Missouri car accidents are the number one cause of serious personal injury and death. If you are involved in a car wreck, you need to call a Missouri personal injury lawyer who is a Missouri car accident lawyer. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, in 2006 alone, there were 167,143 car crashes in Missouri. Out of these Missouri car wrecks, 1096 people were killed. In fact, auto accidents kill an average of one Missourian every 8 hours. Most alarming, there were 62,078 injuries in Missouri car accidents, making this an average of one person being injured in a car crash every 8.5 minutes.

Car accidents and truck accidents cause damage to the vehicles and cause serious personal injury to those inside. People can be severely injured in a car wreck even though there appears to be little or no damage to the vehicle. Cars are designed to absorb some of the force of a car crash. Humans are not designed to absorb these kinds of forces. This is why muscles tear and bones break. Many insurance companies and their lawyers will argue if there is a small amount of damage to a car, there must be little or no injury to the person. The personal injury lawyers at the Bradley Law Firm realize this is not the case. In fact, most Missouri judges have ruled this argument cannot be made in a Missouri personal injury lawsuit. Missouri judges routinely prevent insurance companies and their lawyers from arguing this false statement to Missouri juries without expert testimony to support these assertions. Missouri personal injury lawyers must be prepared to counter this kind of defense. At the Bradley Law Firm, we realize people can sustain horrific injuries where there is little damage to the vehicle. This is why we consult with the very best car wreck experts to determine what forces were involved in each Missouri car crash where forces are at issue. We also know horrible injuries are almost certain where there is a large amount of damage to the vehicle. In these types of cases, it is important to have experts translate the car crash data to determine what forces were sustained.

Unfortunately, Missouri only requires drivers to carry a minimum of $25,000 of liability car insurance per person and $50,000 of liability car insurance per occurrence. This means if you cause a Missouri car accident, you have a maximum of $25,000 to cover personal injury to any one person and a total of $50,000 to cover personal injury of all injured persons. Insurance companies licensed to sell car insurance in Missouri offer greater protection that the law requires. It is extremely important you purchase car insurance with policy limits much greater than $25,000/$50,000. This way, if you cause a car wreck in Missouri that causes personal injury, you will have the protection necessary to cover that person’s injuries. If you do not have adequate car insurance, you could be personally liable for that person’s personal injuries.

Unfortunately, some Missouri drivers have no car insurance. Other times, out of state drivers only have the insurance required by their home state. This can be as low as $10,000! If you are involved in a car wreck with one of these drivers, there may be little or no car insurance to pay for your medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering. You can protect yourself in these cases by purchasing Uninsured Motorist coverage and Underinsured Motorist coverage. This way, if you are injured in a car wreck with one of these drivers, your Missouri personal injury lawyer can recover for your injuries from your own insurance company.

Missouri law allows car wreck victims to recover their medical bills, lost wages as well as damages for pain and suffering. Insurance companies determine the value of a personal injury claim by evaluating the amount of medical bills you must pay, your past and future lost wages, the amount of pain and suffering you experienced or will continue to experience and what residual disabilities you may have. Sometimes, other factors are taken into account in determining how much your personal injury claim is worth. For instance, if the at fault driver’s conduct was in complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of others, you may be entitled to punitive damages. In Missouri, punitive damages are designed to punish people for their bad conduct.

After a Missouri car wreck, insurance companies may contact you to give a statement. It is extremely important you first contact a Missouri personal injury lawyer before you give a statement. Anything you say to an insurance company may be used against you at trial. Many times, insurance companies will record these conversations. Never consider accepting a personal injury settlement without first consulting with a Missouri injury attorney.

The personal injury lawyers at the Bradley Law Firm have decades of experience in representing injured Missouri drivers and passengers. We have offices located in St. Louis, Missouri and Louisiana, Missouri. Our St. Louis personal injury lawyers will investigate the facts of your Missouri car wreck, determine who was at fault and what insurance companies are responsible for your personal injuries. If the insurance company does not pay a reasonable amount to settle your claim, we may recommend you file a Missouri personal injury lawsuit.

The sooner you contact a Missouri personal injury attorney to investigate your claim, the better. These cases are time sensitive. If you do not move quickly to secure evidence, it can be destroyed or lost forever. This can decrease the value of your Missouri injury claim. Remember, our Missouri law firm never charges any attorneys’ fee if we do not recover money compensation for you. In addition, we cover all costs in pursuing your personal injury claim. Our injury clients have comfort knowing they will never receive a bill from our office for any work on their case.

We handle car accident cases in all Missouri counties and cities, including St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, Hannibal, St. Charles, St. Peters, Cape Girardeau, Branson, Osage Beach, Lake of the Ozarks, Independence, St. Joseph, Jefferson City, Kirksville, Sedalia and Rolla. Contact us today and speak to an experienced personal injury lawyer about your case for free.