Recently in Wrongful Death Category
Authorities are still investigating the causes of a morning tractor-trailer crash in Franklin County Missouri that claimed the life of a young girl. The crash occurred in the early morning hours Friday morning when traffic on Interstate 64 was already backed up due to an earlier accident. A white tractor-trailer slammed into the back of another large blue truck that was idling in the previously slowing lanes of traffic. The impact caused significant damage and claimed the life of a young 3 year-old toddler that was riding in the passenger seat of the white truck. 49 year-old Catherine Stults was driving the white tractor-trailer that slammed into the back of the blue tractor-trailer that was being operated by Timothy Williams. The 3 year-old was eventually identified as Andrea Witherspoon of Cape Girardeau. One of the most common type of serious tractor-trailer crash involves the situation where a truck inadvertently crashes into traffic that is slowing or stopped ahead. Causes of this type of collision can include defective brakes, fatigue, or impaired line of sight. Missouri has seen is share of serious wrecks of this type, including the fatal truck crash which occurred on Highway 64 near the Mason Road exit in West County. The shear force and inertia of 60,000+ pounds of weight into a stopped object has devastating results. Visit the truck accident injury website at Schultz Legal Group for helpful information and resources. Don't be victimized twice.
Car accidents are serious and often result in permanent injury. Even a "soft-tissue" injury can be deemed serious and any first-rate orthopedist will opine that soft-tissue disc trauma is in fact a permanent injury. Victims of car accidents are vulnerable. This creates a potential issue when it comes time for the victim to discuss the claim with an insurance claims adjuster. The victim, having little to no knowledge of the law, enters into any conversation with an insurance adjuster on an unequal footing. Insurance adjusters are highly trained and do have a general knowledge of the law in Missouri. That doesn't necessarily mean that the adjuster plans to share that knowledge with the victim. Our St. Louis car accident attorneys find that often times an insurance adjuster will misguide the victim into believing that the claim must be settled immediately or else "the file will be closed." Big insurance companies bet on the odds that most injury victims will not retain a car accident injury lawyer to represent their claim. The victims that eventually do retain a lawyer are benefited many times over by legal representation. Most people do not understand all of the types of compensation that are available under Missouri law. As such, never discuss your car accident with an insurance claims adjuster. Never accept a settlement without first consulting with a St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer. Attorney Stephen Schultz is a lifetime member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and rated a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Missouri by the American Trial Lawyers Association. Don't be victimized twice. Contact the lawyers at Schultz Legal Group for an immediate consultation by calling (866) 840-3636.
St. Louis Tractor-Trailer Accident Lawyer Stephen Schultz was recently inducted into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Attorney Schultz was awarded a lifetime membership into both the Million Dollar Advocates Forum and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Membership requires a trial lawyer to obtain a single verdict or settlement in excess of one million dollars and in excess of two million dollars. This elite organization was founded in 1997 and to-date has just 3000 members nationwide. Fewer than 1% of trial lawyers in the United States share this distinction. Tractor-trailer accidents require exceptional legal representation from a lawyer who is focused in this practice area. Truck accidents involve a complicated body of federal statutory authority entitled the "Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations." These Federal Regulations set the minimum safety standards that commerical motor carriers and professional truck drivers must follow. These laws are designed to protect other motorists who share our nation's highways with trucks that can exceed 60,000 pounds each. An experienced St. Louis truck accident lawyer can investigate the circumstances of the crash with its own accident reconstruction team. It is well-known that commercial motor carriers dispatch insurance teams to the scene of a serious tractor-trailer accident within hours. Evidence such as driver log books, trip sheets, fuel receipts, bills of laiding, and other critical documentation may be purposely or accidentally misplaced. These types of documents are necessary for an injury victim or wrongful death claimaint to receive full and fair compensation from the negligent truck driver and negligent trucking company. Don't be victimized twice. Contact a lawyer immediately by calling toll-free (866) 840-3636, locally at (314) 448-0934, or by email.
