St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney Serving Missouri & Illinois
When you have been involved in an accident, whether involving a car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, bus or pedestrian, you can face a number of challenges following the accident. In particular, if your injuries are serious, your life can change. You could find yourself unable to return to work, facing mountains of medical bills and a recalcitrant insurance company. In order to ensure the outcome of your accident is as positive as possible, contact an experienced St. Louis personal injury attorney as quickly as possible after your accident.
Why Choose a St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney from Finney Injury Law?
Choosing an attorney following your St. Louis personal injury accident is second in importance only to obtaining the medical treatments you need in order to heal from your injuries. Attorneys Chris Finney and Alex Ledbetter are experienced St. Louis motor vehicle accident attorneys with the knowledge and skills necessary to help you through this difficult time. Chris and Alex are well-versed in negotiating with insurance companies for an equitable settlement and are skilled litigators in the event a fair number cannot be agreed on.
When you have a zealous St. Louis motor vehicle accident attorney in your corner who prepares every case as though it will go to court, you know you are fully protected. At Finney Injury Law, not only will we accurately assess your damages, but if liability is unclear, we will use every tool in our arsenal to definitively show that the other driver caused the accident and, thus, your injuries and damages.
We offer every benefit associated with a large law firm, along with the highly individualized attention only available at small firms. We care about our clients and the outcome of their auto accident claims and zealously advocate for them from start to finish. When necessary, we help them find the medical treatments they need to heal from their injuries. Our compassion and dedication are second to none. Call Finney Injury Law about your case today.
Car Accidents
As reported by Forbes, every “average” adult driver will file a claim for a collision about once every 17.9 years. Following a car accident, it is extremely important that you seek medical attention, even if you believe you are unhurt since the adrenaline that floods your body during an accident can mask injury symptoms.
Truck Accidents
Being involved in a truck accident is always a tremendously traumatic event. Death and long-term disability due to a truck accident are common. Truck accident claims can be especially complex because there is often more than one defendant, including the truck driver, the trucking company, the loading company, or the maintenance company.
Motorcycle Accidents
Serious head injuries and spinal cord injuries are much more common among motorcyclists than those in passenger vehicles. Motorcycles are simply less visible to other drivers, and there are few safety protections. Like truck accidents, motorcycle accidents can be much more complex than passenger vehicle accidents.
Pedestrian Accidents
Like motorcyclists, pedestrians and bicyclists are extremely vulnerable when they are struck by a vehicle, as they have no protection whatsoever. When a pedestrian is struck by a car, the results are usually catastrophic, resulting in serious injury or death. Driver inattention or distraction is the primary cause of pedestrian accidents.
Bicycle Accidents
The risk of riding a bicycle varies widely depending on the time of day, the rider’s level of experience, the area the bicyclist is riding in, and whether there is alcohol involved.
If you have been involved in a bicycle accident, you may have extremely serious injuries that require months or years of medical intervention and prevent you from returning to work.
Bus Accidents
Travel by bus is relatively safe as far as travel modes go. When a bus does crash, there will likely be many injured passengers, and the injuries can be severe. Issues that can increase the odds of a bus accident include young or inexperienced bus drivers or bus drivers who are distracted, fatigued, or impaired.
Rear-end Accidents
Rear-end accidents are among the most common types of automobile accidents. Distracted drivers drive too closely to the vehicle in front of them, and then when they look away for an instant, an accident can result. Rear-end accidents often result in neck and back injuries, which, in some cases, can be extremely serious.
Hit-and-Run Accidents
Hit-and-run accidents can be more complex than an accident where you know who hit you. If the hit-and-run driver is not found, you may need to file against your own insurer if you have uninsured/underinsured coverage.
Distracted Driving Accidents
Distracted driving accidents are quickly moving up the list as the most common cause of automobile accidents. Drivers text, talk on their cell phones, eat entire meals, change the car controls, set the GPS, and even turn around to see what children or pets are doing in the back seat. All these distractions can lead to extremely serious accidents and injuries.
Fatigued Driving Accidents
Fatigued driving accidents, like distracted driving accidents, are becoming more and more common. Few adults routinely get the recommended amount of sleep. A person who has been awake for 18 hours or longer is just as likely to have an auto accident as a person with a 0.08 percent BAC reading, causing slow reaction time and lack of judgment.
Impaired Driving Accidents
Despite decades of advertising against impaired driving and stricter penalties for those who drive while impaired, this type of accident continues to occur. If an impaired driver hits you, criminal charges may be filed against them. This is apart from your own civil claim for damages against the impaired driver’s insurance company.
Reckless Driving Accidents
Reckless driving accidents include accidents caused by excessive speed, tailgating, failure to yield, running red lights, and changing lanes without properly looking for another vehicle or a motorcyclist. Like an impaired driving accident, the reckless driver may be ticketed or face criminal charges, depending on how bad the accident was and how egregious their actions were.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Slip and fall accidents are more common than you might think, particularly in grocery stores and retail stores. Slip and fall accidents can also occur in a parking lot, a stairwell, a sidewalk, a restaurant, an apartment complex, an escalator or elevator, around a swimming pool, or even at a theme park or water park.
Wrongful Death Claims
Wrongful death claims occur when a person has been injured due to the negligence or carelessness of another person or entity, and those injuries result in death. In the state of Missouri, the decedent’s surviving spouse, parents, children, or grandchildren (if the children are deceased) can bring a wrongful death claim. If none of those survive the decedent, then a sibling or the sibling’s descendants can bring a wrongful death claim.
