Every car accident is a tragedy, whether it causes injury or results in fatalities. For those facing shattered lives after a collision, it will be important to understand their legal rights.
Missouri is a fault-state, which means crash victims can pursue a claim against those who harmed them, even when the injuries don’t rise to any specific level of seriousness. Those crash victims will need help navigating the legal system though.
Drafahl Law Firm is here to provide that help. Our dedicated and compassionate legal team has decades of collective experience representing clients in car accident cases. A St. Louis personal injury lawyer will gather evidence, stand up to the insurance company on your behalf, and get you the compensation that you truly deserve.
To find out more, give us a call at (314) 300-6260 to schedule your free consultation today. Our firm works on a contingent fee basis so you pay legal fees only if we win your case — and we’ll do everything we can to help you get that successful verdict so you can move forward to rebuild your life.
Finding a St. Louis Car Accident Attorney to Help You
Insurance companies want to pay you as little as possible in the aftermath of an accident, so getting legal help is essential to fully recover for all of your losses.
Drafahl Law Firm has the skills and experience necessary to represent you from day one after your accident until your case is resolved, whether that means negotiating a settlement or proving your case in court. Our firm stands apart from the competitors because we offer support and advocacy in a way that others don’t.
Some of the many reasons you should trust our firm with your car accident case include the following:
- We’ve won multiple recent verdicts for clients topping $1 million in car accident claims
- We’re members of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and have the courtroom experience to handle your car accident case if it must be resolved in litigation
- Our clients have praised our past successes, with one writing that they “felt like I was family and not just another client,” and another referring to our attorneys as “fearless in court and adamant about providing the best outcome for his clients.”
- We’re never afraid to stand toe-to-toe with even the biggest insurance or trucking companies to get the money our clients need — and our tenacity pays off, as past clients explain they’ve received more than expected once insurers knew we wouldn’t back down
Our experience and compassion combine to ensure that your car accident claim is in the best of hands, whether you were the victim or whether you lost someone you care about in a motor vehicle crash.
Awards & Memberships
Drafahl Law Firm Can Help Car Crash Victims Throughout Their Case
In the aftermath of an auto accident, you will need to report your crash to your insurer. If the other driver was to blame for the accident, however, you will recover compensation from their insurance company. In some situations, there may actually be multiple parties responsible for covering your losses, such as if you were hurt by a driver performing job duties at the time.
You’ll need to identify who to pursue a claim against, negotiate with the right insurance company, and determine whether to settle your claim out of court or litigate your case and prove the defendant was to blame.
Throughout this process, you must make informed choices to protect your rights. That’s where Drafahl Law Firm comes in. Our St. Louis car accident lawyers will handle all of the legal issues on your behalf and work to maximize your chances of recovering full compensation.
Our firm will:
- Help to collect all evidence from the crash scene, including photos of the area, eyewitness testimony, video from nearby security cameras, and police reports from the crash scene.
- Obtain evidence from the defendant during discovery by taking steps like subpoenaing cell phone records if the defendant may have been texting and driving or obtaining driver log books if you were in a collision with a trucker who may have been over the hours-of-service rules or who may not have followed maintenance requirements for their large commercial vehicle.
- Help you to prove the extent of your damages by obtaining copies of medical records and keeping a pain journal or pain diary showcasing how your injuries have impacted your life
- Identify all parties you could potentially pursue a claim against, including negligent drivers, employers of those on the job when they caused injury, those responsible for negligent road design or maintenance, or the manufacturers and distributors of faulty vehicles
- Negotiate with insurance companies to maximize the chances of out-of-court settlement, including sending demand letters
- Assist you in understanding what your case is likely to be worth given the extent of the pain and suffering, medical costs, lost wages, and emotional distress resulting from the accident
- File a civil claim and make a strong case in court if you cannot reach a settlement. The goal will be to convince the court to rule in your favor with a solid case and strong legal arguments, and to demonstrate just how badly you were harmed so your verdict provides the funds to try to make you whole.
Throughout every step, we’ll communicate with you, work to understand your goals, and help you begin the process of moving on from your injuries or from the loss of your loved one in a fatal crash.
Types of Car Accident Claims
Car accidents are one of the biggest risks Missouri residents face. The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services reports that motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death among young people. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also reports that 1,057 people lost their lives in motor vehicle crashes in 2022, which was 4% more than the year prior.
Due to its frequency, different kinds of car accidents occur on Missouri’s roads and cause you to experience harm. However, certain behaviors are more dangerous than others.
For example, driving while intoxicated and speeding are the two biggest contributing causes to Missouri accidents, with 34.2% of all deadly crashes involving speeding and 23.1% involving alcohol.
At Drafahl Law Firm, we represent clients after all types of motor vehicle accidents including:
- Speeding accidents – Excessive speed reduces reaction time and increases the severity of crashes, often leading to catastrophic injuries.
- Distracted driving crashes – Taking your eyes off the road for even a few seconds can cause devastating collisions.
