St. Louis Injury Lawyer Blog

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" »

Several family members died in a car accident in the Hancock County, Illinois town of Hamilton.

The lawsuit filed by attorneys Tom Falb and Michael Glisson of Williamson, Webster, Falb & Glisson against a tavern that served the drivers states that the order of death was unknown, but four people all died from the same wreck. Also named in the lawsuit are the builders and maintainers of the road in a subdivision which was unlit, unmarked and dangerous to drivers.

The fatal wreck occurred on a foggy night. The road was a gravel and chip road with dips and curves, most notably a 90-degree curve between two ponds with deep embankments from near the edge of the roadway into each pond. As the driver attempted to make the sharp turn, the vehicle slid into the pond and caused massive car damage and drowning.

The wrongful death lawsuit claims that the roadway owners were neglectful in maintaining a proper level of safety for drivers using the road.

Alton, Illinois-based attorneys Tom Falb and Michael Glisson's lawsuit filed in Hancock County Circuit Court seeks damages for 64 counts against the defendants, including premises liabilities, wrongful death, survival acts, and dramshop violations.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, although only 23 percent of Americans lived in rural areas, 53 percent of fatal vehicle accidents occurred on rural roads in 2007. The study explained that this may be due to a number of factors, including the greater distance to hospitals, higher speeds of driving due to less traffic, a lack of shoulders and marked lane dividers, lower safety belt usage, and a higher likelihood of alcohol involvement.

Continue reading "Hancock County, Illinois Auto Accident Death Leads to Lawsuit" »

A man riding in Madison County filed a motorcycle accident lawsuit after a wreck in Granite City caused him to sustain several injuries.

According to a report in the Madison County Record, the accident with a car driver caused damage to the motorcyclist's head, ribs, neck, back, and collar bone. As a result, the cyclist had to receive expensive medical care, for which he now seeks damages against the car driver.

The collision occurred on Madison Avenue in Granite City. The two vehicles involved had been traveling in opposite directions when the car turned to enter a driveway and hit the motorcycle.

The suit claims that the car owner was negligent in his driving by failing to slow down, keep a proper look-out, and observing the cyclist's right of way.

The Illinois Department of Transportation encourages car drivers to "Start Seeing Motorcycles." According to an IDOT statistics sheet, 130 motorcyclists and their passengers died in wrecks in 2009, comprising 14% of the state's total road fatalities. Four of the 130 cyclists died in Madison County, and another four died in St. Clair County.

Continue reading "Madison County, Illinois Motorcyclist Files Accident Lawsuit" »

One crash led to another on a southbound Interstate 55 wreck in Jefferson County, Missouri.

The complicated chain of events began when a car driven by a young woman from Imperial, MO crossed the right fog line and struck the car of a man from Jackson, MO, who was parked on the shoulder. The man's car then entered the road, where it was hit by another car driver from Litchfield, IL and then a tractor trailer driven by a man from Florida. After colliding with three vehicles and hitting the median on the opposite side of the interstate from where it started, the Jackson man's car (pictured here) was totaled, and several people involved were taken by ambulance to a hospital.

According to the police report by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the accident occurred between the 188 and 189 mile markers south of Richardson Road.

Represented by attorney Michael Glisson from the Alton, Illinois-based law office of Williamson, Webster, Falb & Glisson, the man from Jackson has filed an auto accident suit against the other drivers involved.

Fortunately, no one died as a result of the multiple car wreck. And although the number of driving fatalities in Missouri has decreased in recent years -- from 1,257 in 2005 to 878 in 2009, a National Highway Traffic Safety Commission report states -- the problem still exists and is reason enough to drive carefully on Interstate roadways.

Continue reading "Interstate 55 Multiple Car Accident Leads to Lawsuit" »

A nursing home employee was arrested for abusing a resident of the home in Maryland Heights, Missouri in St. Louis County.

According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch news brief, the nurse scratched a patient's face several times after becoming angry with the patient. The patient was 72 years old at the time of the assault.

The arrested nurse was charged with third degree elder abuse, a class A misdemeanor.

A National Center on Elder Abuse report stated that between 1 and 2 million Americans age 65 or older have been injured or exploited in some way by a caretaker. In domestic settings, only 1 in 14 of these incidents are reported to police.

Among the types of abuse reported in the study were nursing home neglect, gross abuse, self-neglect, financial exploitation and physical abuse.

Signs of elder abuse include bruises, pressure marks, broken bones, sudden changes in financial situation, bedsores, strained relationships and frequent arguments. The NCEA recommends that people keep an eye out for the warning signs to make sure their loved ones are being treated well.

Continue reading "Maryland Heights, Missouri Nurse Arrested and Charged with Elder Abuse" »

A woman terminated from her job at an Alton, Illinois loan company has filed suit against her former employer, claiming that she was fired for having a hip replacement.

According to an article in the Madison County Record, the suit claims loss of wages and benefits between $50,000 and $70,000 as a result of losing employment. In addition, the plaintiff's attorney wrote that the plaintiff performed the tasks essential to her job, living up reasonably to the employer's expectations.

The firing followed a hospital visit, during which the plaintiff's need for a total hip replacement was confirmed. The plaintiff continued going to work and performing her duties despite being in severe pain. A week and a half after her hospitalization, with her hip surgery coming soon, the plaintiff was fired.

Upon being terminated, the plaintiff signed a separation agreement that stated she would continue to receive health insurance for four more weeks, which would have enabled her to be covered for surgery. Her former boss, however, canceled the health insurance, which the plaintiff's attorney claims violated the separation agreement.

According to the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, the number of employment discrimination lawsuits filed has steadily increased from 80,680 in 1997 to 99,922 in 2010 -- the largest quantity of cases listed on the EEOC website.

Continue reading "Alton Illinois Employer Sued for Failing to Pay Share of Medical Insurance" »

A death row inmate from St. Louis, Missouri has received support from Amnesty International, which has filed an appeal on his behalf.

According to an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the nonprofit organization's appeal claims that the man was beaten by police and received an unfair trial. The prisoner had been convicted for the murder of two people at the Chain of Rocks Bridge, an incident from 1991.

The man's cousin received a police department settlement after filing a civil rights lawsuit alleging that the police beat him. The current criminal court appeal seeks to remove the man's death sentence, claiming that he was convicted as an accomplice.

Amnesty International also said the prosecution stacked the jury against his client, creating a bias in favor of conviction.

The campaign to undo the man's death sentence has run for several years. A website created to protest his punishment insists that reasonable doubt -- including a lack of physical evidence -- should have made the jury and judges think twice before resorting to the death penalty.

Continue reading "St. Louis Missouri Death Row Inmate Defended by Amnesty International" »

A woman from the town of East Carondelet, Illinois in St. Clair County has filed a dog bite lawsuit in the circuit court against a pet owner who failed to prevent an attack.

According to a story in the St. Clair County Record, the woman claims to have been attacked without provocation. A mixed breed dog bit the plaintiff, causing leg, arm, and wrist injuries leading to infection. As a result, the woman sustained permanent nerve damage, as well as damage to her blood vessels and skin.

The suit alleges that the dog's owner is at fault for failing to properly control her animal, which the plaintiff claimed was "vicious" and had a history of attacking people. The plaintiff aims to recover damages from lost wages and medical bills.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted in a promotion for National Dog Bite Prevention Week that 4.5 million Americans are victims of dog bites every year. Nearly one in five of those people end up needing medical attention due to the severity of the bite. Children are at the highest risk for receiving medical attention for dog bites, and adult men are more likely to be bitten than women.

Continue reading "St. Clair County Illinois Woman Sues for Dog Bite" »