Missouri Injury Lawyer Blog

As a Missouri auto accident lawyer, I know railroad crossings can be a serious hazard for Midwestern drivers. A crash between a car and a train is no contest at all, and some crossings, particularly rural ones, can be dangerously poorly marked. So I was interested to see an adverse ruling from the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a man who lost his wife in a train accident. In Cornwell v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., Dennis Cornwell lost in trial court after the court dismissed three of his four expert witnesses testifying as to the crossing’s safety. He challenged those dismissals on appeal and also the summary judgment granted to Union Pacific on other safety claims. The Tenth upheld the district court, finding its decisions well supported by precedent.

Renia Cornwell hit a Union Pacific locomotive at 11:45 a.m. at an at-grade crossing, killing her at the scene. Some, but not all, witnesses heard the train’s horn sound before the collision, and the train’s onboard recorders provided contradictory information on the horn. The crossing also had warning signs, but no lights or gates; the installation of those safety features was completed about a month after the accident. Dennis Cornwell eventually sued Union Pacific for negligent, reckless and intentional wrongdoing in the operation of the crossing and the horn. At trial, the Oklahoma district court excluded three of Cornwell’s four witnesses, finding their testimony unreliable under Daubert. Cornwell went to trial with the fourth expert witness, but the jury found for Union Pacific.

On appeal, Cornwell argued that the district court incorrectly assessed the evidence the witnesses were offering. One, general railroad expert Alan Haley, Jr., was deemed unqualified, unreliable and relying on insufficient data. Two others, accident reconstructionist Robert Painter and his videographer, Bryan Schubert, were excluded because their accident reconstruction was dissimilar to the conditions of the actual crash, and also because they had trespassed on Union Pacific property during their research. The Tenth Circuit upheld these. Haley “lacked the proper background,” the Tenth found, and frequently changed his opinions on specific factual issues like the reliability of the train’s onboard video. Thus, he would not be able to give meaningful help to the jury. Similarly, the Tenth found Painter and Schubert’s reconstruction was speculative and conclusory because they tried to reconstruct Renia Cornwell’s view using a minivan rather than an SUV and the wrong type of locomotive, and made assumptions about how her eyes would have tracked as she reached the intersection. However, it declined to reach the trespassing issue, noting that the Daubert reasons were enough to uphold their exclusion and well supported by Tenth Circuit precedent and other caselaw.

As a southern Illinois car crash attorney, I am disappointed in this ruling. Excluding witnesses is not just a procedural matter; excluding expert witnesses is essentially excluding evidence. Because there’s no clear other way to demonstrate certain issues to a jury, having experts excluded can sound a death knell for the case. For this reason, defendants like very much to exclude the plaintiff’s expert witnesses, then try to have the case dismissed for lack of evidence. It’s also disappointing that the court declined to reach the trespassing issue, which is unusual — most accident reconstruction takes place on public roads not requiring permission, and permission from the adverse party might be difficult to get. As a St. Louis motor vehicle accident lawyer, I’d be pleased to see it revisited in other cases.

Continue reading "Tenth Circuit Upholds Exclusion of Plaintiffs Experts in Car Accident Lawsuit Involving Train – Cornwell v. Union Pacific Railroad" »

In 2009, I wrote here approvingly several times about efforts to ban texting and driving in Missouri and Illinois. The issue is important to me as a St. Louis auto accident lawyer because distracted driving is a major cause of traffic accidents — and while texting is not the only distraction in the car, it’s a major and preventable one. Missouri had already passed a bill banning texting and driving for drivers under the age of 21, but efforts to extend the ban died in the state legislature. As the St. Joseph News-Press reported April 27, Missouri’s House has reversed its previous opposition, approving a proposal to require hands-free devices for drivers of all ages who want to text on the road.

The measure was part of a broader public safety bill that also addressed motorboating while intoxicated and parental accompaniment for minors using tanning beds. The texting and driving portion of the bill bans all drivers from using hand-held devices to send or read text messages as they drive. Drivers may still use hands-free voice recognition devices to use the phone as they drive. The law also contained exceptions for drivers reporting illegal activity, calling for emergency help and preventing injury to a person or property. The ban also has exceptions for drivers of emergency vehicles and drivers of vehicles for hire using devices permanently affixed to the vehicle. The article did not mention enforcement measures, but violators of the previous under-21 ban received tickets.

As a southern Illinois car crash attorney, I hope the state Senate will follow suit and pass this bill in the few days left in the legislative session. While the youngest drivers are, as a group, the most inexperienced, texting and driving isn’t safe for anyone. When drivers take their eyes off the road, it doesn’t take a scientist to conclude that they could miss important things. But as it happens, there is science to support the idea. One study from the Virginia Tech Traffic Institute found that when commercial truckers texted, they took their eyes off the road long enough for their two-ton trucks to travel the length of a football field. And a 2009 study from the University of Utah used a driving simulator to find that texting made a crash six times more likely. With lives at stake in so many car crashes, banning this widespread distraction only makes sense.

Continue reading "Missouri House Votes to Extend Ban on Texting and Driving to Drivers of All Ages" »

As a St. Louis auto accident attorney, I am very concerned about design flaws that make automobiles more susceptible to crashing. That's why a recent story in the New York Times about a Japanese inventor who argues that having separate gas and brake pedals right next to each other in cars is simply dangerous got my attention. The inventor has come up with a new design that combines both pedals into one, preventing crashes caused by "pedal confusion," when a driver mistakenly hits the accelerator instead of the brake.

Toyota and other car makers that have been faced with lawsuits for “sticky” gas pedals have blamed driver error for the unintended acceleration. Masuyuki Naruse, 74, an inventor who owns a small factory in southwest Japan, has designed a new pedal to prevent this problem. Drivers would press one part of the pedal with a sideways motion to accelerate, and press down like on a traditional brake pedal to stop. Pushing down on the brake automatically releases the accelerator. “We have a natural tendency to stomp down when we panic," said Naruse. "The automakers call it driver error. But what if their design’s all wrong?” Another inventor, Sven Gustafsson, came up with a similar idea, and a prototype of his pedal is being tested by regulators in Sweden. Naruse's design is being used in about 130 cars in Japan.

(Image from the New York Times)

The single-pedal design offers an important opportunity for automakers to invest in a new safety technology. Yet, even though it has been around for two decades and clearly offers an improvement for public safety, automakers have not adopted it. Naruse said that Toyota engineers tested a prototype of his pedal in 2000, but they didn't like the design. In 2009 alone, 37 deaths and 9500 injuries were attributed to accidents caused by pedal confusion in Japan, according to the Tokyo-based Institute for Traffic Accident Research and Data Analysis. In the United States, auto safety experts say there have probably been tens of thousands of crashes because of pedal confusion, most notably a 2003 accident in Santa Monica, Calif., that killed 10 people when a driver accelerated into an outdoor market.

Even though drivers would have to learn how to drive smoothly with the new pedal, in my view as a Missouri car crash attorney, the prospect of preventing accidents by changing the car's design seems worth the investment. Retrofitting cars with the pedal is not prohibitively expensive. Naruse said it costs about 100,000 yen, or $1,156, and it does not require major changes to the car's existing braking or acceleration systems.

Continue reading "Inventors Design New Gas and Brake Pedal to Avoid ‘Pedal Confusion’ Crashes" »

The bad news just keeps coming for Toyota. According to the Washington Post, a federal grand jury has subpoenaed information from Toyota for an investigation into concerns about vehicle safety defects. As a Missouri car wreck attorney, I've been following the investigations into Toyota's runaway acceleration problems. Now the focus has widened to include defects with steering relay rods. Just as with the sticky acceleration pedals, Toyota is facing accusations that it kept quiet about the steering relay rod problems rather than informing consumers. While Toyota undoubtedly doesn't welcome these developments, it's good that these problems are coming to light so that Toyota and other automakers can learn that there are consequences to putting public safety at risk by allowing defective vehicles on the roads.

