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Personal Injury

Recent Posts in Personal Injury Category

  • Employers Use Liability Waivers for Returning Workers

    As Missouri struggles to reopen from the coronavirus, employers are looking for ways to insulate themselves from liability if one of their workers contracts COVID-19. The method of choice in St. Joseph has been to force employees to sign a liability waiver. But are these waivers enforceable? And how will they alter an employee’s rights to workers’ compensation if they get sick? St. Joseph ...
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  • Motorcycle Accidents on the Rise in Missouri

    As the weather in St. Joseph heats up, motorcyclists are taking their bikes out for a ride. Unfortunately, this has led to the annual increase in motorcycle accidents . Practicing some simple driving techniques can drastically reduce the number of car accidents that involve motorcyclists in Missouri. Missouri Police Note Rise in Motorcycle Accidents In the span of a single week in mid-June, police ...
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  • The Aggressor Defense in Workers’ Compensation Cases

    The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) continues to deny workers’ compensation whenever it finds an opportunity. The most recent case involves a problematic application of the so-called “aggressor defense” to injuries caused by workplace fights. Employee Hurt in Fight, Claims Workers’ Compensation The case is Ford v. Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc . Back in June, 2015, two ...
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  • Cows Escape After Truck Accident: The Line Between Legal and Proximate Cause in Missouri

    A truck accident outside St. Joseph has led to a chaotic scene, with police struggling to round up dozens of cows that escaped from the truck’s trailer. The incident provides another interesting and real-life scenario where the concepts of legal and proximate cause come into play. Dozens of Cows Escape After Truck Accident According to the initial reports, the accident happened early in the ...
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  • Coronavirus Lawsuit Against Missouri Meat Processing Plant Dismissed

    Meat processing plants in Missouri have proven to be a reliable source of coronavirus infections. With the close proximity of the workers and the difficult work environment, germs spread easily. The processing plants, however, have been slow and less than willing to take adequate safety precautions. Workers in a processing plant in Milan, Missouri, filed a lawsuit for these failures to keep them ...
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  • How Does Subrogation Work in a Car Accident?

    Subrogation is one of the most confusing aspects of personal injury law. However, it is far from uncommon, as it frequently arises after a car accident . Here is how subrogation works, how it is different in Missouri, and what it means for victims of car accidents. An Example: A Pedestrian Accident Outside St. Joseph It is easiest to understand a complex legal issue like subrogation with an ...
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  • Utility Workers Hurt in Kansas City Explosion

    Five utility workers in Kansas City have been hurt in an explosion. While the cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it appears that a faulty switch may be to blame. If it is, the injured workers may be able to recover workers’ compensation as well as file a products liability lawsuit . Explosion Hurts Five Utility Workers in Kansas City The initial reports have indicated that the ...
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  • Missouri Lawmakers Press to Repeal Motorcycle Helmet Law

    Once again, the motorcycle helmet law in Missouri could change with the signature of the governor. If this year’s attempt to repeal the state’s universal helmet law succeeds, it would mean more injuries and deaths from car accidents involving motorcycles. Missouri Legislature Passes Another Bill to Repeal Motorcycle Helmet Law In what seems to have become an annual tradition, lawmakers at the ...
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  • Car Accidents, DUIs, and No Contest Pleas

    A car accident in St. Joseph raises some interesting issues in Missouri’s personal injury law , especially its intersection with the field of criminal defense. Car Accidents Leads to DUI Arrest in St. Joseph In the middle of the afternoon of May 12, 2020, a car rear-ended another vehicle on Highway 6 just outside St. Joseph. According to the initial reports , the trailing vehicle ran off the road ...
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  • Congress Considering Legal Immunity for Businesses that Spread Coronavirus

    St. Joseph is letting its stay-at-home order expire and allowing businesses in the area to reopen. The decision will allow more people to interact with each other in public, which is going to increase the number of coronavirus cases in the area. This raises a crucial question: When people get sick because of actions taken by businesses or their boss, can they file a personal injury lawsuit and ...
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  • Can Coronavirus Fears Let Employees Refuse to Work?

    The coronavirus has upended the idea of what makes a workplace unsafe. Suddenly, it has become dangerous to merely work in close proximity to coworkers and face the constant exposure of new people and customers. If anyone is infected with the virus, it can spread in the workplace and get other workers sick. Workers’ compensation only goes so far: People infected with coronavirus can face ...
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  • How Does Excessive Speed Affect a Car Accident?

    The Missouri State Highway Patrol is claiming that it has seen an increase in the number of speeding vehicles since the coronavirus shutdown began in March. Needless to say, excessive speed can make a difference in the odds of a car accident as well as in the severity of the crash. What many people do not know, though, is that speeding can impact their ability to recover compensation in a personal ...
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  • Emergency Order for Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Coronavirus Victims Isn’t Enough

    In a recent workers’ compensation blog post, we looked at whether Missouri’s workers’ compensation scheme would cover healthcare workers infected with the coronavirus . That post looked at Missouri Statute 287.067 , which defines “occupational diseases,” and predicted that, based on prior cases in the state, it would provide workers’ compensation coverage for healthcare workers. However, the post ...
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  • Are Fatal Car Accidents Up Since the Coronavirus Shutdown?

