According to the newspaper, Mandrell’s family thought he was sleeping on Saturday evening, when he apparently opened the screen on his bedroom window and escaped into the yard. Three dogs were loose in the yard -- two pit bull mixes and a collie mix. Authorities aren’t sure how many of the dogs were involved in the attack. Mandrell was bitten numerous times, but the bite that killed him was to a major blood vessel. The Williamson County Coroner declined to be more specific. The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is investigating the death.

Not every family realizes it, but dogs can be dangerous around young children. One study of fatal dog attacks by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 80% of dog bite fatalities were to children under 12 -- and three were babies less than a month old. As a Missouri dog attack lawyer, I have encountered multiple explanations for this. Young children who don’t have experience with dogs may not understand the difference between playing and provoking a dog. Their small size and short stature also places their heads and necks closer to the ground, where dogs can do a lot of harm. And because of children’s size and quick movements, dogs may instinctively see them as prey, or sometimes as pack members to be dominated.

Unfortunately, the consequences of this can be devastating. Because the head and neck are the most likely targets in dog attacks, children attacked by dogs can sustain very serious injuries, including severe blood loss, nerve damage, organ damage and serious infections. They also frequently come away with disfiguring facial scars, sometimes requiring years of reconstructive surgery. In addition to the physical consequences, this can be very difficult emotionally and socially for a child.

Dogs that attack in Missouri and Illinois frequently face impoundment and euthanasia as public threats. But for families traumatized by a dog attack and facing mounting medical bills, that may not be enough. When dogs that should have been leashed or controlled attack human beings, victims have the right to hold their owners legally liable with a St. Louis dog bite lawsuit. Generally speaking, these claims are covered by the dog owner’s homeowner’s insurance, or sometimes by a landlord’s insurance -- so victims are really suing an insurance company.

MSHP participated in a campaign last year called Operation C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) from the evening of July 3 through the night of July 6, 2008. During that time, Operation C.A.R.E. had all available officers patrolling Missouri's highways and roads to enforce Missouri's speed limit, seat belt and alcohol laws. They also were there to tally a staggering number of injuries and deaths.

According to MSHP, seven people were killed and 194 people injured in car crashes over last year's holiday counting period. That's an average of one person being killed and injured every 20.3 minutes. In addition to those injured and killed, state troopers arrested 195 people for driving while intoxicated -- just one less than the number of reported injuries, and those are only the ones who got caught.

This year's counting period for the Fourth of July holiday takes place 6 p.m. Thursday, July 2 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 5, 2009. To prepare, MSHP advised motorists to make sure their cars are in good condition before starting a trip to see friends, relatives or fireworks. It also suggested checking the Missouri Department of Transportation's traveler info map at www.modot.mo.gov to anticipate detours for construction or flooding.

In closing, MSHP reminded drivers who need assistance or witness crime while traveling on Missouri roads to contact their nearest Highway Patrol headquarters via their emergency hotline. All I can add is that if any Missouri motorists are injured in a July Fourth drunk driving accident, they should contact a Missouri reckless driving attorney right away to learn about their legal options. People hurt by an irresponsible drunk driver have the right to hold that driver legally responsible for the injuries he or she caused, including wrongful deaths, permanent disabilities and all of the financial costs related to the crash.

With offices in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., The Lowe Law Firm represents victims of serious personal injuries caused by car crashes in Missouri and southern Illinois. Our Missouri auto accident lawyers help people who have been seriously hurt or lost a loved one in a car, truck or motorcycle wreck recover the money they need to pay medical bills, make ends meet and eventually move past the incident. If you and your family are in this position and you’d like to learn more, please contact The Lowe Law Firm online, or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

What makes this new ordinance interesting to me as a Missouri auto accident lawyer is that it focuses on motorists curbing their road rage. Road rage is, of course, commonly known as a cause of traffic accidents. And when the accident involves a car and a bicyclist, guess who usually wins? It is true that cyclists frequently disobey traffic laws -- not unlike motorists -- but airing your frustration by throwing things at bike riders, or worse, is dangerous to everyone and too often results in unintended tragedy. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "Recent data shows that the 698 bicyclist deaths in 2007 accounted for two percent of all traffic fatalities with an additional 44,000 injured in traffic crashes."

