MEDICAL MALPRACTICE - VETERANS HOSPITAL CLAIMS

Missouri Personal Injury – Medical Malpractice Attorney Matt Uhrig:

Over the years I have been privileged with the opportunity to represent many veterans in claims against the VA. Most of these claims involve negligent medical care by doctors and nurses. Some cases involved pharmacy errors. Currently, I represent a veteran in a products liability case relating to the failure of an operating table.

Recently, the St. Louis VA Medical Center made the news when it was discovered that over 1,800 veterans were exposed to Hepatitis and HIV infection due to the inadequate cleaning of dental equipment at the John Cochran Hospital dental clinic. Read the story here.

Reports of “poor treatment and rundown conditions” are common complaints among veterans across the country. Many veterans have experienced “long emergency room waits, poor nursing care, difficulty scheduling appointments and delays in getting needed services. They also complained about outdated buildings, indifferent employees and paperwork nightmares.”

Experts say that already overburdened VA hospitals are not able to handle the influx of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans.

If you have questions about treatment received at a VA facility, please contact us.

New Website

Missouri Personal Injury Attorney Matt Uhrig: I would like to welcome all my friends, clients and prospective clients to our new website. It is our hope that the information there will further our mission of helping people with workers compensation claims and helping people injured as a result of auto, truck and car accidents, semi and tractor trailer crashes, medical malpractice and other types of personal injury cases. Our personal injury law firm accepts cases and represents clients in Columbia, Jefferson City, Fulton, Moberly, Mexico, Macon, Osage Beach, Camdenton, Rolla, Springfield, Booneville, Kansas City metro area, St. Louis metro area and St. Charles.

Missouricaraccidentlawyer-personalinjuryattorney.com is where I will be blogging and posting helpful information for my clients. I wont be posting here on a regular basis, although updates will appear here (above).

If you are injured and want to talk to a lawyer, call toll free (877) 657-2050 or contact us by e-mail. We will come to you and it won’t cost you anything to see if we can help.

Workers Compensation - BP Oil Rig

Reports have been surfacing for some time that the night the Deep Water Horizon (the oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded and is now spewing thousands of barrels of oil) exploded, BP officials "quarantined" the surviving workers at a hotel and asked them to sign liability releases and statements before allowing them to go home to their families. This story has more information: Rig workers asked to sign statements

Missouri DWI/DUI - Auto Safety

I have represented many clients who were injured as a result of drunk driving. I have also represented quite a few drunk drivers in criminal cases and, as a prosecutor for Jackson County and the City of Columbia, I have prosecuted a couple hundred DWI cases. Consequently, I stay updated and informed regarding Missouri's DWI laws.

Missouri's Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) laws have changed again. Currently, the presumed intoxication limit is .o8% or more by weight of alcohol in a driver's blood. That means if your blood alcohol content is .o8% or more, you are legally intoxicated under Missouri law.

Governor Nixon signed a new law on Wednesday that will make some significant changes to the way DWI's are handled in Municipal and State court. One of the most significant changes is a provision in the new law that allows for the creation of special DWI courts that will function in a manner similar to Missouri's Drug Courts. I presume the focus will be on treatment but it sounds like the DWI Court will also serve as a monitoring system for repeat offenders.

Also, in those courts that have a DWI court program or other court ordered treatment program, drivers who had a blood alcohol content of .15 or more will have to serve 48 hours in jail should they fail to complete the DWI court program or court ordered treatment program.

Read about other provisions of the new law here. If you have questions about this new law or other DWI related issue, call me at 877-657-2050 or find me on the web.

WORKERS COMPENSATION - WORKER SAFETY

A man employed by Design Metals of Grain Valley, MO fell to his death at the new IBM site in Columbia, MO. Some reports indicate that the worker was either not wearing or was not provided a safety harness. OSHA will investigate this workplace accident and is expected to issue a full report. More information can be found at The Columbia Daily Tribune or radio station KBIA.

Auto Safety - Auto Accidents

The I-70 bridge is the location of two car crashes on I-70. This story has more information:

Interstate 70 delay

Medical Products Liability - Patient Safety

Some researchers believe that CT Scan and MRI's may expose patients to unnecessarily high levels of radiation - causing an increased risk of cancer. Read this news story for more information:

CT Scanners Scrutinized For Radiation Risks

WORKER SAFETY - WORKERS COMPENSATION

The working conditions in the Big Branch mine, operated by Massey Energy, were simply dangerous. Air flow was a "persistent problem", leading to the build up of explosive methane gas and coal dust. In dangerous environments, worker safety must be a priority. This story details the FBI's investigation into Massey's operation and the safety problems leading to the Big Branch explosion.

Mine Probe Examines Airflow, Possible Tampering

RECALL - CHILDREN'S TYLENOL - PRODUCTS LIABILITY

Forty-three different Johnson & Johnson products are subject to a product recall. According to this report from ABC News, those products include Childrens Tylenol, Motrin, Zyrtec and Benadryl. The raw materials used to make these medications were contaminated with bacteria that could cause gastrointestinal illness. According to reports, contaminated products have a "moldy or musty smell" and should not be consumed. Check out the report here: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/childrens-tylenol-recall-fda-report-rips-quality-control/story

If you have additional questions about products liability claims, contact me through my website.

WORKER SAFETY

On April 20th 11 men died while working on the Deepwater Horizon, the BP oil rig that caught fire and collapsed in the Gulf of Mexico. There are numerous reports that safety guidelines were not followed. However, the legal ramifications of this disaster go beyond the deaths of these men. This story explains what is at stake for BP and those affected by the oil spill:

Legal Complications Grow As Gulf Oil Spill Expands