Several Toyota trucks and SUVs -- certain 1989 to 1998 4Runners, T100 pickups and Toyota pickups -- are implicated in the faulty steering relay rods investigation. The defective steering relay rods, which connect the steering wheel to the wheels, reportedly break and leave the drivers without control of their vehicles, making this a very serious safety problem. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is apparently treating this as a criminal investigation. The investigation is looking into whether Toyota shrugged off complaints of steering relay rods breaking. Toyota had issued recalls first in only Japan, claiming that the problem would affect only Japanese drivers and not Americans because the tight maneuvering required in Japan would stress the steering mechanisms more. However, at least 15 crashes, 3 deaths, and 7 injuries have occurred in connection with the problem in the U.S., according to the NHTSA. Toyota issued a U.S. recall in 2005, but only a small number of the affected vehicles were fixed. In 2007, Michael Levi Stewart, an Idaho teenager, was killed after the steering relay rod snapped in his 1991 Toyota pickup, causing it to veer off the road and roll over.

As a St. Louis car crash lawyer, I hope that the NHTSA's toughening stance on Toyota's numerous recalls will deter other automakers from failing to warn consumers about safety issues in a timely manner. Accidents like Michael Levi Stewart's leave families and communities with tremendous emotional losses, especially when they happen through no fault of the victim's. Automakers do not have a right to withhold information about serious safety problems until they feel that the right time has come to disclose it. All manufacturers are legally required to tell the public about any unavoidable safety problems with their products. Automakers who place their company's financial and public relations concerns ahead of public safety can be held responsible for any harm that their products do. Their failure to warn the public is a form of negligence, or carelessness, and victims should not and do not have to bear the consequences of the company's negligence all on their own.

Continue reading "Toyota Faces Criminal Investigation Into Failure to Warn About Steering Rod Problem" »

As a southern Illinois auto accident attorney, I was very interested in a recent story in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about Toyota's alleged attempts to intimidate a Southern Illinois University automotive technology professor and suppress his research into Toyota's runaway acceleration problems. Toyota has donated cars as well as money to SIU, and the company may have used its standing to pressure SIU administrators to stop Professor David Gilbert from publicizing his worrisome findings. Knowing how many people have been hurt and how many more are afraid that their cars might suddenly accelerate, these allegations would be unfortunate, if proven, both for the safety of the driving public and for Toyota’s own financial security.

In January, Gilbert discovered that he could cause runaway acceleration in a Toyota Avalon by manipulating its electronics. When he did so, the car's computer did not switch over to a fail-safe mode that would allow the brake to override the gas, as it should have. Gilbert went to Toyota with his findings, but after hearing what he had to say, they never got back to him. Gilbert felt he couldn’t stay silent, the article said, so he took his findings to the government and media. In response, Toyota sent some attorneys to meet with Gilbert and university officials about his testimony before Congress, a meeting that Gilbert said "was meant to maybe intimidate me." Toyota also assembled its own group of experts to refute Gilbert's findings, saying that the conditions under which he produced the runaway acceleration could never happen on an actual road. SIU's then-chancellor Sam Goldman also received an email from a man who said he was an SIU alumnus and a Toyota Motor Sales employee, complaining that Gilbert should be fired for making what he called false accusations about Toyota, and reminding him of his and Toyota's financial and in-kind contributions to the university. University officials apparently did their best to assuage Toyota and maintain the relationship.

In my view as a St. Louis car crash lawyer, it would be much better for the company to work with someone who could discover solutions to the runaway acceleration problem than to try to cover it up. If the allegations are proven, Toyota's alleged treatment of Gilbert and his work could actually hurt the company’s public relations and its financial bottom line. Evidence that Toyota passed up an opportunity to work on a potential fix for a serious problem could make the company look bad in all the lawsuits it's already facing over runaway acceleration. Not only is there evidence that Toyota had received over 2,000 complaints over the last decade and knew about the pedal problem three years ago, but Gilbert's story suggests that Toyota was more interested in denying any problem than fixing it. Unfortunately for Toyota, its customers may have a strong basis for a legal claim that it failed to warn drivers about the problem in a timely manner, in addition to a possible claim about a design defect. And if the automaker is found liable, it could be forced to pay its customers billions of dollars because of the seriousness of the claims and the huge number of affected vehicles.

Continue reading "Professor Alleges Toyota Tried to Quash His Research Into Runaway Acceleration" »

Our St. Louis car crash attorneys wrote last October about a growing call in St. Charles County for improvements to Highway DD. The area has grown from a rural community to a fast-growing suburb, and improvements to Highway DD have not caught up. At least some residents believe that this has resulted in a sharp increase in fatal accidents, and many have called for the Missouri Department of Transportation to make improvements a priority. One of those residents was Daniel Windler, 61, who signed a petition asking MoDOT to speed up improvements. On Feb. 14, Windler was the victim of a fatal accident on the very same highway, while waiting for a tow truck to help him retrieve his disabled car.

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Windler’s wife and law enforcement agree that the fatal accident itself was a weather-related accident. As Windler waited for a tow truck, an SUV driven by a teenager from St. Peters slipped down an icy hill and struck him. That driver will not be charged. However, 61-year-old Karen Windler said she believes Highway DD is unsafe, with a rate of accidents about twice the state average for highways of this type. The highway is narrower than the 12-foot federal width standard, yet has no shoulders. It also has steep embankments on either side, inviting the possibility that drivers could slip off the edge of the road and be unable to return to lanes. This, along with the icy weather, may be why Daniel Windler slid off the road Feb. 14.

As a Missouri auto accident lawyer, I don’t believe this problem is going away. Authorities believe part of the reason for the high accident rate on Highway DD is that it wasn’t designed for heavy suburban traffic. Rather, the community grew around the road, using it as a major commuter artery rather than a rural highway. In fact, St. Charles County continues to grow -- two new schools along the highway are slated to open in 2010. To protect those schoolchildren and everyone else who uses Highway DD, the state has an obligation to ensure that the road can safely accommodate them. MoDOT has already lowered the speed limit, but as this accident may show, that’s unlikely to be enough to bring down accident rates.

Continue reading "St. Charles Residents Renew Call for Highway Improvements After Fatal Accident" »

As a St. Louis car accident attorney, I have written several times on this blog about the dangers of texting and driving. Last summer saw several reports on research showing a link between text-messaging behind the wheel and an increased rate of accidents. In fact, one study found a 23 times greater risk of crashing. The Missouri Legislature was slightly ahead of the curve when it passed a ban on texting and driving that took effect in late August -- but that ban applied only to drivers under 21. Now, according to a Dec. 2 article from the Associated Press, members of the Legislature have already filed several bills for the 2010 legislative session that would extend that ban to drivers of all ages.

The ban on texting by drivers under 21 allows exceptions for medical or roadway emergencies, reporting crimes and emergency responders acting as part of their jobs. The bills the Legislature will consider next year would continue those exceptions, but for drivers of all ages. One measure would also allow texting on private and public gravel roads. Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City, said he plans to file a bill to ban texting and driving after he nearly drove off the highway while texting. He called the practice “a bad idea at any age.” The National Conference of State Legislatures reports that in 2010, more than half of states will have a ban on texting by at least some drivers; 18 states will have a universal texting ban. The Missouri Department of Transportation has already banned texting and driving on the job by employees and supports a universal ban for Missouri drivers.

As a Missouri car crash lawyer, I agree completely. As a spokeswoman for MoDOT implied in the article, texting takes the driver’s eyes and attention away from the road, where they belong. In fact, a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found that truck drivers took their eyes off the road for as long as five seconds while texting. That was enough time, the study said, for a semi truck traveling at highway speeds to cross the length of a football field. While texting is certainly not the only distraction for drivers, it’s one of the fastest-growing distractions and one that not enough drivers take seriously until they have a close call -- or a crash. A ban on texting is one way to reduce the wrongful deaths and catastrophic injuries that will surely result -- preferably followed by vigorous enforcement and public education campaigns.

