Statistics prove that 4 of 5 people will be involved in a car accident at some point in their life. The majority of car accidents cause some degree of physical damage and emotional injury, not to mention billions of dollars in property damage each year. The car accident itself is just the start of what usually is a daunting experience. The first step to properly recovering from a serious car accident is to preserve your accident injury claim. Legal representation by a skilled car accident injury lawyer is critical in preserving any viable injury claim. Insurance claims adjusters are well-trained in the practice of minimizing injury claims. Adjusters will do everything in their power to blame your injuries on preexisting conditions or other circumstances. They will say you are not that hurt and that your claim is merely a 'soft-tissue' injury. Don't be victimized twice. Being injured in a car accident is a serious situation, resulting in lost wages, past and future medical bills, emotional trauma and pain & suffering. You only get one shot at recovering damages in a car accident injury claim. Make that shot count with a call to the Missouri car accident injury lawyers at Schultz Legal Group. Car accident injury claims are governed by a statute of limitations in Missouri that requires a claim to be filed in a limited amount of time. If a claim is not filed in the appropriate venue within that time frame, it will forever be barred. Don't be victimized twice by a heartless insurance company. Call an injury lawyer today at (314) 448-0934 or (866) 840-3636 for an immediate consultation and learn what types of compensation you are entitled to pursuant to Missouri law.
A serious Missouri rollover car accident took place late Tuesday near Springfield Missouri, seriously injuring two young teenagers. The 2001 Ford reportedly rolled several times near Billings, coming to rest off of a dangerous stretch of Highway 65. Two teenagers inside the vehicle were wearing seat belts but still sustained very serious injuries. Both injury victims were transported to Cox Hospital in Springfield Missouri for emergency medical treatment. 17 year old Justin Pearce and 17 year-old Taylor Wheeler remain hospitalized at Cox South Hospital. Rollover accidents can result in serious injury and death claims. These car accident injury claims must be handled carefully, as lost wages, past and future medical bills, and other economic damages are at stake. Rollover claims can also trigger complicated products liability claims against large manufacturers, such as Ford Motor Company. Products liability claims require a competent team of lawyers and experts to prevail. Contact a Missouri rollover car accident lawyer at Schultz Legal Group if you or a loved one has been involved in one of these serious accidents. Preserving the vehicle itself is of the utmost importance, as products liability claims require examination of the defective product. Contact an experienced car accident injury lawyer by calling 866-840-3636 or 314-448-0934 for an immediate consultation.
Reglan is a powerful drug used for a variety of purposes. The active generic name for Reglan is metoclopramide, which prescribed in both pill and liquid form. An influx of Reglan drug defect claims have recently been filed in mulit-state litigation due to a very serious side effect causing Tardive Dyskinesia (TD). TD is a complex and potentially permanent disorder that is directly linked to excessive Reglan use. Symptoms of TD include abmnormal facial movements, lip smacking, facial twitching and other involuntary body movements. Tardive Dyskinesia is an especially sad disorder that effects the victim in every aspect of their life. What is adding fuel to the fire is that reports have surfaced indicating that Reglan manufacturers knowingly mislead doctors when pushing Reglan prescriptions. Drug manufacturers purposely concealed studies that disclosed the direct link between Reglan use and TD. Drug manufacturers have a duty to the public to manufacture safe products. When the product is potentially dangerous, these companies have a duty to warn of the dangerous side effects associated with its use. In the Reglan claim, these manufacturers just plain failed to warn of known serious, life-threatening side effects. Contact a Reglan injury lawyer today to discuss your Reglan injury claim. There are specific time limitations for filing a Reglan drug defect claim, so if you have experienced symptoms consistent with Tardive Dyskinesia, it is critical to contact an drug defect lawyer immediately. Call (866) 840-3636 to speak with a Reglan injury lawyer who knows how to make drug companies compensate those who are victimized by dangerous drugs.
