816.875.9373

Personal Injury

Recent Posts in Personal Injury Category

  • Who Has to Carry Workers’ Compensation Insurance?

    In many of our blog posts about workers’ compensation, we have mentioned that most, but not all, employers have to carry workers’ compensation insurance in Missouri. In this post, we will delve into who, exactly, has to follow this rule. Generally, All Employers With Five or More Employees Need Workers’ Compensation Insurance The general rule in Missouri is that employers must carry workers’ ...
    Continue Reading

  • What are Pain and Suffering Damages in a Car Accident Case?

    Victims in car accidents and other personal injury cases are entitled to financial compensation for their losses. There are several different types of compensation available in these cases. One of the most difficult to understand is meant to cover what are referred to as your “pain and suffering.” What is Pain and Suffering in a Personal Injury Case? If you get into a car accident caused by ...
    Continue Reading

  • Are Punitive Damages Available in Workers’ Compensation Cases?

    In the vast majority of workers’ compensation cases, punitive damages are not available. However, some workers’ compensation situations leave open the possibility for filing a personal injury claim, as well. Taking this opportunity when it arises is essential for hurt workers, as it can better ensure that they receive the full amount of compensation that they deserve. The General Rule: No Punitive ...
    Continue Reading

  • What are Punitive Damages in Missouri?

    In personal injury cases that involve extremely bad misconduct, punitive damages may be available. When compared to other states, though, Missouri law drastically limits when they can be awarded and how much can be received. What are Punitive Damages? Punitive damages, also known as exemplary damages, are a type of financial compensation that can be awarded in a personal injury case. They go above ...
    Continue Reading

  • Employers Can Now Retaliate Against Former Employees for Reporting Work Injuries

    The foreseeable effects of “strictly construing” Missouri’s workers’ compensation laws continue to unfold. Just last week, the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled that employers could legally discriminate against former employees who filed for workers’ compensation or reported a workplace injury. The pertinent statutes were not crystal clear that such retaliation was unlawful, so the Supreme Court ...
    Continue Reading

  • How Does Negligence Per Se Work?

    Negligence per se is a way of proving fault in a personal injury claim. If someone was violating a law when they hurt you, like if they were breaking a traffic law and caused a car accident, that violation can be used to prove that they were being negligent. This can establish liability and make them pay for your losses. Unlawful Conduct Amounts to Per Se Negligence Every state has a long list of ...
    Continue Reading

  • LIRC Member Ignores Subjectivity of Workplace Injuries

    In our last blog post on workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at how it took an appeals court to say that injuries do not have to be instantaneous to be compensable through workers’ comp. An underlying issue in that case is how injuries can be subjective: Activities that hurt one person may not hurt someone else. While this may seem obvious, at least one member of the Labor and ...
    Continue Reading

  • Compensation for Property Damage in a Car Crash

    If you are driving a car and get hit in a car accident, you will suffer property damage to your vehicle. You can suffer property damage even if you were a pedestrian or bicyclist, though to a much lesser extent. When this happens, you deserve compensation for all of your losses, including for your property damage. Property Damage Can Be Staggeringly High Even if a car crash did not cause any ...
    Continue Reading

  • Appeals Court Affirms Workers’ Compensation When Injuries Were Not Instantaneous

    A recent workers’ compensation case made it to a Missouri Court of Appeals after the employer claimed that the worker’s injury was not compensable because the accident did not immediately produce crippling symptoms. The case is a sign of how tilted the field of workers’ compensation law has become in Missouri. Worker Feels Symptoms Day After Accident The case is Harper v. Springfield Rehab & ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is the Difference Between First- and Third-Party Car Insurance?

    Car insurance is not something that people like to think about. However, if you have been in a car accident, insurance is often something that you cannot stop thinking about. Understanding the difference between first-party insurance and third-party insurance is essential. It can also help you make an informed decision about what kinds of insurance to carry, which can better prepare you in the ...
    Continue Reading

  • Can a Disability Discrimination Award Reduce Workers’ Compensation Benefits?

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at how workers’ compensation claims can become disability discrimination lawsuits. But what happens if you win your disability discrimination case and receive a settlement or verdict? Will the award reduce your workers’ compensation benefits ? The short answer is no. The Intersection Between Missouri’s Workers’ ...
    Continue Reading

  • What if a Pothole Caused My Car Accident?

    Spring has sprung in St. Joseph and western Missouri, and that means potholes. Potholes and other unsafe road conditions can cause car accidents. When they do, victims may be able to hold the government accountable for their losses, though there are additional barriers and limitations to these personal injury claims. How Potholes Can Cause Car Accidents Potholes can cause a car accident in several ...
    Continue Reading

  • Workers’ Comp Cases Can Become Disability Discrimination Lawsuits

    If you get hurt on the job, you are often entitled to workers’ compensation. Additionally, if your injuries are bad enough, you may become disabled under the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA. This is important because, if you are covered by the ADA but are able to return to work in some capacity, often by performing light duty work, you are protected from workplace discrimination based on ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is Missouri’s Parental Responsibility Law?

