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Wrongful Death

Recent Posts in Wrongful Death Category

  • 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 ...
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  • Can I Sue a Drunk Driver for a Car Accident?

    A St. Joseph man pled guilty to driving while intoxicated (DWI) and causing a car accident that killed a local woman and her unborn child. The story raises a question that many accident victims ask: Can I recover compensation in a personal injury lawsuit from a drunk driver that hurt me? The answer is yes, sometimes. St. Joseph Man Pleads Guilty to DWI After Fatal Crash The fatal accident happened ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • Car Accident Fatalities Increase 7 Percent

    A new federal study estimates that fatalities from car accidents increased at some of the highest non-lockdown levels in decades earlier this year, with Missouri seeing a higher increase than the national average. The data paints an alarming picture of roadway safety. Study Estimates a 7 Percent Increase in Accident Fatalities This month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) ...
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  • What are Loss of Consortium Damages in Missouri?

    Something that many accident victims in Missouri are surprised to learn is that their loved ones may also be entitled to compensation in a personal injury claim. Even though the loved one may not have been hurt in the victim’s car accident, he or she may still suffer from it. Personal injury law aims to compensate everyone for the losses they suffered in the accident. This includes the various ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • 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 ...
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  • St. Joseph Sued Over Fatal Car Accident

    A car accident and wrongful death case that is winding its way through the Missouri court system has a lot of lessons about the state’s personal injury law. St. Joseph Sued Over Fatal Car Crash The accident happened way back on April 14, 2017. The driver, who was under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, and five passengers were in a stolen vehicle going north on Riverside Road. The driver, ...
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  • Wrongful Death Claims After DUI Charges

    The driver who caused a fatal car accident has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. The outcome of that case could influence a potential wrongful death claim against him. Drunk Driver Causes Crash, Kills Passenger The accident happened way back on January 31, 2021, just north of Dekalb, Missouri, and south of St. Joseph. The driver, who was 18 years old, lost control of the vehicle. The car ...
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  • Workers’ Compensation and Idiopathic Causes

    A Missouri appellate court has, once again, narrowly read the state’s workers’ compensation law to reduce the amounts that have to be paid by businesses after a workplace injury. In this case, the issue concerned idiopathic diseases, or those that do not have an identifiable cause. Obese Worker Dies from Heatstroke The case is Halsey v. Townsend Tree Service Co., and involves the tragic case of a ...
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  • Seatbelt Investors Opened Patent to Save Lives

    One of the most important safety features on any motor vehicle is the seatbelt, which has drastically cut down the severity of car accidents. However, the inventor of the modern seatbelt made very little money off of it – instead of profiting, they opened their patent for others to use. Volvo Engineers Responsible for Modern Seatbelt Design All the way through the 1950s, seatbelts were not ...
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  • What Are Mansfield Bars and Are They Safe?

    A serious car accident in Kansas City involving a tractor trailer shows why we need to continue to enforce safety regulations on the roadways, including requiring that trucks have Mansfield Bars. Car Rear-Ends Tractor Trailer The crash happened on the evening of April 5, 2021. The truck accident is still under investigation, so little is known about exactly what happened. However, it is clear that ...
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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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  • 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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  • 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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  • Fatal Car Accident After Tires Come Off Truck

    A fatal car accident on Highway 36 appears to have been caused by a tractor trailer’s tires flying off the vehicle’s axle. The freak accident is an example of how some crashes are not the fault of either driver involved, and how products liability law can become implicated in the wreck. Tires Fly Off Truck, Causing Fatal Car Crash The truck accident happened last Tuesday, August 4, 2020, on U.S. ...
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  • Why Wrongful Death Claim After Car Accident Will Not Benefit from Murder Charge

    A man from St. Joseph is being charged with murder for causing a car accident earlier this month. While manslaughter charges are more common, murder charges like these can follow from fatal car crashes that happen during another crime. However, the effect they have on a personal injury case is less than you might expect. Car Accident Leads to Criminal Charges The incident happened back on August ...
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  • Fatal Workplace Accident Complicated by Maze of Companies

    Two construction workers died in an accident on the job site last week. This incident highlights how the complex arrangements between general contractors and subcontractors can make it difficult to know where to turn for workers’ compensation or personal injury recovery. Two Workers Die After Falling Down Elevator Shaft The incident happened on June 4, 2018, in St. Louis, Missouri, at a building ...
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  • Manslaughter Conviction After Car Accident

    A local man has been convicted of manslaughter for his role in a fatal car accident in Parnell, Missouri. The incident highlights the dangers of vehicles towing trailers or other equipment, as well as some of the rules and regulations that control these trailers. It also shows how developments in a criminal case can impact an associated wrongful death claim. Tractor Involved in Fatal Car Accident ...
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  • Workers’ Compensation Weakness Shown by TV Tower Collapse

    A terrible workplace accident in Webster County, Missouri, left one worker dead and five others with severe personal injuries. The incident highlights how Missouri’s workers’ compensation law leaves wrongful death victims and their families unprotected. TV Tower Falls: One Dead and Five Hurt The incident happened on the morning of Thursday, April 19, 2018. A repair crew was working on a TV tower ...
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  • Self-Driving Uber Vehicle Kills Pedestrian

    On the night of March 18, 2018, the inevitable happened: One of Uber’s self-driving cars caused a fatal car accident. The incident, which happened in Tempe, Arizona, killed a pedestrian who was crossing the road. The crash is significant because we are finally going to see how a court will decide who was responsible for the crash. The decision can impact self-driving car law for decades. ...
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  • Battery Claim in Kansas City Wrongful Death Case

    The personal injury attorneys at the Smith Law Office are fighting for a grieving Kansas City father in a civil lawsuit against his son’s killers. Bar Fight Leads to Shooting Death On August 20, 2017, Thomas Orr, III was at the Californos Bar in Kansas City’s Westport Entertainment District, which had a reputation for violence. While Mr. Orr was there, a fight broke out in the bar. Despite the ...
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  • Negligent Security in Kansas City Wrongful Death Case

    The personal injury attorneys at the Smith Law Office are seeking justice in the wrongful death case of Thomas Orr III. As we detailed earlier in our blog, Mr. Orr III – an off-duty police officer – was an innocent bystander when he was fatally shot during a bar fight in Kansas City. The Smith Law Office is representing Mr. Orr III’s father, Thomas Orr, Jr., in a wrongful death case that also ...
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  • How the Law Works in Kansas City Wrongful Death Case

    The Smith Law Office is behind one of the new cases being heard at the Circuit Court in Jackson County, Missouri. The case, a personal injury lawsuit for the wrongful death of a bar patron last August in Kansas City, involves a tricky aspect of the law that few people think of: If someone dies, how can they file a lawsuit? The Death of Thomas Orr The case centers on a bar fight that happened in ...
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  • Attorneys From Smith Law Office, LLC Help Grieving Father Seek Justice

    A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the Californos bar in the Westport Entertainment District, where Officer Thomas Orr III was killed while off-duty. The lawsuit, which was filed by Mr. Orr's father, Thomas Orr, Jr., names both the restaurant’s owner and the man who is suspected of killing the officer as defendants: The restaurant owner is claimed to have provided negligent security, ...
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