Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal the dangers that large trucks pose to Missouri motorists: in 2009, there were nearly 3,500 fatal truck accidents nationwide. An additional 74,000 injuries were also reported. In these types of accidents, Injuries are typically very serious.

Our Missouri personal injury attorneys urge drivers to practice safe and cautious driving habits, especially when sharing the roads with large vehicles.The large size of tractor-trailers make them a deadly threat to motorists in the event of a crash.

Fatalities from these accidents decreased by 20% from 2008 to 2009. Roughly 75% of the 2009 fatalities were drivers or occupants of passenger vehicles. 15% were drivers or occupants of large trucks, and 10% were non-occupants. As you can see, the vast majority of victims are passengers of other vehicles, or are bicyclists or pedestrians. The 2009 data shows 74,000 people suffered injuries in these accidents involving large trucks. This statistic illustrates an 18% drop from 2008: 90,000 injuries were sustained in trucking accidents throughout that year.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) offers passenger-vehicle motorists several tips to help them travel more safely around large trucks.

Continue reading "Motorists Urged to Use Caution around Large Vehicles to Avoid Fatal Trucking Accidents in Missouri" »

Although only a small percentage of Missouri personal injury cases go to trial, an experienced Springfield personal injury lawyer is still a huge asset when negotiating a settlement. The initial offer that an insurance company will make is guaranteed to be very low. An injured victim may be tempted to take any offer, just to get it over with and get some money to pay their bills, but this can be a mistake. It is important to wait at least until the seriousness of the injuries and the total amount of medical expenses can be ascertained.

Frequently an injury will not heal as expected, requiring further expensive treatment, therapy, or even more surgeries. If the victim has already settled the claim, they can be left holding the bag for high medical costs.

Whether your Missouri personal injury case is settled via direct negotiation with the insurance company, alternative dispute resolution via an outside mediator, or goes to trial, the services of an experienced attorney who knows your rights and what your claim is truly worth are always to your advantage.

Consider the case of a Perry County woman who was injured in an accident with a tractor trailer.

The collision occurred in August of '08 when Tracy Rauls was driving on U.S. 61. A tractor-trailer driven by Travis Michael Obritsch turned left from the highway and hit her vehicle. As a result of this crash, Rauls suffered significant, disabling and permanent injuries. The main one was a severe ankle injury that did not respond to treatment and eventually required multiple surgeries.

Continue reading "Missouri Personal Injury Cases May Receive Large Settlement Awards Via Alternative Dispute Resolution" »

In this article, Springfield MO accident lawyers explain the complications chain reaction accidents can pose to a personal injury case, particularly if semi-trucks are involved. Chain reaction crashes are some of the most frightening and deadly types of Missouri car or truck accidents, usually involving multiple vehicles who run into an already existing accident on the highway.

Many times these deadly pile-ups are caused by inclement weather or hazardous road conditions, but roadside construction and traffic slowdowns also cause their fair share. In the case of chain-reaction accidents which are due to snow or icy roads, they have even been known to involve rescue vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances that show up to assist with the original crash. As winter approaches, Springfield motorists are urged to take particular caution if the roads are icy or the visibility is poor.

A recent fatal accident, which took place in October on Interstate 90 in Idaho, illustrates the dangers of these crashes. Usually, vehicles will pile up behind an existing crash, but in this incident, the force of a semi-truck slamming into the back of a stopped SUV caused a chain-reaction in the vehicles in front of it.

The road conditions were clear and dry at the time of this crash, but traffic conditions caused a semi-truck to stop in an eastbound lane of I 90. A car, another semi, and the SUV all slowed and came to a near stop behind the original semi-truck. However, a third semi didn't slow, and wound up rear ending the SUV. But the accident didn't stop there.The force of the collision pushed the SUV into the semi in front of it, and that semi then hit the car in front of it, pushing it into the original semi that had stopped for traffic.

The occupants of the SUV, Jess Albert Bass, 68, and Jean Elaine Bass, 73, of Star, Idaho, were pronounced dead at the scene. It is not known if they were killed by the initial impact with the semi, which hit them from behind, or from the force of the resulting collision with the car in front of them. Several occupants of other vehicles were taken to area hospitals with nonlife-threatening injuries.

