percent of all accidents impacting workers under the age of 20, it's not a surprise that the Labor Department attempted to implement new rules aimed at protecting children working on the nation's farms. The new rules would have prohibited children under 18 from working in large commercial grain bins or silos, keeping them safe by keeping them away from the danger. What is a surprise is how much of a backlash there was against the new regulations and how quickly the Obama administration backed down, pulling the proposed rules from consideration. Last year, the Labor Department proposed new regulations aimed at tightening protections for children doing farm work.

One tragic example of how things can turn bad quickly happened in 2010 in Illinois when a group of teens were sent into a storage tower to loosen corn kernels that had gotten wet and were sticking to the sides of the silo. After Wyatt Whitebread, 14, walked into the silo, a manager at the facility opened a hole in the floor to help move grain out of the storage bin. This movement shifted all the corn in the silo, causing Wyatt, who was walking on top of the corn, to fall. He was consumed by the corn in a matter of seconds, as was his 19-year-old friend, Alejandro Pacas who ran over to help. Both died within moments.

A third worker, Will Piper, 20, was trapped when he tried to save his best friend, Alejandro. Will spent the next 12 hours pinned against his friend's lifeless body while 300 rescuers worked to drain the corn from the silo, managing to keep his head slightly above the corn the whole time.

The real tragedy of the deaths in silos is that nearly every single one was preventable. It's confounding to many experts that more is not done to reduce the harm posed by grain silos when the steps are so easy and inexpensive. A pulley system, a safety harness and a set of boards to fence off a trapped worker cost less than $1,000 per grain silo. Furthermore, following federal requirements by doing things like having a spotter and shutting off any mechanical equipment before someone gets inside a grain bin costs nothing.

If you or someone you know has a loved one who has been seriously or fatally injured in any kind of accident due to the negligence of another party, you do have options to receive compensation for this loss. For information on how to protect your rights in a situation of negligence or wrongful death, please call one of the St. Louis wrongful death attorneys at 1-314-863-0500 or contact an injury lawyer online today.

Source: "Silos Loom as Death Traps on American Farms," by John Broder, published at NYTimes.com.

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According to a recent report by a professor at St. Louis Community College, the United States military conducted top-secret experiments on the citizens of St. Louis, Missouri for years, going so far as exposing them to radioactive compounds.

The researcher, Professor Lisa Martino-Taylor, said that while it has long been known that the government sprayed supposedly harmless zinc cadmium sulfide particles over St. Louis, she claims that a radioactive additive was also mixed with the compound.

Martino-Taylor says she has found detailed descriptions as well as photographs of the spraying which exposed the unwitting public, predominantly in low-income and minority communities, to radioactive particles. In her research, she found that the greatest concentration of spraying in St. Louis took place at the Pruitt-Igoe public housing complex, which was home to 10,000 low-income residents. She said that 70% of those residents were children under the age of 12.

Despite the extent of the experiment, local politicians were never notified about the chemical content of the testing. The people of St. Louis were instead only told that the Army was testing smoke screens to protect cities from a Russian attack.

Now that details have emerged of the chemical testing, a recent lawsuit filed in City Court says that the agriculture giant Monsanto and others conspired with the military to secretly poison residents of St. Louis with toxic chemicals.

The plaintiff, Benjamin Phillips Sr., claims defendants Monsanto, Parsons Government Services and SRI International participated in a study beginning in 1953 that lasted into the 1960s. Phillips claims the study, known as the "Involuntary Chemical Study on PI Residents", was conducted around the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex in St. Louis.

Phillips, who lived at Pruitt-Igoe at the time of the experiment, claims the chemicals caused emotional and psychological trauma and harm as well as unspecified personal injury. Phillips is seeking actual and punitive damages for public nuisance, liability, intentional infliction of emotional distress and battery.

If you or someone you know has a loved one who has been seriously or fatally injured in any kind of accident due to the negligence of another party, you do have options to receive compensation for this loss. For information on how to protect your rights in a situation of negligence or wrongful death, please call one of the St. Louis accident/wrongful death attorneys at 1-314-863-0500 today.

Source: "Army's secret chemical testing in St. Louis neighborhoods during Cold War raising new concerns," by, published at FoxNews.com.

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A local St Louis resident was caused to fall at the Zoo as a result of an unmarked depression in the sidewalk. She was visiting the zoo with her grandchildren when she was caused to stumble and fall from the unmarked dangerous condition, causing injury to her shoulder when she braced for the impact.

