Costs incurred after a car accident often include damages to your car, lost wages, injuries to your body, and medical bills.
If you sustained serious injuries as a result of an auto accident in St. Louis, preparing for and enduring trial proceedings might not be the best way to get what you need: financial compensation and the ability to recover.
To avoid a stressful and time-consuming court process in Missouri, many people decide to hire a St. Louis auto accident attorney to help them get a good settlement offer.
A settlement offer is a specific sum of money that will settle the claim—if the offer is accepted and paid by the negligent party that’s being held accountable.
Missouri is an at-fault state, meaning that the driver who caused the accident should cover all of the damages the other party may have incurred. Costs may include damages to your car, lost wages, injuries to your body, and medical bills.
However, there is an exception as stipulated by Missouri House Bill 339. If you drive without adequate automobile insurance coverage, you cannot recover damages from your car, though you can collect medical bills. This is also known as a “no pay, no play” rule.
What Is the Average Car Accident Settlement in St. Louis, Mo?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, car accidents cost the United States $900 billion per year. After sustaining injuries in a car crash, you are often able to receive compensation for the financial losses you incurred.
The average car accident settlement awarded in Missouri for “fender benders”—accidents without any physical or personal injuries—falls between $3,000 and $15,000.
However, it’s far more difficult to estimate a settlement when personal injury is involved. Each case is unique, requiring the valuation of many different variables to determine the total sum. Settlements for personal injuries can vary wildly in range, from $30,000 to over $1 million.
If you choose to hire a St. Louis car accident attorney, they will calculate your settlement using various considerations, including:
- The nature of the automobile accident
- Any loss of wages and income due to the inability to work
- Medical bills to seek treatment for car accident-related injuries
- The severity of your injuries
Thus, it is hard to predict how much you will receive, as each settlement is tailored to the individual case at hand. Additionally, cases become trickier when there are multiple parties at fault, or when fault isn’t solely with one party, but shared between both.
In St. Louis, auto accident attorneys and insurers resolve this issue by using Comparative Fault, a tort rule which holds that compensation for damages can only be recovered to the degree of fault in the car crash.
So, for example, if one party is 40% at fault, and the other is 60% at fault in an accident with a total amount of $200,000 in damages, one party can recover $80,000 and the other can recover $120,000.
Speak With an Experienced Car Accident Attorney
If you have been injured in a St. Louis car accident, speak with an experienced car accident lawyer as soon as possible. They can give you a leg up in ensuring all variables and costs have been identified and calculated accurately. By receiving the financial compensation that you need, you can start to heal fully and get the peace of mind required to close this chapter.