    In our last blog post about car accidents and personal injury law in Missouri, we looked at how Missouri handles minors who negligently hurt you or damage your property, or who negligently contributed to their own injuries. But what happens when a minor deliberately hurts you or destroys your property by, for example, driving a car into your vehicle? Missouri’s Parental Responsibility Law Like ...
    Continue Reading

  • Missouri Strictly Construes Its Workers’ Compensation Laws

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation law in Missouri, we looked at the definition of a “dependent” for survival benefits. The term had been, once again, strictly construed by the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) in order to deny a claim for benefits. It has not always been this difficult to recover compensation for work-related injuries in Missouri. What it Means to ...
    Continue Reading

  • Can Minors Be Negligent in Missouri?

    Occasionally, children or young adults can act in ways that unintentionally cause injuries to themselves or to others. This can happen in two ways: The minor can behave negligently and hurt someone else, or The minor can get hurt because they were behaving negligently. If they were an adult, they would be liable for the damages they caused. Because they were underage, though, that would be unfair. ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is a Dependent for Survival Benefits?

    The Missouri Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) has, once again, shown that it will go to great lengths to deny any workers’ compensation claim that it can, all under the guise of “strictly construing” the provisions of the state’s workers’ compensation law. Most recently, it reached to great lengths to interpret the law in a way that would deprive a dependent ex-wife of survivor ...
    Continue Reading

  • How are Lost Wages Calculated for a Personal Injury Claim?

    If you get hurt in a car accident in Missouri, it would be unfair to expect you to suffer if you were not the driver who caused it. By filing a personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver, you can recover the compensation you deserve. That compensation includes the wages that you lost while you recovered from the accident. Calculating your wage loss can be easy in some cases, but difficult ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is a Medicare Set-Aside in Workers’ Comp Cases?

    If you get hurt on the job in Missouri, you are entitled to workers’ compensation. If your case settles, you will get a check for a lump sum that covers your future disability payments and your future medical care. When you reach retirement age, though, your healthcare can be covered by Medicare. This presents a problem: You would have received money to cover the ongoing medical care associated ...
    Continue Reading

  • Are Personal Injury Settlements Taxable?

    If you get hurt by someone else’s negligence, like in a car accident, you can file a personal injury lawsuit and recover financial compensation for your losses. In Missouri, most of that financial compensation is not taxable at the state or federal level. However, some of it is. The General Rule: Personal Injury Settlements or Awards are Not Taxed According to Section 61 of the Internal Revenue ...
    Continue Reading

  • Dubuc: The Supreme Court’s Absurd Workers’ Compensation Ruling

    The Supreme Court of Missouri recently handed down a startling decision regarding the workers’ compensation process. The only good news it has for injured workers is that it is unlikely to apply to any cases but the one that it inexplicably brings to a close. Workers’ Compensation Case Makes it to the Missouri Supreme Court The case is one that we have blogged about before. Like so many others ...
    Continue Reading

  • What Medical Expenses Can I Recover in a Personal Injury Case?

    If you get hurt in a car accident or any other incident because someone else was negligent, you deserve to get compensated for your losses. If they or their insurance company are unwilling to pay the full amount, you can file a personal injury lawsuit. That lawsuit demands compensation for all of your losses associated with the accident. While there are several common types of losses that you can ...
    Continue Reading

  • Is Workers’ Compensation Taxable?

    Most Missouri workers who have been hurt on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation. These benefits pay for your medical expenses and cover a portion of any wages that you lose while you recover. However, as with any other time where you make money, this raises an important question: Is it taxable? Workers’ Compensation Benefits are Generally Not Taxable The general rule is that workers’ ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is the Tort Lottery in Personal Injury Law?

    In our last blog post about car accidents, which covered holding defendants personally liable for a crash, we mentioned the “tort lottery.” This is a very difficult situation for victims to find themselves in, as their recovery depends on the affluence of the person who hurt them. Unfortunately, it can happen in a wide variety of ways in Missouri. The Tort Lottery The word “tort” is the technical ...
    Continue Reading

  • The Penalties for Not Carrying Workers’ Compensation Insurance

    In Missouri, most employers are legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. By paying premiums to their insurance carrier, these companies ensure that injured workers have a large source of funding to recover compensation for their workplace injuries. Companies that are required to carry this insurance but who refuse to do so can face criminal penalties. Nevertheless, some companies ...
    Continue Reading
Page of 18

Contact Smith Law Office, LLC Today

  • Please enter your name.
  • This isn't a valid email address.
    Please enter your email address.
  • This isn't a valid phone number.
    Please enter your phone number.
    You entered an invalid number.
  • Please select an option.
  • Please enter a message.