Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog

St. Louis County prosecutors have taken more than a month to consider whether to file charges against an off-duty police officer for her role in a fatal car crash, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported April 28. According to the Post-Dispatch, off-duty Sunset Hills policewoman Christine Miller drove her car the wrong way down Dougherty Ferry Road early in the morning of March 21. No charges have been filed, but the Missouri Highway Patrol said it handed the case to St. Louis County prosecutors on March 25. A spokesman for the prosecutors’ office said it may take six months to a year to hear from accident reconstruction specialists.

The crash killed four people and injured two, including Miller herself. The Post-Dispatch said that Miller was driving east at a high rate of speed when she hit a westbound Honda head-on in the westbound lane. The crash killed three young women studying at Eastern Illinois University: Anusha Anumolu, Anita Lakshmi and Prya Muppvarapu. Also killed was Lakshmi’s cousin, Satya Chinta of Chicago. Lakshmi’s fiancé, Nitesh Adusumilli of Ballwin, suffered serious injuries. Miller herself was critically injured in the crash. A Missouri Highway Patrol spokesman said after the accident that police suspected Miller may have been drinking, but no further information was reported.

Judging by comments to the article, the delay in prosecutors’ decision has generated some anger among people who believe Miller is receiving special treatment because of her job. However, as an experienced St. Louis car accident attorney, I see a couple of possible legitimate reasons to delay filing charges. One has to do with the seriousness of the alleged crime. If they can file stronger charges after proving that Miller was legally intoxicated, prosecutors may feel that waiting is worthwhile. Given the seriousness of Miller’s injuries, they may also be delaying charges until she is well enough to give her side of the story. And in last July’s tragic trucking accident on I-40, it took nine months for prosecutors to bring back charges, suggesting that the wheels of justice turn slowly and carefully in all cases.

Regardless of whether law enforcement presses charges against an irresponsible driver, victims of that driver have the right to pursue their own cases in civil court. People who have been hurt on our roads because of another driver’s carelessness may file a southern Illinois auto accident lawsuit to seek compensation for their injuries, the deaths of loved ones and all of the costs of a serious accident such as this one. Money cannot undo a serious accident, unfortunately, but it can help victims put their lives back together by paying for past and future medical care and other bills caused by the accident, helping them make ends meet if they cannot work and compensating them for a permanent disability or loss of a loved one.

If you are in this situation and you’d like to learn more, The Lowe Law Firm can help. For more than 20 years, our Missouri car wreck lawyers have won millions of dollars for clients injured through no fault of their own. To tell us about your case at a free, confidential consultation, you can contact The Lowe Law Firm online or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents

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As a Missouri ATV crash attorney, I was disappointed to see that a young man died in an ATV crash near Kansas City April 11. Television station KMBC reported April 13 that Jeffrey Gervy was riding ATVs with a friend around 8 p.m. near a warehouse, when his friend swerved to avoid a puddle. Gervy hit the puddle, slipped and was thrown from his ATV, hitting his unhelmeted head on the pavement. He was taken to the hospital, where he died of unspecified injuries.

If you don’t know anyone who uses an ATV or any Missouri ATV injury lawyers, you may not realize how dangerous these vehicles can be. An ATV -- all-terrain vehicle -- is a three- or four-wheeled vehicle specifically intended for off-road use. Though some are used for work, most ATVs are used by hobbyists who enjoy off-road driving. But despite their off-road use, many ATVs are actually highly likely to roll over when they encounter the sorts of obstacles and rough patches that off-roading presents. Like sport-utility vehicles, ATVs have a high center of gravity that makes them easy to tip over, even during apparently routine riding. Unlike SUVs, ATVs don’t have a steel-reinforced cage, air bags or seat belts to keep their occupants safe.

In an accident, that means that ATV riders have virtually no protection, aside from perhaps a helmet. Missouri state law requires helmets for riders 17 and under, but adults are free to go without. By contrast, helmets are required for all motorcyclists in Missouri, regardless of age. In fact, a 2003 study of trauma patient hospital admissions for ATV and motorcycle accidents found that both vehicles caused roughly the same amount of fatal accidents -- and ATVs actually had a much higher incidence of head injuries. Complicating things further is the fact that children legally can and do ride ATVs, even those that are too big and powerful for the youngest riders. These safety problems contributed to an alarming 180% increase in fatal ATV accidents between 1995 and 2004, according to the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Despite these dangers, ATV manufacturers have not added more safety features to their vehicles or strengthened warnings significantly -- and regulators have not followed up. If this failure to correct defects or warn riders results in a serious ATV accident, victims have the right to hold manufacturers legally responsible for their injuries, including catastrophic injuries like brain damage, amputation and paralysis. Our St. Louis ATV crash attorneys represent people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois who have lost a loved one or been catastrophically injured in crashes involving unsafe or defective ATVs. If you are in this situation and you’re ready to take action, The Lowe Law Firm can help. To set up a free consultation on your rights and your case, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

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Posted In: ATV Accidents

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An explosion at a chemical plant left a worker seriously burned and rocked nearby homes, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported April 14. The explosion took place late on Easter Sunday, when an overnight shift worker mixed two chemicals at the SantoLubes plant in St. Charles, northwest of the city. SantoLubes makes lubricants and insecticides, and the chemical mixing was supposed to be a routine step in that process. The owner of the plant speculated that contamination in the equipment may have caused the explosion.

