Recovered Over $300 Million for Our 7,000+ Clients
Accidents can have significant consequences. A traffic collision as you’re driving down U.S. 50 could leave you with long-term disabilities, whereas a slip and fall accident from a great height could even put your life at risk. That’s without even considering the financial effect that needing medical care can have.
If you’ve suffered because of someone else’s negligent or wrongful conduct, you have the chance to recover losses by filing a personal injury claim. To do so, you need help from experienced attorneys who’ll fight to get you fair compensation. At Holland Injury Law, our team of Lee’s Summit personal injury attorneys offers the guidance you need.
Learn some of the most important information there is to know about personal injury claims in Missouri.
In the majority of personal injury claims, you have to show that the defendant acted negligently. Doing so requires demonstrating that they owed you a duty of care and then breached it.
In a car accident, for example, the other party has a duty of care to drive safely and obey all traffic laws. If they do anything that breaks the law and puts others at risk, they breach their duty of care.
Next, you must establish that the defendant’s breach caused your injuries and that you can be compensated for your losses. Thus, if a car accident resulted in a broken arm, you would meet all of the requirements to file a claim.
Something to consider is that Missouri allows you to be partly at fault in the accident and still claim damages. Under the state’s pure comparative negligence law, you can recover losses as long as you don’t hold 100% of the fault. Your settlement or award will be reduced by the percentage of blame you hold.
Not all claims require that you prove negligence, however. For instance, suppose that you’re walking through Summit Park and a dog attacks you without provocation. In that situation, you don’t have to prove that the owner was negligent in leaving them off-leash or show that the animal had bitten someone before.
That’s because, like product liability cases, dog bite claims follow strict liability laws. Unless you were trespassing or provoking the dog when the bite occurred, the owner is responsible for your injuries.
Missouri has statutes of limitations that you have to abide by. These limit the time you have to file a claim. Statutes of limitations are designed to ensure that there will be evidence and testimony available to support your claim.
The general rule in Missouri is that you have five years from the day you suffer the injury to file. This applies to vehicular accidents, as well as premises liability, dog bite, and product liability claims.
There are exceptions to the five-year stipulation. In medical malpractice claims, for example, you will likely only have two years from the date of the malpractice incident to file your claim.
If you don’t know you’ve been hurt, you could have more time, but it’s essential that you speak with one of our lawyers as soon as possible. The last thing you want is to miss the deadline. If you do, you won’t be able to recover any losses.
The Lee’s Summit personal injury attorneys at Holland Injury Law have experience with a variety of claim types. These include:
When you’re dealing with injuries that require medical care, as well as the emotional trauma that being in an accident can cause, the last thing you want to worry about is paperwork and legalities. You may not even know where to begin if you’re thinking about filing a claim.
Our team of lawyers can handle all of this for you so that you can focus on healing. We’ll investigate the accident and start gathering evidence to demonstrate that you deserve compensation for your losses.
One of the most important things that we can do is negotiate with insurers. Often, people think that insurance companies will do what they can to help, but the opposite is true. Their only focus is to avoid paying you what you deserve.
To accomplish this, they can try all manner of tactics, including threatening not to pay at all unless you accept a low offer. Sometimes, they’ll even bully you into dropping the claim altogether. If you have experienced lawyers by your side, these strategies aren’t an issue. We’ll handle all negotiations and aggressively fight for what you deserve.
We’ll make sure insurers are negotiating in good faith and that there are no disputes regarding who’s liable. If these issues do arise, we are prepared to take your claim to court.
Attempting to represent yourself in these proceedings is never a good idea because you can be certain the other party will have lawyers helping them. We’ll advocate for you at trial so that you have a better chance of receiving fair compensation.
We know just how much you’ve suffered and the amount of stress you’re under. We don’t want to put any more strain on your finances, so we work on a contingency fee basis. If we don’t win, we don’t get paid.
When you file a personal injury claim, you have the chance to recover economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages compensate you for the financial losses you’ve sustained because of the accident. Medical expenses are economic losses.
You can receive damages to cover hospital bills, rehabilitation sessions, and medication costs. If you need to make adjustments to your home or vehicle to accommodate a disability the accident caused, medical expenses cover it. For severe injuries, you may need to receive ongoing care. Fortunately, economic damages can pay for this, too.
It’s also possible to receive compensation to cover lost wages. You likely had to miss a few days of work because of the accident. That means you missed out on earnings, commissions, or even bonuses you would otherwise have received. Lost wages compensate you for those.
When the injuries are severe enough to be debilitating, working may no longer be an option at all. In such instances, you can claim a loss of earning potential, which compensates you for what you would have made throughout your working life.
Non-economic damages compensate you for less tangible losses. Pain and suffering fit in this category. If you aren’t able to live your life as you did before the accident, you can also claim loss of enjoyment of life.
If the accident caused severe disabilities to a loved one or resulted in their death, it’s possible to claim loss of consortium as well. This compensates you for the loss of support and companionship you’ve suffered.
You shouldn’t have to suffer alone if someone else’s negligence led you to experience losses. By hiring experienced personal injury lawyers, you can file a claim and get the compensation you deserve.
At Holland Injury Law, our Lee’s Summit personal injury attorneys have recovered over $300 Million for our 7,000+ clients. We can guide you through the claims process. Schedule a free consultation with a team that has earned over 1,000 5-star reviews to learn more about your options.
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