Being a Missouri Car Accident Attorney, a recent headline caught my eye.  This past Monday, two women were seriously injured in a rear-end collision.  Lillian Reynolds of Louisiana was headed westbound on U.S. 54 when she slowed for oncoming traffic in anticipation of making a left turn.  While doing so, she was suddenly struck from the rear.  Although she was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision, the Hannibal Courier-Post reports she still suffered serious injuries and was transported to the Pike County Ambulance.

In Missouri, Reynolds may employ the use of the rear-end doctrine in Court.  The rear-end doctrine is a doctrine of law which states that a driver who rear-ends another is liable for the resulting injuries.  The caveat is that there must be no evidence of any negligence on the part of the front driver.

As a Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer, I see cases like Lillian's all the time where a driver is slowing for traffic while waiting to make a left turn.  Suddenly they are hit from behind because that driver is not paying attention.  However, it's not clear what caused the other driver to rear-end Lillian.

Additionally, because Lillian is from Louisiana and the other driver is from Illinois, Lillian is barred from filing suit in state court.  Rather, she would have to file in federal court, if she was to seek more than $75,000.00, because there exists diversity jurisdiction (the parties don't live in the same state).  Federal rules are much different and much more strict than state court rules.  If Lillian does have to resort to filing a claim, let's hope she finds a Missouri personal injury lawyer who routinely handles federal claims.