The victim, a 38-year employee of the company, is expected to live and was listed in satisfactory condition at a nearby hospital. However, the article said, he suffered burns over 30% of his body. That number may not mean much to folks who have never worked with burn victims, but as a Missouri burn injury lawyer, I know how serious a burn that large can be. On an adult, burns over more than 25% of the body are considered severe. In addition to the pain, which can be considerable, such large burns can be a serious threat to the patient’s life, inviting infections and dehydration. Later, scars can develop that are not only disfiguring but sometimes disabling.

Not much information was available on the cause of the explosion when the Post-Dispatch story ran. But accidents at work are one of the most common causes of serious burns. Workers can be burned on the job by contact with hot surfaces like a griddle or a hot-water heater; electrocution and electrical burns; explosions; steam or hot water; contact with chemicals; or ordinary fire. All employers in the United States must comply with federal occupational safety laws intended to prevent these accidents, but many workplaces fall short, due to lax management or intentional cost-cutting. If a worker is seriously injured on the job in a way that full compliance could have prevented, the employer may be legally liable for a Missouri burn injury lawsuit.

At the Lowe Law Firm, our St. Louis serious burn attorneys help occupational burn victims recover the financial compensation they need to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical costs; keep their families financially secure while they cannot work; and compensate them for their pain, suffering and possible lifetime of disfiguring or disabling scars. If you or someone you love was seriously burned because of someone else’s carelessness and you would like to learn more, we would like to help. To schedule a free, confidential consultation about a possible St. Louis severe burn lawsuit, please contact us online or call us at 1-877-678-3400, or, in St. Louis, at (314) 678-3400.

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Posted In: Burn Injuries

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Loose cattle and dense fog caused one Missouri car accident and one train accident outside Springfield, Missouri April 11. According to the Springfield News-Leader, the first cow was struck by a passing train early in the morning. A short time later, the driver of a pickup truck found 10 to 15 cows standing in the roadway near the railroad tracks. That driver struck three cows. Two of the cows hit were killed; two others were so badly hurt that they had to be euthanized. The pickup was so badly damaged in the accident that it had to be towed.

If you have never lived near livestock, you may be surprised at how serious an accident between a cow and a car can be. Cows are fragile creatures without metal shells, seatbelts or airbags -- but unlike human beings, they weigh up to 1,600 pounds. Hitting one with a passenger vehicle is not totally unlike hitting a wall. Cattle have been known to total cars and cause serious injuries to the people inside those cars. To all appearances, this driver must have been lucky, given that his truck was not drivable after this accident. Under normal visibility circumstances, cow-car accidents are rare because cows just don’t move that quickly.

Cows don’t carry auto insurance, of course, but drivers who hit one in Missouri may be covered by the insurance of an at-fault party, depending on the circumstances. Under the law, farmers who have livestock must maintain fences to corral their livestock; owners of neighboring land often must split the cost of these division fences. If either neighbor has failed to maintain a solid fence that meets legal standards, that person is legally responsible for the results of cattle escaping. That includes causing an auto accident. Of course, drivers may also be liable for the accident -- including the cost of the cow -- if they were driving carelessly. Many drivers must file a Missouri auto accident lawsuit in order to prove they were not at fault and get the insurance settlement they are owed.

A car accident involving a cow may sound funny, but it can destroy vehicles, cause serious injuries and cost many thousands of dollars. If you or someone you care about was involved in an auto accident in Missouri or southern Illinois -- whether or not it involved livestock -- you should talk to the Lowe Law Firm. Based in St. Louis and Belleville, Illinois, our St. Louis car crash lawyers represent people who sustained serious injuries or lost a loved one in serious traffic accidents. To learn more about your options at a free, confidential consultation, please call the firm toll-free at 1-877-678-3400 or contact us online.

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Posted In: Auto Accidents

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Survivors of serious brain injuries and their supporters rallied in Jefferson City in favor of state legislation that would restore services for head injury victims, the Columbia Missourian reported March 5. The state bills would restore funding that was cut three years ago by Missouri Medicaid. HB 530 and SB 77 would allow Missouri brain injury patients to once again attend day rehabilitation, by adding the service to the MO HealthNet program and by covering more services. The move comes during Brain Injury Awareness Month, declared by the Brain Injury Association of America.

The article starts with the story of brain injury survivor Lisa Miller of Illinois. Miller was on her way to a meeting for work when her small car may have been hit by two semi trucks -- she can’t remember. She also can’t remember giving birth to her three sons or many other things that happened before her accident, and she now has significant short-term memory problems. This is not uncommon for brain injury patients, who may lose memory, cognitive and physical abilities or other functions because of their injuries.

Patients like Miller cannot be completely cured, because brain tissue doesn’t heal the way other tissues do. They can only learn to live with their injuries, a process that may take years of physical or occupational therapy. In some cases, patients may never be able to return to work, school or other activities that were important to them before the injury. These are emotionally devastating losses -- but they’re also very expensive. Over a lifetime, therapy bills, medical treatment and the cost of missed work can add up to hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. If this was caused by another person’s carelessness, victims can and should hold that person legally responsible for the results.

Based in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., the Lowe Law Firm represents clients in Missouri and southern Illinois in all types of personal injury lawsuits, including Missouri brain injury lawsuits. If you or someone you love has been hurt by someone else’s carelessness and you’re ready to protect your rights, you can contact us for a free, confidential consultation.

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Posted In: Brain Injuries

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