At approximately 5:00 am this morning, February 23, 2011, a 31-car pileup occurred on I-40/64 in St. Louis.  The string of destruction extended from Grand to Kingshighway.  Now, I used to work downtown and drove this stretch every day for years.  I know what traffic is like at 5:00 am - it's not that heavy. 

What struck me odd about reports I have been reading about the accident is that much of the focus has been on the fact that MoDot did not get the roads salted because they had no knowledge of the coming ice.  All the reports are making it sound like this was a totally unavoidable accident. 

Here's the thing.  Perhaps MoDOT had no notice of the impending precipitation.  But so what!  Perhaps my take is so different than the reporters focus because I am a St. Louis Truck Accident Attorney.


This crash all started when a UPS tractor-trailer jack-knifed on the road.  Now, hundreds of other cars had passed through this stretch of road without causing a huge pile-up.  So why did the UPS truck not do the same.  First, it's obvious that the sheer size means that the truck is not going to recover should it lose just the slightest bit of control.  But that's the point.  Truck drivers are supposed to know that.

Here's the bigger catch.  As a St. Louis Truck Crash Lawyer, I am intimately aware of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations.  They are a part of every successful truck accident case.  These safety regulations govern virtually every aspect of a truck driver's operation of the truck.  Foremost, regulation 392.14 requires tractor-trailer truck drivers to reduce their speed if conditions become hazardous due to rain, sleet, snow, ice, etc.  If conditions become sufficiently dangerous, the driver is required to pull over. 

At the end of the day, the UPS truck driver should have recognized the danger of continuing to drive that tractor-trailer on the slippery and should have pulled over.  In my opinion, it was not the unforcasted precipitation that caused all this destruction, it was the violation of the safety regulation by the UPS truck driver!

Of course, there are many other issues that a truck accident lawyer would investigate as well.  For instance, there are safety regulations that govern the conditions of the tires, brakes, as well as the number of hours that the driver can drive.

Because of these types of things, people involved in a crash involving a tractor-trailer should retain an experienced tractor-trailer accident lawyer immediately.  Not just any lawyer, but someone intimately familiar with the federal safety regulations.

The first thing our firm does in crashes such as this is to send a very detailed preservation of evidence letter to the truck driver, the truck company, and the insurance company.  Our letter demands that the company and driver retain and not destroy a number of documents which are vital to fully evaluate who was at fault.  More importantly, we demand an immediate inspection of the truck so we can evaluate whether the tires and brakes played any role in the collision. 

For now, I wish the best to all of those involved and a speedy recovery.  More importantly, I hope that UPS steps up to the plate.  But, I know from experience that their insurance company is already working hard to limit what they pay out on these claims.  They are probably already working on getting statements from all types of witnesses and doing all they can to mold the evidence in the light most favorable to them. 

Haunted houses have been around for many years and every October teenagers and adults line up to go inside and be frightened because that is a part of Halloween. But what happens when the festivities end in the death of a teenager? Missouri personal injury attorneys are reading about a family in Belleville, Illinois who has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against a haunted house in St. Louis after their 15-year-old daughter died from complications of an asthma attack suffered while in the house.

Britteny Holmes visited The Darkness haunted house in Soulard, Illinois, on Halloween night in 2009. After spending a year in a vegetative state, the young girl died on November 12, 2010. According to the wrongful deal claim filed, the artificial fog and scents filtered through the haunted house lead to Britteny's death. Britteny suffered from asthma, a disorder she had since she was four-years-old.

Durand Tyler, Britteny's father and Anchorage, Alaska, resident, filed the wrongful death lawsuit in the St. Louis Circuit Court against Halloween Productions, Inc. Britteny's mother, Vanessa Neal, had already filed a personal injury lawsuit in the same court prior to the death of her daughter. The parent's of Britteny were unaware that the other had filed a lawsuit against the same company and the cases will likely be consolidated into one.

Durand Tyler took his daughter directly to the hospital from the haunted house after noticing she was having difficulty breathing. By the time they reached the hospital, Britteny had been without oxygen to the brain for at least seven minutes. The event left Britteny in a vegetative state and medical bills that are nearly $1 million.

