St. Louis Injury Lawyer Blog

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" »

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 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" »

O'Leary's Bar and Restaurant in St. Louis and a Sunset Hills police officer have settled a drunk driving, dramshop and wrongful death case out of court.

A car accident caused by the suspended police officer killed the other car's four passengers instantly and seriously injured the driver. The accident, which occurred in March of 2009, came at the tail end of a night of binge drinking at O'Leary's Bar.

According to a report on the KMOV St. Louis website, a receipt recovered from the offender's purse revealed that she had drunk five Cosmopolitans, and the hospital's breathalyzer test showed the off-duty officer's blood alcohol content to be nearly three times the legal limit.

The settlement total came to a sum in excess of $2.2 million, which maxed out the amount the officer's and tavern's insurance policies would pay. The criminal case against the officer, who plead guilty, will determine how many years of prison time she will receive. The sentence is scheduled to come in spring of 2011.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 32 people die every day in the United States from auto accidents related to drunk driving.

Continue reading "St. Louis Tavern and Off-Duty Police Officer Settle Drunk Driving Suit" »

A St. Louis County resident from Ballwin, Missouri stands accused of killing a pedestrian due to reckless driving. A wrongful death lawsuit was filed at St. Louis County Circuit Court to remedy the suffering caused by the fatal driving accident.

The defendant hit and killed a man walking across Manchester Road in Ellisville, Missouri. The pedestrian was from a Chicago, Illinois suburb. According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch court brief, the driver was using her cellphone, which prevented her from taking proper safety precautions and observing all the rules of the road. In addition, the plaintiffs have accused the defendant of driving too quickly to stop in time. The incident occurred in December of 2009.

The Missouri Department of Transportation reports that 37 pedestrians were fatally injured in 2009. 113 fatalities on Missouri roads were caused by inattention, and exceeding the speed limit caused an additional 75 deaths.

Continue reading "St. Louis Missouri Driver Sued for Wrongful Death After Auto Accident" »

The family of a drowning victim has alleged that negligence on the part of Holiday Shores and its lifeguards led to the drowning and death of a man swimming in the lake with his family.

On a late summer afternoon, a man began coughing and struggling to swim in the lake. Other people in the lake began screaming, alerting the lifeguard about the man's struggle, but it is alleged the lifeguard did not respond in time. Witnesses saw the lifeguard using her cell for texting or internet use throughout the day. Despite making several dives to attempt finding the body, the man was not found for more than an hour.

The lawsuit has revealed that the lifeguard sent and received more than 200 text messages on the day of the incident, including several messages in the minutes leading up to the drowning incident.

Represented by WWFG attorney Michael P. Glisson, the family has filed a suit against Holiday Shores with three counts, including wrongful death, survival act and family expense act. The case is expected to go to trial in 12-18 months.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 3,443 people died in fatal unintentional drownings in 2007.

Continue reading "Holiday Shores Illinois Drowning Death Leads to Wrongful Death Suit" »

A Missouri family is in court once again after their daughter's death in 2003 while climbing a rock wall. Christine Ewing, 22, was climbing a wall at a Mid-Missouri Mavericks minor league baseball game in Columbia, MO when a safety cable broke. Ewing fell 20 feet onto asphalt. Police later discovered that the cable was not only rusty, but was frayed and held together with duck tape.

The owner of the wall, Marcus Floyd, was tried for involuntary manslaughter after the incident but ended up pleading guilty to misdemeanor assault. Ewing's parents sued Floyd in 2004 in a wrongful death suit that resulted in a $700,000 award. However, now the Ewings claim that the Mid-Missouri Mavericks hold some liability for letting Floyd allow the cord to fall into disrepair.

Continue reading "Missouri Parents Continue Lawsuit Against Baseball Team After Daughter's Death" »

In 2008, 29-year-old Timothy Epperson was working for the city of Perry, MO fixing sewer lines with another city worker when the sides of the trench collapsed. His co-worker survived but Epperson was trapped under the debris and died later that night in an area hospital.

Epperson left behind three sons and a wife who would eventually file a suit against the town's superintendent on behalf of her sons. Last week, Circuit Judge Robert Clayton II awarded the family $6 million, claiming "breached duty of care" towards Epperson on the part of the town. According to the Hannibal Courier-Post, the judge also claimed that proper safety precautions were not observed on the site of the accident and that the superintendent was aware of the dangers around the trench.

Continue reading "Missouri Trench Collapse Victim's Family Awarded $6 Million" »

Last Wednesday, the family of a pedestrian who was fatally injured last year took their case to court. On September 14, 2009, 83-year-old Lionel Speidel was crossing the street when a car struck him. The car, a Pontiac Grand Am, was being driven by a 17-year-old when the accident occurred at the 3800 block of Virginia Avenue, less than a block away from the teen's home.

