St. Louis Injury Lawyer Blog

A tree trimming service employee sued John Deere and ERB Equipment Company of Illinois, Inc. for unsafe design of a tractor.

The product liability suit, filed in June of 2006, followed a November 2002 injury in which a man was using a John Deere bobcat with a tree grappler attachment to remove trees and stumps. Holding a nearby handle, the plaintiff was standing on the grappler when the bobcat pitched forward. The man fell off the equipment and was run over.

The plaintiff alleged that John Deere was negligent in its design of the bobcat, which encouraged users to stand in a place that put them at risk for falling. Other employees had stood on the grappler, believing that the placement of a handle near the scoop meant they could safely stand there.

Represented by Michael Glisson from the law office of Williamson, Webster, Falb & Glisson, the plaintiff received a settlement by mediation.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, plaintiffs received favorable outcomes in product liability lawsuits only 34% of the time from 2002 to 2003, as compared to 57% success in car accident cases.

Continue reading "John Deere Successfully Sued in Product Liability Case" »

Two Alton, Illinois bars are facing dramshop lawsuits after a man from Hardin died in a drunk driving auto accident.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of the deceased man has named Woodstock Lounge and Ten-Pin Lounge in downtown Alton partially responsible under dramshop laws for the fatal accident by allegedly serving the drunken driver--a man from Fieldon, Illinois--an excessive amount of alcohol which caused his impaired driving.

According to an article in The Telegraph, the car accident, which occurred in January 2010, has already led to fines, probation and jail time for the drunk driver. The criminal case against the driver was tried in Jersey County Circuit Court, while the civil case against the two Alton taverns was filed in Madison County Circuit Court.

The victim was killed in a crash on Illinois Route 16 outside of Fieldon, Illinois, where officials pronounced him dead upon arriving to the accident site.

The National Center for Injury Prevention & Control reports that in 2008, 11,773 people died in car crashes where one or both drivers were under the influence of alcohol. According to the Illinois State Police website, impaired driving offenses that result in serious car crashes can result in "Aggravated DUI" sentences, which can carry a fine of $25,000 and up to twelve years in prison.

Continue reading "Ten-Pin Lounge and Woodstock Lounge in Alton, Illinois Sued for Drunk Driving Deaths" »

Residents from St. Clair County, Illinois have joined other plaintiffs from the states of New York and Louisiana in a product liability lawsuit against Pfizer, a New York City-based pharmaceutical company.

The St. Clair County plaintiff claimed that Pfizer's anti-epilepsy drug, Dilantin, caused her son to develop a chronic skin disorder that led to a his death. The disorder is referred to as Stevens Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidural Necrolysis in an article by the St. Clair Record.

The disorder causes skin discoloration, the loss of hair and nails, sharply decreased eyesight and organ damage.

The plaintiffs complained that Pfizer knowingly continued to market and distribute its product despite the knowledge that Dilantin caused extreme adverse effects to a portion of its users. As a result of Pfizer's negligence to inform the general public about the potentially deadly side effects, the St. Clair County, New York and Louisana plaintiffs have dealt with disability, disfigurement, pain and loss of love and affection in the cases of death.

Pfizer allegedly has violated marketing and health care liability laws and has paid billions of dollars in fines for civil and criminal lawsuits. According to a fact sheet compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Pfizer's $2.3 billion settlement is the largest in the Justice Department's history of handing health care fraud cases.

Continue reading "St. Clair County Illinois Residents Join in Case Against Pfizer" »

A woman visiting an Alton, Illinois hospital is suing the facility for failing to prevent slips and falls on their premises.

The plaintiff was visiting her husband at St. Clare's Hospital on the day of the accident. She was caring for her husband, who was in outpatient care, when she slipped and fell on a dangerous condition. According to the Madison County Record, the accident broke a knee cap, a wrist and a rib.

The primary claims made in the case are that the owners failed to keep the hospital safe for patients and visitors, which has cost the plaintiff thousands of dollars in medical bills and undue stress. Her lawsuit was the last to be filed in Madison County for the year 2010.

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, preventing slips and falls by reducing hospital hallway clutter and drying wet surfaces is important for maintaining a safe environment. At the very least, wet floor areas should be marked with signs. Spills can also lead to mold and bacteria growth, which contribute to hospital-associated infections.

Continue reading "St. Clare's Hospital Accident Leads to Slip and Fall Lawsuit" »

A series of St. Louis Post-Dispatch stories are turning the tables on alarmists who claim there are too many "frivolous lawsuits" against health care facilities and physicians.