The victim incurred about $9,000 in medical bills for her treatment, but based on her harms and losses of continued pain and future limitation of the use of her shoulder, we were able to secure a settlement of $103,000.00 for our client. Prior to filing a lawsuit the insurance company for the Zoo offered $15,000 to settle the case. The St Louis city injury lawyers at Sansone / Lauber recommended we proceed with a lawsuit and soon after that, the insurance company agreed to settle for the six figure amount above. See a copy of Petition - Richardson v Zoo.pdf.

Slip and fall injury cases are usually difficult cases to pursue, especially when against an entity, such as the Zoo, that is loved by most people. The keys to pursuing these cases successfully are: (1) know your client; (2) know the injuries and medical treatment inside and out; (3) boil the liability down to the dangerous condition and how it endangers the public; (4) focus on the defendant's willful overlooking of the dangerous condition; and (5) prepare, prepare, and then prepare some more.

Hurt by the negligence of someone else? Contact a Missouri injury attorney online today or call (3414) 863-0500. Consultations are always free of charge and all fees are contingent upon recovery for you; meaning we do not get paid unless you win.

As a St Louis worker's compensation lawyer, attorney Ben Sansone represents Missouri and Illinois clients that are injured at work as a result of workplace hazards. Recently, an employee at a Halloween themed park almost died as a result of a workplace danger.

Jessica Rue may seem like most other 18 year old college students that one may encounter. Unfortunately, that is untrue. In October of 2011, Rue became employed by the Creepyworld haunted attraction in Fenton, Missouri as an actress in one of the many scary scenes visitors must walk past. The evening of October 27, 2011 was her second night on the job when something went horribly wrong.

I would like to paint the following image for you regarding her work environment before I go any further:

The scene she is working in is supposed to be a bathroom that is drenched from ceiling to floor in fake, slippery blood. Ms. Rue's character is dressed in a white wrap-around towel and dark shorts. In the bathroom, there is a noose prop in front of the bathtub portion of the scene as well as a mannequin. Sounds like an accident waiting to happen, doesn't it?

Rue had been instructed to use the noose prop to play up her character in hopes of frightening the visitors to the attraction. While doing what she had been instructed by her manger, Chelsey Rusbarsky, Jessica Rue, somehow slipped off the edge of the bathtub that was drenched in the fake blood and struggled for dear life while hanging by her neck in the noose.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office stated that for the 2 to 10 minutes that she was hanging in the noose, visitors must have assumed that she was either a prop or a very convincing actress and would have probably walked right on by to the next scene. Due to the lack of oxygen to her brain, Rue eventually passed out where she was found by co-worker Sam Israelsen who cut her down and began CPR.

This fun job gone horribly wrong left Ms. Rue in a coma for three days. Today, she suffers from a brain injury from the Fenton accident, including short term memory loss and even the doctors do not know the full extent of the neurological damage due to lack of oxygen to her brain for at least 10 minutes. It was later found out by an investigation of the haunted attraction that the noose used in her scene was not a break-away prop, but securely bolted to the ceiling so that it held her weight whereas a break-away prop would have immediately come apart to avert such a crisis.

In January 2012, Jessica Rue filed a suit against Halloween Productions, Inc. and its owner Larry Kirchner. The suit states that supervisor Rusbarsky and co-worker Israelsen were negligent and intentionally created this life threatening situation due to the fact that they had encouraged Rue and other workers to use this noose to scare visitors even though there was a slip hazard with the fake blood. In this suit, Rue is not seeking any specific amount of damages due to the fact that she will have ongoing medical bills and Medicaid will be dropping her when she turns 19.

According to Claimsjournal.com there were a reported 133 fatal work injuries in Missouri just last year in 2011. That is an increase from 2010. Fortunately, Jessica Rue's injuries were not fatal, but so easily could have been had she been left for even a few more moments. These attractions come to the Saint Louis area each year and are supposed to be fun for both the actors and the visitors. However, in the race to make the most profits, it seems that quite a few safety points were overlooked in last year's design. Hopefully other attractions in the area take note and learn from the near-deadly mistake of one very popular attraction.

If you or someone you know has a loved one who has been seriously or fatally injured in any kind of accident due to the negligence of another party, you do have options to receive compensation for this loss. For information on how to protect your rights in a situation of negligence or wrongful death, please call one of the St. Louis accident/wrongful death attorneys at 1-314-863-0500 today.