An even more interesting fact the story brought up was how many cyclists could, but choose not to, press charges for injuries that come as the result of such harassment. Columbia citizens are hoping that cyclists who have been the victims of such injuries or trauma will be emboldened by the new ordinance. According to the Columbia Tribune, Columbia Police Chief Ken Burton said “People that are pushing the envelope, getting close to assault without assaulting someone would be covered under the ordinance… As far as the ‘prosecutability,’ for lack of a better word, we’ll just have to see.”

Many Columbia residents hope that the new ordinance will be just the beginning. “Bicyclists are not the only ones subject to this behavior,” Fourth Ward Councilman Jerry Wade said. “The ordinance needs to be effective in reducing harassment wherever it occurs.” He went on to suggest future amendments to the ordinance protecting joggers, wheelchair users and other users of non-motor vehicle transportation.

As a St. Louis pedestrian injury attorney, I couldn't agree more. All of these people need to share the road with motorists, and they are entitled to do so safely and without injury. Not every Missouri city has an ordinance outlawing aggression against bicyclists and others who share the road with cars. But regardless of where they are in Missouri, these victims have the right to hold drivers with road rage responsible for the injuries they cause with a Missouri bicycle accident lawsuit. These lawsuits can help them recover money for medical bills -- which can be rather serious in an accident with a car -- as well as compensation for their injuries physical pain, emotional suffering and any permanent disability or wrongful death.

Based in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., The Lowe Law Firm represents victims of serious personal injuries caused by car wrecks in Missouri and southern Illinois. Our Missouri auto accident lawyers help people who were seriously hurt or lost a loved one due to a driver's negligence. We can help you recover the money you need to pay medical bills, make ends meet, and eventually move past the accident. If you or a family member are in this position and you’d like to learn more, please contact The Lowe Law Firm online or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

This story is interesting to me as a St. Louis personal injury lawyer, as a possible example of a legal theory called premises liability. Of course, we don’t know from the article, but perhaps they had not properly maintained their deck. Of course, 20 sounds like it may be a lot of people to have on a backyard deck, and it may simply have been overloaded. If it turns out that the homeowner had maintained the deck poorly, or negligently and knowingly allowed too many guests on it, she could be liable in a Missouri premises liability lawsuit.

If you have been injured on someone else’s property and you believe it was caused by that person or organization’s carelessness, you should consult a legal professional who specializes in accidents similar to yours and understands the law. In this case, that would be a Missouri personal injury attorney like me. That lawyer could then help the injured parties find out exactly what their rights are.

Based in St. Louis, The Lowe Law Firm handles personal injury lawsuits for people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois. If you or a loved one has been seriously injured because of someone else’s negligence, our St. Louis personal injury lawyers would like to help. We offer free, confidential consultations, so you can learn more about your rights and your claim with no risk or commitment. To set up an appointment, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

Miraculously, none of the children were harmed. However, the driver, 41-year-old Tonya Glass, was taken from the accident site to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. This week, Jefferson County Sheriff Roger Mulch revealed that blood drawn from the Glass at the hospital had tested positive for a controlled substance. Glass was subsequently charged with a DUI.

“The story is that the kids did physically shut off the bus,” Mulch stated. “They checked on each other and made sure each other were all right.” They also were the ones to call for help, he said. The students' ages ranged between 5 and 14. As for Glass, Mulch said, “She’s received one citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and a second citation for DUI.”