I single vehicle car accident near Birch Tree resulted in serious injuries and one fatality early Saturday morning. Authorities report that 27 year-old Brandon Drexler of Winona lost control of his Ford minivan and ran off of Old Highway 60, eventually impacting several trees and overturning. The Shannon County crash resulted in injuries to the driver and two other passengers, Ryan Keeton and Daymond McAmis. 19 year-old Randi Phelps, of Birch Tree, sustained fatal injuries in the car accident and was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. McAmis sustained serious injuries and was transported to St. Johns Medical Center in Springfield for treatment. This fatal car accident has drawn the attention of the Missouri State Highway Patrol Crash Team, which will be doing conducting an accident reconstruction to determine the contributing circumstances to the crash. Accident reconstruction experts often uncover evidence in single vehicle accidents that assists a car accident lawyer in determining what parties share responsibility for the crash. Such parties can include automobile manufacturers, automotive parts suppliers, dealerships, or even the entity that designed that particular stretch of roadway. A fatal car accident attorney will be able to assist in filing a Missouri wrongful death claim on behalf of the surviving family members (ie. parents). An attorney can also assist in the investigation by retaining a private crash investigation team to participate in gathering, preserving, and processing evidence. Call to speak to a lawyer immediately by dailing (866) 840-3636. Don't be victimized twice.
A serious car accident killed 4 and injured 3 others on Missouri Interstate 55 near mile-marker 8.4 in the early morning hours on Sunday. Leon Cash reportedly lost control of his Escalade while heading north on Interstate 55, crossed the median, and struck a southbound vehicle nearly head-on. This fatal head-on car accident caused fatalities 68, 69, 70, and 71 for Troop E of the Missouri Highway Patrol. 57 year-old Leon Cash was pronounced dead at the scene. His wife Maxine was transported by Air Evac to Elvis Presley trauma center in Memphis. Cash was a resident of Rockford Illinois and was heading back home after spending the holidays with family. 60 year-old Howard Gilliland was operating the GMC SUV that was heading southbound on Interstate 55 when the accident took place. Howard Gilliland, Vontina Golliland, and Felicia Reeves-Gilliland were all pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. 5 year-old Ernest Rogers and 7 year-old Maliki Rogers were seriously injured and were transported to Lebonheur Childrens Hospital. The younger Rogers was transported by Air Evac Lifeteam. The Rogers were residents of Crown Pointe Indiana, the Gillilands were residents of Memphis Tennessee. While inclement weather was suspected to have contributed to the cause of the crash, results of a final accident investigation may not be released for some time. Holiday travel resulted in several traffic fatalities over the weekend, as well as countless claims of serious personal injuries. If you have been injured in a car accident, or have lost a loved one due to driver negligence, contact the Missouri car accident injury lawyers at Schultz Legal Group at (866) 840-3636. Don't be victimized by a large insurance company. Let a Top 100 Missouri Trial Lawyer (according to the American Trial Lawyers Association) advocate for your car accident injury claim.
Slick road conditions and heavy holiday road traveling caused several serious Missouri car accidents over the weekend, including a fatal incident involving a Missouri Highway Patrol Officer. Holiday traveling increased this year from the last as motorists took advantage of lower gas prices and a "slightly improved" economic outlook. Storms moved into the state early Christmas eve and continued to dump snow and ice through the holiday weekend. Travelers were hit on their way out of town and return back home. Air travel was also snarled as airports were forced to deal with the inclement weather. Missouri Highway Patrol Cpl. Dennis Engelhard was killed in the line of duty on Christmas day as he assisted other motorists on Interstate 44 in Eureka Missouri. As Engelhard exited his patrol car, a SUV reportedly lost control and struck Engelhard, causing fatal injuries. Cpl. Engelhard was a 10 year veteran trooper of the Missouri Highway Patrol. He was revered as a very respected trooper. Missouri drivers and out-of-state travelers are urged to exercise increased caution when navigating the state's highways, as reports of black ice have been called in to the Missouri Department of Transportation. Black ice commonly forms when the sun sets and melting snow and slush freezes into a sheen that blends in with blacktop and asphalt, making it discrete to drivers. If you are injured in a car accident in Missouri, contact authorities and medical responders immediately.
