Unfortunately, careless and negligent drivers cause car accidents. Each year, millions of people get into traffic accidents, and thousands of people suffer injuries or death in car accidents throughout Missouri. If someone caused a car accident that hurt you or a close family member in St. Louis, you likely qualify to obtain compensation for those responsible. You need to consult an experienced car accident lawyer in your area as soon as possible after your accident.
You may be wondering, "Will an injury lawyer near me offer a free consultation?" The answer is yes. An experienced and compassionate car accident attorney can evaluate your claim at no cost and handle all of the legal aspects of your case. You focus on making a steady and full recovery from your accident-related injuries while your attorney does all the hard legwork.
For example, your St Louis car accident lawyer can gather important documents for your case and retain one or more experts, such as a car accident re-constructionist and/or a medical expert. Your attorney can file your claim with the appropriate insurance company and negotiate with the adjuster handling your case. Since they know a lot about personal injury law, your attorney can help safeguard you from insurance defense tactics and protect your rights.
Finally, if the insurance company refuses to offer you the full monetary damages you deserve to recover in your accident case, your lawyer can file a personal injury lawsuit in court on your behalf, and if necessary, resolve your car accident case at a civil jury trial, mediation session, or binding arbitration hearing.
From beginning to end, your lawyer will aggressively advocate for your legal interests and work to maximize the monetary damage award you ultimately recover.
Car Accident Injuries
Car accidents can lead to highly debilitating injuries that incapacitate someone for a long time – and sometimes permanently. The injuries that an auto accident victim will suffer depend primarily upon the type of collision, the crash's force, and other accident-specific circumstances.
If the accident victim's body hits something in the vehicle, like the window, steering wheel, or headrest, they may suffer a bone fracture, traumatic head injury, or other serious complications.
In addition, accident victims may suffer:
- Internal bleeding
- Internal organ damage
- Open cuts and lacerations
- Bruises
- Rib fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Soft tissue injuries
- Complete and incomplete paralysis injuries
- Eye injuries
- Mouth and teeth injuries
If you suffered injuries in a recent car accident, you must consult a medical provider and complete your entire treatment regimen. Failing to do so may prevent you from achieving a full recovery from your injuries. Additionally, you might have difficulty obtaining a fair settlement offer from the insurance company adjuster handling your claim.
To maximize your chances of recovery and obtain a favorable settlement award, you should follow all of your medical provider's treatment recommendations, undergo recommended procedures, and refrain from discharging yourself from medical care.
While you complete your medical treatment, your car accident attorney will be busy advocating for your legal rights and interests. For example, your attorney can gather essential documents on your behalf and begin assembling those documents into a settlement demand package.
Types of Car Accidents
Car accidents can happen in many different ways, each with varying degrees of severity. Understanding the types of crashes that frequently occur can help drivers be more aware of potential dangers and take steps to avoid them.
Rear-End Collisions
A rear-end collision happens when one vehicle crashes into the back of another. These accidents often occur due to distracted driving, tailgating, or sudden braking. Whiplash injuries are common in rear-end crashes, even at low speeds.
Head-On Collisions
One of the most dangerous types of car accidents, head-on collisions occur when two vehicles traveling in opposite directions crash into each other. These crashes often result in severe injuries or fatalities, especially at high speeds. They are frequently caused by distracted driving, impaired driving, or wrong-way driving.
T-Bone (Side-Impact) Collisions
Also known as broadside accidents, T-bone collisions happen when one vehicle strikes the side of another. These crashes are common at intersections when a driver runs a red light or stop sign. Since the sides of vehicles offer less protection than the front or rear, occupants in the struck car often suffer serious injuries.
Sideswipe Accidents
A sideswipe accident occurs when two vehicles traveling in the same or opposite directions make contact along their sides. These crashes often result from unsafe lane changes, merging errors, or distracted driving. While they may seem minor, sideswipe collisions can cause drivers to lose control, leading to more severe crashes.
Multi-Vehicle Pileups
Multi-car accidents involve three or more vehicles and often happen on highways or in heavy traffic. Chain-reaction crashes can be triggered by a single collision, with multiple cars unable to stop in time to avoid impact. These accidents can be especially dangerous due to the risk of secondary crashes and limited escape routes.