Naturally, this story interests me as a Southern Illinois auto accident lawyer -- particularly because so many questions remain unanswered. The substance found in the driver's blood has still not been disclosed; further tests are pending from the Illinois State Police Crime Lab, according to Mulch. The sheriff said the case will undergo further investigation as to what the substance was; he did not say whether information would be released as to whether it was prescribed to Glass, but that would be one of my first questions as a Southern Illinois personal injury attorney.

As of press time, no charges have been filed. Time will tell as to whether the driver will be charged for this incident, but at any rate the case bears extremely thorough investigation and is far from over.

If you or a loved one has been injured by or suffered trauma due to a driver who was incapacitated by a substance, legal or otherwise, you should seek legal advice as soon as possible. Based in St. Louis, The Lowe Law Firm offers free, confidential consultations, so you can learn more about your rights and your claim with no risk or commitment. We handle personal injury lawsuits for people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois, and our Southern Illinois auto accident lawyers are ready to help you. To set up a free consultation, please contact us online or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

According to the article, it was raining hard at the time of the accident. A spokesperson for police declined to say whether the officer had his lights and siren on to respond to a call, and the Belleville chief of police referred questions to Illinois state troopers.

This could be an important question for southern Illinois auto accident lawyers like me, because whether the officer was speeding, and whether he was responding to an emergency, are both important questions for establishing liability in any Belleville car wreck lawsuit. Under Illinois law, local government employees, including police officers, are not liable for acts that arise out of doing their jobs. However, they can be liable for unsafe acts that fall outside their jobs, or doing their jobs in a “willful and wanton” way. If the officer was driving at a safe and reasonable speed, especially if he had warning lights and sirens on, he probably cannot be held liable for the accident.

This is not to say that suing a government agency in Illinois is easy. Every Illinois lawsuit has a deadline by which you must start your claim, called a statute of limitations. These deadlines vary according to the type of claim you’re making and your own circumstances, but they typically give plaintiffs two or three years. By contrast, if you’re suing a local government agency (such as a city, township or county), you have just six months to start your claim. For claims against a state government, that deadline is one year.

The process of starting a claim against a local government in Illinois is also more complex than usual, requiring you to give written notice to the government of your claim, including details about the accident, before you can file a formal lawsuit. Mistakes could take away your right to sue at all, which is why experts recommend that plaintiffs call a southern Illinois car crash attorney as soon as possible. At The Lowe Law Firm, we prefer to hear from potential clients with these cases as soon as they begin to consider a lawsuit. One of the least pleasant parts of our job is telling clients that they are unable to get the compensation they’d otherwise by entitled to because a deadline has passed.

Based in St. Louis, The Lowe Law Firm handles personal injury lawsuits for people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois. If you or a loved one was seriously hurt because of someone else’s negligence, our Missouri auto accident lawyers would like to help. We offer free, confidential consultations, so you can learn more about your rights and your claim with no risk or commitment. To set one up, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

The Missouri measure was originally written to apply to all drivers, but died in the state House and was passed in its current form as an attachment to a different bill. The article did not specify a penalty for those caught breaking the new law, but judging by other states’ approaches, the drivers would be ticketed. Opponents of the bill argued that it could give bad police officers an excuse for racial profiling, and that police have better things to worry about. But the sponsor of the original bill, state Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City, worried only that the bill doesn’t go far enough. After all, he pointed out, the conductor in the recent Boston train accident involving texting was over 21.

In Illinois, the texting ban would apply to drivers age 19 and over outside Chicago; younger drivers and Chicagoans are already banned from using cell phones in any way while driving. Lawmakers debating the texting ban brought up concerns about allowing police officers unfettered access to drivers’ phones. They also worried that the use of GPS devices, which are intended to help drivers navigate unfamiliar roads, would be illegal under the bill. Nonetheless, the paper said, the bill is expected to pass and go to Gov. Pat Quinn for approval. The bill was driven in part by a fatal 2006 crash in which a teenaged driver hit a bicyclist while she was downloading new ringtones to her phone.