Illinois Trial Lawyers Association President Todd A. Smith contacted the Post-Dispatch to refute a Northwestern University study which claimed that medical malpractice suits were causing newly trained doctors to leave the state of Illinois. The claim failed to take into account the fact that a high portion of doctors trained in Illinois are from out-of-state and plan to return home to begin their careers.

In a case dating back to 2003, a doctor operated on a five-year-old girl's right eye instead of her left. According to the story in the Post, the doctor then attempted to cover-up his mistake by lying to the girl's parents and tampering with medical charts. Despite being caught and paying a fine, the doctor has not been suspended from a day of work.

As reporter Jeremy Kohler writes, "Leniency and secrecy are the rule when it comes to policing Missouri's 22,000 doctors, a Post-Dispatch investigation has found."

As demonstrated in an article posted on Dec. 12 of last year, the list of what the Missouri medical board will publicly disseminate about a doctor on trial is much shorter than what the board refuses to reveal. Criminal records, investigations, history of training and education, hospital privilege restrictions and discipline from other states are off-limits, as is any information about physicians who are suspended, revoked or retired.

Considering these facts, one can imagine how difficult it is to get the real story on a doctor who may have caused harm to an innocent patient.

Continue reading "Medical Malpractice: Alarmists on Trial" »

A woman who worked at Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, Illinois has filed an age discrimination lawsuit against her former employer.

After working in the same facility for more than 30 years, the woman in her mid-fifties was permanently discharged from her duties. Not long after being let go, another man under the age of 40 was hired for the same position.

The suit alleges that the woman was mistreated at work due to her age and sex despite completing a satisfactory amount of work of reasonable quality. According to an article in the Madison County Record, the discriminatory firing has led to the plaintiff complaining of suffering and mental anguish, in addition to loss of wages and benefits.

The seven-count discrimination lawsuit was filed in Madison County Circuit Court in December.

Despite improved working conditions in recent decades, a Gallup Poll cited by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that 15% of Americans believed they had faced some form of discrimination at work, whether or not they had filed formal complaints. In addition, 18% of employment discrimination complaints were age-related.

Continue reading "Fired Gateway Regional Medical Center Employee Files Discrimination Suit" »

A woman from Maryville, Illinois who fell on an Alton Square Mall escalator is filing a slip and fall lawsuit against Schindler Escalator Company.

The accident, which occurred in January 2010, was a result of an elevator in the JC Penney department store in Alton Square Mall coming to a sudden stop, causing the plaintiff to fall and become injured. Treating the injury has resulted in steep medical bills from the ambulance ride, hospital bills, radiology reports and a chiropractor. The injuries have also caused the plaintiff mental anguish and a loss of quality of life.

The plaintiff is represented by Michael P. Glisson, an attorney with the Alton-based law firm WWF&G, which specializes in personal injury cases. Glisson has pledged to make a recovery on his client's behalf.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 2.2 million accidental falls by older adults led to emergency treatment in 2009. Falls cause a high percent of all traumatic brain injuries and the majority of bone fractures among older adults.

Continue reading "Maryville Illinois Woman Falls on Faulty Escalator at Alton Square Mall" »

A woman from Madison County, Illinois who sustained injuries due to a transportation company's negligence has resolved her claim. She previously filed a personal injury lawsuit against Helping Hands Medical Service Car, Inc. alleging negligent transportation.

In February of 2008, the wheelchair-bound plaintiff used the services of Helping Hands for transportation purposes. She just had a knee replacement surgery, and was in a full leg cast. She hired Helping Hands to transport her to a follow up doctor's visit.

Despite locking her wheelchair down, Helping Hands failed to secure her with a seatbelt. Seatbelts are required by Helping Hand's written policies, but the driver failed to bring a seatbelt. The Plaintiff was assured that she would be okay, but at the very first stop light, the driver had to stop abruptly, causing the plaintiff to spill forward out of the wheelchair.

As a result, the accident did permanent damage to the plaintiff's body, including a fracture of her femur bone. The accident caused the plaintiff pain and suffering and a great deal of medical expenses, for which she sought damages against Helping Hands.

According to the Illinois General Assembly, car services that transport disabled passengers are government-subsidized services. Such companies should be held to a higher standard as they use tax dollars and should provide quality, safe services to the people of Illinois. In fact, transportation services in Illinois are common carriers, and are held to the highest standard of care.

Continue reading "Madison County Illinois Woman Resolves Negligence Suit Against Car Service" »