We work on a wide variety of cases that happen in many different ways. Even if you don’t think your injury fits into one of these categories, it’s still possible you could have a claim if another party’s negligence caused your injury.
However, here are some of the most common types of personal injury cases:
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Motor vehicle accidents include collisions involving cars, semi-trucks, buses, motorcycles, other vehicles that can legally be driven on the road, bicycles, and pedestrians. The most recent data from the Department of Public Safety and Missouri Highway Patrol shows that there were 987 traffic fatalities in the state in 2020, and the most common “contributing circumstances” were alcohol/drug use by the driver (25.2 percent of fatal accidents) and speeding (41 percent).
Fortunately, most accidents don’t result in fatalities. In fact, the above data shows that 74 percent of traffic crashes in the state only involve property damage.
In these situations, it’s still essential to get a police report, as it will be crucial in getting your insurance claim approved. We’ll discuss the potential difficulties with insurance claims later in this section.
Additionally, some injuries don’t cause pain or symptoms immediately after an accident, so people may not think they are injured at the time. If you experience new pain or symptoms within a week or two of your accident, please see a doctor right away and let them know about your accident.
Missouri is a fault state for car accidents, which means that the at-fault driver is expected to pay for damages sustained in the crash. In theory, these damages should be covered by the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, which is required by law.
However, there are numerous ways you might run into challenges in getting your damages paid after an accident:
- Disputes about fault. This is the most frequent reason people contact us about a problem with their car insurance claim. The at-fault driver’s insurance is supposed to pay, but if the driver wasn’t at fault, the insurance adjuster has an excuse not to. The other driver may also claim they were not at fault. Meanwhile, the police report is based on the available evidence, which is sometimes minimal, and the two drivers’ accounts of what happened. For these reasons, the police report could be inconclusive or even incorrect in some areas. When there are disagreements about fault, your personal injury lawyer may launch an investigation into the accident in search of more evidence. Sometimes, after gathering additional evidence, we’re able to show the other driver was at fault after all.drivers contributed to the crash. Different states have different methods of handling these situations, with most using a system of modified comparative negligence. Missouri uses pure comparative negligence laws, which means that an injured party can collect damages as long as they aren’t 100 percent at fault. Each party (or their insurance company) is expected to cover their own share of responsibility. So if you were 20 percent at fault and the other driver was 80 percent, you could recover 80 percent from their insurance, and they could recover 20 percent from yours. The main challenge in these cases is ensuring that your percentage of fault is calculated fairly because if the insurance companies overestimate your degree of responsibility, it could cost you a significant amount of money.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorists. Even when we can prove the other driver is entirely or mostly at fault, you could run into a problem if you have considerable damages and the at-fault party is either uninsured or insufficiently insured. Missouri does require uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UI) equal to the amount of required bodily injury liability insurance, $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. So, if you have car insurance, you should be able to access that much coverage. Unfortunately, in more severe accidents, you may have more than $25,000 in expenses from your injuries. There are other options we can consider, but in some situations, the only viable path to recovery is UM/UI insurance. If you can afford a higher coverage amount, we highly recommend it.
- Undervalued claims. Sometimes, the other driver is clearly at fault, and even their insurance adjuster realizes that arguing over responsibility would be pointless. Or, we may have reached a fair agreement about the distribution of fault. However, the insurance company could still cost you money by undervaluing your damages. Your
- Shared fault. Not every accident is entirely one driver’s fault—in many situations, both attorney will help you calculate the value of your claim and then review settlement offers from the insurance company with you. If the insurance adjuster has overlooked future expenses, refused to cover specific treatments, underestimated repair costs, or downplayed your pain and suffering, we will negotiate for a more equitable accounting of your damages.
The best way to avoid these potential pitfalls is to speak with a Missouri personal injury lawyer as soon as you can after the accident (preferably before you talk to the insurance company). We’ll work to collect evidence and build a strong case so you can recover as much of your damages as possible.
Golf Carts, ATVs, and Other Off-Highway Vehicles (OHVs)
These vehicles tend to be small and built for low-speed travel at short distances, but don’t let that fool you—an accident could still cause severe injuries and property damage. You should always familiarize yourself with the vehicle, the manufacturer’s instructions, and general safety tips for that type of vehicle before attempting to drive one.
Golf carts can be legally driven on public streets in Missouri if permitted by local ordinances, and drivers must be at least 16 years old with a valid driver’s license. You should check with your municipality to learn their laws about golf carts before driving on the street.
However, many golf cart accidents don’t occur on roads. We often see cases where an injury happened at a golf course or on private property, even with the cart traveling at a relatively low speed.
Common issues that contribute to these accidents include going too fast around curves, the driver striking golfers or other pedestrians, and passengers falling out or dangling limbs out of the cart. Remember that golf carts are easy to flip due to their shape, especially when going downhill or navigating turns.
Additionally, passengers should keep their limbs inside the cart at all times and should never stand or hang off the side of the cart.
ATVs and other OHVs can sometimes be operated on roads with a speed limit of 30 or lower per local laws, but it’s better to limit these trips. ATVs aren’t designed for driving on pavement, and it’s safer to stick to unpaved areas as much as possible.