The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) recently published an opinion that a fatal bus crash in August 2008 may have been caused by a faulty retread tired that blew out on the highway. The bus was on its way to Missouri when the right front tire blew and caused a crash that resulted in 17 deaths and numerous bus accident injury claims. The NTSB is the national organization that will regularly investigate serious air and land crashes that require special expertise. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and federal law forbid a retreaded tire from being used on the front steer tires of a charter bus. The charter company that hired out the bus involved in this fatal bus crash claim had a deficient safety rating according to the FMCSA. An "unsatisfactory" safety rating is issued to commercial motor carriers who continuously fail to meet safety guidelines designed to protect passengers on buses and other drivers on the road. After having its DOT number pulled, this particular bus company applied for a new DOT number under the guise of a newly-formed company, essentially obtaining new operating authority by fraud. Serious bus accidents can cause catastrophic injury and death to passengers and others on the road. It is critical to contact a bus accident injury lawyer immediately following one of these incidents, as evidence must be preserved and/or protected before it is lost. Evidence such as the bus Electronic Control Module (ECM) must be downloaded by a qualified expert retained by the bus accident lawyer to make certain that it isn't altered or destroyed by the bus company.
Rear-end car accidents, broadside car accidents, and head-on car accidents can all cause catastrophic personal injuries and serious property damage. But what about those injuries that are considered "soft-tissue"? The insurance company that insures the negligent driver will be the first to argue that soft-tissue injuries are not serious, not disabling, and not permanent. Don't be fooled, soft-tissue injuries can in fact be all three of these. Strains, sprains, and contusions can be felt for weeks, months, and years following a serious car accident. If you have suffered any of these injuries contact a Missouri car accident lawyer immediately. Otherwise, face being victimized for a second time....this time by the defendant's insurance company. Soft tissue injury claims that can be especially serious include disc bulges, disc herniations, and disc ruptures. In this circumstance, the spine is damaged in the car accident to an extent that causes the disc matter within the spine to be displaced, resulting in radiating pain in the upper and/or lower extremeties, otherwise known as "radiculopathy." Radicular pain can also cause debilitating headaches, resulting in the inability of the injury victim to concentrate on work or much else. Injury victims may eventually be left with no other alternative other than surgical intervention. Soft tissue injuries can also be sustained in a truck accident claim, however, more serious life-threatening injuries commonly result from tractor-trailer type crashes. Claims for lost wages, past and future medical bills, emotional distress, and pain & suffering may all be filed against the negligent driver in order to obtain fair compensation. Contact a Missouri injury lawyer at (866) 840-3636 to discuss how to properly make your car accident injury claim or truck accident injury claim.
The New York Times just published an interesting article that exposes the nature of the drug manufacturing industry. Consumers who have been victimized by dangerous drug side effects often criticize the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a lack in oversight. In reality, the FDA is not to blame. In fact, the FDA has requested comprehensive reports from drug manufacturers as to whether or not their drugs even work as they are intended. The FDA has authority to 'fast-track' certain drugs that are designed to treat life-threatening illnesses such as AIDS or cancer. Other drugs have to prove that they are safe before introduction into the market. Dangerous drugs are a serious problem and can cause life-threatening side effects. Consumers may have a drug side effect injury claim against the manufacturer of a prescription drug or product that caused them permanent harm. Some example of drugs that have been proven to cause serious injury and or premature death include Avandia, Chantix, Digitek, Fentanyl, Levaquin, Gadolinium, Raptiva, Seroquel, and Yaz. A nationwide drug recall injury lawyer can provide an injured drug consumer with advice on how best to protect their legal interests. Many drug injury claims have a short statute of limitations, whereby they must be filed in the appropriate jurisdiction in a limited time frame. Call (866) 840-3636 to discuss the specifics of your drug injury claim.
Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF) is a rare, but serious tissue abnormality that can become extremely painful. NSF was first documented in 1997 and it remains unclear what first caused a discovery of this disfiguring and potentially fatal disorder. However, recent studies have directly linked gadodiamide to NSF. Gadodiamide is a gadolinium-based contrast agent used in MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
Gadolinium injury claims are on the rise due to these serious and potentially life-threatening side effects. It is important for any gadolinium product defect victim to understand that not all MRI scans are done with contrast agents. In fact, most MRI are conducted without contrast. Patients will know the difference, as they are physically injected with the gadolinium contrast agent prior to the MRI scan. Studies show that the chances of developing some symptoms of NSF following a gadolinium MRI scan are around 25%. This is especially concerning for all consumers who have been injected with gadolinium in preparation for a bone scan or MRI contrast scan. Consumers should contact a gadolinium injury lawyer immediately to examine whether they have a viable gadolinium injury claim against General Electric or Bayer Healthcare. Don't be victimized twice. Protect your rights and contact a drug recall injury lawyer today for an immediate attorney consultation to discuss your right to compensation.