- DUI accidents – Impaired drivers put everyone at risk, making these crashes especially dangerous and preventable.
- Uber and Lyft accidents – Rideshare drivers are not immune to negligence, and liability can be complex in these cases.
- Truck crashes – Large commercial vehicles can cause life-altering injuries due to their size and weight — a St. Louis truck accident lawyer will fight for the compensation you deserve.
- Motorcycle accidents – Riders are especially vulnerable on the road, often suffering severe injuries in collisions.
- Pedestrian accidents – When drivers fail to yield or pay attention, pedestrians can suffer serious or fatal injuries.
Whatever your situation, our experienced attorneys will help you understand the issues affecting your car accident case and will work with you to navigate the process of pursuing justice.
Taking Legal Action After a Missouri Car Accident
When you pursue a car accident claim, there are many legal rules to be aware of that can affect your case. For example,
Revisor of Missouri section 516.120 establishes the statute of limitations for car accident claims. The law requires that you make your case within the allotted time. If you delay too long and the deadline to pursue your claim has ended, your case will be time-barred and you will lose the chance to recover compensation.
Under section 516.120, you have five years in Missouri to pursue a car accident case so you’ll need to act before that time comes to an end. You’ll likely want to take action much sooner while evidence is still readily available and witness memories remain strong.
You also need to know the rules for when you can take legal action if you were partly to blame for your own accident. In some states that follow contributory negligence rules, you can only sue a defendant if they are 100% responsible for the accident. This used to be the rule in Missouri, but under Revisor of Missouri Section 537.765, contributory negligence rules were abolished.
Under the new legal framework, Missouri is considered to be a pure comparative fault state. This means that no matter who bore the majority of the responsibility for the accident, you can still hold a defendant liable for at least some of your losses. If a defendant was 20% responsible for causing an accident that harmed you, for example, you could recover 20% of the value of your losses or $20,000 if you suffered $100K of harm.
Some other states have adopted a modified comparative fault rule that allows you to sue only if a defendant is 50% or more to blame, but since that is not the case in Missouri, you have more opportunity to hold people accountable if they cause a collision and damage you. Since car accident injuries can be expensive and life-changing, it’s worth exploring the ability to pursue your case.
How to Prove a St. Louis Car Accident Claim
In order to recover compensation from a defendant after a motor vehicle accident, you generally must prove;
- The defendant had an obligation to you. All drivers must follow the rules of the road and behave in a reasonably cautious way.
- The defendant failed in that obligation. Here, you will need to show the driver did something wrong on purpose or was negligent. You can prove negligence by demonstrating that a hypothetical average reasonable driver would have been more cautious or by demonstrating that the driver broke a safety rule, which creates the presumption of negligence.
- The defendant’s failure was the direct cause of the accident. For example, if the driver was speeding, distracted, or intoxicated, you must show that the motorist’s failures were the direct cause of the accident that occurred.
- That you were harmed by the motor vehicle accident. You can show you suffered harm if you experienced physical and/or mental damage or if you lost a loved one as a result of an accident.
It’s up to you to prove every element of your claim to get the compensation you deserve. However, there are also some different rules that can apply to your case depending on who you are suing. For example:
- If you pursue a claim against a car manufacturer for a defect in a vehicle that led to an accident, your claim will arise under product liability laws and you won’t have to prove negligence. Companies are strictly liable for harm caused by defective products so you can win your case if you show the car’s failure to work as intended caused you harm.
- If you sue the employer of a driver who caused a crash, you don’t have to show the employer was negligent. Companies are vicariously liable for the actions of their agents, which means if someone they hire does something negligent at work, the business can be made to pay for resulting losses
Drafahl Law Firm will help you to understand which specific legal arguments to raise and will guide you through the process of showing why the defendant has a legal obligation to pay for all crash losses.
Compensation from a Car Accident
If you make a successful car accident claim and you settle or win a lawsuit, you should be paid for:
- Medical bills, including past care healthcare costs related to your injuries and any future expenses associated with ongoing care
- Lost wages and any future lost earning power resulting from lasting impairments that affect your ability to work.
- Pain and suffering compensation for physical harm resulting from the crash
- Emotional distress damages if you suffer mental damage such as PTSD or depression due to your accident and injuries
Wrongful death damages are also available to surviving loved ones who lost relatives in a fatal collision.
Getting Help from a Car Accident Attorney in St. Louis
At Drafahl Law Firm, our dedicated and experienced legal team can help you navigate the Missouri legal system to resolve your car accident claim effectively and efficiently. We’ll help you pursue a timely resolution by negotiating a settlement or pursuing a claim in court against all defendants liable for your losses so you can get the car accident compensation you need.
We’re here and ready to fight and we won’t charge legal fees if we don’t win, so you can rest assured your case will be in the best of hands.
To learn more about how a St. Louis car accident lawyer can help you, give us a call today at (314) 300-6260 or contact us online.