St. Louis MO Personal Injury Lawyer

It’s true that most personal injury lawsuits don’t go to trial. Nine times out of 10, parties reach a settlement agreement before the case gets that far in the process. However, there’s no way to know how your process will unfold. It will depend on the facts of your case, how clearcut liability is, and how willing the insurance company is to negotiate a fair deal.

Ultimately, it’s a good idea to make sure that your choice of a lawyer has trial experience. This shows the other side that you’re serious about pursuing compensation and aren’t afraid to reject a low offer and take them into court. It also means that your lawyer will be prepared to litigate an in front of a jury, if necessary.

Is liability crystal clear, or it is being contested? Is the insurance company willing to offer you a fair deal early on, or are they more interested in dragging things out to see if you take a low offer? How serious are your injuries and when will you have a solid understanding of how they’ll affect you in the future?

These are examples of things that can influence how long it takes to resolve your personal injury claim. If you can reach a settlement, you might be looking at a process that lasts anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. If your case goes to trial, the process can span a couple of years (one, two or more). Your St. Louis personal injury attorney should help you fight to get through the process as soon as possible, while still working to secure full compensation for you.

Negligence means that another person had a responsibility to act with care, but didn’t. As a direct result, you got hurt. This is the foundation of most (but not all) personal injury lawsuits. To prove it, you’ll have to establish that this other person owed you a duty of care, breached it, and caused you to suffer damages (e.g., physical harm, financial consequences, property damage).

Most personal injury claims are based on negligence. In order to win your case, you’ll have to prove each of these four elements:

• Duty: the defendant owed you a duty of care
• Breach: that duty was breached in some way
• Damages: you suffered some verifiable harm or damage
• Causation: the defendant’s conduct was the direct and proximate cause of your injury

Not all personal injury claims involve negligence. Some, like those involving defective products or animal attacks, can be based solely on something called “strict liability.” Proving negligence isn’t required, but establishing that someone had a statutory duty to keep you safe is.

These are things you shouldn’t have to worry about figuring out. Let our attorneys analyze all the information, determine the best course of action, and fight to get you the money you deserve. 

Yes, as long as someone else shares some of the blame, too. Missouri has what’s known as “pure comparative negligence” rules. 

This means that anyone who contributes to an accident shares liability for resulting harm. Sharing blame doesn’t mean that you can’t recover compensation, but it does mean that your monetary award will be affected. 

Damages are adjusted to reflect a victim’s proportionate responsibility. In other words, your settlement or award will be reduced by the percentage of fault you’re assigned for an accident. If you’re 20% to blame, your damages will be reduced by 20%.