816.875.9373

Personal Injury

Recent Posts in Personal Injury Category

  • When Does Workers’ Compensation Start Paying Out?

    Missouri workers who get hurt on the job are entitled to workers’ compensation . When that compensation actually gets paid, though, is very important. People who read our blog may have noticed that some of the cases we have covered involve workplace injuries that happened years earlier. These cases are outliers, though, because they took a judge or magistrate to resolve the dispute. The vast ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is the Last Clear Chance Rule?

    The last clear chance doctrine is an aspect of personal injury law that Missouri used to have, before it moved from contributory negligence to comparative negligence rules . While Missouri no longer uses the last clear chance doctrine, it is still a great way to see how the law changes to make things fairer. Shared Fault Rules: Contributory and Comparative Negligence In many situations where ...
    Continue Reading

  • LIRC Uses Idiopathic Injury Rule to Deny Award, Again

    The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) has once again turned to the idiopathic injury rationale to deny workers’ compensation to a hurt worker. The specific facts of this case show just how unworkable this rationale can be. Medical Complications from Truck Accident Leads to Leg Amputation Back in February, 2014, a truck driver with diabetes left Missouri for Arkansas. In Arkansas, he ...
    Continue Reading

  • How Many Car Accidents Happen at Intersections?

    A recent car accident in St. Joseph shows the relative dangers of intersections. It also raises questions about stop light design. Car Crash Sends Four to Hospital The accident happened on December 24, 2021, at the intersection of Highly Street and North 22nd Street in St. Joseph. According to the initial reports , a driver from Iowa failed to stop at a red light and crashed into a local driver in ...
    Continue Reading

  • What Workers’ Compensation Benefits are Available in Missouri?

    Employees who get hurt on the job in Missouri are often entitled to workers’ compensation . But what does “compensation” mean? Here is what it includes. 3 Types of Workers Compensation Benefits in Missouri Each state has a different way of structuring workers’ compensation. Missouri’s system provides 3 kinds of benefits to hurt workers: Medical treatment, including travel expenses Disability ...
    Continue Reading

  • How Bad is the Brock Decision for Hurt Workers?

    A few weeks ago, we covered a workers’ compensation case where the Missouri Supreme Court narrowed co-worker liability . The negative effects of that decision on workplace safety cannot be understated. Missouri Supreme Court Narrows Co-Worker Liability The issue is fairly simple: What can workers do when they are hurt on the job by one of their coworkers? For example, in the case that the Missouri ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is Missouri’s Dram Shop Law?

    Two bars in St. Joseph are facing wrongful death lawsuits for overserving a patron who then caused a fatal car accident . The bars may be held liable under Missouri’s dram shop law, which provides an important opportunity for victims to recover the compensation they deserve. Bars Sued for Fatal 2018 DWI Accident Back in 2018, Roger Moe was driving over 100 miles per hour in the wrong direction on ...
    Continue Reading

  • Missouri Personal Injury Laws for Emotional Distress

    The harm that people can suffer in car accidents and other personal injury situations are not limited to physical trauma. Victims can suffer mental and emotional injuries, as well. Missouri’s personal injury law recognizes this, and lets victims recover compensation for any emotional distress that was caused by the accident, even if the victim was not directly involved in it. Victims Can Recover ...
    Continue Reading

  • Missouri Court Narrows Co-Worker Liability

    The Missouri Supreme Court weighed in on an important aspect of workers’ compensation law: Co-employee liability. The results were not good for injured workers. Missouri Supreme Court Reverses Workers’ Compensation Award The case is Brock v. Dunne . What happened was pretty straightforward. Several manufacturing workers would feed a sheet of particle board into a machine. Rollers in the machine ...
    Continue Reading

  • Lost Wages of a New Business Owner Under Wrongful Death Law

    A fatal car accident left a local St. Joseph business owner dead. The incident highlights how it can be difficult to determine lost wages under Missouri’s wrongful death law. Single-Vehicle Car Accident Kills St. Joseph Business Owner According to a report by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Joshua Oliver was heading northbound on U.S. Highway 169 in the afternoon of November 14, 2021. About a ...
    Continue Reading

  • LIRC’s Wrongful Denial of Workers’ Compensation Overturned

    Once again, the Missouri Court of Appeals had to step in and reverse a workers’ compensation decision by the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) over the Second Injury Fund . These successful appeals all follow a shocking case where the LIRC expressly refused to follow a court ruling . Injured Worker Appeals Denial of Workers’ Compensation The case, Marberry v. Second Injury Fund , ...
    Continue Reading

  • Are a Negligent Driver’s Passengers Out of Luck?

    A motorcycle accident in St. Joseph left one dead and one seriously hurt. The crash is an example of how passengers can hold drivers liable for their injuries, even if that driver was in the same vehicle as the passenger. Fatal Motorcycle Accident in St. Joseph The accident happened on the I-229 bridge in downtown St. Joseph. According to the initial reports , a motorcyclist with a passenger was ...
    Continue Reading

  • What are Survivor Benefits in Missouri?