As a St. Louis car accident attorney, I believe these bills, if they are enforced properly, could do a lot to prevent accidents caused by cell phone use. Anyone who drives has a story about driving behind someone who is drifting or driving at the wrong speed for conditions with a phone pressed to one ear. While cell phones are far from the only distraction that can cause an accident, they are one of the most common -- even people who cannot afford a car can afford a phone. While a ticket may seem like a cynical revenue-generating device, our Missouri car crash lawyers believe it has value both as a deterrent and as a way to show younger drivers that cell phone use while driving is a safety problem, teaching them to change their behavior without the need for tickets.

Based in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., The Lowe Law Firm represents victims of serious personal injuries caused by car wrecks in Missouri and southern Illinois. Our Missouri auto accident lawyers help people who were seriously hurt or lost a loved one in a car, truck or motorcycle accidents recover the money they need to pay their medical bills, make ends meet and eventually move past their accidents. If you and your family are in this position and you’d like to learn more, please contact The Lowe Law Firm online or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

Between 1990 and 2002, Barbara Fordham underwent annual gynecological exams that included the Papanicolaou test, also known as the Pap test or Pap smear, which is used to diagnose abnormalities of cells from the cervix. The Pap smear slides were sent to Mendota Community Hospital, located in Mendota, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. H.J. Choi, M.D., a pathologist who held a series of contracts with the hospital, interpreted the specimens as normal. However, Fordham alleged, the slides clearly showed atypical, pre- cancerous cells from 1990 through 1999 and cancerous from 2000 through 2002.
In 2003, Fordham changed physicians. A Pap smear performed that year revealed cervical cancer that was categorized as class 2B, meaning that it was inoperable and could only be treated with the use of chemotherapy and radiation.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit filed against Choi and Mendota Community Hospital in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois—Fordham v. Choi, cause no. 07 C 0568—Fordham alleged that Choi negligently misread her Pap smear slides.
Fordham settled her claims against Mendota Community Hospital for a confidential amount. The hospital did not admit liability.

The claims against Choi proceeded to trial. Dr. Dorothy Rosenthal, a professor of cytopathology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, testified that if Fordham’s cancer had been detected by 1999 it could have been treated with a simple outpatient procedure called a cone biopsy and would not have required chemotherapy and radiation.
On May 14, a Chicago jury awarded $2 million to Fordham.

Frodham was also represented by Jacob A. Flint and Francis J. “Casey” Flynn of the Lowe Law Firm. The Lowe Law Firm is a St. Louis-based law firm with a national practice. They handle
personal injury, medical malpractice, pharmaceutical liability, product liability and commercial cases throughout the United States.

Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened to Nolte and Newton in 2003. Newton, the state trooper, had pulled Nolte over for a traffic violation and put him in the trooper’s car on the shoulder of Interstate 70. When they were rear-ended by a pickup truck, the cruiser burst into flames, killing Newton and injuring Nolte before he could be pulled from the fire. Newton’s family and Nolte sued Ford, alleging that Ford’s vehicle design was defective because it placed the fuel tank behind the back axle, making an explosion likely in a rear-end accident. They also sued the truck’s driver and his or her employer, a claim that has been resolved and is not at issue in the appeal.

At trial, Missouri product liability attorneys for the plaintiff wanted to introduce evidence of ten similar accidents involving rear-ended Crown Victorias -- four before Newton’s accident and six after. They were particularly interested in showing evidence that Crown Victorias retrofitted with shields on their gas tanks, as Newton’s was, still carried an unreasonably high risk of explosion. The judge ruled that they could only introduce the four earlier accidents, but a lawyer for Ford introduced evidence about the six others anyway. Because the plaintiffs were under the judge’s orders not to discuss that evidence or argue their side of the story, this put them at a disadvantage, the Missouri Supreme Court found. Thus, it said, they are entitled to a new trial.