Continue reading "Missouri Legislature Considers Banning Texting and Driving for All Ages in 2010" »

As a Missouri auto accident attorney, I was very pleased to see brand-new traffic fatality statistics released by the federal government in October. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the agency that tracks traffic accidents nationwide, released its projected statistics (PDF) for all traffic fatalities in the United States between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2009. The bad news is that the first half of 2009 saw an estimated 16, 626 deaths in traffic accidents, putting the country on track for more than 33,500 fatalities for the year. The good news is that this number actually represents a decline from 2008 -- and a continuation of the biggest downward trend of the last 30 years.

In fact, the estimated 2009 numbers for January through June show a 7% drop from the same months in 2008. That year saw an impressive 10% decline over 2007, continuing a trend that started in the second quarter of 2006. This is the longest period of successive declines in traffic fatalities since the agency began keeping fatality records in 1975. The NHTSA’s briefs do not speculate about reasons for the decline, but the brief did note that 2008 was a leap year, and saw 95 traffic fatalities during its extra day. Perhaps more importantly, the brief noted that vehicle miles traveled declined overall in the first half of 2009, by about 0.4%, including a 1.7% decline in the first quarter. Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, which is considered a more accurate measure than pure numbers, dropped from 1.23 in the first half of 2008 to 1.15 in the first half of 2009.

As a St. Louis car crash lawyer, I’m pleased to see that we’re maintaining this decline in auto accidents. The decline in overall vehicle miles traveled suggests that the decline in fatalities may stem from people’s choices to simply drive less, possibly because of the price of gasoline. But the accident rate per 100 million VMT shows that even if they did drive less, they got into fewer fatal accidents when they did drive. That’s great news, because car accidents are one of the most common and preventable causes of death in America. The leading cause of accidental death, according to the CDC, and the leading cause of death overall for Americans under 34. That means a prolonged decline in fatal accidents is great news for nearly everyone.

Continue reading "Federal Traffic Safety Estimates Show Fatal Accidents Continue to Decline" »

A recent article on road improvements in St. Charles County caught my eye, as a St. Louis car crash lawyer. According to an Oct. 2 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, residents of a rapidly growing area of the county are pushing for improvements to the area’s Highway DD after a crash claimed the life of a sixteen-year-old girl from Wentzville. Elise Sunderhuse died Sept. 3 after the driver of the car she was riding in veered off the road, overcorrected and smashed into a sign. The accident was the fifth fatality on Highway DD in five years and one of more than 140 crashes during that same period. A town hall meeting is planned for Oct. 22 in New Melle to discuss the problem.

According to the article, rapid growth in this area of St. Charles County has put more traffic on the once-rural highway than originally envisioned by its designers. State officials say the accident rate on Highway DD is twice the state average for highways of the same type, putting it among the most dangerous. Residents cite the highway’s lack of shoulders and steep roadside embankments as safety problems, along with deer, sun-blindness and heavy trucks heading to a nearby quarry. A spokesman for MoDOT added that lanes on the highway are 10 to 11 feet wide, falling short of the 12-foot federal standard and making shoulders important. MoDOT has already lowered the speed limit on the highway from 55 to 50 mph, and plans to add shoulders and turn lanes in certain areas.

I wrote last week about safety improvements to the MLK Bridge into East St. Louis, which also has a disproportionately high rate of accidents. Chief among the safety concerns about the bridge are its lack of shoulders and ten-foot lanes -- problems that Highway DD shares. As with the bridge, the narrowness of Highway DD presents serious problems because motorists have no place to go if, for example, a vehicle in the oncoming lane swerves into their paths. As with the bridge, Highway DD is a major artery for people in the area -- and unlike the bridge, it will have two schools on it by this time next year. As a Missouri auto accident attorney, I hope the efforts to address the problems with the bridge lead to similar efforts on Highway DD before someone else is killed in a preventable accident.

Continue reading "St. Charles County Residents Call for Improvements to Rural Highway After Teenager’s Death" »

A group of highway safety officials from around the nation planned to endorsed a ban on text messaging while driving, the New York Times reported Aug. 30. The Governors Highway Safety Association, a group of leaders from state highway safety agencies such as MODot, called for the ban at the beginning of its weeklong annual meeting in Savannah, Georgia. Calling text messaging a form of distracted driving, Chairman Vernon F. Betkey Jr. said in a press release that a ban on texting and driving in all 50 states, and for people of all ages, would tell the public that the practice is dangerous and unacceptable.

The association’s press release said its action was directly influenced by a recent study on texting and driving from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Using cameras mounted in the cabs of long-haul trucks, the Institute found that truckers had a 23 times greater chance of crashing, or almost crashing, when they were sending text messages. In fact, the study found that they took their eyes off the road for an average of five seconds every time they texted -- enough time for a truck to travel the length of a football field at highway speed. The association said it still had concerns about how texting bans would be enforced, but supported a project by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that it hopes will help develop good enforcement strategies.

As a Missouri auto accident lawyer who has long been interested in issues of text messaging while driving, I believe public interest in this issue has snowballed in the past few months. The Times has devoted several articles to texting while driving recently, federal legislation mandating a nationwide ban is being considered, and multiple state legislatures have recently considered or passed a ban on texting for at least some drivers. That includes a law here in Missouri that took effect on Aug. 28, making it illegal for drivers under 21 to text while driving -- and an Illinois law, effective Jan. 1, banning the practice for all drivers. And as the Times notes, a growing body of research supports those bans. If texting while driving is eventually banned nationwide -- and followed up with serious enforcement -- I believe lives will be saved.

Continue reading "Association of State Highway Agencies Endorses Ban on Texting and Driving" »

Used Chevy Impalas sold by rental company Enterprise Rent-A-Car were missing a standard safety feature, the Kansas City Star reported Aug. 15. Side air bags were standard on Impalas sold to consumers between 2006 and 2008, the article said -- but Enterprise asked the manufacturer to delete that option when it placed its order, as a cost-saving measure. When the cars were later retired from the fleet and sold as used cars, the Star reported, consumers may have mistakenly believed they came with the same standard equipment other Impalas had. Furthermore, the newspaper found that hundreds of online advertisements by Enterprise incorrectly touted the cars as having front and rear side air bags.

Safety experts consider side curtain air bags important because side-impact crashes are the second deadliest kind of crash. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, side-impact crashes caused 17.4% of all fatal crashes in 2007, second only to head-on crashes (32.2% of fatal crashes). And according to the Star article, studies have found that side air bags with head protection reduce drivers’ deaths by 45% in driver-side collisions. Side air bags are not federally required, as front air bags are, but observers expect side air bags to be near-universally standard soon, in order to comply with stricter federal side-impact safety rules taking effect Sept. 1.

According to the article, Enterprise ordered about 66,000 Impalas nationwide without the side air bags. This did not violate federal safety standards, the company said, and helped save $175 per car, for a total of $11.5 million. Nonetheless, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research organization funded by auto insurance companies, called the decision “astounding.” He noted that used-car buyers researching safety ratings could be misled, because cars are rated according to their standard safety features, and suggested that Enterprise’s decision could provoke numerous car accident lawsuits in Missouri and around the U.S. He and another safety expert said deleting a standard safety feature is not a practice they’d ever heard of before.

In response to the article, Enterprise pulled the incorrect advertisements off its Web site and said it planned to correct the information. It also said it would write to the owners of the 745 Impalas it had already sold to explain the problem and offer to buy the cars back at $750 over their Kelly Blue Book value.