The president of Halloween Productions, Inc., Larry Kirchner, is also the president of the Haunted House Association. The Haunted House Association website states, "Haunted houses and attractions are EXTREMELY safe due to tough safety and fire codes the must all now live by...The industry as a whole takes safety seriously and works together to solve common problems." Mr. Kirchner and his attorney were not available to comment on the recent wrongful death lawsuit.

Losing a loved one is devastating. Losing a loved one because of a company's negligent decisions is even more devastating. The family of a wrongful death victim has to suffer with the aftermath and it can be overwhelming. If you have lost a loved one, you are not alone. Our experienced Missouri personal injury attorneys handle many wrongful death claims each year, so we know the pain the families left behind have each day. Call 888.956.2487 and let us help you fight in honor of your loved one.


Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles personal injury claims for motor vehicle accidents that result in personal injury or death in the Midwest. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another driver, please contact a motor vehicle accident attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.

When you need to hire a Missouri personal injury attorney after an accident, it can create a lot of stress. Once a client has had a chance to sit down with an attorney and has a chance to ask questions, they begin to feel more comfortable. One of the questions I receive during many consultations is can the client's health insurer demand repayment for the medical expenses.

Health insurers often try to collect money for repayment after a settlement or verdict.  They even cite to provisions in the health insurance contract.  But in Missouri, these provisions are often invalid.  As a Missouri personal injury lawyer, I run into an issue like this every once in a while. A medical insurance company will try to claim a lien against a personal injury victim's settlement to recover for medical expenses paid by the company. According to Missouri law, in a personal injury case it is against public policy for a health insurer to claim a lien against an injury judgment.

It can be challenging to understand every Missouri law regarding personal injury, which is why an experienced personal injury attorney is important to an injured victim. Hiring an attorney will maximize your chances of receiving full compensation for any injuries sustained in an accident. If you've been injured in a slip & fall, motor vehicle accident, or an accident caused by negligence, don't be afraid to speak to an attorney. Our experienced Missouri personal injury attorneys see how frustrating it can be for our clients, so we make sure to explain everything to the client to make them more comfortable. Call 888.956.2487 for a free consultation to discuss your personal injury claim. Come prepared with all your questions and we'll help answer them.


Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles claims that result in personal injury or death throughout the Midwest. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of another, please contact a personal injury attorney to learn your rights.  It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.

For several months, Missouri Yaz Lawyers have been staying up-to-date on the recall of the popular birth control Yaz. Bayer, the maker of Yaz, is still under fire from users of the pill who have suffered from the dangerous side effects of blood clots, heart attacks, and a stroke. Recently, the drug maker is being blamed in the sudden death of a teenager in Independence Township, North Carolina.  

The mother of 18-year-old, Michelle Pfleger has openly blamed the birth control for a blood clot that killed her daughter. Michelle was on her way to Elon University on September 14, 2010 to attend her morning classes when she collapsed. She died shortly after arriving at the hospital. According to the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the official cause of death was recorded as a pulmonary thromboemboli, which is an obstruction of blood vessels in the lungs. The teenager's mother believes that the Yaz birth control is what killed her daughter since a pulmonary thromboemboli is basically a blood clot.

The day before Michelle Pfieger died, she was treated for a knee injury with a painkiller, but the medical examiner does not believe that her death was related to the injury. According to the Eastern Express Times interview with Dr. Alberto Estrada from Phillipsburg's Warren Hospital vascular lab, it is rare for an 18-year-old girl to die as a result of a pulmonary thromboemboli, but there is no certainty that the birth control pill is related to the cause of death. However, the birth control pill could be a contributing factor if the conditions were right at the time of her death.

In product liability cases, experienced Missouri attorneys work tirelessly to make sure that their clients receive compensation for their injuries. Injuries from a prescription medication can be devastating to any family, which is why product liability victims should seek the guidance of an experienced Missouri product liability attorney. To speak to an attorney right away, call 888.956.2487 and let one of our experienced attorneys help fight for you.


Joshua P. Myers is the owner and President of Myers Injury Law, LLC and a founding partner of Schultz & Myers, LLC.  Based in St. Louis, Missouri, his personal injury law firm routinely handles product liability cases that result in personal injury or death throughout the United States. If you have been hurt or have lost a loved one due to the negligence of a drug company, please contact a product liability attorney to learn your rights. It is always free to discuss your case and there are never any attorney's fees until we recover on your behalf.