Car Accident Lawyer in St. Louis, MO
Car Accident Lawyer St. Louis, MO. After you have suffered injuries in a car or truck accident, having concerns about your job or your family should be your lowest priority. Between mental trauma, car repairs, and getting back to full fitness, the effects of an car accident in St. Louis, MO can easily overwhelm anyone, especially when insurance companies refuse to deal with you or you do not receive the monetary reward you should be getting.
Contact Our St. Louis, MO Car Accident Lawyers Here
Combs Waterkotte is here to help residents of St. Louis, MO who have been in car accidents and do not know about what to do next. Our St. Louis car accident lawyer works with insurance agents, looks over accident reports, and compiles all evidence for their clients. We fight aggressively for all our St. Louis, MO auto accident clients to win them not only appropriate financial rewards, but also a measure of justice after going through a very troubling experience.
After you’ve been in a St. Louis, MO auto accident, don’t hesitate to contact Combs Waterkotte, either online or by calling (314) 900-HELP, and put a veteran St. Louis, MO auto accident attorney on your side. Our firm offers free initial consultations, and vows that you do not win or get a settlement in your St. Louis auto accident lawsuit, you owe us nothing.
Giving You One Less Thing To Worry About
A Complete St. Louis, MO Car Accident Lawyer
On any given day, thousands of vehicles are on the road in and around St. Louis for all sorts of purposes. Sadly, however, car accidents regularly occur, caused by bad weather, poor road conditions, or someone else’s negligence. Automotive damages and personal injuries can range from minor cosmetic blemishes or a few cuts and scrapes, to totaled cars and permanent injuries.
As experienced St. Louis, MO car accident lawyers, Combs Waterkotte has taken car accident claims of all types and seen first-hand how the effects of a car accident in St. Louis can alter someone’s life, in some cases permanently. Our firm has years of experience in the courtroom, and understands how insurance firms do not enjoy paying just compensation to St. Louis accident victims. We provide unique legal strategies that are tailor-made to satisfy your unique needs and get clients both closure in addition to a just reward for their injuries and losses.
What To Do After A Car Accident In St. Louis, MO
After you have been in a car accident, it is common for people to be stunned and unsure of how to proceed. However, having worked with many car accident clients across St. Louis, MO, the staff at Combs Waterkotte suggests that all our clients do the following after their car accident:
- Make sure you are safe. Pull over to somewhere where you will not obstruct traffic, if you are able to, and check to see if you are hurt.
- Call 911. Not only will you need to talk with police and get a full report of your car accident, but if you or a passenger is badly hurt you may need to have an ambulance come and take them to a hospital. When the police arrive, be honest about the accident but choose your words wisely: statements that imply guilt can and will be used against you by insurance providers when finding fault.
- Collect all relevant information. Exchange not only your license, registration, and insurance details, which you are required to do by law, but also phone numbers and other contact details.
- Take photos. The invention, and widespread adoption, of camera phones means that it is incredibly simple to document your St. Louis, MO accident and gather evidence. Take photos of skid marks, property damage, physical surroundings, and the point of impact of your accident. If there were pedestrians or passersby who witnessed your accident, it is smart to record their accounts of the accident, as it can help your case immensely.
- Get medical attention. If you were hurt as a result of your St. Louis car accident, immediately get emergency medical care. For more minor injuries, a local urgent care center is a more affordable and convenient option than an ER visit. However, more severe or bigger will likely necessitate a trip to the hospital, or if they are available a visit to your primary care physician.
- Contact a car accident lawyer. The quicker you talk to a trustworthy and understanding St. Louis, MO car accident lawyer, the faster they can get to work on your behalf and allow you to begin the recovery process.
In addition to these steps, our firm urges all our clients to save the following paperwork. They can help a great deal when negotiating a settlement, or to fully illustrate the effect a car accident in St. Louis, MO had on your life.
- Medical documentation
- Photos of the accident scene
- The full police report of the accident
- Witness accounts
- All medical-related bills (ambulance fees, rehab costs, medications, etc.)
- Doctor’s reports and observations
- Repair documentation
- Incidental bills such as rental car receipts
- Lost earning opportunities
- Records of pain and suffering directly caused by your accident
What Damages Can I Recover After A Car Accident?
In general, there are five types of damages someone can claim following a car accident in St. Louis, MO. These are:
- Medical damages: these are not strictly limited to hospital bills or doctor’s visits, either. An auto accident victim can claim reimbursement for medications, visits to mental health professionals, rehab or physical therapy due to accident injuries, and necessary medical equipment such as casts, as well.
- Lost wages/earning potential: in general this is determined by what you were earning prior to the accident, the extent of the impact the accident had on your ability to successfully perform labor, and how the lingering effects of your accident/injuries may prevent you from working to your full ability in the future.
- Property damage: this includes repair/replacement of your car in addition to any/all personal items or goods that were damaged as a result of your St. Louis auto accident.
- Pain and suffering: these damages can be hard to put into words, since for the most part the amount of discomfort one goes through after an accident varies from person to person. As a rule, though, recording changes in personality, attitude, and mental health is a good rule of thumb.
- Disability or disfigurement: in more severe cases, a St. Louis, MO car accident may result in someone suffering permanent injuries. While in a substantial number of cases those injuries are permanent and compensation cannot soothe the immense pain and difficulty these injuries cause, it can help provide an accident victim more opportunity to successfully navigate their new normal.
It is also key to note that Missouri is a comparative fault state, which means that the quantity of damages one or more parties can take home is reduced based on the level they were at fault they were for causing a car accident. Missouri is a pure comparative fault state, which allows for even someone who was determined to be 99% responsible for an accident to collect a commensurate amount of damages.
Contact A St. Louis, MO Car Accident Lawyer Who Cares
At Combs Waterkotte, we provide the muscle and intelligence of an elite St. Louis, MO car accident law firm as well as the one-on-one care of a small practice. Our firm has partnered with St. Louis residents of all backgrounds to secure the justice they deserve following a car accident in St. Louis, MO. We take all our cases on what is referred to as a contingency basis, meaning that unless you get a positive result in your St. Louis, MO car accident case, you will not need to owe us a penny.
If you have been injured in a car accident in St. Louis, MO caused by another driver’s careless actions, do not wait: contact a St. Louis car accident lawyer at Combs Waterkotte today by calling (314) 900-HELP or online for a free, no-obligation conversation.
