St. Louis Injury Lawyer Blog

A motorcycle rider from St. Clair County, Illinois has filed a motorcycle accident lawsuit against a road construction company and a car driver from Collinsville.

According to an article in the St. Clair Record, the two men collided on Interstate-55 headed west toward East St. Louis as the Collinsville man merged quickly into the Harley rider's lane to avoid road construction. The accident caused the biker's leg to break in several places.

The lawsuit, filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court, holds both the company that was doing roadwork on the interstate and the car driver responsible for their negligence and loss of consortium. The plaintiff alleged that the construction crew failed to provide enough signs to warn drivers of construction, which promoted reckless driving.

With the advent of text messaging, email, and browsing the internet by phone, reckless driving in construction zones has become a problem in Illinois. As such, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has established National Work Zone Awareness Week, which was observed in 2011 from April 4 to 8. IDOT wants Illinois drivers to know that text messaging impairs drivers, and even using a phone in an Illinois work or school zone is now illegal.

Continue reading "St. Clair County, Illinois Harley Rider Sues Collinsville Driver for Wreck" »

A Subway restaurant became the defendant of a food poisoning lawsuit when 41 people allegedly became ill after eating at the same Illinois location.

MySuburbanLife.com reports that two couples had filed suit against the same Subway after discovering their food had been infected with the potentially lethal Shigella sonnei bacteria. One of the plaintiffs had been hospitalized for four days and was experiencing serious symptoms to the point of fearing for her life.

The restaurant closed for a health department investigation. The article reports that this type of bacteria can be spread not only by eating contaminated food, but also from person-to-person contact. The bacteria can be prevented with frequent hand washing.

The Illinois Department of Public Health estimates that 250,000 cases of food poisoning occur each year in the state. Although most cases are not serious and go unreported, in rare situations, food poisoning can cause hospitalization and/or death. Symptoms can show up anywhere between 30 minutes and two weeks of ingesting contaminated food.

Continue reading "Illinois Subway Restaurant Faces Food Poisoning Lawsuit" »

A woman whose husband died from a house fire has filed a wrongful death claim against the Pontoon Beach, Illinois man who started the nearby bonfire.

According to an article in The Telegraph, the late husband was visiting his friend and had fallen asleep inside his friend's house when a bonfire the host had started caught the house on fire. The coroner ruled the death an accident, as the late husband had been intoxicated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that deaths from fires are the third most common cause of death in the home. In 2009, one American citizen died in a fire every 175 minutes on average, while fire-related injuries occurred every 31 minutes.

Continue reading "Pontoon Beach, Illinois Widow Files Wrongful Death Suit" »

A Dupo, Illinois man shot by a municipal police officer is making plans to obtain legal counsel and file a police violation lawsuit against the officer and the police department.

According to an article in the Belleville News-Democrat, a police officer arrived at the man's house due to a domestic disturbance call. At first, the man refused to come out. When he finally did, the officer spotted a weapon of some sort in his hand -- thinking it might possibly be a gun -- and shot him immediately. The bullet went through his arm and into his chest, which caused tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills.

As it turned out, the object in the man's hand was a baton used by police. The police department found no wrongdoing in the officer's actions, and there are no criminal charges being made against either the man of the officer. Although the man does not wish for the officer to receive jail time, as he admitted he was clearly intoxicated and not fully in control of himself, he did wish to obtain damages from the city for medical bills and pain and suffering.

As of the News-Democrat article's publication, no lawsuit has been filed yet in St. Clair County Circuit Court, but the man said he had contacted a lawyer.

Continue reading "Dupo, Illinois Police Shooting May Lead to Police Violation Lawsuit" »

Dozens of plaintiffs from St. Clair County, Illinois joined a pharmaceuticals lawsuit against a gastrointestinal drug manufacturer allegedly responsible for neurological disorders in patients using the medicine.

The 70 plaintiffs are listed in the St. Clair Record article posted online. The plaintiffs accuse the makers of Reglan for side effects that affect their brains and cause involuntary movements.

The lawsuit claims that there is no cure for the dyskinesia, a condition that occurs when dopamine receptor blocking drugs cause abnormal movements in those who take them.

Walgreens, which distributed medicines containing the drug, is a defendant in the lawsuit for its alleged negligence in not effectively warning customers of its potential side effects. A slew of brand name and generic drug producers, including Wyeth and Pfizer, are also defendants, all of which are listed in the aforementioned article.

Continue reading "70 St. Clair County, Illinois Residents Join Pharmaceuticals Lawsuit" »

A man from Wentzville, Missouri jailed in Bridgeton has filed a civil rights lawsuit in federal court against the city's police department for beating and tasing him unfairly.

According to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the alleged police violation in the Bridgeton jail is being investigated by the FBI. A surveillance video from the time of the incident is available for viewing on STLToday.com.

The has been treated for a swollen jaw and bruises. The plaintiff's attorney claimed he came to his office with metal staples and Taser marks on his back as a result of the assault and battery.