The commercial trucking industry is an integral component of the movement of products throughout this country. Transportation of products by rail is no longer the practical means of moving freight from manufacturer to consumer. With the increase in tractor-trailer traffic on our nations highways, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration continues to update its safety regulations to address ongoing concerns in this industry. First and foremost, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations represents the minimum safety standards for the commercial trucking industry. Accordingly, state law and the trucking companies themselves are obliged to implement more strict safety standards. A common cause of serious truck accidents are a fatigued truck driver operating over his hours of service, resulting in poor lane discipline and careless driving. Fatigued truck driving needlessly endangers the safety and welfare of all other drivers on the road. Unfortunately, it is the trucking companies themselves who are mostly to blame for fatigued truck drivers. Because there is a shortage of qualified commercial truck drivers, companies are more willing to place inexperienced and unsafe drivers behind the wheel in order to move freight and generate revenue. This type of corporate mentality puts the motoring public in serious risk of personal injury and/or wrongful death. Contact a qualified truck accident injury lawyer if you have been victimized by a negligent truck driver and/or careless trucking company. The trucking companies pay big bucks to vigorously defend any truck accident injury claim. Don't be victimized twice. Visit the Missouri truck accident injury lawyers at Schultz Legal Group today to discuss your rights.
Fleet Phospho-soda defects have sparked product defect injury claims across the country. Along with other over-the-counter Phosphosoda, Fleet is used by consumers and healthcare providers to prepare persons for a colonoscopy. The product, manufactured by C.B. Fleet Company, works by clearing the bowels and lower intestine. The problem with Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet EZ-Prep is that it is linked directly to acute phosphate nephropathy, resulting in kidney failure. If you have taken this product and sustained serious injury, as a consumer you may have a Fleet Phospho-soda injury claim. Permanent kidney damage can require a serious road of intrusive and expensive future medical, including lifetime dialysis and/or kidney transplant. Persons are able to live with just one kidney, but the damage caused by Fleet Phospho-soda is indiscriminant when it decides which kidney to harm, often resulting in injury to both kidneys. Kidney failure can also result in death, in which case a Fleet Phospho-soda wrongful death claim may be filed by the surviving family members of the victim. Large manufacturers have a duty of care that requires them to warn of potentially life-threatening side effects associated with the use of their product. When they fail to warn of these dangers, the company is liable to all consumers harmed by the product. Contact a Fleet Phospho-soda injury lawyer today to learn if you have standing to file a Fleet product defect claim.
Fentanyl comes in a Duragesic patch and/or transdermal patch that delivers a potent level of pain killer into the human body. When first introduced in the late 1990s, Fentanyl was not prescribed for personal use. That all changed in early 2002. The fentanyl pain patch delivery system proved to help consumers suffering from chronic pain. However, Fentanyl pain patch injury claims first started to surface in 2004, and by 2005 there had been over 100 deaths linked directly to Fentanyl overdose. Do you have a Fentanyl injury claim against Janssen? The Fentanyl pain patch is known to leak and cause a potentially fatal overdose. Be on the lookout for early symptoms the life-threatening side effects associated with Fentanyl, including fatigue, shortness of breath, respiratory depression, fainting and tightness in the chest cavity. Families who have lost a loved one due to a Fentanyl overdose should contact a Fentanyl drug recall injury lawyer immediately to discuss how to properly file a wrongful death claim against Janssen. Also note that investigations into the doctors that prescribe Fentanyl is also being considered in many of these cases. Victims of a Fentanyl drug defect have rights and remedies available in the form of a product liability claim. Don't stand for being victimized by a careless drug company. Contact a drug recall injury lawyer who is experienced in the handling of a Fentanyl (Duragesic) injury claim.
Actavis Totowa manufactures Digitek to treat certain types of heart disease, including arrhythmias. However, some extremely serious side effects have been reported within the past 24 months, essentially driving a Digitek recall in April 2008. Apparently toxic levels of digoxin in the body can cause several side effects, including impaired vision and acute depression. Life-threatening side effects associated with Digitek are heart attack, cardiac arrest, and even death. If you have sustained serious injury or lost a loved one due to the dangerous side effects assocaited with Digitek, you may have a Digitek injury claim. In any products liability case, including a drug defect case, it is critical to keep safe track of your records of taking the suspect medication. Contact a drug recall injury lawyer to assist you in this regards. Forms of recovery permitted in a Digitek injury claim may include compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, future lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain & suffering, and various other damages. Don't let a careless drug company get away with victimizing you or a loved one with a dangerous product. Contact a Digitek injury lawyer today at (866) 840-3636 for an immediate case interview.
