St. Louis Motor Vehicle Accidents Law Blog

Motorcyclists who are at least 21 would be able to ride without a helmet on all roads in Missouri except for interstate highways if the governor signs recently passed legislation into law.

The bill, which was approved on April 29 by the House and earlier passed by the Senate, repeals the mandatory helmet law. According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, previous efforts to roll back the safety helmet law have been controversial. But this time, the measure sparked little debate.

Supporters of the legislation say it is more fun to ride without a helmet. They also believe the state should not micromanage their lives.

Safety advocates argue that helmets save lives. According to Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, an alliance of consumer, health and safety groups and insurance companies and agents, helmet use drops from 71 percent to 58 percent annually when states repeal helmet use laws.

A 2001 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated that helmets reduce the risk of death by 29 percent and are 67 percent effective in reducing brain injuries.

The motor vehicle accident lawyers at The Hoffmann Law Firm represent motorcycle accident victims struck by cars or trucks. If you or a loved one has been injured or a loved one has been killed in a motorcycle accident, contact our auto accident attorneys by calling 314.361.4242 or filling out our personal injury intake form.

A St. Louis trucking accident that left three people dead is a criminal matter, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Last summer, a distracted truck driver crashed into a line of cars stopped in traffic on Highway 40 in St. Louis. The truck driver admitted to the Missouri Highway Patrol that he had been distracted by his cell phone just before the fatal trucking accident.

The trucker, Jeffrey R. Knight, was criminally negligent. He faces three counts of involuntary manslaughter.

In addition to distracted driving, there are many other trucking accident causes including:

• Truck Driver Fatigue: Truck driver fatigue is one of the leading causes of truck accidents in Missouri and Illinois. Although laws are designed to limit truck driving activity, many drivers either disobey the law or engage in physical activity during the time they should be resting to drive.
• Drunk Driving Accidents: A significant number of trucking accidents are caused by the use of alcohol or drugs by the truck driver. Some truck drivers ignore the stringent laws against drunk driving or drug use, and their lawbreaking may lead to a catastrophic semi truck accident.
• Brake Failure: Brake failure, tire blowouts, brake light failure or other dangerous conditions that go undetected because of the truck owner's failure to properly inspect or maintain the vehicle. It should be noted that the truck rig and the truck trailer are often owned by different people, each of whom has a responsibility to properly maintain their part.
• Improper Load Balancing: Warehouse workers who improperly balance the truck load can cause a truck driver to lose control of the truck when the load shifts unexpectedly, resulting in a rollover.

To discuss the details of your trucking accident claim with an experienced lawyer, please schedule a free consultation by calling us at 314.361.4242 or fill out our personal injury intake form today. Attorney Chris Hoffmann will personally call you back. In commercial trucking accident claims, experience matters.

Brain injury patients in St. Louis may one day receive a relatively simple blood test that could predict whether the head injury is a serious one.

According to Science Daily, two recently published studies indicate that blood tests of the S-100B serum protein biomarker conducted within four hours of an injury accurately predicts which patients will suffer head trauma such as a hemorrhage or skull fracture.

The test takes approximately 20 minutes and avoids unnecessary radiation exposure associated with CT Scans. Although CT Scans are the accepted screening tool in the United States, researchers found that 95 percent of the scans look normal for patients with a relatively mild by potentially life-changing injury.

The studies, published in the Journal of Neurotrauma and the Annals of Emergency Medicine, looked at a blood test that is already routinely used in 16 European countries. The U.S. researchers announced they will continue to look into the accuracy of the blood test this by studying 1,500 patients.

Motor vehicle accidents account for about 28 percent of all traumatic brain injuries. Of all brain injuries severe enough to require hospitalization, almost 50 percent were linked to car crashes. If the researchers are able to confirm the findings and Food and Drug Administration approves the blood test, it could help prevent the serious, long term effects associated with auto accident head injuries.

If you or a loved one has been injured in an automobile accident, call The Hoffmann Law Firm on fill out our online intake form. Our lawyers have a track record of success when it comes to handling car accidents, truck accidents and motorcycle crashes.

A new rule that allows truck drivers to spend an extra hour on the road has been heavily criticized by a consortium of labor and safety groups including The Teamsters, Public Citizen, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety and the Truck Safety Coalition.

As reported by Logistics Management, the consortium asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Court to overturn the hours of service regulations. They also sent a letter to Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood seeking a reduction in the number of consecutive hours driving hours.

On Jan. 19, a rule promulgated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration went into effect which allows truck drivers to drive 11 hours within a 15-hour workday. The prior rule limited driving hours to ten hours in a 15-hour period. The new rule would also allow drivers to return to work after only 34-hours off duty. The prior rule required two days of off-duty time.

Opponents of the rule note that an FMCSA study concluded that fatigue-related crashes increased dramatically after eight consecutive hours of driving.

Approximately 5000 people are killed each year in truck accidents. With three major interstates running through the Missouri-Illinois border in St. Louis - I-44, I-64 and I-70 - Missouri and Illinois see their fair share of trucking accidents.

When a two-ton car collides with a 40-ton truck, regardless of fault, it is usually worse for the victims in the car. If you have been involved in a serious truck accident in Missouri or Illinois, you should immediately contact an experienced truck accident lawyer.

At The Hoffmann Law Firm, we only handle car and truck accident claims, and we are very good at our job. Attorney Chris Hoffmann personally handles every truck accident claim himself.