What Kind of Compensation After a Missouri Car Accident Can I Pursue?
Following any kind of car accident in Missouri, it is not uncommon for victims to worry about whether they can obtain financial compensation for their injuries and how much they will be able to recover. When you need help pursuing damages for a Missouri car accident, you will want to be working with a St. Louis car accident attorney.
The good news in Missouri is that state law very much protects the rights of victims and allows them adequate opportunity to hold a negligent party accountable and recover all of the money they need and deserve. In most cases, it will be the insurance company for a negligent driver that ends up paying all of the bills arising from a car crash, but insurers will always work to minimize the amounts they have to pay.
Types of Car Accident Compensation in Missouri
Compensation for car accident claims in Missouri usually entitles people to recover many different kinds of compensatory damages. The phrase compensatory damages often includes economic damages and noneconomic damages.
Economic damages are the actual costs that a victim is facing because of their car accident. Noneconomic damages are a much more subjective kind of harm without an inherent financial value.
Economic damages may include:
- Past, current, and future medical bills
- Past, current, and future lost wages
- Property damage
- Transportation costs
- Rental car expenses
Noneconomic damages can include:
- Pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Emotional distress
- Loss of society and companionship
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Missouri State Compensation Laws
Missouri Revised Statute § 516.120 gives an automobile accident victim five years to file a claim to recover damages for a car crash. The main driving factor in car accident cases will be which party was at fault.
The good news in Missouri is that Missouri Revised Statutes § 537.765.1 abolished contributory fault and made Missouri a pure comparative fault state. This means that when you are found to have been 25 percent at fault for a car accident and are awarded $100,000, you will still recover $75,000.
Missouri does not impose any limit on the amount of damages a person may recover. The state actually has a Tort Victims’ Compensation Fund that helps compensate people who suffer injuries because of the negligence or recklessness of another party and cannot obtain full compensation because the at-fault party had no insurance, inadequate insurance, or filed for bankruptcy.
Call Us Today to Speak with a St. Louis Car Accident Attorney
If you suffer severe injuries in any kind of car accident in Missouri, you are going to want to be sure that you seek the help of an experienced St. Louis car accident lawyer to recover all of the compensation you are entitled to. You do not want to try and negotiate a settlement with an insurance company on your own because statistics have repeatedly shown that people who handle their own car accident claims routinely recover far less than they would have had they had assistance from legal counsel.
Bruntrager & Billings, P.C represents clients involved in car accidents in the greater St. Louis area and many other communities in Missouri. Call (314) 646-0066 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with our St. Louis car accident attorney.