Si tu o alguien que conoces tiene un querido que se perdio su vida o se fue herido en un accidente por negligencia de otra persona que esta culpable, tienes opciones para recibir compensacion por esta perdida. Por informacion en protejer tus derechos en un situacion de negligencia o muerto por negligencia, por favor llama uno de nuestros abogados en St. Louis que especializa en accidentes y muertos por negligencia. Nuestro numero es 1-314-863-0500. Llamanos hoy para proteger sus derechos.

Sources:

StlToday.com: Brain Injury at Haunted House

http://www.claimsjournal.com - 2011 Fatal Work Injury Statistics

For at least the last 20 years, one of the most commonly used types of rail tankers has been allowed to transport hazardous materials across the country, this despite the fact that transportation officials knew of a dangerous design defect. The design flaw all but guarantees that the rail car will tear apart in the event of an accident, thus spilling cargo that could catch fire, explode or harm surrounding residents.

One reason the issue has become more pressing is recent spike in accidents due to the greatly increased demand for ethanol, a highly flammable fuel typically transported by rail. One recent derailment triggered a massive chemical spill and explosion over the summer in Columbus, Ohio. One eyewitness said the resulting explosion was so intense that it looked like the sun had blown up.

The tanker, known as the DOT-111, has a soda-can shape and is one of the most commonly seen cars on rail freight routes. Though the car itself is not the cause of derailments, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) notes that the steel shell is too thin to resist puncture in accidents. Furthermore, the ends of the car are especially vulnerable to tears and the unloading valves and other fittings can break off during rollovers.

The flaws are nothing new and have been noted since as far back as a 1991 safety study. Sadly, the potential for things to go wrong has also not been newly discovered. A report found that ethanol tankers have been punctured in at least 40 serious accidents since 2000. The human toll is also very real given that accident reports indicate that since 1996 at least two people have been killed by explosions from railroad accidents and dozens more suffered injuries.

The example of how things can go terribly wrong became a reality in 2009 in Rockford, Illinois. A Canadian National freight train moved through town carrying more than 2 million gallons of ethanol. The crew was unaware that just ahead, rain had washed away a portion of the track. When the tankers rolled over the damaged track, the engineers could tell the train was going to derail.

The cars began falling from the tracks and flying into the air one by one. A driver parked at a nearby railroad crossing sat helpless as the waves of explosions washed over him and his family. One of several cars parked at the crossing belonged to Jose Tellez whose wife, Zoila, was killed. A witness reported seeing Zoila run from the family van in flames before dying. Jose suffered severe burns while his adult daughter, who was five months pregnant, lost the baby she was carrying at the time.

In addition to the fatality, 11 people were injured in the derailment, making it the nation's single worst ethanol tanker accident. Nineteen of the 114 cars derailed. Thirteen released ethanol and caught fire. In the final accident report, the NTSB listed the "inadequate design" of the tanker cars as a factor contributing to the severity of the accident.

It is incidents like the one in Illinois that have some communities worried about the potential dangers associated with the continued presence of the flawed tankers on America's railways. According to recent reports, the railroad industry has so far agreed to change all cars built after October 2011 to a safer design. The improvements will mean thicker shells and shields on the ends of the tanks designed to prevent punctures. While this is certainly goods news, the 30,000 to 45,000 existing tankers that will remain unchanged present real concerns to innocent Americans in the path of the railroads.

For information on how to protect your legal rights if you or a loved one has been seriously injured in an accident, call one of our St. Louis Missouri accident attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Common type of rail tanker has dangerous flaw that risks hazardous cargo spills," by The Associated Press, published at WashingtonPost.com.

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A series of two race car crashes that took place over the weekend at the Missouri State Fair resulted in injuries to nine different people, some of whom were innocent bystanders.

The first Missouri car accident happened during the Battle of the Badges charity race which involves old police cars being raced around a large outdoor track. Five people suffered injuries when an off-duty police officer lost control of his car and crashed through a crowd of people gathered on the infield of the track. The point of the race was to raise money for the Special Olympics.

The second incident to rain on the festive occasion happened the next evening when a 15-year-old racecar driver lost control of his vehicle. The teen's car overturned several times following the crash. The injuries were severe enough to justify transportation by helicopter to a hospital in Columbia, Missouri.