Members of the law enforcement community have been concerned about problems with Crown Victoria gas tanks for more than 20 years. (The related Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car may share this flaw, though they are less likely to be used as police cars.) The concern is the placement of the vehicle’s gas tank behind the rear axle, which critics say make it highly likely to be punctured in a rear-end collision, causing an instant explosion. Within moments, officers and others inside the car can be surrounded by flames. By one estimate, at least 21 law enforcement officers and uncounted civilians have died in this way. In 2002, Ford retrofitted hundreds of thousands of police Crown Victorias with gas tank shields, but critics dispute whether this has helped.

Flaws such as this with the design or manufacture of a vehicle are a form of product defects, just like problems with toys or hairbrushes. When they cause or exacerbate a serious car wreck, victims in Missouri have the right to file a St. Louis auto product liability lawsuit holding the vehicle’s manufacturer legally responsible. In these lawsuits, victims can claim compensation for the loss of a loved one, a permanent disability or a serious injury, as well as compensation for medical bills and other costs of the crash.

If you and your family are in this situation, The Lowe Law Firm would like to help. Based in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., we represent people who were injured by flawed consumer products throughout Missouri and southern Illinois. If you would like to learn more, we offer free, confidential consultations -- so there’s no risk to you in telling us about your case and learning about your legal options. To set one up, you can contact us through our Web site or call 1-877-678-3400.

The law has provoked several disapproving editorials in the past few days, with the Post-Dispatch claiming that the repeal is “a spectacularly bad idea.” I know this is a sensitive subject for those who ride, many of whom feel strongly that they should have the right, as adults, to make their own decisions. The issue pits public safety arguments against freedom arguments, and both are worthy goals. I do not wish to comment on whether helmets should be mandatory. But, using my experience as a Missouri brain injury lawyer, I would like to explain why I believe that motorcyclists in our state should freely choose to wear helmets when they ride.

Helmets protect the brain, one of the few tissues in the body that cannot heal in the same way a cut or bruise heals. Once the brain is damaged, the abilities controlled by the damaged parts of the brain are most likely gone forever. Practically speaking, that translates to a lifelong disability of some kind -- physical, mental, sensory or emotional. In mild cases, this could leave the victim functional but with a permanent loss of abilities, personality changes or trouble controlling emotions. In serious cases, the victim will need lifelong care in an institution or with a live-in helper. It is also extremely expensive to treat -- hospital costs for a serious brain injury easily total five or six figures, and the lifetime cost reaches into the millions.

It’s well-established that states with mandatory motorcycle helmet laws have much higher helmet use rates than states without. It is more controversial, but still well-established, that helmets save lives and prevent brain injuries without adding risks. Studies by the federal Department of Transportation have found that an un-helmeted rider is 40 times more likely to suffer a fatal head injury and 15 times more likely to sustain a non-fatal injury than one wearing a helmet in the same crash.

Furthermore, of the states that have repealed their universal helmet laws, all have seen a pronounced rise in motorcycle crash fatalities -- a 31% rise in fatal motorcycle injuries in Texas, for example. And according to a 2002 study by the federal DoT, just under half of motorcycle accident victims have no health insurance, meaning that hospital charity care and government health programs pick up their bills. Given the staggering cost in abilities and money, I believe the protection a helmet offers is well worth the cost, both financially and philosophically. Riders may soon have the chance to make this choice for themselves, but as a St. Louis brain damage attorney, I hope they do it with full awareness of their risks.

Based in St. Louis, the Lowe Law Firm represents clients throughout Missouri and southern Illinois who have suffered brain injuries through another person’s careless actions. In addition to motorcycle accidents, this includes car and truck accidents, crashes with semis and big rigs, ATV crashes and accidents in the workplace. In a Missouri brain injury lawsuit, we can help our clients win the money they need to pay their sky-high medical bills, make ends meet while they cannot work and ensure that they get the care they need throughout a lifetime of disability. If this sounds like your situation and you’d like to know more, please contact the Lowe Law Firm today for a free, confidential consultation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.