Missouri Personal Injury Law Blog

Thousands of couples throughout the U.S. have turned to fertility treatments after finding they are unable to conceive a child on their own. In 2009, there were more than 60,000 babies born as the result of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, in this country. The treatment has made parenthood possible for many of those in the St. Louis area who would otherwise not be able to have children.

But at the same time, children born from IVF have had higher rates of birth defects. A new study suggests that the problem is not with IVF in general, but with a common technique many fertility clinics use to encourage fertilization of a woman's egg.

When we last discussed the Missouri Legislature's efforts to change the state's workers' compensation laws during this year's legislative session, the Legislature was looking to overcome Gov. Jay Nixon's veto of a bill that would have limited injured worker's ability to seek compensation from co-workers and reduced the amount workers who contract occupational illnesses can receive in benefits. In the latest development, Nixon is indicating that he is willing to compromise on the proposals, which he had previously said unfairly limited workers' compensation.

According to a letter obtained by the media, Nixon said that he would sign a new version of the bill -- if the Republican-controlled Legislature makes certain changes. For example, Nixon would support including occupational illnesses under the state workers' compensation system, but only if workers who develop fatal illnesses on the job receive 200 percent of their salary in benefits. Under the current system, injured workers receive two-thirds of their salary, up to a cap. The cap would also apply to terminally sickened workers under Nixon's plan.

The federal judge presiding over a lawsuit filed against the State of Missouri by four workers who say they are owed benefits from the state's Second Injury Fund recently dismissed the suit despite acknowledging the plaintiffs are entitled to the benefits. The judge said that the plaintiffs could not show that they could not show they had been discriminated against due to their disabilities, and the possibility of receiving the benefits someday means that they have not been deprived of their property. While the suit appears to be finished, it may have spurred action in the Legislature to rescue the fund, albeit in a reduced version.

As we have discussed in the past, Missouri's Second Injury Fund is a workers' compensation program for disabled people whose disabilities are made worse through a work injury. The program is funded through a surcharge on employers' workers' compensation insurance, but a 2005 law that capped the surcharge at 3 percent has left the fund severely short on cash. Attorney General Chris Koster stopped paying benefits on new claims in March 2011, leaving some 200 people without the benefits to which they are entitled under the law.

A tow truck driver who was trying to help a motorist stranded on Interstate 70 in St. Louis was struck and killed by a speeding driver, authorities say. The driver allegedly fled the scene, but police officers captured and arrested him. The victim of the hit and run accident was 51 years old.

The victim, a resident of St. Louis, began working for AAA in December. The evening of April 16, he responded to a call about a car stuck on eastbound I-80. He was putting down flares around where the car was around 9:20 p.m. when a white car struck him.

The car drove off, police say, but they detained him a short time later. The suspect, a 21-year-old man, has been charged with hit and run.