Investigators later learned that the teen had been under the influence of marijuana at the time of the accident and he was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Speidel later died in a nearby hospital. Recently, his daughters have taken on the driver and his family, filing a wrongful death suit seeking more than $50,000.

Continue reading "St. Louis Family Sues Over Fatally Injured Pedestrian" »

An Overland officer has been charged with one count of first-degree involuntary manslaughter based on his involvement in a confrontation that left one man dead as a result of being pushed down a flight of stairs. Ken Hamilton, 49, suffered from a head injury after being pushed down a set of stairs on March 20. On March 25, Hamilton died in a St. Louis hospital after spending several days on life support.

The officer, Andrew Thomas Ringeisen, came to Hamilton's duplex after receiving a road rage complaint citing a vehicle whose description matched Hamilton's Jeep. Ringeisen and other officers arrived at the 2600 block of West Milton Avenue sometime close to 11 p.m. While the Overland Police Department is not providing details the exact sequence of events, they told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that no guns or Tasers were used during the officer's interactions with Hamilton.

Continue reading "Overland Policeman Charged After Pushing Man Down Stairs" »

Last Friday, a 10-year-old Livingston girl was fatally injured in an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accident. The minor, Montana Garner, was a passenger on the adult-sized vehicle being operated by her 12-year-old friend. At some point the vehicle flipped, landing on top of her head and causing her death.

Upon receiving the call about their daughter, Larry and Diane Garner rushed to the scene of the accident. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, her mother administered CPR without response. Montana was rushed to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis. She was pronounced dead upon arriving at the hospital.

Garner's parents claim they didn't know their daughter was riding or in any way operating an ATV. They told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that they never would've given the child permission if the parents had asked.

According to ATVSafety.gov, a site sponsored by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, children under 16 should never be allowed to operate an adult-sized ATV. Their research found that in 2008 alone, there were 135,100 emergency-room treated ATV accidents and 410 of them were fatal.

Continue reading "New Douglas Illinois ATV Accident Tragically Kills 10-Year-Old " »

Two St. Louis women were killed on Friday when the car they were riding in was broadsided after pulling into the path of an on-coming SUV. The sisters have been identified as Deneice G. English, 54, and Verna L. Smallwood, 43.

The accident occurred near Illinois Route 3 and Missouri avenue when the car the women were riding in attempted to make a left turn into the Lowe's on Missouri Avenue. The SUV was heading north on Route 3 when it struck the side of the car as it turned, flipping the SUV onto its side.

English was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at the Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City, while her sister was rushed to a St. Louis hospital where she died the next morning. The driver of the car has not been identified, but reportedly has been treated and released from the hospital. Similarly, the driver of the SUV is reported to have escaped serious injury.

According to the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), there have been 142 fatalities from accidents to date in 2010. In a 2008 study, IDOT notes there were 77 fatalities and 11,376 injuries related to accidents while turning.

Continue reading "St. Louis Missouri Sisters Killed in Granite City Crash" »

In 2004, Pamela Hoppe, a Granite City Illinois resident, became an LA Weight Loss client. The center-based weight loss system distributed supplements to Hoppe as part of their weight loss program. However, after following the program for three months, she began to experience symptoms of liver failure.

By August of 2004, Hoppe was rushed to a local hospital with jaundice, nausea and abdominal fullness. She was immediately transferred to St. Louis University Hospital, where she was diagnosed with liver failure. Almost exactly four months after beginning her LA Weight Loss program, Hoppe died while waiting for a liver transplant.

In 2005, Hoppe's sister, Carolyn Schur filed a suit against the weight loss center. As the administrator of her sister's estate and legal guardian of the daughter she left behind, Schur sued LA Weight Loss for negligence, wrongful death, and other charges, claiming they neglected to properly test the supplements and failed to warn clients of their health risks. Now, nearly five years since the suit was filed, LA Weight Loss settled with Schur for $700,000.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for supervising the safety of food and medicine, including diet pills. Many weight loss supplements have not been approved by the FDA, in fact, their website contains a constant list of warnings against both specific diet pills and commonly used ingredients.

Continue reading "Woman Wins Settlement from LA Weight Loss in Wrongful Death Suit" »

Early Thursday morning, Ameren UE workers discovered a woman's body in the parking lot of a North Saint Louis bar. The woman has been identified as Stephanie Caroll, 42, a resident of the area. The workers discovered the body around 8:45 a.m. and immediately called the police.

The parking lot is located at 4960 Parker Road, next to a an establishment called Meyer's Country Cottage and Irish Pub. Investigators said there was no obvious cause of death but police are classifying it as a suspicious incident. An autopsy is currently being performed to determine the cause of death and piece together the night's incidents.

Continue reading "Body Found Behind North County Bar In St. Louis" »