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Personal Injury

Recent Posts in Personal Injury Category

  • What is an Occupational Disease Under Workers’ Compensation Law?

    Under Missouri workers’ compensation law , an “occupational disease” is an identifiable disease that arises out of and during the course of employment. While occupational diseases fall under an employee’s workers’ compensation coverage, actually recovering this compensation is not easy. Occupational Diseases Under Missouri’s Workers’ Compensation Law Workers in Missouri who have been exposed to ...
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  • Tiger Woods’ Car Crash and Poor Road Designs

    Yesterday, February 23, professional golfer Tiger Woods was involved in a serious single-vehicle car accident in California. While most crashes involving a single vehicle are handled by insurance rather than a personal injury claim , there are exceptions. One of those – a poor road design – may be at play in this case. Tiger Woods Hurt in Car Crash The accident happened early in the morning . ...
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  • Personal Injury Claims for COVID Infections at Work

    In a recent blog post, we discussed how ordinary employees infected with the coronavirus on the job could recover workers’ compensation . If they are unable to prove that they got infected on the job, though, they might not be out of luck. Because of the trade-off at the heart Missouri’s workers’ compensation system , employees may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against their employer ...
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  • How Often Do Car Accidents Involve a Truck?

    A string of truck accidents near St. Joseph has pushed police to insist that it is an anomaly. The way they did it, though, failed to provide the whole picture. Police Try Explaining Rash of Truck Accidents Since January 25, Troop H of the Missouri State Highway Patrol – which covers northwestern Missouri down to the city of St. Joseph – has worked 23 car accidents . Of those, a quarter have ...
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  • Workers’ Compensation for Ordinary Employees Infected with COVID

    The coronavirus continues to infect and kill people in Missouri. However, a mixture of lockdown fatigue and excitement from the vaccine rollout has led lots of people to take riskier behavior. In lots of circumstances, this involves going to indoor gatherings and events in bars or restaurants without wearing a mask. The employees at these establishments are increasingly being put in difficult ...
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  • Wintry Weather and Comparative Fault Rules

    As St. Joseph gets hit with more snow and ice, police are preparing for more car accidents . They are urging drivers to slow down and be careful on the roadways, even if it is not currently snowing. Drivers should know that this is not just an empty recommendation: Missouri’s comparative negligence rules can end up punishing drivers who do not take reasonable precautions when driving in the snow. ...
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  • Post-Injury Misconduct Defense Gets Huge Expansion

    Missouri employers often try to get out of making temporary disability payments to injured employees by claiming that the worker engaged in post-injury misconduct. A new workers’ compensation decision drastically expands this defense. Injured Worker Accused of Misconduct The case is Paxton v. Little Sisters of the Poor . In January, 2014, a nurse slipped on ice in the parking lot of the nursing ...
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  • Vehicle Size Likely Influenced Fatal Car Crash

    A deadly car accident between Kansas City and St. Joseph, Missouri, is a perfect example of how the size of the vehicles can change the severity of the crash. Accident Involving Ford F750 Pickup Truck Proves Fatal The crash happened on U.S. 45 near the town of Farley, just northwest of Kansas City and 40 miles south of St. Joseph. According to the initial reports of the crash , a southbound Ford ...
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  • Child Victims and Lost Earning Capacity Damages

    A serious car accident in northwestern Missouri left seven injured early this week, including several children. One of those children has serious injuries, which can make it critical for her to recover compensation for lost earning capacity. Car Veers Off Road, Hits Family Minivan The accident happened on I-35 on Sunday morning, January 3, 2021, a few miles north of Pattonsburg , about an hour ...
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  • Statutory Employer Claims and the Usual Course of Business Defense

    In our last blog post about workers’ compensation , we looked at what it means to be a “statutory employee” in Missouri . However, it is not easy for an injured worker to prove that they were a statutory employee. Not only do they have the burden of proving that they are a statutory employee, they also have to overcome the defenses that companies vigorously raise to avoid liability, such as the ...
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  • Workers’ Compensation and Statutory Employees in Missouri

    Most employers in Missouri are legally required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to cover their workers if they get hurt on the job. However, those that are required to carry this insurance do not always do so. When their workers get hurt, though, they are not always completely out of luck. They may be a statutory employee of another company at the time of the accident. A recent decision ...
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  • Avoid Winter Car Crashes By Checking Your Tires

    A car accident in I-29 in St. Joseph has proven to be a fatal one and serves as a reminder for Missouri residents to prepare their vehicles and check their tires for winter weather safety. Fatal Accident on I-29 in St. Joseph The accident was a strange one. According to the initial reports , it was around 4am on December 16, 2020, when a car broke down on the interstate. The driver was pushing the ...
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  • How Workers’ Compensation Could Be Hurt by a Takings Clause Case