Single-Vehicle Accidents
Not all car accidents involve multiple vehicles. Single-vehicle crashes happen when a driver loses control and collides with a stationary object, such as a tree, guardrail, or building. These accidents can result from speeding, poor weather conditions, or driver inattention. Passengers who sustain injuries in single-car crashes due to driver negligence or recklessness can pursue damages from the driver.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
A hit-and-run accident occurs when a driver leaves the scene without stopping to exchange information or offer assistance. These incidents can involve other vehicles, pedestrians, or cyclists, and they often lead to legal consequences for the fleeing driver.
Rollover Accidents
Rollover accidents happen when a vehicle tips onto its side or roof, sometimes flipping multiple times. SUVs and trucks are more prone to rollovers due to their higher center of gravity. These crashes are often caused by sharp turns at high speeds, collisions with other vehicles, or tripping over obstacles like curbs or guardrails.
Reasons Why Car Accidents Frequently Happen
Car accidents occur for many reasons, but most are preventable. Understanding the common causes of crashes can help drivers stay safer on the road and provide grounds for pursuing a personal injury claim. Below are some of the primary reasons why car accidents frequently happen.
Distracted Driving
One of the leading causes of car accidents is distracted driving. Using a cellphone, eating, adjusting the radio, or interacting with passengers can take a driver's attention away from the road. Even a few seconds of distraction can lead to devastating collisions.
Speeding
Exceeding the speed limit reduces reaction time and increases the severity of crashes. Higher speeds make it harder to stop in time to avoid obstacles, pedestrians, or sudden traffic changes. Speeding is a major contributor to fatal accidents.
Driving Under the Influence
Alcohol and drugs impair a driver’s ability to make sound judgments, react quickly, and control their vehicle. Drunk or impaired driving remains a serious threat to road safety and is responsible for thousands of fatalities each year.
Reckless or Aggressive Driving
Tailgating, weaving in and out of traffic, and road rage behaviors create dangerous conditions. Drivers who take unnecessary risks increase the likelihood of an accident, not only for themselves but for others on the road.
Weather Conditions
Rain, snow, fog, and ice can make roads slippery and reduce visibility. Drivers who fail to adjust their speed or driving habits in poor weather conditions are more likely to lose control and cause accidents.
Failure to Obey Traffic Signals and Signs
Running red lights, ignoring stop signs, and failing to yield the right of way are common causes of intersection accidents. These violations often result in severe side-impact or head-on collisions.
Fatigued Driving
Drowsy drivers have slower reaction times and impaired judgment, similar to those driving under the influence. Falling asleep at the wheel or nodding off for even a moment can lead to catastrophic crashes. e necessary steps to pursue the monetary recovery you need for your injuries.
Proving the Legal Elements of a Car Accident Claim
To collect monetary compensation in a motor vehicle accident claim or lawsuit, the accident victim must first satisfy their legal burden of proof.
Specifically, they must demonstrate that the other driver violated their duty of care by driving their vehicle unreasonably under the circumstances. For example, the other driver might have been tailgating, speeding, under the influence of alcohol, or driving recklessly.
In addition, the injured accident victim must demonstrate that as a direct result of the other driver's negligence, both the subject car accident and the accident victim's injuries occurred.
Several different types of experts can help prove the required elements of your case. For instance, an accident reconstructionist can formulate an opinion about how your accident occurred, after looking at police reports, speaking with witnesses, and visiting the accident scene for themselves.
Similarly, a medical expert can causally relate your claimed injury or injuries to the subject auto accident. Medical experts are especially helpful when insurance companies allege that the car accident did not cause the accident victim's injuries.
Your car accident lawyer can retain the necessary experts to prove your claim and recover monetary compensation and damages.
Essential Steps to Take Following Your Motor Vehicle Accident
After a motor vehicle accident, remain at the accident scene and remain calm. In fact, leaving the scene of an accident can get you in serious trouble. Write down anything you can recall about the accident after it happens, including the relative speeds of the involved vehicles, the directions of the cars, and the other vehicle’s characteristics (including the size, model, and color of the other vehicle). If you have a cellular phone or tablet with you,
Take photographs of the accident scene – and of the involved vehicles (and their license plates) – if you can. These photographs can later substantiate your personal injury claim or lawsuit.