The Missouri Highway Patrol has said it is continuing its investigation into the cause of the Sedalia Missouri auto accidents. In the meantime, some fairgoers have said the organization behind the event should built a stronger barrier fence to ensure that fans remain protected in the event something goes wrong. A spokesman for the fair said it is too early to talk about safety changes and precautions. The representative said that no decision would be made until Missouri Highway Patrol completes its report.

Beyond the injuries that occurred due to the two separate car crashes, those headed to the fair should be aware of the dangers associated with the many rides. Though they may look fun, thousands of people are injured on these types of rides every year.

Wooden roller coasters are typically responsible for the most injuries with neck and back injuries happening most often, usually affecting riders sitting towards the rear of the ride. Abdominal and thigh related injuries due to overly tight restraints can also occur.

The fair and the companies that provide these rides have a legal duty to provide a safe experience for all who use them. The National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials (NAARSO) provides safety bulletins on some of the rides you may see at the Missouri State Fair.

If you or anyone you know has been injured because of the negligence of others, whether it's at the state fair or in the course of a normal day, it's important to understand that you have a legal right to recover for your injuries. For information on how to protect those legal rights, call one of our Jefferson County car accident attorneys today at 314-863-0500.

Source: "Crashes during races at MO State Fair injure 6, including infield bystanders," published at KCTV5.com.

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Given that June is National Fireworks Safety Month and many are looking forward to a July 4th break and the ensuing fireworks displays, now's a good time to discuss the many dangers the flashy products present. Though there are many kinds of fireworks which are legal to possess, this does not mean they are risk free. According to one study by the U.S. Fire Administration, at least 92% of all fireworks-related injuries each year are caused by legally purchased fireworks.

Those at most risk for injury are, not surprisingly, young children. Children under age 15 are at the highest risk for fireworks injuries. Their love of the bright lights attracts them but they are often too young to understand they danger they present. Even seemingly safe hand-held fireworks can cause serious burns as some sparklers can reach temperatures of 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit while burning, hot enough to melt copper. For children under the age of five, sparklers accounted for the largest number of estimated injuries, 36 percent of the total injuries in that age group.

During the 30 days surrounding July 4, fireworks sent about 1,900 injured consumers to emergency rooms. The Consumer Product Safety Commission's statistics show that in 2010 about 8,600 consumers ended up in hospital emergency rooms due to injuries involving legal and illegal fireworks. In 2011, 9,600 people were treated in emergency departments for firework-related injuries, an increase of 1,000 injuries in only one year. The CPSC's annual death and injury report on fireworks also indicates that approximately 40% of estimated injuries occurred to children younger than 15 years of age. In addition, CPSC received reports of three fatalities related to fireworks.

The part of the body most often injured were hands and fingers (estimated 2,900 injuries), eyes (1,100 injuries), head, face, and ears (1,100 injuries), and legs (700 injuries). The products that cause the most harm include sparklers (1,100), firecrackers (800), and bottle rockets (300). The major causes of injuries are due to delayed or early fireworks explosions, bottle rockets that go off course, falling debris from exploding fireworks and mishandling sparklers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends the following tips to ensure you and your family stay safe this holiday season:

• Never permit young children to play with or light fireworks.
• Avoid buying fireworks that are in brown paper which is a sign that they were designed for professional displays and could present special danger to your family.
• Always have an adult supervise fireworks activities.
• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Once a device has been lit, make sure to back up a safe distance.
• Never try to re-light or look at fireworks that have not ignited fully.
• Never point fireworks at another person.
• After fireworks have been lit and exploded, pour plenty of water on them before throwing away to prevent a possible trash fire.

If you or someone you love has been injured by fireworks this year, don't hesitate to call one of our Missouri personal injury attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Dangers of back yard fireworks: Safety tips," by Kim Wendel, published at WKYC.com.

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As Pool Season Begins Watch For Dangers of Accidental Drowning

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Unfortunately, in Missouri and across the country, every summer needless accidental drownings result in wrongful death or near drownings that lead to severe brain injury because of prolonged lack of oxygen to feed the brain. According to statistics from the CDC an average of 3,533 fatal unintentional drowning occur every year in the U.S. That means that every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Though kids and swimming pools go hand in hand over the long, hot summer months, parents should be on alert when their young children are around water. Additionally, just because yo are at a public pool, such as a hotel or resort pool, don't assume their lifeguards and/or safety rules are enough to ensure the safety of and protect your family.