Despite serving a valuable purpose, prescription drugs can cause dangerous side effects and even death to consumers. The reality is that many large drug companies conduct their own internal safety testing on the products they manufacture. Some consumers who have been seriously injured, and families who have lost loved ones, criticize the FDA for failing to adequately screen dangerous drugs before they are approved for use by the public. The truth of the matter is that the FDA is NOT the entity to blame. They are often only provided with select testing data provided by the drug manufacturers seeking approval. Think about that for a moment. The drug company that is doing the safety testing has a direct economic interest in whether or not their drug is approved for entry into the market. At the very least, drug manufacturers have a duty to consumers to warn them of the dangerous side effects that can become life-threatening. Consumers often see the boilerplate warnings, such as nausea and headache, but very seldom are the serious side effects warned of on the box. Contact a drug recall injury lawyer immediately if you suspect a drug has caused you serious injury or the death of a loved one. Many of these dangerous drug injury claims have short statue of limitation periods, which require victims to file their drug defect case in a shortened period of time. A drug recall injury lawyer may be able to offer advice on multi-district litigation or class action litigation if such has already been initiated. In many situations, a drug consumer may file an individual drug defect injury claim in state court against the manufacturer for strict product defect and fail to warn.
Ortho-McNeil has a duty to develop and manufacture safe drugs that will not cause serious injury or death when used for their intended purpose. There has been a recent influx of Levaquin Injury Claims against the manufacturer in recent months, as consumers taking the drug have come forward with reports of very serious side effects. Levaquin users have reported tendon ruptures in the hand, shoulder, and ankle. Sometimes referred to as tendonitis, a tendon is the soft tissue that connects muscle to bone. If you have taken Levaquin and had a tendon rupture, you may be entitled to compensation by filing a Levaquin drug defect claim against Ortho-McNeil. It is critical that victimized consumers contact a drug recall injury lawyer immediately, as Levaquin claims are on the rise and victims have different options at obtaining recovery since it is still early in litigation. Levaquin is a strong antibiotic that is used to treat several different bacterial infections. Manufacturers have a duty to warn consumers when their products have the potential to cause dangerous side effects. Some manufacturers of dangerous drugs find it economically beneficial to purposely omit harmful side effects from their warning labels in the hopes of keeping drug sales up. Don't let manufacturers of these dangerous drugs get a pass. Contact a drug defect lawyer immediately if you feel you have been victimized by one of these companies.
Berlex Corporation (maker of Yaz) and Bayer Corporation (maker of Yasmin) have their hands full with an influx of product defect claims. Yaz and Yasmin are relatively new birth control products to the market. Thousands of woman have come forward in the recent months with reports of very dangerous side effects associated with taking Yaz, Yasmin, and Ocella (generic Yasmin). These side effects have included heart attack, gallbladder disease, kidney disease, liver failure, blood clotting in the lungs and legs, and death. The serious injuries and death that can potentially result from takin Yaz or Yasmin have resulting in product defect claims against both manufacturers. Yaz and Yasmin users who sustained serious injury or death may have a product liabilty claim against Berlex or Bayer depending upon whether a doctor determines if taking the prescription medication caused the injury. To make a Yaz injury claim or Yasmin injury claim, contact a drug recall injury lawyer immediately without delay. Product defect claims are governed by a short statute of limitations. A Yaz drug defect lawyer or Yasmin drug defect lawyer will be able to determine rather quickly what types of compensation an injury victim may be entitled to for a drug company's production of an unsafe product. Your product liability claim may assist in obtaining a settlement for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other forms of recovery.
