St. Louis Injury Attorney Blog

On Tuesday, the Missouri Supreme Court issued its opinion in a case that will effect most personal injury lawsuits in Missouri. In Deck v. Teasley, SC90628, the Court interpreted a statute enacted by the Missouri legislature in 2005 dealing with what evidence juries could see in personal injury cases pertaining to the plaintiff's medical bills. The Court held that the plaintiff in Deck could introduce the original and complete medical bills incurred, despite a presumption in the statute that the value of the treatment is the amount necessary to satisfy the obligation, which often times is reduced through insurance adjustments and write-offs.

An Arkansas teen underwent brain surgery in August 2004, to end seizures he suffered, and doctors wrongfully operated on the wrong side of his brain, performing surgery on the left side of his brain for 4 hours before realizing the mistake. This error in surgery left the teen with brain injury, and he now lives in a rehabilitation center in Virginia. After a 3 week jury trial, the jury returned an unanimous verdict for $20 million.

The attorneys for the teen and his family had excellent photographic evidence of the mistake, as the Arkansas hospital had invited journalists from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a local newspaper, to photograph the surgery. Therefore, a photo existed showing the surgeons operating on the left side of the teen boy's head. Apparently, after the mistake was discovered, the surgeons notified the hospital's risk management team, but not the family, before beginning to operate on the right side of the brain. The family did not learn of the mistaken surgery until 15 months later. Now, the boy still suffers from seizures and must take more medicine than he did before the surgery.

A St. Louis jury awarded Philip Simms $100,000 for his personal injuries he sustained in a vehicle crash in St. Charles County. Simms suffered small fractures in his neck as a result of the rear end crash. He settled with the other driver's insurance company, then sued his own insurance company to recover under his underinsured policy. The case was tried in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Simms had to wear a neck brace for months, and eventually the many fractures healed without surgery. The judge reduced the jury award amount by the $50,000 the other driver's insurance paid, and the $5,000 already paid by Simms's insurer, Progressive. According to testimony, the other driver was drunk when he rear ended Simms. However, Simms also admitted have 2 beers earlier in the day.

A St. Louis jury recently returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit arising out of a slip and fall at Del Taco in midtown St. Louis. The plaintiff, Steven Willis, claimed that he injured his back, arm, and leg after he fell through a pothole in the parking lot of the Del Taco located on Grand Boulevard. He introduced evidence of medical and chiropractic bills totaling $6,904. However, the verdict was reduced to $56,250 because the jury found the plaintiff was 25% at fault.

A Jefferson County, Missouri youth settled a personal injury lawsuit against a utility company whose truck struck the young runner while he was running along the side of the road. The auto/pedestrian accident happened in June 2009. The truck struck the student while he was running, dragging him along, which resulted in serious personal injuries in the runner's feet, ripping tendons and flesh from his right foot. The driver then drove away, although he did eventually turn around and return to the scene of the accident. Allegedly, the driver then drove the runner to his parent's house where the driver then lied about what happened.

The young runner settled the case for $1 million dollars. He is no longer able to run competitively, and lost any chance he had at obtaining a college scholarship based on running. He was in the hospital for 2 weeks after the accident.

Missouri traffic accidents involving pedestrians are especially dangerous and can be deadly. A pedestrian does not have the added safety of being within a protective shell of a vehicle, and a human body does not stand much of a chance against a moving vehicle of any size. This also includes persons who are riding bicycles on Missouri roadways. Missouri drivers should take care to watch for pedestrians and cyclers when driving.

In the St. Louis news today, a child pedestrian was struck by a school bus within the city of St. Louis. Thankfully the child survived, but not all children are so fortunate. Children pedestrians are often even more difficult for drivers to see, so take extra caution and care when driving near areas where children might be, like near playgrounds and schools.

Continue reading "Traffic accidents involving pedestrians require attention from both drivers and pedestrians to be avoided" »

A Rolla, Missouri woman was awarded $150,000 from a jury for her husband's wrongful death stemming from an auto accident. Majdi Najm was driving with his wife, Shahla Keyvan, when they were struck by a pick up truck driven by a 17 year old. Najm died instantly. The driver of the truck who struck their car was charged with failure to yield, and fined $150 in municipal court.

Both the driver and her father were named as defendants in the law suit. The father was named, because he allegedly allowed his daughter to drive to school with messages painted on her windows, which obstructed her view. However, the jury found in favor of the father, but against the daughter.

Missouri allows for a spouse to bring a wrongful death action under RSMo. 537.080.