Though adults can drown too, young children are at a special risk of accidental drowning during the summer months. Children between the ages of 1 and 4 have the highest rate of drowning. Also, nearly 80% of people who die from drowning are male. Among young children, most drowning occurs in home swimming pools.

Beyond death due to drowning, another terrifying prospect is the risk of permanent injury. Debilitating conditions due to brain injury and lax of oxygen can leave a child permanently damaged. According to data, for every child who dies from drowning, another five receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries.

According to the CDC, the main factors that affect drowning risk are lack of swimming ability, lack of barriers to prevent unsupervised water access, lack of close supervision while swimming, location, failure to wear life jackets, alcohol use, and seizure disorders.

Parents should consider the following tips to keep themselves and their young children safe when around the water:

Supervise Your Kids When Around Water - Designate a responsible adult to watch young children while children are swimming or playing in or around water. Supervisors of preschool children should provide "touch supervision," being close enough to reach the child at all times in case of emergency. Because drowning occurs quickly and quietly, adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity.

Learn to Swim - Formal swimming lessons can protect young children from drowning though strong supervision is still required when young kids are near the water.

Learn Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) - In the time it takes for paramedics to arrive, your CPR skills could save someone's life.

If you're the owner of a swimming pool then there are additional precautions you should take to ensure that everyone leaves your gathering safe and sound.

Install Four-Sided Fencing - Install a four-sided pool fence that completely separates the pool area from the house and yard. The fence should be at least 4 feet high. Use self-closing and self-latching gates that open outward with latches that are out of reach of children.

Clear the Pool and Deck of Toys - Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area immediately after use so children are not tempted to enter the pool area unsupervised.

Get Alarms - Install pool and gate alarms to alert you when children go near the water and consider using a surface wave or underwater alarms.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a water-related accident and have questions, call one of our Missouri personal injury attorneys today at 1-314-863-0500.

Source: "Unintentional Drowning: Get the Facts," published at CDC.gov.

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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich got an unexpected surprise when he visited the St. Louis Zoo recently. The presidential candidate decided to take some time before his speech to the National Rifle Association to go on a paid private tour and get up close and personal with a Magellanic penguin. One of the penguins decided that it wanted to get up close and personal with Gingrich too - by biting him on the finger.

Fortunately, a Band-Aid was enough first aid to treat the very minor injury. However, many other victims of animal bites are not so lucky. Animals bite millions of people across the United States every year, with dogs being the most common culprits. As a Saint Louis injury attorney, I have represented clients who have suffered both minor and severe injuries due to animal bites.

Under Missouri law, the owner of an animal that injures another person could potentially be strictly liable. When the owner of an animal is found "strictly liable" for an attack, that means the owner is at fault just by virtue of the fact that the attack occurred. Strict liability is found when both a) the animal had vicious or dangerous propensities, and b) the defendant owner had knowledge of the animal's vicious or dangerous propensities. One case went a step further, holding that the owner of a Doberman pincher should have known that his dog was dangerous.

Section 322.145 states that "the owner of an animal that bites ... shall be liable to an injured party for all damages done by the animal." Section 273.036(1) further elaborate with the following:

The owner or possessor of any dog that bites, without provocation, any person while such person is on public property, or lawfully on private property, including the property of the owner or possessor of the dog, is strictly liable for damages suffered by persons bitten, regardless of the former viciousness of the dog or the owner's or possessor's knowledge of such viciousness. Owners and possessors of dogs shall also be strictly liable for any damage to property or livestock proximately caused by their dogs. If it is determined that the damaged party had fault in the incident, any damages owed by the owner or possessor of the biting dog shall be reduced by the same percentage that the damaged party's fault contributed to the incident... (emphasis added)

In other words, the law does heavily favor the victims of animal attacks, so long as those victims did not provoke the attack. Thus, if you need more than a quick Band-Aid from an errant penguin's peck, there is relief available under Missouri law.

For more information about the state of animal bite law in Missouri, please look at this page. If you, a relative, or friend have been injured by a dog bite or other animal attack, call Saint Louis injury lawyer Ben Sansone for a free consultation at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "Penguin nips Newt Gingrich at St. Louis Zoo," by Jake Wagman, published at STLToday.com.