If a police officer comes to the accident scene, they are there to help you. If the officer asks you how the accident happened, tell them what you remember. However, never admit fault for the accident. Insist upon receiving a copy of the police report once the officer prepares it.
Next, contact your insurance company, especially if you suffered an injury in the accident or if the accident caused property damage to your vehicle.
Finally, consult an experienced car crash lawyer as soon as possible about the accident and your injuries.
From that point forward, your attorney can handle all communications with insurance companies and file a personal injury claim or lawsuit in a timely manner. After filing your claim, your lawyer can engage in settlement negotiations with insurance company adjusters and pursue the monetary recovery you deserve for your losses.
Negotiating with the Insurance Company after Your Car Accident
Following an investigation of your car accident circumstances, your lawyer can submit a settlement demand package to the insurance company.
A demand package will typically include documents that are pertinent to your case, including expert reports and evaluations. Other documents may include police reports, photographs of your injuries, pictures of the accident scene, property damage photographs, lost income documents, and all related medical records and bills to date.
Once the insurance company adjuster evaluates these documents, they might make you an offer to resolve your claim through a settlement. However, initial offers will not compensate you fairly or adequately for your injuries.
Your car accident lawyer can aggressively negotiate with insurance company representatives in pursuit of a higher settlement offer. For example, your lawyer may point to favorable expert reports, medical records, and other documentation that emphasizes the seriousness of your accident and resulting injuries.
If the insurance company still does not make you a fair settlement offer, your lawyer may sue the insurance company.
Your attorney can advise whether to accept a settlement offer from the insurance company or litigate your case to a final resolution at a civil jury trial or binding arbitration hearing.
Litigating Your Car Accident Case
Litigation in a car accident case begins when your attorney files a lawsuit in the court system for you. However, when your attorney takes this action, it does not mean that settlement negotiations have to cease. In fact, you may decide to resolve your case at any point up until the time of trial.
During litigation, the court will establish various deadlines for certain milestones in the case, including discovery, a settlement conference, and a jury trial. Your attorney can represent you at all of these proceedings, advocate on your behalf, and pursue a higher settlement offer from the insurance company.
If your case remains open following the completion of litigation, you can take the case to a civil jury trial and allow a jury to decide the outcome. You can also pursue one or more alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options, like mediation or binding arbitration, for a quicker resolution.
Your attorney can help you decide between a jury trial and ADR, given the facts of your case and the insurance company’s current settlement offer.
Car Accident Damages
When experts produce favorable reports and testimony, it can greatly increase the types and amounts of monetary compensation that you may be eligible to recover for your injuries.
The total monetary damages you receive will depend primarily on the strength of your case, your overall accident circumstances, your medical treatment, your injuries, and the total cost of your medical care.
First, injured car accident victims can recover compensation for their related medical expenses, as well as for their lost income and loss of earning capacity.
In addition to receiving monetary damages for out-of-pocket losses, an injured accident victim can recover compensation for intangible losses, like their mental distress, pain and suffering, inconvenience, loss of spousal support, loss of life enjoyment, permanent disability or disfigurement, lifetime care costs, and loss of use of a body part (such as from a paralysis injury).
Your attorney can help maximize your overall monetary damage award by pointing to favorable expert testimony, as well as your medical records and bills. Your lawyer can also inform you about the likely settlement or verdict value of your case.
Speak with a Car Accident Lawyer in Your Area Today
One of the best ways to increase your chances of a favorable settlement or litigation result is to retain an experienced car accident lawyer to represent you in your case as quickly as possible.
Our St. Louis personal injury attorneys at Bruning Law Firm can immediately begin investigating your accident circumstances and retaining experts who can offer favorable testimony in your case.
Let our lawyers handle every step of the claims filing, negotiation, and litigation processes. You can rely on us to fight hard to recover the maximum amount of compensation available in your car accident claim.
