The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm Blog

The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm obtained the $100,000 policy limits from a driver who, while under the influence and while intoxicated, struck another vehicle in Jefferson County, Missouri. As a result of his negligent behavior, the Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney charged the driver with 2nd degree felony assault.
The client sustained fractures to her left knee and right wrist, as well as a torn posterior medial meniscus. She was required to use a walker and crutches, and had to undergo extensive physical therapy. She also developed significant scar tissue in her legs.
Because of her injuries, the client incurred medical expenses and lost wages in excess of $30,000. The lawyers at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm successfully settled the claim against the drunk driver for his policy limits of $100,000.

We have written frequently on our website of the dangers inherent in sharing the road with semi’s, tractor trailers, and other over-the-road, 18-wheel type vehicles. While we certainly recognize the importance of these vehicles to the health of our commerce, the large disparity between the relative weights of automobiles and trucks, along with the immutable laws of physics relating to force, weight and speed, makes the exercise of care especially critical when driving in proximity to these vehicles.

The St. Louis metropolitan area has seen a unusually high number of tractor trailer – car accidents in just the past couple weeks, resulting in death and serious injury.

On August 5^th a 26 year old man was killed when he ran into the rear tow unit of a Freightliner Tractor trailer stopped at a red light on Highway 94 just east of Zumbehl Road in St. Charles County, Missouri.

On August 9^th, the front cabin of a tractor trailer became separated from it’s trailer and veered off opposite sides of the roadway, spilling it’s cargo onto the median of Interstate I-70 near the Illinois Route 143 exit close to Highland, Illinois. Shortly following this accident, another accident involving a tractor trailer occurred roughly one mile further west in the backup that resulted from the first crash. The semi, driven by Jerald Jaynes of Indiana, slammed into the backed up traffic in the right hand lane of westbound 70. The tractor trailer struck a pickup which was then pushed into the rear of another tractor trailer. The tractor driven by Jaynes caught fire, trapping Jaynes and another man inside. The two men were killed in the accident. The accident led Illinois State Police to close the westbound lanes of I-70 for over 9 hours. State Police also reported another accident near the scene of these two accidents involving a motorcycle running into the rear of a tractor trailer that same day.

On August 10th, at least one person was injured when strong winds reportedly overturned a tractor trailer onto a car on I-70 near the Highway 61 interchange.

On August 16^th , two people were taken to the hospital for injuries, and Highway 40 was closed at Highway DD in St. Charles County, after a crash involving a tractor trailer and at least three other vehicles.

Also on August 16^th , a truck driver was killed near downtown St. Louis, Missouri, when the eastbound tractor trailer he was driving drifted left into the median wall and into the Taylor Avenue overpass bridge.

On Friday, August 20 a tractor trailer was involved in a 22 car pileup in mid Missouri near Columbia. The driver of the tractor trailer was trying to avoid an accident up ahead, when the tractor trailer struck a stopped car and pushed into several other stopped vehicles.  Nine people were sent to the hospital with three in serious condition.

Once again, please be careful when operating your vehicle near any oversized vehicle.

The attorneys at the Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm reached a settlement on August 2, 2010 for a client who injured his back in a work-related injury.
The client was working for a trucking company when he injured his low back. He underwent several back surgeries and was unable to return to truck driving. The lawyers at Padberg & Corrigan filed a claim for workers’ compensation on behalf of the injured worker. Both a vocational rehabilitation expert and a medical doctor testified that the client was unable to return to work in the open labor market and was permanently disabled due to the work injury. The claim was successfully settled and the client will receive $237,000, plus additional money for future medical treatment, which will be placed in a Medicare set aside account.

Two people were reportedly killed, and at least 42 others taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries, in a four vehicle accident on Highway 44 near Gray Summit, on Thursday August 5^th. The accident involved a tractor trailer semi cab, a pickup truck and two school buses carrying band members from John F. Hodge High School in St. James, Missouri to the Six Flags over Mid America Amusement Park.

Apparently, the semi-cab had slowed down due to congestion created by a construction zone, when it was rear ended by the pickup. The pickup was then struck by the first bus carrying the female band members, which was then struck by the second bus carrying the male band members. The first school bus was thrust up on top of the pickup when it was struck, crushing the pickup truck. Witness reported the pickup was barely recognizable in the wreckage.

The driver of the pickup and a high school girl riding in the back of the first bus were reportedly killed.

According to the highway patrol investigating the accident, the driver of the first bus had moved into the passing lane to give more room to a distressed vehicle on the highway shoulder. She then checked her rear view mirror when changing back to the right hand lane when she noticed the semi and pickup collision. At that point she was unable to stop in time.

Thirty six children were reportedly taken to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, with each appearing to be in good condition according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Six more children were taken to St. John’s Mercy Medical Center with injuries unknown. It was reported than one of those injured was later flown by helicopter to Cardinal Glennon because that hospital had a higher-level pediatric trauma unit.

Four other victims were taken to St. Clare Health Center in Fenton, Mo. For treatment of minor injuries.

The attorneys at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm successfully settled a workers’ compensation claim for a Chrysler employee with carpal tunnel syndrome in the left and right wrist and cubital tunnel syndrome to the right elbow.
The employee worked on an assembly line at Chrysler for many years and sustained a work-related injury from repetitive trauma to both wrists and elbow.
The attorneys at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm obtained a $50,000 settlement prior to trial.

Because cribs are an area in which children spend much of thier time playing and sleeping, drop side baby cribs have been an area of focus by the Consumer Products Safety Commission with 11 recalls of drop side cribs over the past 5 years. The Commission wants to ban drop side cribs, which have been responsible for suffocation and strangulation of thirty two toddlers, babies or infant over the past 10 years. In addition to death or long term brain damage from entrapment or strangulation, additional injury and disability concerns result from simple falls.