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St Louis accident attorneys, Sansone / Lauber, obtained a favorable settlement in Cape Girardeau County on behalf of a Scott County high school student who was injured after a loose door divider fell and struck him on the head when he was walking through a gymnasium doorway. The lawsuit settled for a very favorable $75,000.00, plus court costs, about two weeks prior to trial. The injured Plaintiff suffered a concussion and incurred approximately $5,000 in medical bills. The claim was made against Scott County School District. See : PETITION - dangerous condition - School_Redacted.pdf.

When making an accidental injury or negligence claim against a public entity, such as a pubic school, certain issues must be considered and investigated since public entities have certain tort immunity under Missouri law. See: Government Entity Liability for Dangerous Conditions. Specifically, you must determine if the accidental injury you are making a claim for falls under one of the exceptions to sovereign immunity, additionally, you need to look for other 3rd parties that may be liable if the sovereign immunity caps apply and the damages from the injuries may exceed those caps.

In our recent Cape Girardeau premises liability case cited above, the school district was unable to dispute that the Plaintiff was injured by a loose double door divider that fell and struck the Plaintiff in the head as he walked through the doorway during gym class. The Defendant, Scott County High School, and its employees, had exclusive control over the gym doors, including the post. Additionally, we were able to show that Scott County had actual notice the center divider was loose or had fallen out the night prior to Plaintiff's injury.

The night before the negligent head injury, a teacher had actual knowledge of the dangerous condition. The school nurse testified that she heard from school employees the center divider fell out of the doorway the night before at the basketball game. Additionally, another teacher that was at the game, testified she leaned against the center divider and it moved, then a spectator at the basketball game tightened it up with just his hands, no tools. That same teacher testified nothing else was done to that center divider and she did not notify anyone. Cursory investigation fo the doorway showed that hand tightening would not be effective, the fastener holding the center pole is a small Allen bolt that is smooth without anyway to grip other than using an Allen wrench or pliers.

The Plaintiff was sent to the emergency room and diagnosed with a concussion. One year after the head injury, medical records documented that the Plaintiff was still suffering from post concussion symptoms including headaches.

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Recently, St Louis injury law firm Sansone / Lauber secured a $760,000.00 settlement for our client who was sexually assaulted in her apartment. See Defective and Poorly Maintained Security Doors.

The parties involved in the settlement are being kept confidential to protect the identity of our client, however, I can say that the defendant was a St Louis area apartment owner that we maintained had knowledge of the crime levels in the area based on crime statistics available to them and reported crimes at the apartment complex. Despite the levels of crime the property owner allowed the common area security doors to remain in disrepair despite consistent complaints by the tenants.

Unfortunately, as a result of the inoperable security doors, a criminal was able to easily and quickly obtain access to our client's apartment making her an easy target for burglary and sexual assault. Several witnesses testified to the poor conditions and upkeep of the common area security doors as well as the apartment front doors and to the crime level in the neighborhood as well. There were constant complaints to management regarding the conditions and security concerns. Some issues were dealt with for temporary resolution and many issues were simply ignored. Several assaults and robberies took place against tenants and food delivery drivers.

In order to have a claim against a property owner, there must not only be a criminal act that causes injury, you must first establish a legal duty on the property owner to protect you from that criminal act.

ESTABLISHING A LEGAL DUTY TO PROVIDE SECURITY:

DUTY AS A MATTER OF LAW: Under Aaron v Havens.pdf there is a duty as a matter of law on a landlord to keep the common areas safe. In the Aaron case where a rape occurred after access by the intruder up the fire escape and through an unlocked apartment window the court stated "[i]f a private apartment can be entered through a window, injury to the occupants is foreseeable."

The scope of admissible evidence under Aaron is broad. Therein the Court held: "it is not necessary to allege that past crimes involving entry into unauthorized places are of the same general nature as the one which gave rise to the claim. If a burglar may enter, so may a rapist. To find a duty only the incidence of harm, not necessarily the quantum need be foreseeable."

In our case, we argued the Arron case applied as the building security doors and the apartment front doors were controlled by the owner according to the undisputed testimony of the witnesses. Thus, it is common area and according to Aaron there is a duty as a matter of law. Additionally, in our case the owner breached the duty by providing the locked doors and barely attempting to maintain them through cheap temporary fixes.

DUTY ESTABLISHED BY SPECIAL RELATIONSHIPS:

If the duty is not established as a matter of law, a duty can be imposed on a land owner based on special relationships. For a detailed discussion of the special relationships duty see Legal Elements and Issues Related to 3rd Pary Criminal Act Personal Injury cases in Missouri.

