Missouri Injury Attorneys Blog

The Missouri Department of Transportation has been ordered to pay $1.3 million by a board of arbitrators to the family of an auto crash victim after they didn't do enough to warn of dangerous road conditions.

Jemma Dant, 28, was killed December 6, 2005 on Highway 44 in Saint Louis as she waited on to get off the highway on a backed up exit ramp. Dant's vehicle was hit from behind by a semi that couldn't stop. Dant's car was pushed under a semi that was stopped in front of her, killing her instantly.

The arbitrators found that MoDOT should have had warnings for approaching drivers that traffic was backed up on the highway approaching the exit, as the traffic had been backing up at the location for over a month before the accident.

Dant's family had already received $950,000 from a lawsuit against the semi driver and the trucking company that he worked for, so the agency will actually only owe $350,000 as the previous settlement was deducted from the $1.3 million.

After the crash, the exit ramp was restriped and electronic signs were installed to warn oncoming traffic of any potentially dangerous road conditions. Had these kinds of precautions been in place at the time of the crash, the collision could have been avoided completely. If you have been in a tractor trailer or semi crash like this in Missouri, or another auto-crash that wasn't your fault, you should strongly consider hiring an attorney to represent your case.

Continue reading "Saint Louis Auto Case vs. MoDOT Settles for $1.3 Million" »

A $1.5 million wrongful death settlement was reached in a wrongful death tractor trailer auto crash in May 2005, following a head-on collision caused by a tractor trailer, just weeks before trial.

Greg Mills, a 27 year old resident of Seneca, Missouri (Mo.), was killed in a head on collision in December 2003 when a car crossed the median after being rear-ended by a tractor trailer. The tractor trailer, driven by Anthony Loveland for Dampier and Daughters trucking company, was following traffic too closely through a construction zone. As Loveland approached an intersection with stopped traffic on the southbound side of the highway, he rear-ended a vehicle in front of him, pushing it into the northbound lane, causing the head on collision with Mills' car.

Mills' parents filed a wrongful death suit in January 2004 against Dampier and Daughters. Litigation over liability took place between the parties over the next year. On December 22, 2004, the trucking company admitted liability for its driver's negligence six days before trial. The A.W. Smith Law Firm was able to secure a settlement to the tune of $1.5 million for the victim's parents.

The tractor trailer's insurance company paid $500,000 more than the insurance policy limits. The insurance company had failed to settle with the plaintiff's in an earlier policy limits demand. This exposed the insurance company to a subsequent bad faith insurance claim.

Continue reading "Missouri Wrongful Death Tractor Trailer Auto Crash Settlement" »

A teenage athlete's family settled their suit against her coach, school, and the gym where she was injured during a basketball practice with a confidential settlement in 2006. Katie Patrick, 14, hit her head against an uncovered metal wall during her high school basketball practice resulting in a traumatic brain injury.

On Nov. 19, 2002, Patrick attended basketball practice in a church gym leased by her school for P.E. and extracurricular sports practices. The building had unpadded metal walls underneath the baskets, and during the practice Patrick hit her head against the wall. She was taken to the McCune-Brooks Hospital in Carthage, Missouri (Mo.) Emergency Room for X-rays and CT scans, which came back negative. However, Patrick suffered from headaches, dizziness, and nausea for months after the injury. After frequent trips to the emergency room Patrick went to the Mayo clinic, where she was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.

A personal injury suit was filed on behalf of Patrick against the First Baptist Church (the location of the gym), Sarcoxie R-II School District and Chad Harris (the team coach). Although maintenance wasn't specified in the lease of the church gymnasium, witnesses for both sides said that both parties were equally responsible for upkeep. Witnesses also testified that there had been discussions from the onset of the agreement to install padding on the exposed metal poles of the baskets and on the metal polls behind the baskets. Testimony conflicted as to who was responsible for initiating and undertaking those measures.

Defendants also argued that Patrick's injuries were not as severe as she claimed, that the treatment prescribed by and the PET scans interpreted by Patrick's neuroradiologist was unreliable and inaccurate. An expert hired by the defense who examined the witness said that her doctors were overstating her injuries. Ultimately, however, a biomechanical engineer expert performed an inspection of the site and compared the hardness of the metal wall and the padded portions of the wall that were added after Patrick's injury took place. He found that if the wall had been padded Patrick would likely not have struck the wall with enough force to suffer even a mild traumatic brain injury.

Patrick's attorney, A.W. Smith was able to secure a settlement estimated at $6.9 million for Patrick's expenses and pain and suffering.

Continue reading "Carthage Missouri Traumatic Brain Injury Case Settled Against Sports Facility" »

The A.W. Smith Law Firm recovered a $950,000 settlement for the family members of a woman who was killed in a head-on collision auto crash in southern Missouri.

Rhonda Martin, 36, was traveling southbound on Highway 63 in Jasper County when her vehicle was struck head-on by John Harris who was traveling northbound on the highway. Both drivers were killed in the incident; Martin instantly and Harris after the crash at the hospital. Martin and Harris had been going around a slight curve when Harris crossed the centerline.

