"Drunk Driving, Over the Limit, Under Arrest" will be the motto of enforcement over the Fourth of July weekend in an effort to cut down on Missouri serious automobile accidents, motorcycle accidents, and truck accidents. The statistics for this weekend's alcohol related automobile accidents is alarming. In 2007, over 12,000 people were killed in car accidents that involved a drink who registered a B.A.C of .08 or higher. The legal limit for intoxication in the State of Missouri is currently .08. Furthermore, 992 motorists in Missouri were killed on our state's highways and roadways. Of those potential Missouri wrongful death claims, 338 involved a drunk driver. Before you decide to enjoy a barbeque or outing this weekend, make sure to take the necessary pre-event steps to guarantee a safe ride home. This includes designation of a sober driver, calling a taxi, and/or staying overnight on the premises in which you are drinking alcohol. Also, authorities recommend that if you recognize a potential drunk driver on the road, contact local police and report the driver. However, NEVER CHASE or follow a drunk driver. This can only agitate the sitaution and make the other driver erratic. Leave the pursuit up to authorities. If you are injured in a car accident, contact St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer Stephen Schultz and get the experience of his legal practice on your side! Our injury lawyers work hard to protect the rights of our clients so they can concentrate on the one thing that is most important, healding both physically and emotionally. Don't be victimized twice!
The Missouri State Highway Patrol responded to a serious car accident in Jackson County Saturday afternoon. The crash occurred on eastbound Highway 40 at Bolwin Road in the Grain Valley area. a Saturn and a Dodge were involved in the collision, which resulted in total damage to both vehicles. A driver and two passengers in the Saturn sustained serious personal injuries, including a fatality. 61 year-old Marilyn Walters of Grain Valley Missouri was killed as a result of the collision. Her husband and 29 year-old Christina Hainley were seriously injured and were transported to two separate hospitals for emergency treatment. Authorities are uncertain what caused this car crash and the investigation continues as potential charges are pending a reconstruction. Often times authorities will conduct an accident reconstruction when there are fatalities involved in a car accident, or in the event that the only witnesses are those involved in the accident itself. An accident reconstruction will involve the use of established methods of calculation to determine vehicle impact angles, speed, and contributing factors to the collision. The evidence gleened from the reconstruction will assist prosecutors in determining what criminal charges, if any, are warranted. Contact a Missouri Car Accident Lawyer in the event you are seriously injured due to the negligence or recklessness of another driver. The Missouri Injury Lawyers at Schultz Legal Group are here to assist injury victims through these troubling times. Contact them toll free at (866) 840-3636, (314) 448-0934, or by email today!
A contingency fee agreement is an arrangement whereby payment of attorneys fees is 100% dependent upon whether the attorney wins the case. If the attorney prevails in prosecution of the Missouri injury claim, then that attorney will be entitled to a percentage of the total recovery. Most Missouri injury lawyers charge between 33.3% and 45% contingency fees. The contigency fee agreement also means that the injury lawyer does not charge a "retainer" to start working on the injury case. A retainer is most common in divorce and criminal cases, but not in personal injury. Because there is no retainer, ALL Missouri injury victims get equal access to high quality injury lawyers, even those victims with no money. In the unfortunate event that an injury lawyer does not win your case, then that attorney typically will not be entitled to any fees whatsoever. The case may be different in the event that your attorney has advanced case costs in the prosecution of your injury claim. Case costs can include medical record production, filing a lawsuit, depositions, etc. Not all attorneys do this, but some do require that the client reimburse for case costs regardless of whether the client is the prevailing party in the Missouri personal injury claim or personal injury lawsuit. If you have additional questions on how the contingency fee agreement operates in your case, contact St. Louis Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz toll free at (866) 840-3636, (314) 448-0934 or by email. Don't be victimized twice!
I came upon this serious Missouri car accident shortly after it happened on Sunday morning. The damage to the Pontiac was catastrophic. I had a feeling that there would be no survivors in that vehicle. The Missouri Highway Patrol reported that Marian and Marvin Peirick both passed away in the crash and were transported directly to Dulle-Trimble funeral home in Jefferson City. The driver of the Dodge pick-up sustained serious personal injuries and was transported to Capital Regional Hospital for emergency medical care. Highway 54 in between Camdenton and Jefferson City Missouri has its share of serious automobile accidents. Motorists heading down, or coming home from, a weekend at the Lake of the Ozarks make the road heavily traveled in certain hours between Friday and Sunday. A vast majority of car accidents seem to occur during these days. Another potential contributing factor to the commonality of car accidents on Highway 54 is the high quantity of side streets that are NOT controlled by a traffic signal. Motorists merging out of these side-streets are faced with fast-moving cars heading in both directions. This is a common recipe for disaster, similar to that of the roadway designs on Highway 65 and Highway 63 in Mid-Missouri. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident in Missouri, contact Injury Attorney Stephen Schultz and get the experience of Schultz Legal Group on your side. Our Missouri injury lawyers will protect your legal interests while you concentrate on what is most important, healing both physically and emotionally.