As a St. Louis car crash lawyer, I have read a lot of the research into the dangers of side-impact crashes. They are considered extremely dangerous, in part because they can cause jagged metal and broken glass to protrude into the passenger area of the car, endangering all the occupants nearby. They can also trigger a rollover accident, which throws occupants around the inside of the vehicle or out of it, exposing them to head injuries and spinal cord damage that can leave them permanently disabled. Parents and others concerned about safety may well want to look up which vehicles contain side air bags before renting or buying -- but when Enterprise and other sellers provide misleading information, consumers can’t make well-informed decisions. If they are later involved in a serious accident and discover that they’re missing the air bags they thought they had, the law says they may hold the sellers legally liable for their injuries.

Continue reading "Newspaper Investigation Finds Rental Car Company Advertised Cars Had Side Airbags When They Did Not" »

An Iowa girl is recovering from injuries sustained in a serious St. Louis car crash, the Fort Madison Daily Democrat reported Aug. 4. Shyanna Hoenig was on her way to the St. Louis Zoo with her family when a driver pulled out unexpectedly and hit the side of her mother’s van. Shyanna sustained damage to her aorta as well as intestinal damage so serious that three sections had to be removed. She was taken to Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, which released her last week -- in time to start the first grade at the end of August.

Shyanna’s mother, Sarah Hoenig, said she was on Highway 61 when she passed a car stopped on the median. When she saw that driver pull out suddenly into the road, she swerved to avoid a collision. Unfortunately, the car hit the side of their van, sending it into a rock bluff. Shyanna was the most seriously hurt of the seven people in the van -- in part because she was wearing a lap-only seat belt, which her mother said was improper for children of that age. Because the belt was around her abdomen rather than her lap, the impact damaged Shyanna’s aorta -- the vital arterty that comes from the heart -- and parts of her intestine that Sarah Hoenig said looked like hamburger.

Iowa law does not require children over six to use booster seats, although safety experts recommend it. Here in Missouri, children ages 4 through 7, or weighing between 40 and 80 pounds, must use an appropriate safety seat or booster seat. As the article notes, this elevates the child to allow the seat belt to cross his or her lap, preventing serious injuries like Shyanna’s or possibly even death.

I am glad that this little girl and her family have what appears to be a good outcome to her medical care. But as a St. Louis auto accident attorney, I know that they probably also face substantial financial losses as a result of the accident. Shyanna spent more than two weeks in hospitals -- and even if the family has insurance, that’s likely to be very expensive. Because St. Louis is a fair drive from their home, her parents may also have had to take all of that time off work to be with her and be part of her care. And of course, they probably faced costs for repair or replacement of the van and care for the other family members. All of this can be financially devastating for an ordinary family, which is why so many accident victims come to our Missouri car crash lawyers for help.

Continue reading "First-Grader Released From Hospital After Catastrophic St. Louis Car Accident" »

According to the New York Times, the federal government has buried for six years data showing that talking on the phone while driving causes substantial deaths and injuries. Needless to say, this is a huge story for a Missouri car accident attorney like me.

To sum it up: Six years ago, researchers at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal agency, came to their superiors at the Department of Transportation to propose a long-term study of 10,000 drivers. The aim of the study was to assess, in depth, all of the safety risks of cell phone use behind the wheel. The researchers came armed with binders full of studies and statistics that suggested that hands-free devices did little to prevent auto accidents. Instead, the studies indicated that far greater risk comes from distraction -- the mind being divided between a phone conversation and the road.

While other, smaller studies had turned up similar conclusions, the NHTSA’s prestige, connections to state legislatures and high-profile public awareness campaigns could potentially have saved thousands of lives. However, not only was the study not approved, the data was buried. According to the New York Times story, the information was suppressed due to the agency's concerns about upsetting members of Congress who could determine how much money was allocated to the Department of Transportation. In short, decision-makers suppressed this data for political reasons.

Now that the statistics have been released, they show that it had, and has, the potential to save lives. The NHTSA estimated that 955 people were killed and 240,000 accidents were caused by cell phone use while driving in 2002 (just one year). These figures were based on the assumption that six percent of drivers would be talking on the phone at any given time. That's half of what the NHTSA assumes today, so it’s not hard to imagine that their fatality and accident statistics may also have doubled, to an estimated 1,910 deaths and nearly 500,000 accidents this year. But if evidence had been released to the public six years ago that using any type of cell phone while driving was dangerous as having a 0.08 blood-alcohol content (the level at which you are legally drunk in Missouri and Illinois), do you think 12 percent of us would be using cell phones while driving today?

As a Missouri car crash lawyer, I hope not. While recent legislative battles in Missouri and elsewhere show that drivers don’t want to give up their ability to talk and drive, it’s becoming increasingly clear that this is a question of public safety. Just ask the victims of last summer’s tragic trucking accident on Interstate 40, the school bus-truck accident in Florida or train accidents in Boston and Los Angeles -- all of which were ultimately traced to cell phone use by an operator who should have known better. At the very least, people have a right to know about these dangers, so they can make a fully informed decision for themselves. At most, this data could have been used in state legislatures throughout our country to save lives by banning phoning and driving. If officials at the Department of Transportation, members of Congress or the mobile phone industry chose to suppress information that could have saved lives, they have indirectly chosen profits and convenience over public safety.

Continue reading "Report Shows Federal Agency Withheld Data on Risks of Driving While Talking on the Phone" »

After more than a month of waiting, Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed the Legislature’s decision to repeal Missouri’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported July 2. The vetoed legislation would have given riders 21 and older the option to not wear helmets, except on interstate highways. With the veto, riders of all ages must continue to wear their helmets in Missouri, although they may take them off in many neighboring states, including Illinois. Lawmakers may still override the veto when they convene in September, but the newspaper suggested that this will not be easy.

News reports suggested that Nixon had genuine doubts about the law, which may explain the long gap between the veto and the Legislature’s passing the law in early May. Supporters of the repeal argued that it was a question of freedom; adults should be able to choose whether to take the risk of riding without a helmet. Opponents, who included the Missouri Department of Transportation, countered with statistics showing that helmets substantially reduce motorcyclists’ risk of death and brain damage in an accident. Nixon cited some of those statistics when he vetoed the bill, adding that he was concerned about the likely increase in the financial cost of treating motorcycle accident victims.

As an American, I sympathize with concerns about where individual freedom ends and responsibility to others begins. But as a Missouri brain injury attorney, I believe that voluntarily using a helmet is the smartest choice for motorcyclists (and bicyclists and ATV riders). As the article points out, the federal Department of Transportation has found that helmets cut the risk of death by in a motorcycle accident by 37% and the probability of brain injury by 67%. They also cut costs to public health programs, as well as to riders and insurance companies. One DoT study estimated that helmet use saved $1.3 billion in 2002 alone in the U.S., and universal helmet use could have saved $853 million more. That’s a high price to pay for feeling the wind in your hair.

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The other day, I came across an article about a new city ordinance on bicycle safety that passed unanimously in Columbia, Missouri. The ordinance specifies that a motorist commits the class A misdemeanor of harassment if he or she verbally threatens a cyclist, sounds a horn with the aim of frightening or disturbing the cyclist, purposely throws an object at a cyclist, or knowingly engages in conduct that puts the cyclist's life at risk. The misdemeanor is punishable by a $1,000 fine or one year in jail.

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.

Lawmakers in Missouri and Illinois are both on the verge of making it illegal to send and read text messages behind the wheel, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported May 18. Missouri’s legislature has already passed a bill forbidding drivers under the age of 21 from texting while driving, while their counterparts in Illinois are considering a broader bill that would apply to drivers of every age. The goal is to reduce the number of crashes caused by irresponsible uses of cell phones while driving, which even opponents of the bills agree is a problem, the article says.

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.

Students at high schools in and around Marshall, Missouri gathered to hear the stories of disabled victims of serious car crashes, the Marshall Democrat-News reported March 9. The speakers are a part of a program called ThinkFirst Missouri, sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Medicine. They advocated thoughtful, responsible driving to the students by telling the stories of how they ended up permanently disabled after serious Missouri car wrecks.

