MoveMakers & NewsMakers April 12, 2019

Apr. 12, 2019 - See who is making news and moving where in the weekly Missouri Bar update "MoveMakers & NewsMakers."

St. Louis Area

Hein Schneider & Bond PC is very pleased to welcome Brad Mitchell to the firm. He joined Hein Schneider & Bond PC following several years of private practice in Columbia.

Mitchell is an experienced litigation lawyer licensed to practice in both Missouri and Oklahoma. His practice areas include general civil litigation, commercial and residential real estate matters, title insurance, landlord-tenant disputes, probate, bankruptcy, debtor/creditor and collections-related litigation.

St. Louis personal injury lawyer Matt Devoti spoke to a crowd of over 200 at Stephens College in Columbia in March about the dangers of distracted driving. Distracted driving is an epidemic and everyone is guilty of doing it.“It goes really beyond just texting and driving but any kind of activity that takes your mind off the primary purpose of driving your car,” Devoti said.

Devoti, who is an authorized speaker for EndDD.org’s ‘End Distracted Driving’ Program, was invited to speak at the college by Ken Hammond, Stephens College Director of Safety and Security, as part of their Transportation Safety Week. Hammond said the school wants to make sure students are reminded to take safety precautions before they head off for spring break.“We’re hoping to expose them to the dangers of distracted driving and to bring home that it only takes a very short moment to really alter a person’s life,” Hammond said.

In 2016 – the most recent year available – the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports:

• 9 percent of fatal crashes were caused by distracted driving
• 3,450 people were killed in crashes involving distracted driving
• 9 percent of distracted drivers are between the ages of 15 and 19
• 486 people died in crashes involving cell-phone related activities

Matt Devoti is a partner with Casey, Devoti & Brockland, a St. Louis-based personal injury law firm. He described the different cases in which he was involved where someone was injured or killed by a distracted driver. In his presentation, he emphasized that everyone, not just young people, is guilty of driving distracted. He not only illustrated the consequences of driving distracted, but also offered strategies for drivers to help themselves and others end distracted driving.

“Distracted driving is a huge problem for people of all ages – not just teens. That is the message we want to get across to these young drivers,” said Matt Devoti. “We want them to be aware of the consequences whether it’s them, their parent or their friend who is driving distracted. The presentation offers eye-opening insight and concrete solutions to the problem that they can implement right away.”

EndDD.org (End Distracted Driving) was established to raise awareness and generate action against the epidemic of distracted driving. It was created by Joel Feldman and Dianne Anderson after the death of their daughter in 2009. Casey Feldman was 21 years old when, as a pedestrian, she was hit and killed by a distracted driver. Learn more about EndDD.org and preview the presentation at www.EndDD.org.

The Casey, Devoti & Brockland attorneys are thrilled to be part of the EndDD.org national speaker network. Since joining four years ago, they have delivered the presentation to over 5,000 people throughout the state. The firm is currently booking presentations for the spring and fall 2019. For more information, please contact Lara Vitiello at (314) 409-0996 or lmv@caseydevoti.com.

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