Childcare/Daycare Injuries
Childcare/daycare injuries can be caused by an accident that was nobody’s fault or can result from hazards or dangers at the facility. If the accident results from a known hazard or danger, the childcare or daycare can be sued for damages, including your medical expenses, lost wages, lost future wages, and pain and suffering.
How Do I File a Motor Vehicle Accident Claim?
Your vehicle accident claim will benefit from having an experienced St. Louis personal injury attorney from Finney Injury Law. Once your attorney has accurately calculated your damages and proven liability, the next goal will be to thoroughly investigate your accident for evidence and build a claim on your behalf. Your attorney will then negotiate with the insurance company after sending out a demand letter that details your injuries and asks for a specific monetary amount.
If the negotiations are unsuccessful, your attorney will file a lawsuit on your behalf. The insurance company can still agree to a fair settlement until the jury issues a verdict. If the claim goes to court, your attorney will argue the facts of your case on your behalf in front of a judge and jury, calling expert witnesses to back up your claim, and questioning the other driver’s account of the accident. Legally represented claimants are more likely to receive a larger settlement than those who are unrepresented.
Do I Need a Personal Injury Lawyer for My Case?
If you are the victim of an accident caused by a negligent party, you should seek the services of a highly skilled St. Louis personal injury lawyer. Personal injury lawyers help their clients in numerous ways as they negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and aggressively litigate your case when the insurer refuses a fair settlement. Attorneys who have dedicated their careers to personal injury law can quickly level the playing field between an insurer who wants to pay as little as possible, and a person injured through no fault of his or her own.
Personal injury attorneys are familiar with the system’s intricacies and the people who work within it. This gives them a significant advantage over a person who has little to no knowledge of how the system works. The judges, filing clerks, and other civil defense litigation attorneys who are the backbone of the system are all known entities to personal injury attorneys. As with most things in life, having an “in” simply makes for an easier path to an equitable settlement.
Negotiating a settlement with a big insurance company can be extremely intimidating for the average person. Yet a skilled personal injury attorney does this on a regular basis. Your personal injury attorney will have accurately calculated exactly what your claim is worth and then will present this to the insurance company. If the insurance company refuses to pay what your damages are worth, your personal injury attorney will file a lawsuit to force them to do so.
While most personal injury claims are settled before ever reaching the trial phase, you want to ensure that your chosen attorney is just as comfortable in front of a jury as he or she is with negotiating a settlement. Having a personal injury attorney as your advocate allows you to take the time you need to recover from your injuries without worrying about whether you will receive the settlement you need and deserve.
What Is the Right Time to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer?
The “right” time to hire a personal injury lawyer following an accident caused by the negligence of another person or entity is as quickly as you possibly can. Of course, your first priority should always be to obtain the medical treatment you need for your injuries. At the scene of the accident, it is easy to say you are “fine,” then hours later, once you are home, you realize you are far from fine. While it may seem inconvenient, always get checked out at the ER or by your doctor immediately after an accident.
Once you have taken care of your health, your next step should be to find an experienced personal injury attorney. While having a personal injury attorney is beneficial after almost any accident, it is particularly important when there are life-altering injuries or permanent disabilities. The sooner you retain a personal injury attorney, the sooner he or she can begin investigating your accident. Evidence can disappear quickly, so time is of the essence.
Especially when your accident involves a semi-truck, the trucking company’s attorneys will do their best to ensure there is no evidence to hold the trucking company or driver liable for your injuries. If you have an attorney on board, his or her goal will be to secure this evidence before it is gone.
Your personal injury attorney will go to work immediately gathering evidence and assembling a comprehensive case that will result in a fair settlement that will cover all your damages. You should always make sure that hiring a personal injury attorney is a priority following any accident caused by another’s negligence.
Hiring an Experienced St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney Near You
It can feel very daunting to hire a St. Louis personal injury lawyer, especially if you have never needed an attorney before now. You can ensure you choose the right attorney for you and your situation in several ways.
Many people start the process by asking friends, family members, and trusted co-workers whether they have ever had a personal injury attorney, and, if so, who they chose. While referrals may be a good place to start, looking on the internet for a personal injury attorney near you is another good way to start.
You can type in a search like “St. Louis personal injury lawyer” to look at local attorneys. Browse several websites to get a “feel” for the attorney and his or her practice and to see whether the attorney has specific experience that would benefit you. For example, if you have been injured in a truck accident, you need a St. Louis personal injury lawyer who has successfully handled many truck accidents in the past.
Reviews can also be helpful. You might look at Yelp or Google reviews or go directly to sites like Avvo, Nolo, Martindale-Hubbell, or FindLaw. Once you have chosen a few lawyers you think would be a good fit for you, call to set up a consultation. This gives you the opportunity to meet the lawyer and his or her staff.
Ask questions about your case as well as about the attorney and his or her experience with cases like yours. While it is important that you feel comfortable with your chosen St. Louis personal injury attorney, it is equally important that the attorney is experienced, knowledgeable, and skilled.
Contact a St. Louis Personal Injury Attorney from Finney Injury Law
If you have been involved in an auto, truck, motorcycle, pedestrian, bicycle, or bus accident, it is likely you will face not only physical injuries but mental and emotional trauma as well. Dealing with an insurance company while seeking medical treatment and perhaps being unable to return to your regular job and your normal life, are all difficult.
An accident of this sort can seriously disrupt your life, and having a competent, experienced St. Louis personal injury attorney from Finney Injury Law by your side can significantly impact the aftermath of your accident. It is important that you not wait to contact a Finney Injury Law attorney following your accident—the sooner we are able to protect your rights and fight for your future, the better for you. Contact an experienced St. Louis personal injury attorney from Finney Injury Law today.