Blog Posts in November, 2022

U.S. Falls Behind in Fatal Car Accidents

New data about car accidents in the United States paints a bleak picture about roadway safety here compared to abroad: While the U.S. was once among the safest places to travel, it now has a higher rate of fatalities from road accidents than any other rich nation in the world. According to one analysis, America’s car-centric transportation policies are to blame, as the roadway deaths ...

Can You File for Workers’ Compensation and Sue at the Same Time?

Occasionally, workers who have been hurt on the job have the option of either filing a claim for workers’ compensation or a personal injury lawsuit. When they have these options, though, the “election of remedies” doctrine prohibits them from benefitting from both, as this would lead to a double payment. A recent case at the Missouri Court of Appeals is an example. Workers’ Compensation Award ...

Who is Liable for Car Accidents Caused by Pets?

In our last blog post about car accidents , we discussed some instances where someone else could be held liable for your single-vehicle crash . While these accidents are more commonly caused by products liability issues, like a defective car part, occasionally a car accident will be caused by a loose pet, like a dog or cat. In these instances, the pet owner can be held liable even if they were not ...

Missouri Legalizes Recreational Marijuana: What This Means for Workers’ Compensation Claims

Now that Missouri has legalized recreational marijuana, it raises an important question for employees in the state: If you get hurt on the job while high on marijuana, can you still recover workers’ compensation ? The answer is sometimes, but you may find the claims process to be more difficult than if you were sober. Missouri Legalizes Recreational Marijuana One of the issues on yesterday’s ...

Can Someone Else Be Liable in a Single-Vehicle Car Crash?

In our last blog post about car accidents , we looked at whether injured passengers could hold their own driver liable for their losses. The specific crash that we discussed, though, was a single-vehicle accident. That raised an important issue in personal injury law: In single-vehicle accidents, is the driver of that vehicle always responsible for the crash? The answer is no. Aside from the ...