First, what is a "soft tissue" injury. Simply put, soft tissue can be any tissue that is not a bone. So muscle tissue, connective tissue such as tendons and ligaments, and discs in the spine are all considered soft tissue. When you are injured in a serious Missouri automobile crash, tractor-trailer crash, or other type of injury-causing event, you are most likely to sustain a soft-tissue injury. Bones usually are not broken unless then make contact with another object. Due to today's protective technology in our automobiles, drivers and passengers are typically restrained from coming into contact with hard objects in the event of a car accident. Soft tissue injuries can be very serious. Don't let the name fool you. Common soft tissue injuries include sprains, strains and contusions. More serious injuries can include spinal disc herniations, bulges, protrusions, and annular tears. Soft tissue injuries can be both permanent and disabling, and can require future surgeries to correct. For example, a disc bulge can become so disabling that epidural injections, a spinal discectomy, or spine disc fusion may be the only thing that alleviates pain. Victims of these types of personal injuries should seek medical care from a qualified orthopedist. If you have sustained soft tissue injuries in a Missouri car accident, 18-wheeler accident, motorcycle crash, or slip & fall should contact St. Louis Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz and get the experienced injury attorneys at Schultz legal Group on your side. Insurance claims adjusters rarely give appropriate value to claims involving soft tissue injuries. Don't be victimized twice!
This is a question most Missouri injury victims face when they are involved in several types of potentially actionable claims, such as: The situation is often times stressful. You have the incident itself that caused the personal injuries, and then you have the insurance adjuster that typically calls a few days later and begins his/her goal of minimizing your injury claim. Essentially, you are set up to victimized twice. Statistics provide that those who retain the legal services of a Missouri Accident & Injury Lawyer received 3x-5x more compensation that those victims who choose to deal with the defendant's insurance company directly. So what types of claims can you handle without the services of a personal injury lawyer? Very minimal claims involving very little property damage and no personal injuries can usually be handled by the victim on his/her own. When you add personal injuries to the equation, it is always beneficial to, at the very least, consult the legal advice from a Missouri personal injury attorney. Understand that insurance adjusters are highly trained and skilled at dealing with both injury and property damage claims. Ask yourself this question: Does the insurance adjuster really have MY best interests in mind, or that of his managers and stockholders? The answer is obvious. I encourage any injury victim to visit the Schultz Legal Group article on How Insurance Companies Adjust Claims. Contact St. Louis Accident and Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz at (866) 840-3636, (314) 448-0934, or by email to discuss your injury claim.
Authorities report that a late model Ford pick-up crossed the center line of traffic on MO 125 near Springfield Missouri late this evening, causing a head-on automobile collision. The crash also involved a Jeep with several children inside. Clinton Beckley, Elijah Beckley, and Isaiah Beckley apparently sustained serious personal injuries and were transported to Cox South Hospital in Springfield Missouri for emergency treatment. Authorities are unsure what caused the head-on car crash that resulted in these serious personal injuries. Both vehicles involved were completely totalled. Head-on car crashes cause some of the most devastating injuries of any other type of vehicle collision. The speed each vehicle was traveling is essentially multiplied X2 at impact. Crash scene investigators often have to conduct accident reconstructions to determine the cause of the collision and fault between the parties. Crash scene investigators can then issue citations once the reconstruction is completed. If there are enough credible witnesses to the Missouri car accident, an accident reconstruction may not be warrented. If you have been injured in a head-on collision, contact Springfield Car Accident Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz and get the experienced attorneys at Schultz Legal Group on your side. Our Missouri injury lawyers will dipatch and investigation team of our own to the scene of the crash and protect valuable evidence that may be used later during a civil injury trial. Call (866) 840-3636, (314) 448-0934, or email us today for a free consultation.
Authorities report that 28 year-old Brandon Holzheimer crossed the center line of traffic on Route A near Cape Girardeau, directly into the path of a Mack tractor-trailer. The collision between the car and 18-wheeler caused extensive damage to both vehicles. Holzheimer was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger in his car, 18 year-old Matthew Whitter, sustained serious personal injuries and was airlifted to St. Francis Medical Center for emergency treatment. This Missouri tractor-trailer crash occured during rush hour traffic. The cause of why the vehicle crossed the center line of traffic remains undetermined at this time. Victims of 18-wheeler accidents in the State of Missouri should retain the services of an experienced Missouri Accident and Injury Attorney to dispense an investigation team to the scene. While emergency responders may conduct an investigation of their own, it is important to understand that the insurance carrier for the commercial trucking company will dispatch an "immediate response team". This team will work hard to gather evidence and do their best to protect the interests of the trucking company. Don't you want your interests equally protected?