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Missouri Law on Suing a Property Owner for Negligent Security after a Criminal Attack - Assumption of the Duty

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Continue reading "$760,000.00 Settlement - St Louis Negligent Security resulting in Sexual Assault" »

As a personal injury attorney in St. Louis you run across a lot of interesting stories. People find all kinds of ways to get hurt and to hurt others. The following slip and fall related story, from ABC News, is definitely not something you hear everyday.

A churchgoer at the Disciple Fellowship Christian Church in East St. Louis, Ill., claims the spirit moved a fellow worshiper so much during service that she caused others to fall over backwards into her, causing personal injuries. The congregant is now suing the church for damages, apparently for being too inspirational.

Cheryl Jones, the injured woman, alleges in a complaint filed last month that she was visiting the church when member received a hefty dose of "spirit" and, with no ushers there to assist, the parishioner fell backwards knocking several other people into the plaintiff.

An attorney for the plaintiff, says, "They should have either warned Cheryl and people like her of the potential dangers - especially if they're not going to have deacons or parishioners to help these people when they fall." The attorney says the church should have been aware of the danger as falling during service is something that apparently happens frequently.

Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington Law School said that the case presents intriguing questions regarding what standard of law to apply, "someone engaged by the holy spirit and not fully accountable or someone that should be treated objectively as assuming the risk of this activity." When filled with what is often called the holy spirit, "participants are worked up into such a frenzy that they may no longer appreciate or respond to risk. The question is how much is the church responsible in anticipating people will be acting without concern for danger or injury," said Turley.

Turley went on to explain that, "The whole idea of being touched by the holy spirit is to surrender yourself. In doing so, these are people that surrendering themselves to collapsing involuntary. These churches tend to treat this response as the holy ghost has taken away the power of the individuals to even stand."

Jones' complaint alleges the church was negligent and should now pay her medical bills that resulted from her falling and losing consciousness after hitting her head, neck, back and buttocks during the January 5, 2010 services. The complaint claims that the church typically had "two ushers that would stand on each side of the member to prevent the person receiving the 'spirit' from falling and injuring themselves" but no one was present when she was injured.

Jones accuses the church of negligence for failure to provide parishioners a safe place to worship; failure to ensure ushers were standing behind the parishioners to catch if they fell to the floor after the Pastor laid his hands on them; failure to control the parishioners who were receiving the "spirit"; failure to warn plaintiff and parishioners of the potential dangers of receiving the "spirit"; and failure to conduct a reasonably safe service.

According to ABC News, the complaint is a part of a recent national trend of suits dubbed "swoon and fall." A woman in Michigan filed a lawsuit against her church after she struck her head on the floor when an assistant minister prayed over her, allegedly causing her to be "slain in the spirit" and fall backwards. In Oregon, a church was not found liable after a woman was injured while assisting during service while other churchgoers were blessed and fell on top of her.

Professor Turley says that the trend indicates that churchgoers are "discovering that churches are not immune from tort liability. Church has no special status when it comes to tort law. They are an institution that must take reasonable precaution."

If you've been injured, whether in church or not, you need an experienced St. Louis injury attorney to fight to ensure you receive the benefits you deserve. Contact Sansone / Lauber today for a free initial consultation at (314) 863-0500.

Source: "Evangelical Churches Catch Suits From 'Spirit' Falls," by Lyneka Little, published at ABCNews.com.

See Our Related Blog Posts:
Understanding Premises Liability Claims
Negligent Security - is the Starbucks Tip Jar Lawsuit a Good Case?

Injuries due to dangerous conditions are referred to as premise liability cases, and the distinction between a premise liability case and a medical malpractice case is generally obvious, however, if the dangerous condition on the property happens to be a healthcare providers property, they may try to argue it is technically a medical malpractice case, thus invoking a whole set of laws specific to healthcare providers that make it more difficult and expensive for an injury victim to pursue a personal injury cause of action. See What Constitutes a Healthcare Provider for Injury Claims?

Particularly, in order to pursue any medical malpractice case in Missouri you must have an expert that is in the same general field of medicine, usually an MD of some sort. That expert must sign an Affidavit of Merit under RSMo 538.225 stating that more likely than not, and within reasonable degree of medical certainty, the defendant breach the standard of care. For general negligence claims, such as auto accidents, slip and falls, etc ... this is not required.