Continue reading "Chain Reaction Accidents Lead to Personal Injury Lawsuits in Springfield Missouri and Elsewhere" »

A personal injury lawsuit filed against a Springfield MO trucking company highlights both the dangers of tractor trailers, and the ways that truck injury claims are different than auto accident claims. As is common in tractor trailer accidents, the victim is suing the both the truck driver and the trucking company he worked for. Springfield personal injury lawyers frequently need to explain to our clients why there might be more liable parties than just the truck driver, in any semi-truck accident.

The lawsuit involves Donald W. Daniels, a disabled newspaper hawker who was struck by a tractor-trailer this past May. According to the suit, Daniels is seeking upwards of $150,000 in damages from Carlton Antonio Hight, the truck driver who hit him, and the company Hight is employed by, New Prime Inc. of Springfield.

Here's what Missouri injury lawyers now know about this case: Daniels, 52, was selling newspapers in the median at Silas Creek Parkway and Stratford Road on May 12. Because he is disabled, Daniels could not get out of the way of an oncoming tractor trailer--which apparently swerved out of its lane and ran right over his legs.

At the time, local police charged Hight, 37, with "failure to decrease speed to avoid colliding with a person" along with "failure to maintain lane control while driving a street with marked lanes."

Continue reading "Disabled Man Run Over by Tractor Trailer--Sues Truck Driver and Springfield Missouri Trucking Company" »

Most collisions between passenger vehicles and tractor trailers involve much more serious injury to the occupants of the passenger vehicle (over 90%). But, it would be unfair to assume that all such accidents are always caused by the driver of the tractor trailer. Springfield Missouri injury lawyers are following one such case of a tractor trailer accident near Brashear MO.

In this accident, a 2001 Hyundai SUV driven by Joseph W. Chatfield, 24, of LaBelle, crossed into the path of a 2010 International Tractor Trailer carrying a full load of high-octane gasoline. The resulting collision led to 8,000 gallons of fuel spilled all over the roadway, and a 12-hour road closure.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol crash report indicated that Chatfield suffered from a medical condition. However they did not indicate whether this condition led to the crash, or if the medication he was taking for the condition led to impaired judgment, which then led to the crash.

Chatfield, who was wearing a seat belt, sustained moderate injuries and was transported to Northeast Regional Medical Center by Adair County Ambulance. The tractor trailer overturned, coming to rest on its side on the south side of Highway 6. Fortunately, the road was closed before the fuel spill caused any other accidents, and a haz-mat team was called to the scene to clean up the roadway. The tractor trailer driver was not injured.

Continue reading "Medical Condition Causes Missouri Tractor Trailer Accident Leading to 8,000 Gallon Oil Spill" »

Missouri personal injury lawyers have reported on a couple of train accidents in recent weeks--and here is another one. The St. Louis Dispatch reported August 1st that a train struck a tractor trailer that was on the tracks in Maplewood, MO. Train accidents are frightening due to the extreme power and weight of the train, and they can cause serious destruction and loss of life. Fortunately in this case, the only injuries were minor.

Here's what happened: The tractor trailer tried to make a sharp turn onto Railroad St., but got stuck on the railroad tracks. While trying to maneuver his rig off the tracks, the crossing gates came down indicating a train was coming. Sure enough, the train hit the back of the trailer and completely took off its back door and part of the side walls.

The force of the collision caused the tractor trailer to smash into a pickup truck that was waiting at the crossing gate. The only injuries occurred to the passenger in the pickup truck. According to Maplewood Fire Capt. Stephen Koppel, his injuries were minor.

This was a freight train, not an Amtrak passenger train like the other recent train crashes. However, it is hard to even imagine the panic of the trucker and the occupants of the pickup when they saw the train bearing down on the tractor trailer and realized this accident was about to happen.

Maplewood Police Sgt. Matthew Nighbor said the police were conducting a thorough investigation, but would not say whether or not the tractor trailer driver would receive any kind of ticket. Rescue crews were on hand to clean up at the scene.

Continue reading "Train Shears off Back End of Tractor Trailer in Missouri Accident--One Person With Minor Injuries" »