Federal law currently limits the weight and length of tractor-trailers to 80,000 pounds and 53 feet. However, that limit is currently under congressional review and may be amended in the near future. Many large trucking companies are proposing to increase the weight limit to 97,000 pounds. This is putting a large amount of pressure on the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety to lobby to keep current limits in force. Vice President of this organization is quoted saying that the added weight will "result in the American public paying with both their lives and wallets." Sure, larger, heavier trucks would allow for the movement of more goods, but at what cost? More Missouri tractor-trailer accidents? Heavier trucks are harder to control and stop in emergency situations. This means that more personal injuries and fatalities will be caused. Even a truck driver was quoted as saying that "80,000 pounds is enough for anybody. If it gets much bigger, its going to create and unsafe environment, and more deaths on the road." This is of concern for opponents of the weight measure. In fact, a website has been created to voice your concerns at StopBiggerTrucks.org. Some states already allow for heavier trucks as long as they travel only within that particular state. Michigan, for example, allows a maximum weight of 164,000 pounds. St. Louis Injury Attorney Stephen Schultz is an advocate for those injured in serious tractor-trailer accidents and stands with the others in opposition to increasing our current weight and length limit for 18-wheelers. If you have been injured due to the negligent conduct of a truck driver and/or his commercial trucking company employer, contact the injury attorneys at Schultz Legal Group and get your rights protected. Don't be victimized twice!
Being hit by a tractor-trailer that weighs over 26,000 pounds (10 tons) is like being hit by a freight train. Anytime you match a 10 ton truck with a 1 ton passenger car, the car is going to lose the fight. So what do you do if you have been injured in a Missouri tractor-trailer crash. Well, the first thing will be to seek medical attention directly from the scene of the crash. Most Missouri truck crashes are severe enough that the victim is transported directly to the emergency room from the accident scene. Second, you should contact a qualified St. Louis Tractor-trailer Accident Injury Attorney for representation. Truck crashes are much different than a vehicle vs. vehicle collision. Commercial trucking companies have Immediate Response Teams who are dispatched at first notice of a truck accident. These teams work hard to gather evidence and mount an offensive against the injury victim. You need a Missouri injury attorney on your side as your immediate response team. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) heavily regulates the commercial trucking industry and the truck drivers these companies entrust with equipment. That being said, your injury attorney will have to request documents from the FMCSA to determine the safety record for the trucking company that is responsible for your personal injuries. This must be done quickly, as commercial trucking companies only have to retain certain eveidence for a limited period of time. Failure to request this evidence, or request that it is preserved, may result in loss of invaluable tangible evidence. If you have been injured in a Missouri tractor-trailer crash, visit the Schultz Legal Group Missouri Truck Crash Injury Victim Website for useful information on how to protect your claim and avoid harrassment by the trucking companies and their well-funded insurance companies.
In a Missouri car accident? Injured in a Missouri tractor-trailer crash? Hurt riding a motorcycle? Sustained personal injury while using a defective product? Slip and fall at a business and hurt yourself? All of these injuries have a common denominator, the insurance claims adjuster. If you are injured, expect that an insurance claims adjuster will go to work minimizing your damages and distorting liability. You see, insurance adjusters absolutely do NOT have the injury victims best interests in mind. To the contrary, they are compensated according to the "adjustment" of claims. "Adjusting a claim" is an a interesting phrase. Why are claims not just paid? If you have medical bills, lost wages, and suffering, shouldn't the insurance company just pay what the claim is? When a St. Louis Injury Lawyer gets involved, it definitely is more likely to happen that way. Without a Missouri Injury Attorney on your side, the insurance adjuster will use claims software such as Colossus to adjust (aka minimize) your claim to a wholly unreasonable amount. If an adjuster says you have to give a recorded statement, it is untrue. If an adjuster says you only have weeks or months to settle your claim, it is untrue. If an adjuster says there was only a little property damage so you can't possibly be hurt, it is untrue. If an adjuster tells you that getting an attorney won't increase the settlement of a claim, it is untrue. Don't be victimized twice, contact the Missouri injury lawyers at Schultz Legal Group at (866) 840-3636, (314) 448-0934, or by email to discuss the facts of your case personally.
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