A sudden serious injury can send your life catapulting off-course, interrupting or ending your ability to earn a living and accomplish daily routines. When someone else’s actions or negligence directly caused the injury, it adds an additional element of frustration and dismay; however, when someone else causes you an injury, you don’t have to be left responsible for managing the damages alone. A personal injury claim in Missouri allows injury victims to recover compensation for damages from the responsible party—typically through their insurance. A St. Louis personal injury claim isn’t something most people do often over a lifetime. Although no two cases are the same, understanding how the process works helps you know what to expect.
What Are the Most Common Personal Injury Claims In Missouri?
If a person suffers a serious injury through their own fault, they have to suffer the negative consequences. However, if someone else’s actions directly caused them harm, a personal injury claim holds the negligent, reckless, or wrongful party accountable for those consequences—the “damages” in a personal injury claim. Common types of personal injury claims in Missouri include the following:
- Car accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Workplace injuries
- Slip-and-fall injuries and other premises accidents
- Defective product injuries
- Dog bites
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Birth injuries
- Wrongful death
Compensation in a successful personal injury claim comes from the appropriate insurance company; for instance, from auto insurance after a car accident or a store owner’s liability insurance after a slip-and-fall injury.
What to Do After a Personal Injury
The personal injury claim process begins immediately after the injury if the injury victim or a companion takes purposeful action. It’s critical to go directly to the hospital or an urgent care center to receive treatment for the injury, undergo a medical evaluation to detect any other injuries and document the injuries as evidence they occurred in the accident or incident. While waiting for transportation to a hospital, using a phone to snap photos of the injury and anything relevant to the cause of the injury is helpful, as is adding the contact information of anyone involved and eyewitnesses.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Do to Help?
The first step in a personal injury claim after going to the hospital is to obtain a copy of your detailed medical report and a police report if the injury occurred in a traffic accident. Then, speak to a personal injury attorney for representation. Most personal injury lawyers offer free consultations and only charge fees after they obtain compensation for their clients. Your Missouri personal injury lawyer will do the following:
- Investigate all aspects of the injury and document evidence of the at-fault party’s negligence and liability
- Carefully calculate your economic and non-economic damages like medical expenses, lost income, and compensation for pain and suffering to maximize the compensation available in your case
- Send a demand package to the appropriate insurance company
- Begin negotiating with the insurance company through the insurance adjuster assigned to your case
- In some cases, attend mediation sessions with all involved parties to negotiate a settlement
- File a lawsuit if the insurance company fails to offer adequate compensation or wrongfully disputes, denies, or delays the claim
An attorney carefully files all necessary paperwork within the time limits and ensures meticulous attention to detail to achieve the best possible outcome.
Do I Have to Go to Court for a Personal Injury Claim?
Most personal injury claims (about 95%) are successfully settled outside of court with a settlement payment directly from the at-fault party’s insurance company. Only in cases of wrongful claim denial or the serious undervaluing of a claim does a personal injury case require litigation in court. If your case goes to court, your attorney will ensure that you are fully prepared for the court process. Even relatively minor, fully recoverable injuries sometimes cause financial stress with as little as a single missed paycheck and a large emergency room bill. More severe injuries ending in disability or impairment have life-altering adverse impacts. A personal injury claim relieves financial hardship and helps injury victims gain a sense of financial accountability and justice.