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How Uninsured Motorist Coverage – St. Louis Auto Accident Lawyer

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Car accidents involving uninsured drivers are quite difficult since they leave victims needing to collect from their uninsured motorist coverage.

Even though auto insurance is mandatory in Missouri, one estimate shows that around 14% of drivers in the state do not have it. To increase protection, Missouri also requires drivers to carry uninsured motorist coverage with minimums set at:

  • $25,000 per person 
  • $50,000 per accident

Car accidents involving uninsured drivers are quite difficult since they leave victims needing to collect from their uninsured motorist coverage, which many people don’t understand.

Let’s break it down.

uninsured car accident st louis

How It Works

Uninsured motorist coverage coverage kicks in when the at-fault driver does not have any auto insurance, or when you are the victim of a hit and run. Under normal circumstances, you’d exchange insurance information with the other driver and file a claim with their insurance company to recover damages.

From a legal standpoint, this type of claim works just like any other car accident. But instead of contacting the at-fault driver’s company, you file a claim with your own company, the one that carries your uninsured motorist coverage.

The problem is since it is your company, it means you signed a contract with them, through which you essentially agree to their terms and conditions. This makes it a lot more difficult for car accident victims to negotiate, as there could be some contractual provisions that stipulate how you can recover these damages.

What Can You Do?

You need to carefully read your insurance policy. In some cases, companies may add some very strict rules as to how you can collect damages, such as very tight deadlines you have to respect.

Since it’s your insurance company, and you signed the contract and agreed to their terms, you have to follow these rules. Even if the local law gives you a lot more time to file a claim.

Then, there may be other procedural specifications you need to follow to ensure you get compensated. Many insurance companies will cling on to technicalities as a way to get away with not paying car accident victims a dime. At the end of the day, they are businesses that are interested in turning a profit. The less money they pay people, the better.

The golden rule is to call your insurance company as soon as you can to let them know about the accident. 

It’s a Good Idea to Speak With an Attorney

Collecting through your uninsured motorist coverage can sometimes be more difficult than going up against an unfamiliar insurance company. To ensure you get properly compensated, reach out to a St. Louis car accident attorney and discuss the the specifics of your case.

A lawyer may be able to get the insurance company to budge through negotiations, and by building a strong case in your favor. Additionally, they can analyze your policy to see what would be the best option for you to collect damages.

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Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

Should You Accept an Accident Settlement Offer From Uber?

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Quick settlement offers are a common tactic that insurance companies use to get car accident victims to actually accept less than they deserve.

Picture this: you were involved in a car accident with an Uber driver. The car accident wasn’t your fault, and since you’ve suffered some injuries and car damages, you wanted to collect through an insurance claim.

The internet is full of stories with people going head to head with Uber, and from their stories it seems like Uber isn’t really the kind of business to own up to their mistakes. The process may take some a long time to resolve, and victims of these accidents often have to fight to get compensated.

However, what if your case isn’t like that? In fact, Uber has quickly made an offer!

Here’s why you shouldn’t take it just yet.

insurance adjuster offering pen to sign settlement offer

It’s a Common Tactic in the Claims’ World

Getting an offer quickly after you started the claims’ process is very tempting. After all, you may have medical bills piling up, and other financial hardships that could be resolved just by signing that settlement agreement.

However, quick offers are a common tactic that insurance companies use to get car accident victims to actually accept less than they deserve. The insurance adjuster will generally seem very sympathetic to your situation, let you know that they know you are not at fault for the incident and claim they are trying to help you.

Then they quickly present an offer, saying it’s the best they could do. Not only that, but the offer may also have a tight deadline attached to it, meaning if you don’t accept it soon, they will pull it, and you risk not getting anything.

Of course, car accident victims often fall for this tactic, considering they are under financial pressure. The insurance company knows Uber is responsible for covering your damages, but after some specific costs, such as your medical bills which are clear, other costs are estimated.

For example, if the car accident left you with emotional suffering and future medical expenses. What kind of price can you put on that? You’d have to negotiate for it, and you may not have that kind of experience. However, an experienced car accident lawyer does.

Speak With an Attorney Before Signing Anything!

If you haven’t worked with a lawyer from the get-go, it is a good idea to consult with one prior to accepting Uber’s offer.

A car accident settlement should include many expenses, some of which have to be estimated:

  • Medical bills
  • Lost wages
  • Property damage
  • Pain and suffering

A St. Louis Uber accident lawyer can look at your case, analyzing your medical files, bills, and how the incident overall impacted your life, and then estimate how much you are legally entitled to. In most cases, that number is nowhere near the company’s initial offer.

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Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

The Appeal Process In a St. Louis Car Accident Injury Claim

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Appealing your car accident claim may be an option if your claim was denied. Here is what you should know about the appeals process.

Sometimes, your car accident claim doesn’t have a happy or even adequate ending. Many victims can end up with a denied claim, even if they are completely eligible, or end up with lower settlements than they are entitled to.

