Columbia, Missouri Personal Injury Law Blog

Being mistaken for a turkey is no laughing matter. But that is exactly what happened in a Missouri hunting accident in Andrew County on April 29. A 39-year-old man was returning to his fellow hunter and their car at Honey Creek Conservation when he was shot in the head by someone who thought he was a turkey. While the nature and extent of the head injury was not clear from initial reports, he was rushed by ambulance to the Heartland Regional Medical Center and later airlifted to another hospital.

Further details of the accident were not disclosed. However, a representative of the Missouri Department of Conservation characterized the incident as an accident. The matter was under investigation by that department, and the Andrew County prosecuting attorney's office is also said to be considering charges. Unusually dense vegetation this spring has apparently limited visibility, and a department spokesman suggested that hunters wear bright orange vests as opposed to the camouflage that many prefer.

One of the most frightening thoughts any of us might have is to be helplessly stuck on train tracks as a locomotive charges toward us with no more than a few moments to rush to safety. A train accident is often treacherous, whether it occurs in Missouri or anyplace else, if for no other reason than the difference in size between the train and virtually any other vehicle with which it may collide. At times, obstructed views, poorly marked railroad crossings and even a train speeding on the tracks may explain the wreck that occurs. When that other vehicle is a car, the consequences are often disastrous. Unfortunately, two people ended up in a similar situation in St. Louis on April 24.

The accident occurred in the early morning before the onslaught of the morning commute. While details of the incidents are not completely clear, it appears that a car crashed through a fence and ended up on the Metrolink train tracks. The train was unable to stop in time and collided with the vehicle, seriously injuring the driver and a passenger, described as a man and a woman in their 20s. There was no initial indication as to what caused the car to crash through the fence. The passengers on the Metrolink train apparently escaped injury.

A car accident can happen in an instant -- often the result of just one error in judgment or one distracted moment. But a drunk driver in Missouri is something altogether different. When someone makes a decision to drink and drive, that misjudgment goes beyond a case of simple negligence. And when a resulting accident causes the death of one or more victims, both criminal and civil penalties can apply. That may be the case for a 24-year-old woman who crashed her Jeep into a river in the early morning hours of April 7.

The car accident occurred around 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, when the southeast Missouri woman apparently ran a stop sign. Her Jeep ended up in the Black River.

A homeless woman who sought medical treatment for a sprained ankle died last September while in police custody. Outrage is growing over her death after video tapes have been released showing her moaning and screaming, then being dragged and locked into a cell where she died. The family is now pursuing independent investigations to identify all responsible individuals and entities.

Prior to the arrest, the 29-year-old woman complained of leg pain and had sought out treatment from three different hospitals in the area. She was arrested for trespassing, handcuffed, wheeled out of the hospital and taken to jail. Her autopsy shows that the death was caused by blood clots that formed in her legs and migrated to her lungs.