Martin's family filed a wrongful death suit against Harris ad litem. An issue in the case was that Harris and his son had a farming partnership, with the insured name "John and Michael Harris." There was conflicting evidence regarding whether this indicated a farming partnership or a family farm operation. Furthermore, the parties disputed whether or not Harris was on an errand for the partnership at the time of the crash. The suit ended with a $950,000 settlement; $850,000 was given to Martin's daughter and $100,000 to Martin's mother.

Continue reading "Jasper County Wrongful Death Settlement from a Head-On Collision Auto-Crash" »

A diabetic patient claimed that he was not properly cared for during and after a routine fasting blood test causing hypoglycemia and disorientation, resulting in a single-car rollover accident, his need for surgery and his inability to work, resulting in a $400,000 settlement.

The patient, a 53-year-old man with diabetes, had been assigned to take a fasting blood test which required him to not eat the night prior and morning of the test, or take his insulin the morning of. He was instructed not to take his insulin because it is used to lower blood sugar levels in response to eating and taking insulin without eating can induce hypoglycemia.

When the plaintiff arrived at the clinic for his blood test he was immediately taken to do the blood work, a process which took approximately ten minutes, and then released. The plaintiff left the office, and at 8:24 a.m. the results indicated that his blood sugar levels were below 50 mg/dl, what is considered to be a 'panic level'. At 9a.m. a patient came into the office and told clinic employees that there was a man in the parking lot who was confused and disoriented. By the time the employees went to the parking lot, another patient reported a man with similar symptoms had just driven away. At 9:10a.m. the sheriff called the plaintiff's wife to inform her that her husband had been involved in a single-car rollover crash. Paramedics reported that the plaintiff's blood sugar levels were at 24 mg/dl. The plaintiff's wife took him to a hospital where he was diagnosed with having a stable T12 compression fracture. He was observed for several days and then released.

A suit was filed claiming that the clinic had not properly diagnosed the plaintiff's 'hypoglycemic unawareness' (a documented illness where a patient becomes hypoglycemic, but doesn't realize their impaired mental state) and that the clinic employees were untrained and unqualified at recognizing signs of the illness. The plaintiff also claimed that the clinic lacked policies and procedures for testing diabetic patients, given that they know diabetic patients are at high risk for hypoglycemia. The case asserted diabetic patients should be given a snack and test results should be reviewed before they are allowed to leave the testing facility. The clinic argued that the patient must have taken his insulin, disregarding his doctor's orders, to produce a drop that quickly in blood sugar levels, and that it was the patients responsibility to understand their disease and risks.

The A.W. Smith Law Firm reached a settlement about a month before trial for $400,000.

Continue reading "Missouri Diabetic Patient Suffers Auto Crash Injuries after Improper Testing Procedure" »

A family claiming that doctors missed the correct diagnosis of an aortic dissection, leading to a family member's death, reached a $2 million settlement.

John Doe, 58, went to a rural hospital emergency room on a Friday evening complaining of jaw pain, chest pain, arm and leg numbness and difficulty speaking. His symptoms suddenly disappeared after fifteen minutes, but testing was done and indicated the possibility or coronary artery disease. Doe was transferred to Kansas City hospital for specialized cardiac care. A resident doctor examined Doe (who had no other complaints aside from the fifteen minute period of previous symptoms) and ordered an echocardiogram for Doe the next morning. The echocardiogram was not performed as the resident had ordered, as the echo lab was not usually open on the weekends. However, since Doe saw a cardiologist that morning, nurses assumed that it was not necessary to perform the echocardiogram.

When examined Saturday morning, the doctor found that Doe's symptoms were indicative of typical coronary artery disease and recommended that Doe remain on his current medication plan until an angiogram could be done Monday morning. After further examination, the cardiologist also noted a slight diastolic heart murmur near the left sterna border of the heart. He informed Doe and his wife that there might be a slight bacterial infection of the valve, which would explain the murmur. However, an echocardiogram was ordered for Monday to determine if there were any problems with the aorta or aortic valve to rule out "aortic incompetence due to aneurism or dissection" anyway. This condition typically leads to death within minutes. Doe died at 6 p.m. Saturday evening. Had an echocardiogram been performed Saturday morning as prescribed by the resident doctor, Doe could have had life-saving surgery.

Doe's wife and daughter filed suit alleging the emergency room physician, resident physician, and cardiologist all missed the correct diagnosis, and that the symptoms presented should have warranted a CT scan of the chest to rule out aortic dissection. Furthermore, the plaintiffs' cardiology expert was critical of the fact that, although the cardiologist considered aortic dissection a possibility, nothing was done to rule it out. Defendants argued that the symptoms were actually more consistent with coronary artery disease and that even if the correct diagnosis had been made, Doe would not have survived the necessary surgery.
A month before trial, the A.W. Smith Law Firm, PC secured a $2 million settlement for the family.

Continue reading "Missouri Medical Malpractice leads to Misdiagnosis of Cardiac Patient" »