So you have been involved in a Missouri car accident and have been seriously injured. What happens now? The decisions made and actions taken within hours of a serious car accident will have a direct effect on your Missouri car accident claim. First and foremost, always request police and medical attention at the scene of any accident, no matter how "minor" you may think the crash is. Police officers will document critical information in a police report, including witness information, insurance information, and statements made by the parties. EMT personnel will document equally critical information such as vital signs and nature of the trauma. A Missouri car accident injury lawyer can then use both a police report and EMT/ambulance records to present a claim to the guilty party's insurance company. It is important to contact a car accident injury lawyer as soon as possible after being released from the hospital or after departing the scene of the crash. If an insurance claims adjuster contacts you, do NOT give he/she a recorded statement. The recorded statement is commonly used by the claims adjuster at a later date to impeach or discredit you, even if you have zero fault in the car accident. Seeking follow up care from a primary care physician and/or specialist is important for several reasons. First, it provides the injury victim with a qualified prognosis for recovery and future medical concerns. Second, it arms your injury lawyer with the medical documentation necessary to prove injuries to an insurance company and/or jury. Don't second guess your body's telling signs for injury. Seek follow up care within days or a week following discharge from the hospital. For additional advice on how to best proceed with a car accident injury claim, call     (866) 840-3636 , (314) 448-0934 or visit www.missouri-caraccidentlawyer.com. Don't be victimized twice.
Authorities responded to a Ford that was set ablaze in a fatal tractor-trailer accident on Highway 60. Apparently 48 year-old John Bousquet was driving his Ford in the eastbound lanes of Highway 60 when he approached a Peterbilt tractor-trailer being operated by Donald Seman of Republic Missouri. The collision caused Bousquet's Ford to travel into the median and burst into flames. The head-on truck crash caused significant damage to both vehicles, and both drivers suffered catastrophic injuries. Bousquet was pronounced dead at the scene, and Seman was rushed to St. Johns Hospital in Springfield Missouri. Seman was listed in serious condition upon arrival. As with any tracor-trailer accident invovling a fatality, Seman's blood will be drawn in order to test for drugs or alcohol as required by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Fatal truck accidents require strict post-accident drug testing to determine if the truck driver contributed to the cause of the fatal accident. Due to a lack of witnesses and severity of the collision, a Missouri Highway Patrol will conduct a thorough accident reconstruction in which field measurements and engineering principles will be applied in order to assist in determining what exactly caused the fatal accident. The surviving family members of John Bousquet as well as Donald Seman will have a keen interest in finding out what the MSHP determines during the course of this investigation. In any fatal tractor-trailer accident claim, a third-party investigation team should be dispatched to assist the families with their own independent determination of fault. A Mountain View truck accident injury lawyer will be able to assist in that regards by retaining an independent crash investigation team composed of engineers, accident reconstruction experts, forensic experts, and a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations expert. Contact a Missouri fatal truck accident injury lawyer today by calling (866) 840-3636.
The Missouri Highway Patrol published a warning following several serious tractor-trailer accidents last week in Missouri. Sergeant Sheldon Lyon was quoted as saying that the recent Missouri tractor-trailer accidents were not caused by other drivers, but instead caused by negligent truck drivers. Inclement weather in the middle of the week may have also contributed to the increase in truck crashes. Many commercial motor carriers have internal policies in place that require their drivers to pull off the road in inclement weather. However, the reality is that many truck drivers are under pressure to get loads delivered on time or risk not getting paid for the delivery. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations and Missouri state law require truck drivers to drastically reduce speed or pull over when road conditions become icy or snow-packed. Some truck drivers feel they can navigate just fine in winter weather and fail to reduce speed when prudence requires. These "brave drivers" can cause injury or death resulting in truck accident injury claims. Large tractor-trailers are more prone to jackknifing in inclement weather, which is a common cause of accidents on Missouri highways in icy conditions. Contact the Missouri semi-truck accident lawyers at Schultz Legal Group for assistance with your truck accident injury claim. These types of injury claims are complex and can involve several trucking companies, freight brokers, and holding companies in just one case. Contact a Top 100 Trial Lawyer at Schultz Legal Group by calling (866) 840-3636 for an immediate consultation.
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