Identifying the at-fault party in a golf cart or OHV accident can be complicated. Sometimes, the driver is responsible, but other parties who could be at fault include:
- The ATV’s owner. If the owner failed to maintain the ATV properly or allowed someone unqualified to drive it, they may be at fault.
- The property owner. If a hazard on the property caused the accident, and the owner knew or should have known about it, they had a responsibility to fix the problem or warn guests about it.
- Another ATV rider. If you collided with another ATV rider, they could be at fault.
- The manufacturer. If the ATV malfunctioned because of a defect, it’s possible the manufacturer is liable.
- A service company that worked on the vehicle. Trained service workers are usually knowledgeable and very careful in their work, but if they made an error that caused the ATV to fail, they could be responsible for the accident.
If you own your ATV and have Medical Payments and Collision insurance coverage on it, these policies will pay for your injury-related bills and ATV repairs regardless of fault. Otherwise, we will work to ascertain who may have caused the accident.
In many cases, there could be other applicable insurance policies that we can make a claim on, such as homeowner’s or business liability insurance.
What if you signed a waiver when you rented an ATV? These waivers generally say you can’t hold the owner responsible for injuries sustained in an ATV accident.
They’re intended to ensure people understand the risks of riding an ATV and take responsibility in most situations. However, they do not excuse the property owner from liability if the owner negligently caused the accident by failing to provide a properly working vehicle or address a hazard.
If you have concerns about a waiver, please bring a copy, and we’ll be happy to review it with the details of your accident.
Defective Products
As we discussed in the previous situations, a manufacturer who makes a defective product could be liable for damages caused by that product. This doesn’t just apply to golf carts and ATVs—nearly any product can be defective in a way that causes harm.
Here are some common categories of defective products:
- Toys or children’s items. Manufacturers have to be extremely careful when designing products for children, especially very young children who may not understand the risks. For instance, toys for babies and toddlers have to be designed with larger components to avoid choking risks. Other potential hazards include items that can move or collapse and trap a child, suffocation risks in bedding, furniture that could fall on a small child, and more.
- Household appliances. Electronic items may have defects that cause the item to overheat, potentially burning the user or causing a fire. Electrocution could also be a risk. Other items might malfunction in unexpected ways that cause injury.
- Cars or other vehicles. Most motor vehicle accidents are caused by human error, but occasionally, we see cases where the injured person tells us the car malfunctioned right before the crash. If this turns out to be a defect present since the car was manufactured, you might have a case against the car manufacturer.
- Safety equipment. This can be a problem at work or in your personal time. If a piece of equipment you trust to keep you safe fails to do that, it’s possible that it might be defective. Examples could include bike helmets, safety harnesses, seatbelts, or airbags that don’t work as they should.
- Pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Side effects occur with most drugs, but if you suffered severe or life-threatening complications from a medication or device, a lawyer can help you figure out if the drug was unreasonably dangerous. If so, you may be able to seek compensation from the manufacturer.
Premises Liability
This is another category of personal injury law that can cover a wide range of injury situations. Premises liability refers to injuries that occur on another party’s property—either private or public—due to the owner’s negligence.
Slip-and-fall accidents often come to mind when people think about premises liability, but there are many other types of cases as well:
- Poorly maintained buildings, furniture, or equipment. This could be a railing that collapses when you lean on it, a piece of equipment that causes electrocution, a closet of toxic chemicals, poor lighting that causes someone to trip, a store display that falls on a customer, etc. If there is any kind of hazard on the property, the owner has a responsibility to fix it, block access to it, or warn guests of the hazard.
- Pool accidents. Pools can be a lot of fun, but they’re also potentially hazardous to small children or anyone who can’t swim. An easily accessible and unsupervised pool could be considered an “attractive nuisance,” so the responsible property owner should consider a fence and warning signs. Hotel pools are usually gated and require a keycard to the hotel for access.
- Negligent security. People often don’t think about the property owner when they are injured in a criminal act, such as a robbery or mugging. Frequently, they may ask us if they can sue the criminal—and that is a possibility, but it’s not always feasible. If the perpetrator has little or no money—or is never apprehended—there may be no way to collect on a judgment. On the other hand, if you were injured in a business like a store or hotel, the owner probably has a good business liability insurance policy. The owner is not negligent merely because the crime happened on their property, but they do have a duty to offer a reasonable level of security. If they did not provide appropriate security measures, they could be liable—especially if similar crimes had happened on the same property or in the same neighborhood, and the owner did nothing to boost security measures.
It’s important to note that in many situations where the property owner provides an adequate warning, they are probably not liable. You must also have been on the property legally, either as an invitee or a licensee—for example, you were explicitly invited over to a friend’s house or implicitly invited to a property that is open to the public, like a grocery store.
If the property owner has barred entry to an area of the property and you ignore the signs or warnings, it may not be possible to bring a claim against the owner. For instance, if you barge past the “Employees Only, Do Not Enter” sign into the grocery store’s back room and trip over a mop and bucket, you are not legally in that part of the property, and the store is probably not at fault.
