Anyone who was injured or suffered property damage in a motor vehicle crash can hire an accident attorney in St. Louis to file a claim, including a driver, passenger, pedestrian, bicyclist or motorcycle rider. If a minor was injured, a parent or guardian can pursue a claim on the minor’s behalf.

You can still file a claim if you refused medical treatment at the scene of the accident, or if you have a pre-existing condition related to your injury. To discuss the details of your case, contact a St. Louis auto accident lawyer.

Collisions involving cars, motorcycles, trucks and other vehicles can be the fault of multiple parties. A jury can assign a percentage of fault to each party, known as contributory fault. This may reduce the amount of money that can be recovered, but it does not necessarily mean there is no case.

Settlement is the fastest route to a resolution and is generally in the best interest of the injured party. However, if the defendant or the defendant’s insurance company does not make a reasonable settlement offer, the case will go to a jury trial, which takes approximately 18 to 24 months from start to finish.

The St. Louis auto accident law firm of Padberg Appelbaum Knepper works on a contingent fee basis. This means clients will not pay anything if we don’t recover money for them. If our legal team secures a settlement or judgment, we will receive a percentage of the award, in addition to reimbursement for any expenses of prosecuting the case.

Our accident lawyers in St. Louis work diligently to hold the defendant responsible for the damages they caused, in an effort to receive the highest possible compensation for our clients. We have decades of trial experience and a track record of success you can rely on.

When outstanding bills go unpaid, they can accumulate late fees or payment denial, and impact your credit score. Instead, it is best to handle your bills as if there was no collision at all. Submit all necessary documentation to your health insurance and/or auto insurance company, and keep track of all receipts and important paperwork.

If your auto accident lawyer in St. Louis recovers a settlement or judgment in your case, the awarded funds will reimburse you for these expenses.

A serious crash is stressful, and the most important thing you can do is try and remain calm. Read more about the steps to take after a car accident.

You should also be very careful about social media and online activity after an accident. While you may want to share updates with friends and loved ones about your condition, everything posted online could be used against you in a lawsuit. This even includes details shared by your friends and family about the case, and any other publicly available information about you — even if it is unrelated to the accident.

If you cannot remove yourself from social media entirely while your case is active, the best practice is to adjust your privacy settings on all social media profiles, monitor what other people are posting about you and never post about the details of your case or condition.

Should I pay my medical bills and repair my car following a collision?

When outstanding bills go unpaid it can result in late fees or payment denial as well as affect credit scores. To prevent these consequences and to get back to a normal routine after a collision, it is best for an injured party to have his or her own health insurance company pay for medical bills. Ideally, the negligent party’s insurance will pay for car repairs; however, if there is a dispute on liability, then each party should have their own auto insurance cover repair costs, as well as personally pay any deductibles. If the case settles or receives a judgment, the awarded funds will be distributed to reimburse for the victim’s expenses.

Insurers will contact all parties involved in a collision to gather facts and collect recorded statements, which can be used against the injured person in a lawsuit.

• If you have already selected a St. Louis car crash attorney, only provide the insurance company with their contact information.
• If you have not hired an attorney, refrain from giving a recorded statement and contact a car crash lawyer in St. Louis right away.

When the at-fault driver does not have insurance, you can consult an auto accident law firm to sue them directly. However, uninsured motorists typically do not have the financial ability to pay a judgement. Many people carry Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist coverage (UM/UIM) under their own auto insurance policy to help provide financial protection in the event of a serious accident.

All of our St. Louis personal injury lawyers are trial tested and ready to go the distance for our clients. And while a jury trial is always a possibility, most cases settle before going that far. This happens for several reasons.

• Litigation can take a long time.
• Leaving the decision up to a judge or jury can have unpredictable results.
• Reaching a settlement offers the opportunity to fairly and quickly compensate an injured party without going through a long, drawn out trial.

In addition, mediation is another form of resolution that can take the place of going to trial. This process can be court ordered or voluntary and is facilitated by a neutral third party.

In either situation, if the other party refuses to settle or presents an unreasonable settlement offer in mediation, then our personal injury lawyers in St. Louis, Missouri, will move forward with trial.

In conclusion, the team at Padberg Appelbaum Knepper ranks among the best personal injury lawyers in St. Louis. Our attorneys have tried and settled thousands of personal injury cases and have recovered more than $250,000,000 in settlements and judgments for our clients to date.

When evaluating a lawsuit, one of the first steps we will take is determining who caused the injury. Similarly, we evaluate several elements in order to prove liability.

In some scenarios, more than one person can be responsible. We assign a degree of fault to all involved parties in percentages that add up to 100%. We refer to this as contributory fault.

If the accident happened at work, you are entitled to file a worker’s compensation claim against your employer. When a workplace injury occurs because of negligent or reckless actions of a co-worker, you may also be able to file a lawsuit against the individual, known as co-employee liability case.

To sum up, you have the right to consult with a personal injury attorney and to pursue legal action, even if you may be partly responsible for an accident or injury.