    When a worker is hurt on the job, he or she is entitled to workers’ compensation . When the workplace accident was a fatal one, though, that compensation cannot go to the worker. Instead, it goes to his or her dependents in the form of survivor benefits. What are Survivor Benefits Under Missouri Workers’ Compensation Law? Survivor benefits are a type of workers’ compensation. They get paid to the ...
    Continue Reading

  • 5 Common Causes of Truck Rollover Accidents

    A recent crash in St. Joseph shows that rollovers are a common cause of truck accidents , not just car accidents . Semi-Truck Rolls Over, Shuts Down Highway The accident happened early in the morning on October 13, in the southbound lanes of Interstate 29 near Frederick Avenue . According to the initial reports , construction on the highway had already limited travel to one lane. The truck driver, ...
    Continue Reading

  • Calculating the Average Weekly Wage of Business Owners

    A recent workers’ compensation case centered on how to calculate a business owner’s wage rate. The outcome made it very clear that the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) wields great power in these cases. Repair Shop Owner Dies on the Job The case was Williams v. Reeds, LLC . Reeds, LLC was an auto parts and repair shop. The sole member of the LLC and the owner of the shop died in ...
    Continue Reading

  • Farming Equipment Can Cause Car Accidents

    In Missouri, autumn is harvest season. Among other things, it means that farm equipment will be on the roadways. While drivers should take special precautions around these huge machines, car accidents involving farm equipment are not always the fault of the driver. Farm Equipment on the Road Raise Risk of Car Crashes Every year in October in Missouri, harvest season forces farmers to move large ...
    Continue Reading

  • LIRC Fails to Stay Workers’ Compensation Case, Gets Overturned

    Another Missouri appellate court struck down a workers’ compensation decision by the administrative law judge and the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) for contradicting a binding court case. While this instance is more incompetent than purposeful, it is neither the first nor will it be the last time that hurt workers have been denied coverage, as the LIRC stretches for new ways to ...
    Continue Reading

  • How Guilty Pleas Can Help Car Accident Claims

    A woman has been sentenced to probation for her role in a car accident that hurt a child at a bus stop. Criminal cases like these can make it easier for victims to recover compensation in a personal injury case. Driver Who Hit Child Pleads Guilty The accident happened early in the morning on April 28 in Columbia, Missouri, at a bus stop near the entrance of a mobile home park. According to the ...
    Continue Reading

  • What is the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission?

    In many of our blog posts on workers’ compensation , we mention the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission, or LIRC . This Commission is a critical juncture for many claims for workers’ compensation, as it handles any appeals from the administrative law judge who first hears a dispute. Here is how the LIRC works. The Role of the LIRC in Workers’ Compensation When a worker gets hurt in Missouri, ...
    Continue Reading

  • How Dangerous are Police Chases?

    After a string of high speed police chases in Missouri, police have found the need to insist that the public safety is their chief concern. However, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical. Motorists should use an abundance of caution during a police chase to avoid a car accident . Multiple High Speed Chases in St. Joseph Area In the past few weeks, there have been multiple high speed police ...
    Continue Reading

  • LIRC Misreads Court Case, Denies Second Injury Fund Claim

    Missouri’s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission (LIRC) has yet again found a way to interpret the state’s workers’ compensation laws to deny claims made against the Second Injury Fund (SIF) . Coverage Denied Because Medical Experts Used Extra Injury The case, Ingles v. Corrigan Brothers , involved a 66-year-old union pipefitter who ruptured his rotator cuff at work in 2014. He claimed that ...
    Continue Reading

  • The Direct and Causal Connection Required for Occupational Diseases

    People who have been hurt on the job in Missouri have a steep hill to climb to prove that they deserve workers’ compensation . One of the trickiest is to show that there is a direct causal connection between the job and an occupational disease . Occupational Diseases Have to be Directly Caused by Job The workers’ compensation law that defines occupational diseases, Missouri Statute 287.067 , does ...
    Continue Reading

  • NHTSA Investigates Tesla’s Autopilot System

    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened an investigation into Tesla’s Autopilot system after a series of avoidable car accidents . Both the accident and the investigation raise some pressing questions about the use of partial driver assistance features in vehicles. NHTSA Investigates Tesla’s Autopilot System After years of inaction, on August 13, the NHTSA announced ...
    Continue Reading

  • Is it a Hit-and-Run if Passengers Flee the Scene?

    A car accident in St. Joseph ended with several people fleeing the scene. The incident draws out some important distinctions in Missouri’s hit-and-run law. People Flee Scene of Car Accident in St. Joseph The accident happened on Saturday evening, August 7, 2021, at the intersection of North Belt Highway and Faraon Street . According to the police, a vehicle going south on the Belt Highway hit two ...
    Continue Reading

  • Is Being a Police Officer Inherently Stressful Enough for Workers’ Compensation?

    A workers’ compensation claim on behalf of a Missouri police officer argued that the stress that he suffered on the job amounted to an occupational disease. The administrative law judge and the Labor and Industrial Relations Board (LIRB), however, disagreed. Police Officer Dies from Heart Condition The claim was filed on the officer’s behalf by his wife. The police officer in St. Louis and ...
    Continue Reading
Page of 15

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.