Rain and slick road conditions may have contributed to the cause of several Missouri large truck accidents that occurred on Highway 70 Thursday throughout the middle of the state. A 2003 Peterbilt struck a small Oldsmobile Alero driven by Kayla Findley of Boonville. Ms. Findley was transported to a hospital in Marshall for treatment of her personal injuries sustained in the crash. A 2005 International tractor-trailer driven by Lester Burns of Joplin slid off the road and the tractor became separated from the trailer. The trailer struck a parked Volvo and then jacknifed, blocking the traveling lanes of Highway 70. Serious personal injuries were reported from this truck accident as well. A 2005 Frieghtliner tractor-trailer was traveling at an excessive rate of speed when it left the roadway and struck a rail. The passenger in the large truck, Stanley Bienaime of Mirmar Florida, was rushed to Cooper County Hospital for medical treatment. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require truck drivers to reduce their rate of speed in inclement driving conditions, such as high wind and rain. When truck drivers don't observe the Federal Safety Regulations and travel too fast for road conditions, the resulting Missouri truck accident can be catastrophic and cause serious personal injury or death to other motorists or the truck drivers and passengers themselves. If you have a Missouri truck accident injury claim, it is critical to contact a Missouri truck accident injury lawyer immediately. These injury claims implicate both state and federal law. Don't be victimized twice.
USA Today published its annual statistical review of deaths that result on our nation's rural roads. In 2008, more than half of fatal car accidents in the U.S. occurred on rural roads. While that may not sound significant, only 23% of our nation's population lives in those rural areas. So statistically, the car accidents that do take place in rural areas are serious enough to cause more fatalities than those that occur in urban city areas. In Missouri, 604 out of 960 fatalities in serious car accidents occurred in rural areas in 2008. So 63% of Missouri's fatal car accidents took place in rural areas. So causes the car accidents in rural areas to be more severe than those that take place in urban areas? For starters, most rural roads and highways in Missouri are one lane in each direction. When serious car accidents due occur in these areas, they are usually head-on car accidents that result in catastrophic personal injury and/or death. Not all Missouri car accidents in rural involve two vehicles. Many accidents are caused by large wild animals jumping out of the woods into the roadway. Others involve large tractor-trailers or semi-trucks. If you have been involved in a serious Missouri car accident, contact a Missouri Car Accident Injury Lawyer immediately. Don't take chances and gamble with your injury claim. Insurance companies never act fairly until an injury victim hires a Missouri personal injury lawyer. Don't be victimized twice.
Insurance contracts are inherently difficult to understand. The language used in automobile insurance policies is drafted by lawyers, to by understood only by other lawyers. Its as if simple sentences were translated from English to Spanish to German and back to English again, only to the be placed into the insurance policy. It is important to understand however, that Missouri courts have recently cracked down on insurance companies who purposely draft ambiguous insurance policies. The Courts have done so in favor of applying coverage in favor of the insured. I wouldn't call this a victory, but certainly it is a step forward towards placing accountability on the 'drafter' of the insurance policy, which ALWAYS is the insurance company. Lets be honest, commercial insurance companies aren't hurting for money, and they will continue to fight towards denial of coverage before they roll over and accept it. An ongoing issue in Missouri as far as insurance coverage disputes goes is in regards to UNDERinsured motorist coverage (UIM). UIM is not a requirement in Missouri, although it should be. UIM coverage applies when a motorists sustains serious personal injury or death and recovers a minimal amount from the at-fault party's insurance carrier. If the injury victim's damages were not fully compensated by the at-fault party's insurance (ie: a minimum $25,000 policy), then the victim may be able to look to his/her own automobile insurance coverage IF it has UIM coverage. Most automobile insurance companies require UIM coverage limits (if the insured chooses to purchase UIM) to be the same as UNinsured motorist (UM) limits. A motorist with UM and UIM coverage is an intelligent consumer. Hindsight is 20/20, and those victimized by negligent car or truck drivers will have a better chance at obtaining full compensation for their serious personal injuries if they had UIM coverage at the time of the crash. The most recent decision of the Courts in favor of coverage was in Jones v. Mid-Century Insurance Company (2008). In that case, the Court ruled that an insurance policy was ambiguous when it purported to provide UIM limits of $100,000 per accident in one portion of the policy, and in another part of the policy the UIM limits were reduced by a 'credit' or 'set off' provision. According to the Missouri Court of Appeals, the purpose of UIM coverage is "to compensate an insured for those damages which have not already been paid by a tortfeasor via liability insurance, self-insurance, or some other means." Contact Missouri Car Accident Injury Lawyer Stephen Schultz and get your questions answered. Don't be victimized twice by an insurance company that is only concerned with its own financial interests. Contact a Missouri personal injury lawyer today for guidance!
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