Missouri Injury Attorney Blog

Missouri Injury Lawyer David Payne

"Put the Experience and Power of a Zealous Advocate to work for you and your family"

Many questions naturally come after you have been injured. The Missouri Injury Attorney Blog attempts to answer many of the questions for you. I hope you find the information helpful and please don't hesitate to call if I may be of further help and assistance. You don't have to hire an attorney to speak with one.

What is Assumption of the Risk?

In Missouri, if you have knowingly and voluntarily assumed the risk inherent in a particular action or inaction that causes an accident, you can have your claim denied or your damages greatly reduced. Defense lawyers in Missouri love to raise the assumption of the risk defense in any personal injury case they can. But the assumption of the risk defense is applicable in very few personal injury cases in Missouri.

I suffered personal injuries in a truck accident. Do your lawyers handle truck accident cases?

Yes, our lawyers handle personal injury cases involving truck & 18-Wheeler accidents. There are some additional issues in truck accident cases, however, that lawyers need to be aware of when handling truck injury cases and I have experience in truck cases and have had success in truck accident lawsuits.

First, with respect to the investigation, there is more to consider in truck accident cases. For example, most big rig trucks carry "black boxes" that measure various parameters that can assist the lawyer (possibly a truck accident reconstruction expert) in determining how the accident occurred. Also, there are extensive federal regulation applicable to the trucking industry and a complex set of regulations that cover the operation and maintenance of these commercial trucks. This gives a plaintiffs' lawyer a ton of helpful information about the truck driver and his vehicle that is typically not available in most car accident cases.

There are also many different legal considerations lawyers must explore in truck accident cases. The truck driver may have violated a specific statute or regulation with respect to the kind of cargo he was carrying? How long he had been driving the day of the accident, and the days leading up to the accident? A lawyer must also consider whether the company that hired the driver may also be responsible under the theory of negligent entrustment or negligent supervision if they failed to properly screen the truck driver during the hiring process or if they failed to properly train the truck driver.

You would be amazed at how many drivers, particularly big rig trucks, are improperly trained or have horrific driving records. A claim for negligent maintenance, a related legal theory lawyers pursue in truck accident cases when the company and/or truck driver failed to properly maintain the truck can also be pursued by a skilled lawyer.

Can you recommend a local doctor to treat me for my injuries?

Yes, we can. Our preference is that clients seek treatment from their existing health care providers (or request a referral). However, if you do not have a doctor or your provider requires payment upfront, we can provide you with a list of quality health care providers who will not require payment until after the resolution of your case.

I am feeling quite a bit better, but I am still hurting, should I continue to receive medical treatment for my injuries?

This is a medical question and not one for your attorney. But as your attorney I always advise that my client's follow the advice of the doctors they trust. That is your decision to make after consultation with your health care providers. In getting treatment for the injuries from your auto accident, you must focus on your health, not the legal consequences.

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Posted In: Frequently Asked Questions

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Missouri Appeals Court Upholds $16 Million Verdict Against Allstate

This is why everyone should seek the advice of an attorney following a wreck. No matter how obvious, no matter how painfully obvious, the insurance companies cannot be relied upon to treat all claims fairly.

In March 2000, Wayne Davis Jr. (insured by Allstate) got into his pickup while intoxicated, crossed the center line on U.S. 54 in Camden County and hit a compact car head-on.

The driver, Edward Johnson and his wife, Virginia, survived but both suffered life-threatening injuries. The force of the collision pushed the car back more than 100 feet. Virginia was hospitalized for 40 days and Edward for 35 days.

Their combined hospital bills totaled $320,000.

The Johnsons offered to settle for Davis’ minimal insurance policy limits of $50,000> Allstate Insurance Co. did not respond until six months later.

Now Allstate is paying dearly. On Tuesday, the Missouri Court of Appeals in Kansas City upheld a jury verdict against Allstate worth more than $16 million in damages.

After Allstate failed to settle, the Johnsons sued Davis. He consented to a judgment in their favor of more than $5 million — $2.5 million in actual damages, $1.5 million in punitive damages and more than $1 million in prejudgment interest.

The Johnsons, however, agreed not to execute on the judgment in return for Davis’ assignment to them of most of his claim against Allstate for its refusal to settle.

The couple and Davis then sued Allstate in Jackson County Circuit Court, alleging the insurer had acted in bad faith when it did not respond in a timely fashion to the Johnsons’ initial settlement offer.

Allstate claimed it lost the letter proposing the offer and responded late because it did not receive the Johnsons’ medical records, which it had sought to determine the extent of the Johnsons’ injuries.

The jury was unconvinced. On Nov. 8, 2006, it found that Allstate had acted in bad faith and unanimously awarded compensatory damages of $5.8 million plus 9 percent interest since the date of the judgment to the Johnsons. By a vote of 10-2, it also hit Allstate with $10.5 million in punitive damages.

Allstate appealed, and on Tuesday a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals held that the evidence was sufficient to justify the verdict.

“Allstate’s failure to recognize the severity of the Johnsons’ injuries and the probability that the claim would far exceed Davis’s policy limits; its failure to investigate the claim and respond to the demand in accordance with insurance industry standards and its own good faith claim handling manual; and its failure to advise Davis of the demand, his likely exposure for an excess judgment, and his right to retain counsel, are all circumstances supporting a reasonable inference that Allstate’s refusal to settle was in bad faith,” Judge Paul Spinden wrote.

Although Allstate argued that it was unsure the crash had caused the Johnsons’ injuries, Kansas City lawyer Walter Simpson, testifying as an expert witness, pointed out that they had to be cut out of the wreckage, were flown by helicopter to the hospital and received intensive care.

“The fortunate thing is that this verdict obviously takes care of some people that badly need taking care of,” said Kansas City lawyer Kirk Presley, who represented Davis in the action against Allstate. “And I think, under the facts, this was the only appropriate result. This was a case where (Allstate) offered no evidence whatsoever, and I think it’s because they were in an indefensible position in how they treated this client.”

The appeals court’s decision comes just a few weeks after Allstate settled another bad faith case in Kansas City on undisclosed terms. In that case, Jackson County Circuit Judge Michael Manners fined Allstate $25,000 per day — a penalty that ultimately grew to more than $7 million — for failing to comply with a court order directing it to turn over internal documents concerning its claim handling procedures.

Manners last week agreed to expunge the fine after finding that Allstate eventually complied with the order. Allstate had blamed its attorney, whom it later fired, for failing to inform it of the order.

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Posted In: Insurance Claims

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