On July 14, 2010, the CPSC issued another recall of roughly 82,000 Pottery Barn Drop Side cribs.

The hazard described by the recall results when the crib’s drop sides become detached upon breakage of hardware. This creates a space in which babies and toddlers can become entrapped – leading to possible suffocation. It was noted by the recall that children can also fall out of the cribs when broken. This could result in impact injuries, including broken limbs and head injuries. In addition to the hardware breaking, problems can occur when the cribs are incorrectly assembled and with wear and tear over time.

The CPSC and Pottery Barn have received 36 reports that the cribs in question have either malfunctioned or detached , resulting in 7 minor injuries when the infant fell from the crib or got their legs caught between the drop side and the mattress. One incident concerned a child who became trapped at the head between the drop side and the mattress, but was freed without inury.

More information can be found at the CSPC website:

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10302.html ,

Or by contacting Pottery Barn Kids at (877) 804-3847 between 7 a.m. and midnight 7 days a week or visit the firm’s website at

www.potterybarnkids.com

Writing about recent automobile fatalities is always a sad and sobering experience. So often when reading the reports, it is evident that many of these fatalities need not have happened. In most instances, they occur in part because of the simple failure to wear a seat belt. In others, it seems clear that just a moment of inattention while driving, can create sudden and severe consequences. We provide these summaries as a reminder of the inherent risks and dangers in driving and the importance of exercising care whenever you find yourself behind the wheel of a vehicle.

Eleven individuals suffered fatal accidents on Missouri’s roads and highways during the week of July 4^th through the 11^th. Curtis Stallo, 14, of Salisbury, Missouri in Chariton County was pulling a flat bed trailer with a John Deere Tractor when he collided with a bridge railing, causing the tractor to overturn off the bridge and come to rest on top of the boy.

Edward Shields, 37 of Neosho, Missouri in Newton County was killed in a one car accident when he ran off the right side of the roadway in his 1993 Ford Ranger, overcorrected and then ran off the left side and overturned on old US 60 approximately 5 miles east of Seneca. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Jacob Breidenback, 18 of Lonedell in Franklin County, Missouri was fatally injured in Mill Hill Road when he was apparently traveling too fast for conditions and lost control of his vehicle causing it to slide sideways and cross the center line where it was struck head on by an oncoming Chrevrolet Silverado. Both drivers were wearing seat belts. Also injured was Douglas Briedenbach, 16, who was an passenger in the car and was taken by ambulance to St. Johns Hospital in Creve Coeur.

In another one car accident, Edward Koehler of Verona, Missouri in Lawrence County was killed when his pickup ran off the roadway on a curve and hit a tree east of Verona. He was not wearing a seatbelt.

Donald Moon, 53, of Sedalia, Missouri was killed by a train at a railroad crossing on route MM at Menefee Road in Pettis County. Apparently Mr. Moon had attempted to stop when the crossing arms and lights activated, but struck and drove through the crossing arm before stopping on the tracks directly in front of the train.

Mitchell Beredzen, 44 of Eugene, Mo was killed in a one car accident in Calloway County when his vehicle traveled off the left side of Highway 63 into the median and overturned into Cedar Creek, coming to rest on its top. He was not wearing a seatbelt and was pronounced dead on the scene by the Boone County Medical Examiner.

Matthew Parker, 18 of Appleton City, Missouri in St. Clair County was killed when he failed to stop at a stop sign and drove into the path of another vehicle at an intersection in Appleton City. After the impact, Mr. Parker was ejected and was later pronounced dead at Cass County Regional Medical Center. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Christopher Davis, 51, of Knob Noster, Mo was fatally injured in Pettis County at US 50 and MO 127 when he failed to yield according to the police report. His 1997 Saturn was struck on the driver’s side by a 2008 Toyota causing it to overturn several times before coming to rest.

Joyce Warttig, 58, of Dittmer, Missouri was killed in a one car accident on Route C in Jefferson County when her vehicle raveled off the right side of the roadway and struck a driveway and mailbox before overturning. She was not wearing a seatbelt.

Lynn Fraker, 54, of North Liberty, Iowa was killed in an accident on Highway 54 west of Route A when a 2004 Mazda she was a passenger in was struck by a vehicle attempting to pass the Mazda. The Mazda then lost control causing it to veer into the opposite lane where it was struck head on by a 2008 Chevrolet. Nine individuals were injured in the crash. The investigating officer didn’t specify what caused the passing car to hit the Mazda, triggering the accident. No citations were indicated on the initial crash report.

Finally, John Dodson, 65, of Mound City, Missouri was fatally injured in a one car accident on MO 111 in Holt County when his pickup traveled off the east side of the roadway and he overcorrected causing the truck to slid out of control, go off the west side of the roadway, strike a guardrail and overturn.

On June 30, 2010, the lawyers at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm settled a workers’ compensation claim for a police officer who was injured on the job when he fell and hurt his ribs, back and shoulder. The workers’ compensation claim was settled for $50,000 after numerous depositions were taken. The insurance company for the employer refused to pay medical bills for necessary treatment. The lawyers at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm were successful in making the insurance company pay all the medical bills associated with surgery that was required for the shoulder injury.

On June 23, 2010, the personal injury attorneys at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm obtained a $100,000 settlement for their 71-year old client who fractured her leg when she stepped into a dangerous unmarked hole on property owned by a school in St. Charles County. The lawyers at The Padberg & Corrigan Law Firm filed a premise liability lawsuit for the serious and permanent leg injuries sustained by their client. The lawsuit was settled during a court-ordered mediation prior to a trial that was scheduled in St. Charles County Circuit Court.