The man was originally stopped for speeding. The arresting officers described him as uncooperative and smelling of alcohol. Due to his refusal to provide some personal information about himself, he was held in a cell, where the police violations allegedly occurred.

A study published by the National Criminal Justice Reference Service argues that police officers' right to use physical force to apprehend suspects is right and just, but problems arise in the application of force. The report hypothesizes that the best ways to prevent police brutality are to continue training new officers even after they begin service, conducting psychological exams prior to police academy admittance, and establishing civilian review boards.

Fewer complaints of police violations were also reported about police departments with more officers who have lots of experience or are college educated, female, or African-American.

Continue reading "Bridgeton, Missouri Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed by Prisoner from Wentzville" »

August Busch IV of St. Louis County, Missouri has made a settlement offer in his wrongful death case.

According to a piece published in Reuters, the former owner of Budweiser's girlfriend, Adrienne Martin, died in December from a drug overdose. Drug labs taken during the autopsy showed that she had deadly levels of oxycodone and cocaine in her system.

Busch extended an offer to Martin's family of $1.5 million, although he admitted no wrongdoing. St. Louis County opted not to file criminal charges against the final heir to the Anheuser-Busch beer empire, stating that the overdose was believed to be accidental.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published a statistics sheet concerning wrongful death incidents in the U.S. for the year of 2008. Overall, wrongful deaths made were fifth on the list of causes of death for Americans. Specifically, 123,706 people died from unintentional injuries, which makes 41 per 100,000 people. Emergency departments also saw 28.4 million cases of unintentional injuries.

Continue reading "Former Anheuser-Busch Owner Tries to Settle Wrongful Death Suit" »

A railroad employee for Union Pacific has filed an employment lawsuit after becoming injured on the job.

The man, who worked for the company for years as a brakeman and conductor, has been treated for injuries to his knee and spine, according to the lawsuit described in a St. Clair Record article. The lawsuit lays the blame on the injuries for years of negligence by Union Pacific, which allegedly failed to provide a safe work environment or take steps toward better ergonomics for employees.

The railroad lawsuit draws a link between the man's injuries and an inability to work or enjoy hobbies, mental anguish, lost wages, and a series of taxing medical bills. The case was filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court.

Although industry and commerce in the United States benefit greatly from the efforts of railroad workers, working for the railroad can be a potentially dangerous proposition. According to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report, railroad workers are more than twice as likely to die on the job as other workers.

Continue reading "Union Pacific Employee from St. Clair County Claims Injuries Due to Negligence" »

Alton, Illinois attorney Michael Glisson from the law firm of WWF&G has filed a personal injury lawsuit with several counts of negligence and violations of the Family Expense Act against a family from Sandwich, Illinois in the county of DeKalb.

The suit claims that the family was partially responsible for the injuries a minor who, with his friend, helped to knock a bee hive to the ground and light it on fire. When the minor defendant poured kerosene or gasoline onto the flames, the contained ignited and exploded, causing burn injuries to his friend, also a minor.

Glisson's lawsuit accuses the minor friend and his parents of negligence: the minor for obtaining and pouring ignitable fluid, which he did not have permission to use, and his parents for failing to supervise the children and exercise ordinary care.

The Illinois Jury Instruction manual defines the concept of "ordinary care" like so:

"A minor is not held to the same standard of conduct as an adult. When I use the words 'ordinary care' with respect to the [defendant], I mean that degree of care which a reasonably careful person of the age, mental capacity and experience of the [defendant] would use under the circumstances similar to those shown by the evidence. The law does not say how such a person would act under those circumstances. That is for you to decide."

Continue reading "Illinois Lawsuit Accuses Defendants of Child Negligence" »

A father and son duo from Alton, Illinois injured in a car collision by a driver who ran a red light have filed an auto accident lawsuit.

The incident occurred on Route 140 at the intersection of St. James Road in Madison County, according to an article posted on the Madison County Record website. While the man and his son were headed west on 140, the defendant was driving north, and he allegedly failed to stop at a traffic light.

The collision has resulted in expensive medical bills for the father and son, as well as lost wages for the father. Their attorney seeks more than $100,000 in damages, which would also include court costs.

The Federal Highway Administration has identified red-light running as a serious safety issue in the U.S. In 2008, there were 2.3 million crashes and 7,770 fatalities at road intersections.

Continue reading "Alton, Illinois Father and Son Sue Red-Light Runner" »

A Wal-Mart shopper from Madison County, Illinois has filed an assault and battery personal injury lawsuit against the corporation and the store's security officer who tackled her.

The woman was pregnant at the time of the incident. According to the lawsuit, described in article posted on the Madison County Record website, she was followed out of the store and thrown to the ground by a Wal-Mart loss prevention officer, which caused injury both to the plaintiff and her unborn child. The officer had been watching her and following her closely prior to her exit from the store.

The plaintiff has claimed that she was falsely accused of shoplifting and that being tackled caused complications in her pregnancy, although the lawsuit does not describe the child's injuries. Wal-Mart did not press charges for retail theft. At one point, the plaintiff fired her lawyer for the case but wanted to continue the suit.

