Big Transport to Congress: Lower Trucking Safety Standards – Younger Drivers, Bigger Trucks
Every year, tractor-trailers cause an average of 4,000 fatalities in the United States. To put it in perspective, this number accounts for roughly 12 percent of all annual traffic fatalities in America. Often, fatal accidents are caused by inexperienced drivers working long hours and falling asleep at the wheel. Now, proposals are before Congress that […]
Mandatory Military Boxing Classes Expose Service Members to Unnecessary Concussion Risks
A required class at prestigious military schools is resulting in an exorbitant amount of concussions — more than double the amount obtained from the schools’ football programs according to a recent New York Times piece. Male students at West Point and the Air Force Academy as well as both male and female students at the US Naval […]
Five Types of School Sports Injuries and How to Prevent Them
High school sports programs are a fantastic part of the overall high school experience. Athletes have the opportunity to challenge themselves physically, mentally, and emotionally by playing a sport they love. While athletics offers many positive aspects, the risk of injury is always a negative factor that can have a devastating impact on adolescent athletes. […]
Adolescent Sports Injuries and Accidents: What’s Different and Planning a Safe Return
Brie Boothby was a typical high school athlete. She trained hard at practice and played her heart out on the lacrosse field. After blacking out when an opposing player hit her in the head with a lacrosse stick, Boothby’s only concern was “getting back into the game … We were losing and I needed to […]
Sudden Cardiac Arrest and Missouri & Kansas Student Athletes
It can happen in the blink of an eye. One minute, your student athlete is competing and everything is normal; the next minute they are on the ground and medical staff is rushing over to them. Usually the injury is something minor, but if the collapse is caused by a heart condition, death can be […]
Six Tips for Serious Sports Injury Prevention in High School Athletes
Back to school means back to high school sports for a large number of students. For many, practice and training starts before the first day of school. Athletics provides many benefits to students beyond just physical activity. However, there are some risks about which parents and students should be aware. The worst of these risks […]
The Impact of Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries on Student Athletes
Thousands of students participate in their schools’ athletic programs every year. These sports aren’t inherently designed to cause harm, but due to the nature of physicality and contact, injuries occur regularly. Minor injuries like cuts and bruises have a fairly short recovery time. Breaks and sprains are more severe and could be season-ending. Brain injuries, […]
Get Your Head Out of the Game: Sustaining Serious Head and Brain Injuries in Sports
Memory loss, headaches, and confusion are just some of the symptoms of concussions. Concussions are injuries to the brain that can cause temporary loss of normal brain function. So when you hear concussion think brain injury. The human brain is made of soft tissue and is protected by the skull, but when the skull sustains […]
Personal Flotation Device Injury Claim
A PFD or personal flotation device is very important when going out on the water. It may just seem like it is for those who cannot swim, but PFDs could be the difference between life and death, even for the strongest swimmers. Three out of four people do not wear a PFD when in or […]
Personal Watercraft Accidents
What are more commonly known as Jet Skis, personal watercrafts are relatively new to the boating scene, but have quickly become one of the most dangerous watercrafts out there. Why are PWCs so dangerous? PWCs are very fast; they have no brakes, and can only be steered while using the throttle. The design of the […]
Avoid Jet Ski Accidents with These Jet Ski Safety Tips for Your Teens
Water sports are a great way to relax and bond with your children. You create great memories, encourage your children to spend time out in the sun and fresh air, and maybe even put their smart phone down for five minutes. If summer fun includes jet skis, you need to understand and follow certain jet […]
Failure To Tell the Truth Can Void Life Insurance Policy
Life insurance is a critical financial tool for many families in the United States. It is important to tell the truth on applications because failure to tell the truth can void a life insurance policy. When a policy is void, it is as if it never existed. As a recent Missouri case illustrates, the failure […]
Do You Really Have “Full Coverage”?
During the initial interview of our personal injury clients, after asking all the obvious questions concerning the facts surrounding the injury, we ask the clients about their own automobile coverage. The typical response is “Why do you want to know that, it was the other person’s fault?” Most of the time, the clients state “We […]
Tips For Handling Insurance Claims: Storm Damage
Many Missourians experience devastating losses because of storm damage from severe weather across our state each year. When people have insurance claims, we want to help make sure those claims are handled properly by providing tips for handling claims form storm damage and explaining a few things to take into consideration: 1. Property Damage Estimating […]
Football and Head Injuries: Not Just for the Pros
Football is one of the most popular sports in the United States. Unfortunately, every year too many children suffer injures to the head while playing football. 21% of all the traumatic brain injures among American children can be attributed to sports and recreational activities; and, although it is rare, brain injuries are the leading sports […]
17 Questions to Make Sure Your Kid’s Summer Camp is a Safe Experience
Now is the time of year when parents are signing up their children for summer camps. There are camps for every interest, from sports to the science. But are they safe? Every camp has risks, but some are vastly more safety conscious than others. And while the brochure may paint a pretty or exciting picture, […]
Mensa St. Louis Conference to Feature Chris Faiella, Missouri Injury Lawyer
Missouri accident injury lawyer Chris Faiella, author of Policy of Denial (Sutton Hart 2015) and managing partner of Missouri serious injury and insurance bad faith law firm Gump & Faiella, LLC, will address Missouri’s brightest at Mensa’s 2015 St. Louis SLAM Conference March 7 at 1:00 PM at the Bridgeton Crowne Plaza Hotel and Conference […]
Children and Waivers of Liability
Summer is coming and with it summer activities for children. Sports, swimming lessons, summer camp are just some of the fun things our children like to do in the summer. As parents, we are presented with waivers, disclaimers, release of liability forms, and other similarly named documents. In these documents we agree not to sue […]
Advantage vs. Mid-Continent
An insurance company can be held liable for bad faith even when there is no coverage under the policy. In September 2014, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District upheld a trial court decision stating “[The insurance company] had an unequivocal duty to defend based on its own analysis of the policy…and, having undertaken that […]
Chris Faiella Teaching CLE on Bad Faith for West ED
TGFW Managing Member, Chris Faiella, will present a CLE webcast. The webcast will be for West ED. The topic is Prosecuting and Defending the Bath Faith Case A to Z. Chris is an expert in the field of insurance bad faith and takes particular interest in these types of cases. If you’re interested in participating […]
Scottsdale vs. United Fire
In a decision handed down in December 2014, the Missouri Supreme Court clarified the topic of insurance bad faith claims in Missouri, bringing this state more in line with the growing majority of the country and creating law that helps those who are insured and insurance companies who act in good faith. In that case, […]
School Sports & Recreation Injury Lawyer: Chris Faiella
Chris Faiella, an injury lawyer for student athletes, is outraged that many of the million+ football, cheerleading, basketball and other school sports injuries each year are unnecessary. Untrained coaches, lax school oversight, high pressure programs… create a fertile landscape for catastrophic injuries and these are just a few hazards to America’s kids. CHRIS FAIELLA UNNECESSARILY […]
4 Things You & Your Kids Should Know When They Take The Car to College
1. CAR INSURANCE : Before taking the car to college read your automobile insurance policy and check with your insurance agent about appropriate coverage for your college student. Keep proof of insurance coverage in the vehicle. Make sure you and your new college student understand the types of coverage that you have BEFORE you need […]
Electric Shock Drowning – What You Need to Know
Last year over Fourth of July weekend, a 13 year old young lady and her 8 year old brother were swimming near a homeowner’s dock on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri when they began to scream. By the time the siblings were pulled from the lake, they were unresponsive and a short while […]