Speaker Penny Lorenz is a paraplegic, which means her lower body is paralyzed because of damage to her spinal cord. She told the students she sustained that injury at the age of 17, when she was a passenger in a car that was knocked off the road and rolled over several times while she was not wearing a seatbelt. She hates her injury, she told the high school audience.

Speaker Chad Burton was also 17 when he was injured in a collision with a drunk driver. He suffered a traumatic brain injury -- permanent brain damage -- that left him paralyzed on his left side. Before his accident, he was a high school wrestler and very active. Now, he told the students, he looks at every activity or task involving two hands and wonders how to perform it with just one.

As a St. Louis personal injury attorney, I am glad this program is raising awareness of the potentially devastating consequences of a serious car crash in Missouri. The injuries the speakers have suffered are catastrophic injuries that permanently change their victims’ lives. Spinal injuries leave their victims with at least some loss of movement and sensation; in serious cases, victims can be completely paralyzed and may need a ventilator to breathe. Traumatic brain injuries kill brain tissue, which could result in mental or physical disabilities, memory loss; sensory problems or even changes in personality.

These losses are physically and emotionally painful -- and in many cases, they are also very expensive to treat over a lifetime. When these and other serious auto accident injuries are the result of another person’s carelessness, victims have the right to hold that person legally and financially responsible. In a Missouri car crash lawsuit, victims and their families can win the money they need to pay for costs of the accident, including future medical care and lost wages, along with compensation for their physical and emotional pain.

If you or someone you love has sustained serious brain damage, paralysis or other serious injuries in a car accident, The Lowe Law Firm can help. To speak with us in detail about your case and your legal options, please contact us online as soon as possible or call 1-877-678-3400 to set up a free consultation.

As I have blogged here before, safety experts believe the MLK Bridge connecting St. Louis to East St. Louis needs substantial safety improvements. According to a Feb. 8 article in the Belleville News-Democrat, a bridge safety expert from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts has added his voice to that chorus. Professor Malcolm Ray studied deaths on the MLK Bridge and the nearby Poplar Street Bridge and concluded that drivers on the MLK Bridge were 25 times more likely to die in a serious car accident.

The article says one reason is the bridge’s width. The four lanes on the MLK bridge are each 10 feet wide, which is narrower than lanes on neighboring bridges and two feet below federal safety standards. This gives motorists no place to pull over if they have trouble while crossing the river. It also poses dangers when sharing the road with large tractor-trailers and semi trucks, some of whose width might exceed the width of the lane.

Another reason for the consistent safety problems, said the professor, is that the bridge was never intended for tractor-trailers and other large vehicles in the first place, especially at high speeds. The Illinois and Missouri transportation departments are studying measures that might help, including banning large trucks, reducing the number of lanes and installing a center barrier to prevent crossover accidents.

As a St. Louis car accident lawyer, I look forward to the results of that study. If this bridge truly is 25 times more deadly than the Poplar Street Bridge just down the river, it’s time for action. A narrow, crowded bridge doesn’t give motorists much room to take evasive action in the event of an emergency, or any room at all to pull over when they must. Worse, it increases the probability that one accident will turn into a chain reaction, since other drivers will have little room to avoid a crash that takes place right in front of them.

We drive so much that it’s easy to forget how serious car accidents can be. In my practice as a Missouri car crash attorney, I see the worst kind of results every day: unnecessary, wrongful deaths and permanent disabilities from brain damage, spinal injuries and severe burns. Frequently, these injuries also come with medical costs in the six or seven figures. When someone else’s careless driving is responsible, I can help my clients alleviate some of the effects of these injuries by winning compensation for their costs and injuries in a Missouri auto accident lawsuit

The Lowe Law Firm offers free consultations to victims of traffic accidents on the MLK Bridge or anywhere else in Missouri and southern Illinois. If you believe you were seriously hurt because of someone else’s carelessness and you’d like to learn more about your options, you can contact us online for a free consultation or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

Missourians can drive with a little more confidence this year, according to a report by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety. The Southeast Missourian reported Feb. 4 that the report says Missouri saw just 941 highway traffic fatalities in 2008, down by about 25% from 1,257 in 2005. A lieutenant with the Missouri State Highway Patrol told the paper that guard cables -- thick wire bundles installed along the sides and median of the highway -- played a big part in the drop by preventing vehicles from crossing the highway into oncoming traffic. In areas where the cables were installed, 55 people died in the year before installation; that number was just two in the year after installation.

Guard cables are not universally loved, the article noted. One driver interviewed for the article wondered why the cables were so close to the road, where they could cause a driver to bounce right back into traffic. A garage and wrecking service employee wondered if there was enough space to pull into the shoulder of the road safely in an emergency. In fact, the article said, guard cables were originally installed in the center of the median, but had to be moved after flooding weakened their posts. And a project engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation said that yes, cars should bounce back into traffic after hitting the cables -- but the people inside were less likely to be killed in a sideswipe or rear-end accident.

That idea is backed up by federal highway safety statistics. Crossovers are almost always head-on accidents, and head-on accidents are likely to be deadly. According to 2007 statistics from the federal Department of Transportation, head-on accidents represented 10.2% of all fatal accidents and more than a fourth of all fatal multi-vehicle accidents. By contrast, sideswipes were just 2.3% of all fatal accidents. Collisions with an object like a pole or a tree, which are almost always head-on for the driver, accounted for 33.2% more. Automakers design their vehicles with “crumple zones” and other technology to minimize damage, but no amount of engineering can help when two heavy objects collide at high speeds.

Crossover accidents are a serious concern in parts of Missouri where highways aren’t divided by a guardrail, barrier or physical space. Some may be caused by factors beyond the drivers’ control -- but others are the result of inattention or even intoxicated driving. If you or someone you love has been hurt in a Missouri crossover accident or other auto accident caused by someone else’s negligence, you have rights. That includes the right to hold a careless driver legally responsible for all of the damage he or she causes with a Missouri car crash lawsuit.

Based in St. Louis, the Lowe Law Firm represents people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois who have lost a loved one or been seriously injured through no fault of their own. We offer free consultations, so there’s no risk in speaking to us about your rights and your case. To talk to our experienced Missouri auto accident attorneys about your own case, you can contact us online today or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

A southern Illinois mother is calling for improved safety measures on the Martin Luther King Bridge, the Belleville News-Democrat reported Jan. 11. The call came after the woman lost her 26-year-old son to a serious East St. Louis truck accident on the bridge. The young father of two had pulled over on the bridge, which doesn't have a shoulder or a sidewalk, to deal with car trouble. A delivery truck coming in the same direction sideswiped him, throwing him into his car's back seat and causing catastrophic brain injuries that eventually led to his death. The article notes that at least five people died in November and December of 2008 on the King and McKinley Bridges, which connect St. Louis to East St. Louis.

Experts quoted in the article agree with the mother that the King Bridge could use more safety measures. In fact, St. Louis Fire Department chief Dennis Jenkerson told the paper that he avoids the bridge after having responded to many serious accidents there. Proposed solutions include installing a barrier to prevent traffic from crossing into oncoming lanes, changing the flow of lanes according to the direction of peak traffic and combining the bridge's four narrow lanes into two wider ones. In response to these concerns, a Southern Illinois lawmaker plans to introduce legislation asking the Illinois Department of Transportation to look into improving the bridge's safety.

Breaking down in the wrong place can be deadly. Statistics on accidents involving stopped motorists are difficult to come by, but Families for Roadside Safety reports that being struck by a passing vehicle is the leading cause of death for law enforcement, firefighters, emergency responders and tow truck drivers combined. Illinois and Missouri both have "move over" laws, which require motorists to change lanes or slow down when emergency vehicles are stopped at the roadside. Ordinary drivers don't spend as much time on roadsides, but when they are, they deserve the same protections. All it takes is one drunk, inattentive or impatient driver to create another tragedy.

