Blog Posts in April, 2017

Pro Football Players and Workers’ Compensation

Regardless of whether you follow how the Kansas City Chiefs are doing in the NFL draft, or whether you even follow football at all, it can come as a surprise to learn that football players – who make millions of dollars every year – are workers, too. Importantly, this means that football players can be covered by state workers’ compensation statutes if they get hurt on the field. While there are ...

Car Accident Kills Professional Cyclist

A decorated professional cyclist was killed in a car accident in Italy this past weekend while training for a race. He was in an intersection when a delivery van crashed into him, causing personal injuries that turned out to be fatal. The incident highlights the dangers that bikers – even professional bikers – face on a daily basis while on the roads. Professional Cyclist Michele Scarponi Dies in ...

New Study Throws Doubt on Concussion Diagnosis

If you get hurt in a car accident , one of the worst kinds of personal injury that you can suffer is a head injury. Because of how complex the brain is, even the most common type of head trauma – a concussion – is a serious injury that can take months to fully heal. Now, researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin are throwing doubt on one of the most common ways medical professionals ...

Securities Law Case Can Impact Workers’ Compensation

In a bizarre turn of events, a case dealing with securities law could have an impact on people who have suffered a workplace injury and who have benefitted from workers’ compensation . The problem comes from the administrative judges who hear cases dealing with Social Security Disability Insurance, and who appointed those judges. Securities Case Could Effect Disability Law The Securities and ...

Brake Failure Causes Truck Accident

A serious truck accident in the northwestern corner of Missouri has left the truck driver with serious personal injuries after his brakes stopped working. The crash is an example of how defective parts or mechanical failures can contribute to an accident. Truck Accident in Northwest Missouri Hurts One The incident happened in the afternoon of Tuesday, April 18, 2017, just to the east of Watson, ...

Stolen Vehicle Slams Building, Hurting Driver

Police are investigating a car accident in southern St. Joseph that involved a stolen vehicle. According to initial reports, the vehicle was driven into an abandoned building, injuring the driver. No other cars were involved. Stolen Vehicle Rams into Building The incident happened in the evening on Saturday, April 15, 2017, near the intersection of Illinois Street and Lake Avenue in southern St. ...

Explosion at Ammunition Factory Kills 1, Injures 4

An explosion at a munitions plant has hurt several employees and killed another. Because initial reports seem to indicate that the accident happened during the course of the workday, the injured workers and their families might be able to benefit from workers’ compensation . Explosion at Ammunition Plant Kills One, Injures Four The incident happened on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, at an ammunition ...

Google and Uber in Lawsuit Over Self-Driving Cars

When self-driving cars start hitting the market in the United States, we can expect our roads to be far safer than they are now, and for car accidents to decrease significantly. Now, the newest developments in the self-driving car industry indicate that the time when self-driving cars become widespread could be much closer than we previously expected. Already, major players in the field are suing ...

New Bill Aims at Distracted Drivers

Distracted driving accidents have become one of the biggest dangers on the road in recent years. Drivers are paying attention to so many things when they’re behind the wheel that they have little time left to watch the road. This puts them and others at risk for a serious car accident , which can lead to significant personal injuries . To combat this trend, lawmakers in Missouri have introduced a ...

Missouri’s Call System Prevents Excavation Injuries

One of the most common ways for workers to get hurt while on the job is in a construction accident . Construction involves lots of heavy machinery, physical labor, building materials, and often high voltage electricity and dangerous chemicals. If anything goes wrong and you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, you could suffer a serious workplace injury. If this happens, you might find ...

New Transit Routes Raise Odds of Bus Crashes

St. Joseph Transit has announced that it will be adding new bus routes on Saturday, starting on April 8. The increase in bus routes is great news for our city’s senior citizens and people who have disabilities that prevent them from driving. However, the new bus routes increase the odds of being in a car accident with public transportation, which raises some unique issues in personal injury law. ...

Rented U-Haul Van Involved in Car Accident

A car accident in St. Joseph involved three vehicles and caused two personal injuries . A rented U-Haul van ran a stop sign and collided with a vehicle in the intersection. The U-Haul then overturned onto a third vehicle, and emergency responders had to extract a passenger from the wreckage. The accident raises several issues. One of them is how insurance works on rented vehicles, like moving ...