The Missouri cases that have dealt with the issue of whether the provisions of §538.225 apply to a given case have focused on two (2) general areas of inquiry: 1) was the defendant at issue acting as the injured individual's health care provider at the time of the acts or omissions at issue - i.e., what was the true relationship between the plaintiff and the defendant at the time; and/or 2) was the defendant providing a health care service to the injured individual at the time of the acts or omissions at issue - i.e., was the act or omission at issue a health care service done as part of that provider-patient relationship.

For example, in Morrison v. St. Luke's Health Corporation, 929 S.W.2d 898 (Mo.App. 1996). a patient that was in the process of being discharged from St. Luke's Hospital fell over a briefcase that had been left in the hospital hallway and sustained injury. In finding that a 538.225 affidavit was not required, the Court of Appeals found that the patient's claim, despite the fact that the plaintiff was actually then still a patient of the hospital, did not arise out of the provider-patient relationship, but rather the owner/occupier-entrant relationship.

Another case, Meekins v. St. John's Regional Health Center, Inc., 149 S.W.3d 525, 533 (Mo.App. 2004). A hospital employee was required to undergo a drug screen test at the hospital as part of her employment, and she ultimately alleged a general negligence claim against the hospital claiming that the drug screen test had been performed incorrectly. In finding that the healthcare affidavit was not required, the Missouri Court of Appeals "determine[d] that a drug screen test performed by a hospital is not a health care service if such is not performed within the confines of a physician/patient relationship."

So even if an injury occurs on a medical providers premises and even sometimes when you were there fore medical treatment, medical malpractice laws do not apply in all situations involving healthcare providers.

The general rule in Missouri is that a property owner is not legally responsible for injuries caused from a 3rd party criminal attacker just because the attack occurred on their property. However, in many situations such a duty can be establish through assumption of that duty by the property or business owner. Additionally, other factors and situations can create the duty, subjects for another article. This article focuses of assumption of a duty in Missouri negligent security cases. For information on special relationships and other law on negligent security cases see: Legal Elements and Issues Related to 3rd Pary Criminal Act Personal Injury cases in Missouri - Special Relationship or Circumstances Must Exist

Liability for 3rd Party Criminal Attack through Assumption of the Duty:

Under Missouri law a business or property owner can be legally liable, under a negligent security theory, for injuries resulting from a third party criminal attack if that business or property owner voluntarily assumed the duty to protect its invitees from criminal attacks and did not carry out that assumed duty with reasonable care. The assumption of the duty to provide security under Missouri law was established in 1990 by the Keenan v. Miriam Foundation case, which is still good law today.

Under the Keenan v Miriam Foundation case, a plaintiff does not have to establish prior violent crime as the Defendant assumed the duty, that assumption establishes the duty without prior violent crime, which is only required when the duty is established as a matter of law, not by assumption. Keenan adopted the Restatement 2nd of Torts approach, stating:

"One who undertakes, gratuitously or for consideration, to render services to another which he should recognize as necessary for the protection of a third person or his things, is subject to liability to the third person or his things, for physical harm resulting from his failure to exercise reasonable care to protect his undertaking, if

(a) his failure to exercise reasonable care increases the risk of such harm,
or
(b) he has undertaken to perform a duty owed by the other to the third person,
or
(c) the harm is suffered because of reliance of the other or the third person upon the undertaking."

Therefore, even without prior violent crime the property owner knew or should have known about, they can assume the duty to provide security. If they assume that duty they must carry out that duty in a reasonable way.

A current case our injury law firm is handling arises out a of a violent sexual assault in St Louis that occurred at an apartment complex in north county. For background facts of the case see injury law article: Premise Liability - St Louis Missouri - Defective and Unmaintained Security Doors - Rape of woman inside her own apartment. In this case the St Louis apartment complex owner bought the apartment buildings about ten years prior to the assault. The evidence is that when the the property was bought all of the security doors and locks were in good working order and that the owner's intention was to keep them in working order - ASSUMPTION OF THE DUTY! The problem occurred because the owner did not maintain those security doors and locks and allowed the majority of them to go into serious disrepair.

Related Articles:

Missouri Waiver of Personal Injury From Future Negligence Clauses in Apartment Lease Contracts - Are they Enforceable?

$54 Million Verdict - Premises Liability - Security Failure - 3rd Party Criminal Action

Continue reading "Missouri Law on Suing a Property Owner for Negligent Security after a Criminal Attack - Assumption of the Duty" »