    If there is a silver lining to the coronavirus pandemic, it is that car accidents have plummeted across the U.S. With people staying inside and not driving for errands, to school, or even to work, cities have reported drastic decreases in the number of crashes on the roadways. However, Missouri police are claiming they have actually seen an increase in the number of fatal crashes. They insist that ...
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  • Coronavirus' Long-Term Impact on Workers’ Compensation

    As states like Missouri scramble to adapt their workers’ compensation schemes to the coronavirus spread, some of the weaknesses at the heart of the system are becoming more and more apparent. Chief among them is the power of insurance companies to simply raise their rates, indirectly shifting the costs of current coverage to tomorrow’s workers. States Struggle to Adapt Workers’ Compensation to a ...
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  • The Coronavirus and Car Accidents are Not Comparable

    The costs of the spread of the coronavirus has recently been compared to the yearly death toll from car accidents that we see in the U.S. Unfortunately, the comparison overlooks the fact that nearly everyone travels in a car – even non-drivers – while only a tiny percentage point of people in the U.S. have gotten COVID-19. Why Comparing Coronavirus to Car Crashes Makes COVID-19 Look Tame To date, ...
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  • Will Workers’ Compensation Cover Healthcare Workers Infected with Coronavirus?

    As the coronavirus, or COVID-19, continues to spread through Missouri and St. Joseph, healthcare workers are getting exposed to the disease on a regular basis. It is only a matter of time before they start getting sick. Thankfully, Missouri law seems to indicate that healthcare workers who get infected with coronavirus should be covered by workers’ compensation . Missouri’s Occupational Disease ...
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  • Missouri DOT to Patch Nearly 1 Million Potholes

    As the weather warms up, the toll of a Missouri winter on the roads in St. Joseph becomes clear: There will likely be nearly a million potholes for the Missouri Department of Transportation to fill, this year. These are not just inconveniences for drivers – potholes pose a significant risk for car accidents . Missouri DOT Plans to Fill Nearly a Million Potholes Now that the weather is beginning to ...
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  • Missouri Supreme Court Hears Workers’ Compensation Cases

    The Supreme Court of Missouri recently heard oral arguments for two important workers’ compensation cases. Both of those cases seem poised to continue to restrict the rights of injured workers by limiting the concept of a workplace injury . This would make it increasingly more difficult for injured workers in Missouri to get the compensation they deserve. Supreme Court of Missouri Hears Two ...
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  • It’s 2020: Where are the Self-Driving Cars?

    Three years ago, everyone was talking about self-driving cars. Uber and Google were leading the charge in developing cars that could drive themselves without causing a car accident . But then the news stopped coming from the sector. Self-driving cars were still being tested , but the developments were no longer newsworthy. What happened? Self-Driving Cars Hit a Wall in Artificial Intelligence ...
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  • Missouri Workers’ Compensation Case Lacks Dependents

    A Kansas City man who was severely hurt in a workplace accident at a UPS facility on February 10 has died from his injuries. UPS has stressed, repeatedly, that the man was a contractor and not an employee. The difference matters for the workers’ compensation benefits, though even if there are survivor benefits available, the victim’s lack of dependents to collect it can complicate matters. Worker ...
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  • School Bus Accident Hurts 17 Children

    Just two weeks ago, we covered how sovereign immunity can complicate bus accidents . That post focused on a minor car accident involving a passenger vehicle and a bus run by St. Joseph Transit. A new bus crash brings those lessons back into the limelight. School Bus Crashes, Hurts 17 A school bus was taking an entire classroom of children on a field trip when it crashed and flipped on its side in ...
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  • 2 Cops Accused of Workers’ Compensation Fraud

    A husband and wife who had retired from working as police officers have been accused of workers’ compensation fraud for faking injuries and collecting benefits. Married Couple Accused of Workers’ Compensation Fraud The situation unfolded in Santa Clara, California. A husband and wife – both of whom worked as police officers in the area – had both retired from the force after suffering injuries. ...
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  • Accident With St. Joseph Bus Invokes Sovereign Immunity

    A car accident involving a St. Joseph Transit bus and a passenger car raises some important questions about how Missouri’s personal injury laws handle claims against the city. St. Joseph Transit Bus Collides With Car The accident happened around 7:20pm on Monday, January 27, 2020, near the intersection of the North Belt Highway and Sherman Avenue . Little information was made available for initial ...
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  • Workplace Death Leads to Products Liability Lawsuit

    The family of a St. Joseph man who was killed in a tragic workplace accident have filed a lawsuit against the company who made the machine that killed him. The lawsuit is an example of an important hole in the rule that victims who receive workers’ compensation cannot sue for other damages. Workplace Accident Leaves One Dead at St. Joseph Lumber Mill Back on March 12, 2018, a St. Joseph man ...
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