With its narrow lanes and no safe place to stop, the King Bridge is ready for a redesign that accommodates 21st-century traffic patterns. In the meantime, everyone who uses the bridges can do their share by being extra careful around stopped vehicles. When truck drivers fail to take reasonable care, they may be held legally and financially responsible for the results with a Missouri or southern Illinois trucking accident lawsuit. If you or someone you love has been hit by a truck, on a bridge or anywhere else, The Lowe Law Firm can help you understand your case and your legal options. To set up a free consultation with our experienced attorneys, please contact us online today.

A new study by the University of Kentucky suggests that later starting times at high schools could significantly cut rates of serious accidents among teenagers. According to the Washington Post, researchers found a 16.5% drop in accident rates for teens whose schools moved their start times forward an hour. One of the researchers attributed the change to biology: Teenagers are actually biologically “programmed” to stay up later, he said, so early school starting times deprive them of sleep.

The study, which appears in the Dec. 15 Journal of Sleep Medicine, started with a survey of 10,000 teenagers in the sixth through twelfth grades. The survey asked them about their sleep schedules and how sleep affected their daily lives, including auto accidents. It was repeated in the following year, when the local schools had moved their starting time from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Comparing the two, researchers found the drop in car accidents, as well as a 14.3% jump in the number of teens who got at least 8 hours of sleep per night.

That’s important, the researchers said, because sleep loss builds up over time. Losing as little as one hour of sleep per night can leave patients feeling at the end of the week as if they’d stayed up for all of the last 24 hours. This can have a profound effect on driving ability for both teens and adults. According to the National Sleep Foundation, fatigue or sleepiness is responsible for about 100,000 car crashes every year, about half of them under the age of 26. Another study, by the federal Department of Transportation and the Virginia Tech Traffic Institute, found that sleepiness was the top distraction for drivers (above even cell phones), quadrupling a driver’s chances of an accident.

Distracted driving is responsible for more accidents than drunk driving, because it’s far more common. Talking on the phone, “rubbernecking” and driving while extremely sleepy are all driver distractions that can cause serious accidents. Someone who fails to pay attention to the road, for those or other reasons, is legally responsible for the results of any serious car wreck that results. If you or someone you love was hurt in this kind of auto accident in Missouri, you have the right to claim compensation for your financial, physical and emotional injuries. The Lowe Law Firm can help. To set up a free case evaluation with our experienced attorneys, please contact us online or call us at 1-877-678-3400.

In the wake of a deadly train crash outside of Los Angeles, attention has turned to the hazards associated with text-messaging.

On Sept. 12, a Metrolink commuter train ran a red light and collided head-on with a freight train. Twenty-five people, including the engineer of the commuter train, Robert M. Sanchez, died in the accident and more than 130 were injured.

According to investigators, phone records revealed that Sanchez had sent and received text messages while operating the train, though it has not yet been determined whether he was doing so at the time of the crash.

On Sept. 18, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a temporary ban on the use of cell phones by on-duty railroad engineers, brakemen, conductors or rail transit vehicle operators. The state regulatory body cited both the Sept. 12 accident as well as a crash that occurred on June 14 in San Francisco in which an engineer’s cell phone use may have played a role in the crash.

As a recent study by the British firm Transport Research Laboratory shows, texting isn’t just dangerous for train engineers. Researchers tested 17 automobile drivers aged 17-24 in a simulator discovered that reaction time was slowed by 35 percent when drivers were reading or writing text messages. The reaction time of drivers who were under the influence of marijuana slowed by 21 percent. Driving while under the influence of alcohol delayed reaction time by 12 percent.

If you have been hurt in a motor vehicle accident resulting from the negligence of another or a loved one has been hurt or killed in such an accident, please contact our attorneys for legal assistance as soon as possible.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping people who have been hurt as a result of the negligence of another. 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.

In Illinois, Two separate accidents left three Illinois Department of Transportation workers dead and one severely injured.

According to the Associated Press, two contract workers died on the morning of June 11 while painting a bridge in a Chicago suburb. The two men were severely burned after their truck came in contact with a high-voltage power line. They were pronounced dead at the scene.

That same afternoon, two IDOT workers were struck by a motorist while they were picking up barricades along Interstate 57 at a construction site on Chicago’s far South Side. The workers were taken to the hospital where one later died. The motorist tried to flee the accident scene on foot but was caught.

According to IDOT, there are approximately 7,000 work zone accidents in Illinois every year resulting in 2,600 injuries and 33 deaths. Two of those deaths involve IDOT workers.

The lawyers of The Lowe Law Firm are experienced in helping people who have been hurt as a result of the negligence of another. 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.

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

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.

Two people were killed in a motorcycle accident on the Illinois roads and two others were injured, in a chain reaction crash involving three vehicles in Macoupin County, Illinois. Michael J. Tucker, 43, and his wife, Kimberly S. Tucker, 36, of Brighton, Illinois were westbound on a motorcycle on Illinois State Route 16 in Shipman, Illinois when a pick-up truck struck them on Monday afternoon.

The Illinois crash occurred when a pick-up truck making a left hand turn was rear-ended by an eastbound SUV. The pick-up truck was knocked into the path of the westbound motorcycle and then the collision occurred. The motorcycle and the pick-up truck both reportedly burst into flames after the crash.

The husband and wife on the motorcycle were pronounced dead at the scene. The other two drivers in the accident were taken to area hospitals and their injuries have not been reported. The Illinois State Police are investigating the accident.

As a former motorcycle rider for 20 years I know that motorcycles do not provide you any protection in a crash. Motorcycle riders must ride as if the other drivers don't see them. Also Illinois does not require riders to wear helmets, but helmets provide you significant protection to you head in the event of a crash. It is clear from the description of this accident that the motorcycle riders were not a fault, the information to date also does not provide any information regarding whether they or not they were wearing helmets or whether it would have made a difference. Just do everything you can to stay safe when out on the roads including wearing a helmet, don't become another statistic.

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.

An initial free consultation with The Lowe Law Firm attorneys for victims of car, motorcycle or truck related accidents is available. Appointments can take place at our office, at the hospital, or in the privacy of your home.

Contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Motor Vehicle Accident Information Center.

An auto accident in St. Charles Missouri on April 5, 2008 killed one and injure two seriously when the driver lost contol of his pickup truck and hit a tree. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, Shawn M. Ressor, 22, of O'Fallon, Mo., was killed in the accident.

Ressor was a passenger in a pickup truck driven by Jeremy Hembree, 20, of O'Fallon, Mo. Hembree was in serious condition today at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Charles. Another passenger, Margaret L. Richardson, 20, of Wentzville, was in serious condition at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur.

According to the Highway patrol, the truck left the south side of Highway P about 11:55 p..m. and struck a mailbox. The driver overcompensated, and the truck then went off the north side of the highway, hit a culvert, went airborne, struck a tree, and landed on its roof.

An initial free consultation with The Lowe Law Firm attorneys for victims of auto related accidents is available. Appointments can take place at our office, at the hospital, or in the privacy of your home.

Contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois auto accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Accident Information Center.

The Kansas City Missouri driver involved in a deadly crash on Interstate 70 near Columbia Missouri while reportedly being under the influence of marijuana, cocaine and prescription drugs at the time of a deadly wreck did not have his bail increased. The driver of the pickup truck was charged with first-degree involuntary manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance in the wreck that killed Charles D. Fulhage, of Rocheport Missouri..

Downs’ bond was set at $11,000 when he was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault, driving while intoxicated and operating a vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner causing an accident. After Fulhage died Prosecutors upped the charges to include first-degree involuntary manslaughter, punishable by as much as 15 years in prison. The Boone County Assistant Prosecutor requested the increased bond because of the charges had been in increased to first degree involuntary manslaughter.