    The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a case next year that could indirectly impact workplace safety and workers’ compensation . Unionizing Efforts Lead to Takings Clause Claim The case is Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid and comes from California. That state has a law that gives union organizers the right to enter agricultural areas for up to three hours per day, 120 days a year, to recruit farm ...
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  • Complications for Out-of-State Car Accident Victims

    A head-on car accident in northwestern Missouri left one of the drivers seriously injured. The incident raises some interesting aspects of personal injury law because of one crucial detail: The injured drivers were from out of state. Head-On Car Crash Leaves Iowa Driver Seriously Hurt The crash happened 5 miles north of Eagleville , about an hour and a half northeast of St. Joseph. According to ...
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  • Triumph Foods Put Workers at Risk of COVID

    An investigation by USA Today has uncovered huge problems in the way that Triumph Foods handled the coronavirus outbreak in its St. Joseph processing plant this year. What they did, and the cover-up that followed, led to deaths and life-altering infections of the disease. Investigation Uncovers Recklessness at Triumph Foods During COVID We mentioned the outbreak of the coronavirus at Triumph Foods ...
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  • Missouri Police Conduct Click It or Ticket Campaign

    Missouri state police in St. Joseph and the rest of northwestern Missouri are in the middle of a public safety campaign to make sure drivers in the area are buckling up. The goal is to reduce the severity of car accidents and save lives. Troop H’s “Click It or Ticket” Campaign In the past week, Troop H – which covers the northwestern portion of the state , including St. Joseph – has been ...
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  • Missouri’s Lack of a State Plan Puts Workers at Risk

    Some of the most important workplace safety regulations come from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) . However, states like Missouri are free to implement workplace safety rules that provide even better protections for workers within their borders. These are called State Plans , and can have a significant effect on workers’ compensation systems. Missouri, however, has refused ...
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  • Head-On Car Accident Severely Injures One

    A head-on car accident outside of St. Joseph left one person seriously injured. The crash is an example of how devastating these types of car accidents can be. Head-On Car Crash Leaves One Seriously Hurt The crash happened Thursday morning, October 29 , east of Ravenwood on Route O. According to the police report , a pickup truck that was going west crossed the centerline and hit the eastbound ...
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  • St. Joseph Says Educators are “Essential Workers”

    The St. Joseph School District (SJSD) has decided to reclassify school teachers and educators as “essential workers.” The shift in policy is meant to help keep local schools open during the pandemic. However, the details of the policy will mean that the virus will spread more quickly. It will also put teachers at risk of catching the coronavirus – a risk that their workers’ compensation might not ...
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  • Faultless Car Accident in St. Joseph Damages Homes

    A recent car accident in St. Joseph raises some interesting questions about so-called “faultless crashes.” Driver’s Medical Emergency Causes Crash: Two Homes Severely Damaged The incident happened last Thursday morning, October 15, 2020. According to the initial reports, police believe that the driver had a medical emergency while behind the wheel. The car left Faraon Street and slammed into a ...
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  • The Commission’s New Trend is Disturbing

    In the last month, we have covered multiple workers’ compensation cases where the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission expressly refused to follow decisions by the Missouri Court of Appeals. It is very easy to underappreciate just how problematic this is. It essentially means that the Commission has gone rogue to deny injured workers’ claims. Commission Refuses to Follow Court Decisions Both ...
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  • Is It Safer to Be Ejected During a Car Accident?

    In some of the most serious car accidents in the St. Joseph region, the driver or one of the passengers can be ejected from the vehicle. These ejections are far more likely to happen when the occupant was not wearing a seatbelt . Contrary to what some people think, when ejections do happen, they drastically increase the odds of the victim being severely hurt or even killed . Two Types of Vehicle ...
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  • Workers’ Compensation Commission Stretching for Ways to Deny Recovery

    Claims for workers’ compensation by injured workers have to go through an arduous administrative hearing process before they can be heard in court. That process has gotten more blatantly anti-worker in recent years. This is especially true for claims demanding compensation from the Second Injury Fund . A recent workers’ compensation case shows this in clear detail. Judge Denies Compensation for ...
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  • St. Joseph to Replace Traffic Lights with Stop Signs

    The city of St. Joseph recently announced a plan to replace most of the traffic lights in the downtown area with stop signs. The decision provides a great opportunity to look at intersection safety and how it can impact the number of car accidents that happen. St. Joseph to Replace Stop Lights with Stop Signs Starting this week on Faraon Street, the Public Works Department will begin replacing ...
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  • Commission Refuses to Follow Court Ruling

    The Labor and Industrial Relations Commission recently made a shocking and disturbing decision in a workers’ compensation case: They expressly refused to apply the interpretation of the law from the Missouri Court of Appeals. Injured Worker Recovers Compensation The situation began in late January, 2017. A 62-year-old Wal-Mart employee, with a history of several medical conditions, was lifting a ...
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