Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog

Two Missouri teens were killed last week and one was seriously injured while riding all-terrain vehicles, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Yesterday, Zachary T. Barker, a 15-year-old from Potosi, died. He was a passenger on an ATV being driven by a 14-year-old. The ATV they were riding drove out of a ditch, onto the highway and into the patch of an oncoming car. The ATV was hit by the car and the boys were thrown 60 feet.

On Tuesday, the body of Daniel R. Dorsey, a 15-year-old from St. Charles, was found in a swollen creek. Dorsey had been riding an ATV and it is believed he crashed it in the creek.

Monday, 14-year-old Madeline Moreton of Wildwood was seriously injured when the ATV she was driving hit a tree.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the annual tally of accidents involving ATVs increased by nearly 180 percent between 1995 and 2004. Children younger than 16 years accounted for nearly a quarter of all ATV-related deaths and a third of ATV-related injuries, such as brain and spinal cord trauma.

Because of their inherently unstable design, these vehicles, which sometimes weigh more than 700 pounds easily tip over or even roll. Add to this the frequent use of ATVs on uneven surfaces and the vehicles’ high-performance engines, capable of speeds topping 60 mph, and you can see why the numbers of ATV-related fatalities and injuries continue to grow.

Now that schools are closing for the summer, it is likely that more teens will be riding ATVs. Survive the Ride, a coalition of hospital and helicopter workers who often treat ATV injuries, urges riders to wear helmets. Riders are also urged not to allow passengers on ATVs. In addition, only people over the age of 16 should be allowed to use adult-sized ATVs.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in an ATV accident we urge you to contact The Lowe Law Firm. Our attorneys will find out whether the the manufacturer or someone else is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit a woman claimed her doctor during a Caesarean section damaged her abdominal organs, caused pancreatic fluid and urine to burn through her abdominal wall and required the removal of her pancreas was awarded $17 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit, the Democrat and Chronicle reports.

In 2003, doctors at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, N.Y., performed a c-section on Brenda Schenk. During the delivery, doctors allegedly cut the connection between her bladder and a transplanted pancreas she had received in 1995 to treat her diabetes.

The severed connection caused pancreatic fluid and urine to leak into her abdominal cavity, her lawyers alleged. Despite the complications, Schenk gave birth to a healthy baby girl. On Tuesday, a New York jury ordered the hospital to pay Schenk $17 million.

Surgical injuries are rare during C-sections and when they occur, they are usually the result of medical neglect. If you suffered an unusual injury to yourself or your child during labor or during a C-section you should seek legal advice as to whether it was the result of negligence. At the Lowe Law Firm we will have an OBGYN review the case to see if the injury was the result of unavoidable complications or negligence on the part of the doctor.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping families injured by medical negligence. We will seek compensation for past and future medical expenses, past and future wages, pain and suffering, disability and other damages. We also represent family members in wrongful death cases.

We offer a free initial consultation. If you cannot make it to our office, we will come to you at the hospital or at your home.

Contact the lawyers at The Lowe Law Firm today by calling 877-678-3400.

An Illinois mother who claimed that a doctor’s repeated and futile attempts to deliver her son using a vacuum extractor delayed a timely Cesarean section and led to her son’s brain damage has received a $15.35 million settlement.

The pregnant woman was admitted to Valley West Community Hospital in October 2001. The labor was uneventful until her doctor, a family practitioner, decided to use a Kiwi vacuum extractor. The doctor used the vacuum extractor 18 times over a 50 minute time period but was unable to deliver the baby. Another doctor finally performed an emergency c-section after a fetal monitor indicated that the baby was in distress. The child was born with cerebral palsy and mental retardation.

The mother sued the family practitioner alleging he was incompetent to use the vacuum extractor and that he should have stopped using the device after the first few unsuccessful attempts. The mother also alleged the nursing staff failed to speak out on her behalf when it became obvious the doctor could not competently use the device. Finally, it was claimed that the hospital did not exercise reasonable care in evaluating the doctor’s ability to use the vacuum extractor. The hospital was allegedly put on notice of the problem because it settled a medical malpractice claim against the same doctor in 1999 arising out of his use of a vacuum extractor and forceps.

The medical malpractice settlement is believed to be one of the largest ever in Illinois.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping people injured by medical malpractice. We will seek compensation for past and future medical expenses, past and future wages, pain and suffering, disability and other damages. We also represent family members in wrongful death cases.

We offer a free initial consultation for victims of medical malpractice. If you cannot make it to our office, we will come to you at the hospital or your home.

The last stretch of median cable barriers designed to reduce cross-over accidents on Missouri’s busiest highways has been installed in Jefferson County.

To mark the occasion, the Missouri Department of Transportation has scheduled a ceremony in Herculaneum this afternoon.

The final 12-mile stretch of barriers was put in place on Interstate 55 between Barnhart and Festus. The project cost approximately $780,000. A nonprofit group, Citizens for Safe Medians, donated $55,000 for the project.

MoDOT officials hope that the barriers will improve commuter safety. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Illinois is now looking into expanding cable barriers along highways in the Metro East area.

The Illinois House unanimously passed a resolution asking the Illinois Department of Transportation to issue a report on the feasibility of expanding the barriers after two teenage sisters were killed on Interstate 64 in St. Clair County.

The sisters were killed when an Illinois state trooper traveling 126 mph crossed the median and crashed into their car.

If you or a loved one has been injured or a family member has been killed in a collision with a car or truck, we urge you to contact The Lowe Law Firm. Our attorneys will find out whether the other driver is responsible for the accident. If so, we will then seek compensation for future and other related medical expenses, future and other affected wages, pain and suffering, disability and/or other related damages.

Even though a 2005 Illinois law unfairly caps the amount of damages a medical malpractice victim can recover from a careless doctor, medical groups recently filed friend-of-the-court briefs urging the Illinois Supreme Court to uphold the limits.

The Illinois Supreme Court is set to consider the constitutionality of damage caps passed by the legislature. In November 2007, Cook County Circuit Judge Diane J. Larsen overturned an Illinois law that capped damages in malpractice cases. Her decision was appealed by the hospital.

The underlying lawsuit was brought on behalf of Abigaile LeBron, a girl who was born with a permanent brain injury. Her mother sued Gottlieb Memorial Hospital and others alleging medical negligence. The suit also challenged a 2005 law that capped pain and suffering damages at $500,000 for doctors and $1 million for hospitals alleging it violated the Illinois Constitution. Larsen agreed.

On May 8, the Illinois State Medical Society, the American Medical Association, the Illinois Hospital Association and the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council filed amicus briefs asking the Illinois Supreme Court to overturn the Cook County decision.

Illinois is a key battleground in the fight over caps in tort cases and more briefs are expected to be filed this summer.

The law is unconstitutional and Judge Larsen’s decision should be upheld. When the carelessness of a doctor or hospital leads to injuries – especially severe ones like Abigaile’s permanent brain injuries – the victims deserve to be compensated and the doctors and hospitals must be held responsible.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping people injured by medical malpractice. We will seek compensation for past and future medical expenses, past and future wages, pain and suffering, disability and other damages. We also represent family members in wrongful death cases.

We offer a free initial consultation for victims of medical malpractice. If you cannot make it to our office, we will come to you at the hospital or your home.