The driver had a previous drunken driving offense and was to have installed an ignition interlock device in his truck but had failed to do so. He had been order to use the interlock device for30 days. The interlock device, which tests a driver’s breath for alcohol before allowing the vehicle to start, does not detect intoxicants other than alcohol.

Part of Downs conditions to be released on bond was that he no longer drive, that he undergo a review for home detention and that he wear an electronic "sobrieter," which tests a defendant’s blood-alcohol content.

The accident occurred near the 122-mile marker of I-70, just west of Sorrels Overpass on the west side of Columbia. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said a westbound Dodge pickup driven by Downs struck the rear of a Ford Ranger pickup driven by Fulhage. The Ranger ran off the right side of the highway and overturned on an embankment. Fulhage, who was wearing a seat belt, needed to be extricated from the wreckage by Boone County firefighters. Witnesses told authorities that Downs had been speeding and making abrupt lane changes on the highway before the wreck, according to court documents

The Missouri Highway Patrol noted that Downs had appeared intoxicated, and they found a prescription pill identified as a generic form of Valium in Downs’ pickup. Fulhage was an MU Extension waste management specialist and professor in the University of Missouri’s Division of Food Systems and Bioengineering.

An initial free consultation with The Lowe Law Firm attorneys for victims of auto related accidents is available. Appointments can take place at our office, at the hospital, or in the privacy of your home.

Contact The Lowe Law Firm Missouri/Illinois auto accident lawyers online or by calling 877-678-3400.

Visit our Accident Information Center.

An Illinois State Trooper was involved in a fatal auto accident on Illinois Interstate 64. Why the trooper racing to an accident when emergency vehicles were already leaving the scene?

That’s one of the questions being asked as part of a probe into the double-fatal crash on Nov. 23 in which a speeding patrol car crossed a median on Interstate 64 in Illinois and collided head-on with another car containing two sisters, Jessica Uhl, 18 and Kelli, 13. Both sisters died in the crash.

According to an article in the Belleville News-Democrat written by Mike Fitszgerald, Illinois State Police Trooper Matt Mitchell was more than 15 miles away from an accident in which a 16-year-old was briefly trapped in a flipped truck on Illinois 4. The teen was able to get out of the truck.

Two local police squad cars, two ambulances and a fire truck were on the scene six minutes before Mitchell was spotted in Fairview Heights racing to the scene. Eyewitnesses estimated that Mitchell was driving more than 100 mph as he attempted to reach the accident. The teen had already been loaded into the ambulance, which was on its way to a Belleville Hospital, when the trooper lost control of his vehicle and hit the sisters.

So far, the state police have refused to release information to the Belleville News-Democrat regarding the exact time Mitchell received the call for assistance and his exact location.

At high rates of speed, cars are difficult to control and the impact is likely to cause serious injury or even death. Even though the speeding car in this case was an emergency vehicle, it does not make it any less lethal.

During the rush hour commute, highway accidents are common. But what does a driver do when there’s no shoulder? That’s the question St. Louis drivers are asking now that many are using Interstate 44 as an alternate route during the Highway 40 closure.

To accommodate increased demand during the Highway 40 shutdown, an additional lane was added to Interstate 44 by narrowing the existing lanes and shrinking the shoulder.

In an interview with KMOV-4, the Missouri Highway Patrol recommended that motorists who aren’t hurt in an accident should pull off the roadway. Special accident investigation areas located near Interstate 44 and Highway 270 have been set up by the city of Town and Country.

In addition, the Missouri Department of Transportation has added pavement pads for motorists who’ve been involved in a non-injury accident.

The highway closing also means more tractor trailers will be turning to Highway 44. In another segment on KMOV-4, truck drivers warned motorists to either pass the trucks or stay behind them to avoid accidents.

The tight squeeze means not only that the potential for truck-car collisions rises but also that there will be fewer safe places for motorists to go once an accident occurs.

An Illinois pedestrian killed Thursday night on Interstate 69 has been identified as a Huntington Illinois woman. Police said Betty A. Gilruth, 56, left her broken-down vehicle and was walking south on the highway at the 107 mile marker north of the Illinois Road exit when she was struck by a southbound truck about 8:30 p.m.

The Police reported that they did not know why the pedestrian was walking in the southbound lanes instead of on the side of the highway. Police reported that the truck driver may not have been able to see the deceased walking in the traffic lane because it was dark. The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene and a police spokesperson said they are still investigating the accident.

When your car breaks down, you should be prepared. You should have some roadside reflectors or flares to let other motorists know that your car is broken down. If you have a cell phone call 911 or roadside assistance for help. If not, and especially if you are a woman, have a sign that says call for help. In today's world, you cannot be too careful and even though there are many good Samaritans, a woman should not accept help from an unknown man except to have them call the police or roadside assistance. And never walk down the wrong side of the road at night alone.

A Southern Illinois auto accident killed two sisters on Interstate 64 near Scott Air Force Base. The accident occurred when an Illinois State Police trooper heading to an accident, was cut off by another motorist, crossed and slammed into an oncoming car.

The Illinois State Trooper Matt Mitchell, 29, was airlifted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, where he was hospitalized for serious injuries. The injuries were said not to be life-threatening. Mitchell was traveling east on I-64, with lights and siren activated, responding to the report of an accident with injuries and people trapped on Illinois 4.

Near Illinois 158, another motorist cut Mitchell off and he took "evasive action" to avoid a collision, police said a witness reported. Mitchell then crossed the median into westbound traffic, hitting one vehicle head-on. Two other westbound vehicles also were involved in the crash.

Police are asking for the public help in finding the car that cut off Mitchell and are seeking any witnesses to the crash. Anyone who may have seen the accident is asked to call Special Agent David Fort at 346-3766.

An Illinois State Police reconstruction team is investigating the cause of the accident. The patrol car contains what is similar to a black box in a plane, recording such information as speed and how long brakes were applied. That information has not yet been analyzed.

The accident Friday was the third fatal crossover accident in the metro-east in less than a month:

• Lindsey N. James, 20, of Bethalto, was killed in a fiery crash Oct. 25 after her car was clipped by another as they were traveling north on Interstate 255 just south of Collinsville Road, police said. James' car swerved off the highway, crossed the median and was struck by oncoming traffic. She had been married less than a month.

• Waynette Poynter, 31, of Nixa, Mo., was killed and three people were injured Oct. 26, when Poynter, who was traveling east on Interstate 64, crossed into the westbound lanes and struck an oncoming pickup truck at Green Mount Road.

This type of tragedy can be avoided if people pay attention to emergency vehicles and move to the side of the road. Also be sure to wear your seat and drive the speed limit.

Tire blowouts are sometimes caused by defective tires and are a very serious road hazard. Tire blowouts often result in vehicle collisions causing injuries and even fatalities. The remnants of blown truck tire scattered across a highway are the signs that this is not an uncommon occurrence,

Debris littering the highways cause over 25,000 accidents and at least 100 deaths in the United States and Canada each year. A Foundation for Traffic Safety reported that blown tire pieces are the number one road debris. Various studies have shown that most tire and scrap rubber debris on the roadways is caused by under inflated tires, which makes tires susceptible to cuts and flats.

Most tire-related accidents are caused by improper tire inflation. These accidents are avoidable demonstrate the need to maintain the proper tire inflation.The air inside the tire carries the weight of the vehicle, absorbs shock and keeps the tire in its proper shape so it can perform as designed. This is the single most critical factor for getting the safest and longest life out of tires. Tires flex when they roll, bending the tire’s rubber and steel cords. The flexing generates heat, and tire wear is the result of friction created between the road’s surface and the tread as the tire rolls along

When tires are over-inflated, excessive wear occurs at the center of the tread because it will bear the majority of the vehicle’s weight. Over-inflated tires tend to not absorb road hazards like debris in the road and potholes, increasing the risk of sustaining a puncture or impact damage.