This case is not nearly the only lawsuit against Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart Litigation Project website is just one place to find information about pending and past cases with Wal-Mart as the defendant.

Continue reading "Madison County, Illinois Pregnant Wal-Mart Shopper Sues for Battery" »

A woman victimized in an unprovoked dog attack received a $15,000 settlement thanks to the help of Alton, Illinois attorney Michael P. Glisson.

The lawyer from Williamson, Webster, Falb & Glisson represented a woman whose finger was bitten down to the bone by a dog. The attack required hospitalization for the woman. During emergency treatment, it was discovered that the dog had injured the woman's right thumb, index finger and third finger. Even after receiving expensive medical treatment, the plaintiff still had a difficult time bending her thumb and had two permanent scars.

The circumstances of the brutal attack were such that the plaintiff's husband was present. He attempted to dispatch the animal by hitting it on the head, injuring his shoulder in the process. It took several strikes for the dog to let go. As a result, husband also received some medical treatment in the form of shots for inflammation.

The State of Illinois has recognized the danger posed by vicious dogs in the last few years. In 2006, the governor signed a piece of legislation into law that toughens sentences for owners of violent dogs.

According to an Illinois.gov press release, "House Bill 4238 ... increases the criminal penalty to a Class 3 felony punishable by up to five years in prison if the owner of a vicious dog fails to keep their dog in an enclosure or fails to spay or neuter the animal and it gets loose and kills or seriously injures someone. If the owner knowingly allowed the dog to run loose or failed to take steps to keep the animal in an enclosure, the offense is a Class 2 felony, carrying a potential prison term of three to seven years."

Continue reading "Unprovoked Dog Attack Causes Serious Injuries, Cash Settlement" »

When a bicycle sold and assembled by the Wal-Mart in Cahokia, Illinois broke suddenly on a 13-year-old boy, the store found themselves defendants in a bicycle accident lawsuit filed by the boy's mother.

According to a report in the St. Clair Record, the bike fell apart on its very first ride, causing injuries to the teenage boy. The handle bars became detached, and the minor lost control, flipped over the bike and hit the ground. This, the suit alleges, was caused by faulty installation of the parts involved in steering the bicycle, paired with insufficient brakes.

The boy's shoulder hit the curb, which injured him severely and permanently. The lawsuit, filed in St. Clair County Circuit Court, seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages stemming from medical bills for the injuries to his shoulder, as well as his collar bone, head, neck and back.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reminds cyclists that bikes can be an excellent method of transportation, but they should be treated as vehicles rather than toys -- even for children. In addition to wearing a bicycle helmet, checking your equipment to make sure everything is in fine working condition can prevent injury-causing accidents.

Continue reading "Cahokia, Illinois Wal-Mart's Improper Bicycle Assembly Causes Injury" »

A man from Dorsey, Illinois attacked on his property by two dogs has filed a dog bite lawsuit against their owner.

A pit bull and a doberman mix encroached on the man's property and began attacking his dog as he was mowing the lawn. When he stopped mowing to separate the dogs, the defendants' dogs attacked. According to the lawsuit, the attack with vicious and without provocation.

The man sustained permanent injuries as a result of the incident, including injuries to his left hand, lower back, legs and toes.

The lawsuit, filed by Michael Glisson from the law office of Williamson, Webster, Falb & Glisson in Alton, Illinois, contains one count of negligence and one count of violating the Animal Control Act. The suit argues that the owner of the pit bull and doberman were negligent in their care of the animals, failing to train them, leash them and prevent them from entering another person's property with full knowledge that the dogs were dangerous.

Glisson's suit, filed in Madison County Circuit Court, also claims the owners should have euthanized the dogs due to their propensity for violence.

According to a stats and tips sheet released by the County of Los Angeles Public Health Department, homeowners' liability insurance covers more than $1 billion a year in dog attack claims. Safety tips offered by the department include being still when approached by an unfamiliar dog, avoiding eye contact, and refraining from petting a dog that is sleeping or eating.

Continue reading "Dorsey, Illinois Pit Bull Owner Sued" »

A woman from Wood River, Illinois is suing the city following the wrongful drowning death of her four-year-old son.

According to a report in the Madison County Record, the lawsuit accuses the City of Wood River for creating unsafe conditions for children. The plaintiff's child had walked through a tunnel and onto a spillway, where he slipped, fell, and was drowned in a retention pond. The suit contends that the city could have done more to prevent children from entering the tunnel, as children had been entering the same tunnel for years in order to swim in the retention pond.

The personal injury lawsuit, filed in Madison County Circuit Court, seeks damages for loss of society and mental anguish caused by the child's untimely death, which allegedly could have been prevented by safer conditions. Six counts are included in the complaint for a total of $300,000 in damages sought.

Going for a swim may seem an innocent enough prospect for children. Yet statistics show that parents should be wary of allowing young children to swim or be near water without supervision. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that drowning is the leading cause of injury death for children ages 1 through 4.

Continue reading "Wood River, Illinois Woman Suing for 4-Year-Old's Drowning Death" »