Missouri has a fault-based insurance system. The state requires all vehicle owners to buy liability insurance. After a crash, those who suffered injuries file insurance claims against the policy for the driver who caused it.
Thus, fault becomes the central issue in all car accident cases in Kansas City, MO. After you suffer an injury in a car crash, a lawyer from Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers can answer questions like, “Who is at fault for my Kansas City car accident?” and “How much compensation can I recover?”
Contact us today via phone call at (816) 408-3448 or online message. Our Kansas City car accident attorneys offer a free initial consultation.
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How Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After an Auto Accident in Kansas City, MO
Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers was founded over 21 years ago to represent injured clients in Kansas City, Missouri, against those responsible for hurting them.
Our Kansas City car accident lawyers have recovered over $70 million in settlements and damage awards for accident victims like you.
After you get injured, our attorneys assist you with the following:
- A free case evaluation so you can learn about your legal rights
- Tireless advocates to fight insurers for a fair settlement of your claim
- Litigators with over 30 years of courtroom experience to litigate if your case doesn’t settle
Car accidents can produce painful injuries that disable you from working or participating in activities you enjoy. Contact Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers to discuss your car accident and your options for pursuing injury compensation.
How Many Car Accidents Happen In Kansas City?
According to the Missouri Traffic Safety Compendium, Kansas City had over 14,800 traffic crashes in 2022. These crashes included 77 fatal accidents and 4,478 non-fatal injury accidents. Crashes in Kansas City killed 81 people and injured 6,589 people.
These numbers include 268 pedestrian accidents and bicycle accidents. The state lumps together all the crashes involving these vulnerable road users. The numbers also include 2,217 single-vehicle accidents. Once you subtract these numbers from the total, you have 12,322 multi-vehicle car collisions in Kansas City in 2022.
These multi-vehicle collisions caused 40 deaths and 5,547 non-fatal injuries in Kansas City. However, not all of these accident victims had an injury claim. Some of those injured or killed were responsible for causing their crash. Liability insurance only pays for injuries caused to third parties. They do not pay for injuries suffered by the at-fault driver.
As a result, these numbers simply tell you that, at most, 40 families might have wrongful death claims. Another 5,547 people might have claims for personal injury. But in all likelihood, the number is actually much smaller.
Determining Fault for Kansas City Car Accidents
The law has two legal ways of assigning fault after a car accident.
Intentional Act
The law protects you from intentionally harmful acts by others. The two types of claims most relevant to car collisions are assault and battery. These claims differ from the criminal charges that share their names. Criminal assault and battery can land a perpetrator in jail, while civil assault or battery can result in a damage award to the injured person.
Battery happens when someone injures you with an action intended to cause harmful contact. Assault occurs when someone intends to place you in fear of an imminent battery.
Thus, suppose an aggressive driver deliberately swerves toward you after you cut them off in traffic. If the driver bumps you, they may have committed civil battery for hitting you and civil assault by scaring you. But even if the driver misses you, they may still have committed civil assault if you feared getting hit.
You will often have difficulty proving the other party’s intent. As a result, insurers and juries rarely find fault based on intentional acts except in road rage cases.
Negligent Act
Negligence almost always forms the basis for car accident claims. You prove fault in a negligence case by presenting evidence of four elements:
- Duty of care
- Breach of duty
- Causation
- Damages
All road users have a duty to exercise reasonable care while using the roads. Pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers breach this duty by breaking traffic laws or unreasonably disregarding the safety of others.
Accident victims can only win their claims if they show the breach of duty caused their injuries. Causation requires proof that the breach fell in the sequence of events that ended with your injury. You must also prove that the breach was the type of action that could foreseeably cause an injury (proximate cause).
Finally, you need to prove the damages you suffered. This might seem simple on the surface, but some types of damages (such as pain and suffering) sometimes require expert assistance to establish with evidence.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Kansas City Car Accident Lawyers
Our Kansas City car accident lawyers have the knowledge and experience to identify the driver liable for your crash and pursue compensation. Contact Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your crash and how we can represent you against an at-fault driver and their insurer.