Tire pressure should only be checked when a tire is cold (before a vehicle is driven or has been driven less than a mile). Once a vehicle has been driven, tires warm up and there is an increase in air pressure resulting in an inaccurate reading. After being driven, a “hot” tire can take several hours to cool down .Tire pressure should be checked regularly. Alignment also needs to be checked on a regular basis.

When inspecting your tires, rub your hand along the tread and sidewalls to feel for problems like flat spots, cuts, shoulder wear, bulges, sidewall damage, etc. is a good way to check for obvious problems. These simple and quick checks can help you avoid, or at least minimize the number of accidents caused by defective tires. All drivers should stop immediately once a tire problem is detected. Even continuing on to the nearest rest stop or weigh station can be dangerous. Making sure your tires are properly inflated just may save your life and the lives of those traveling the highways with you.

In Chicago Illinois, a 19-year-old woman on a bicycle was struck and killed by a garbage truck while talking on a cell phone. The accident happened just after 4 p.m. when a garbage truck, was making a right-hand turn struck the woman, who was riding a bicycle.

The woman was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead at 4:37 p.m.. According to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner's office.
The garbage truck driver was cited for making an improper right turn, The victim, however, was talking on her cell phone before the garbage truck struck and killed her, police said.

Between 2002 and 2006, there was an average of about 22 fatal accidents per year involving bicyclists in Illinois, the majority of which were in Cook County, according to state transportation statistics. But that's not the whole story, said Randy Neufeld, chief strategist for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation. According to statistics from the Illinois Department of Transportation, more than 3,000 cases per year result in serious injury to cyclists - slightly more than half the figure of accidents involving pedestrians, Neufeld said.

Some of those accidents, such this one may have been prevented if cyclists were more alert, But when it comes to avoiding accidents, some of the responsibility, lies with motorists who are responsible for making sure they see cyclists before making turns.. Bycilists also bear responsibility to make sure they ride carefully.

I live off of a two lane road on which bicylists love to ride. Many times they ride side by side and I have to pass them by diriving into the on coming traffic lanes. If you are a bicyclist and driving on a two lane road be respectful to the cars that have to try to avoid you on the roads. If there is no shoulder or bike lanes drive in a line as close to the side of the road as possible so that cars do not have to drive very far into the oncoming traffic to pass you. If you are respectful of cars they will be respectful of you.

A motorcycle collided with a tractor-trailer severely injuring the Motorcyclist in March 2006. A Jury entered a $6 million verdict in favor of the motorcyclist.. The Jury verdict was against Colonial Freight Systems Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., and its driver.

The motorcycle driver was riding a 2003 Honda Shadow when the truck changed lanes, striking the rider and knocking him off his motorcycle. The jurors rejected the truck driver's version that the motorcyclist entered an entrance ramp and drove directly into the tractor-trailer.
The Motorcycle rider was a 13-year Army veteran and former security guard, lost four fingers on his left hand and can no longer walk without assistance because of injuries to his left leg.
Jurors awarded the plaintiff damages for past and future physical injuries, disfigurement, physical impairment and medical expenses.

Motorcycles are uniquely dangerous because of the carelessness of cars and trucks and the difficulty they have in seeing motorcycle riders. Because of that always wear a helmet, drive with the headlights on, and us the turn signals. It is just a fact of riding a motorcycle that cars are not going to see you because you are in their blind spot or they didn't turn their head to look when they change lanes. Also resist the urge to take off your helmet when you are traveling in a state that does not have a helmet law. Doctors and nurses in emergency rooms don't call them donor cycles for nothing. Please don't become a donor, but if you are in an accident contact an attorney experienced in handling motorcycle accident cases.

Car crashes in Missouri and Illinois are common. Cars are designed to protect you if you are wearing a seat belt. You hear it all the time, wear your seat belt and your chances of surviving a crash are much higher. In fact, statistics show you have a 60 percent chance of making it out of an accident alive if you buckle up.

But this weekend alone three people died on roads in southeast Missouri and police say they were not wearing seat belts. Five people who died in Kentucky last week also did not have their seat belts on. Emergency responders say they see a lot of gruesome sights at deadly accidents where people didn't buckle up, so they always tell their loved ones not to leave their driveway without buckling up first.

"When they're not restrained they're a little more bloodier, there are more injuries," Paramedic Meg Cooper said. She became an emergency responder, working at Cape County Private Ambulance, to help save lives. But she says it's often too late when people don't take the time to buckle up.

"A lot of times people are ejected through a window. In a rollover, there can be partial ejection, where the vehicle rolls on top of them. If you're fully ejected, you run the risk of the vehicle following you or running over," Cooper said.

All that's left of 38-year-old Gilbert Marler's truck is a mass of crumpled metal. Police say he lost control of the truck and overturned on a Stoddard County road on Sunday. Investigators say the impact tossed Marler out into a field. Marler died and he was not wearing a seat belt.

"It still surprises me that people don't wear seat belts and they think nothing is going to happen to them," said Lt. John Davis with the Cape Girardeau Police Department. He reconstructed accidents for many years.

"Anytime you're behind the wheel of a car, your body's in motion too. If your car stops suddenly, your body continues on at the same speed, and if you're unrestrained, then you're going to hit the steering wheel, the dash or the windshield," he said.

That's the kind of logic emergency crews hope you take into account when you get behind a wheel. Something else to think about, the only survivor from this weekend's deadly crashes in Southeast Missouri had her seat belt on.

Missouri drivers are dying in automobile accidents at increased rate because of their failure to wear seat belts. According to a recently published Missouri Department of Transportation press release, a recent survey released by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety showed that only 77 percent of Missouri residents wear their seat belts whenever they're in a car. This number is well below the 2006 national average of 81 percent.

According to the director of the Missouri Department of Transportation's Highway Safety Division, "The survey shows that Missourians have not changed their seat belt usage significantly over the last five years, and that's disturbing. People are dying needlessly by failing to simply buckle up." Seat belt percentages have ranged from 73 percent to 77 percent in the past several years.

As I have previously written, Missouri has been contemplating a seat belt law that would allow police to pull a driver over and ticket them just for a seat belt violation. The current law only allows police officers to ticket someone for a seat belt violation if they pull the person over for some other infraction. If the new law is enacted, it is estimated based on the increases in seat belt usage in states with similar laws seat belt belt use in Missouri could increase by roughly 11 percent and save approximately 90 lives each year in the Missouri.

Every time I read the paper about a automobile accident fatality in Missouri, Illinois or any other state I look to see it the deceased was wearing a seat belt. I know as a personal injury lawyer that modern cars are designed to have safety features for persons wearing seat belts. These safety features include front, side, and side curtain air bags, pillars designed to keep the roof from crushing in a roll over accident, and most of all wearing a seat belt will keep occupants from being ejected from cars.

Statistics in Missouri revealed that approximately 69 percent of the 1,096 people that died in Missouri car crashes last year were not wearing a seat belt. Based on an analysis of traffic accidents, anyone involved in a traffic accident has a 1 in 31 chance of dying if they were not wearing a seat belt, however, if the passenger was wearing a a seat belt the chance of dying decreases 1 chance in 1,300.
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As for the dividing line between genders, the study showed that 82 percent of women wear their seat belts while only 76 percent of men wear theirs. Teens and pickup truck drivers tend to wear their seat belts the least. Pickup truck drivers only wear theirs 66 percent of the time while only 61 percent of teens buckle up. Within past years, teens have been the group to be least likely to buckle up when either driving or being in a car at all.

On a better note, the numbers of people wearing their seat belts has gone up in general. Back in 1998, only about 60 percent of drivers did not wear their seat belts while the current number is number is up to 77 percent this year.

Source: MDOT. "Missouri Seatbelt Use Remains Below National Average." http://www.modot.org/newsandinfo/District0News.shtml?action=displaySSI&newsId=12984