In these cases, one option you may have is to file an appeal and see if that resolves the issue. However, there are some things you should know about the appeal process.

It’s Not Done by an Objective Third Party

When you have an issue with your claim or final settlement, you can first make an appeal with the claims supervisor. This is a person still employed by the insurance company you filed the claim with but has different tasks than the insurance adjusters.

Part of the claims supervisor’s job is to make sure the company did not overpay or underpay for the claim. Technically, they should act as an objective party that simply analyzes the claim to see how much it is worth. However, because they work for the insurance company they are far from objective. So, it’s unlikely that the opinion of the claims supervisor will differ from that of the adjuster.

You Can Also File a Lawsuit

A lawsuit is when the true third party appeal begins, as you take the matter in front of a judge. It’s more expensive than the insurance claim route, but if you’re dealing with a denied claim and cannot convince the company to award a settlement, it may be the only remaining option.

This should generally be discussed with an experienced attorney. An experienced attorney can represent your best interests in front of a judge. It’s a stage where both parties must passionately argue in their favor to persuade the judge to rule accordingly.

If you’re not happy with how the judge ruled, you can also appeal their decision. This won’t start a new trial, but it will take your case to the Missouri Court of Appeals, which is a higher court that can either throw out your case or overrule the first judge’s decision.

You Can’t Always Appeal

In court or not, appeals are only possible when there was a mistake in assessing your claim, or if the insurance company did something wrong intentionally. You can’t file an appeal because you’re not happy with how much money you were offered, or because you think a judge may be more sympathetic to your cause. It is done only when the initial process was problematic, which affected your claim negatively. This is another reason it is important to speak with an attorney immediately following an accident.

Speak to a St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer

Reach out to a St. Louis car accident attorney for a free case consultation before you sign any document offered by the insurance company. Appeals don’t work if you agree to the terms of the company, even if they are unfavorable.

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Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

4 Types of Injuries That Are Common in T-bone Accidents

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Side impact crashes, also known as t-bone accidents, unfortunately often involve serious injuries and may even be fatal.

T-bone car accidents happen when two cars collide transversally against each other. In simpler words, if a car hits you from the side, it’s a T-bone accident. Car accidents vary a lot in severity and the type of injuries they cause. 

Cars have been fitted with safety devices and features since the beginnings of the auto industry. Modern cars have advanced systems that are designed to prevent accidents and to minimize injuries in case of a crash. Still, people do get hurt even when using safety devices properly. Others ignore safety rules and get more severe injuries. 

When it comes to side crashes, the severity of injuries is higher, unfortunately. In the case of T-bone accidents, here are the 4 most common types of injuries that you can get. 

st. louis t-bone car accident

Head Injuries

Head injuries like concussions, contusions, lacerations, and skull fractures occur in T-bone accidents when the driver or passenger hits the dashboard or door or the car with high force. It might also happen when being hit by flying debris. 

Traumatic brain injuries can lead to serious symptoms like memory loss, cognitive changes, paralysis, and others. The life of a TBI victim that has been in a serious accident can be affected tremendously by such injuries.

Neck Injuries

One of the most common neck injuries suffered in a car accident is called whiplash. It is caused by the sudden movement of the head from one side to another. In T-bone accidents, the neck will move from left to right, making the injury more severe than it would be in a forward-backward movement. Unfortunately, many victims overlook the symptoms of whiplash and it gets worse with time. Some may have already signed a release form before they get to receive full compensation. 

Other neck injuries are strains, sprains, or broken vertebrae. As you might suspect, some fatalities are caused by extreme neck injuries. 

Back Injuries

Lateral forces from a T-bone accident can also lead to back injuries, like broken vertebrae, herniated discs, pinched nerves, or other injuries. Victims can be left with chronic pain, disabilities, or in need of costly surgery to recover. 

Bone Fractures

Open or closed bone fractures are quite common in T-bone crashes. Because of the physics involved, your body is more exposed to the forces of an impact than it would in a frontal or rear-side one.

Broken arms, ribs or pelvic bones are all quite serious injuries that could leave you off work for weeks, or even lead to temporary or permanent disability. Other dangers of bone fractures in car accidents are the risk of bleeding to death, potential infections, and injuries to the soft tissues surrounding the bone. 

Speak With an Attorney to Ensure Your Legal Right to Compensation is Protected!

If you have been injured in a T-bone accident, speak with a St. Louis car accident attorney as soon as possible, so they can start gathering evidence and help you build a strong case for your insurance claim.

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Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

What Are My Options If I Am Disabled after a Car Accident?

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Car accidents happen in a matter of seconds, yet they have a strong impact on your life, sometimes changing it forever.

For some car accident victims, this means being disabled for life. 

However, disability can have various degrees of severity, and your options change, depending on what state you are in and other variables. 

St. Louis man in wheelchair after car accident

Making a Claim with the Insurance Company

Being disabled after a car accident means that you suddenly have a lot of medical bills to cover. You might also not be able to resume your job, and your day-to-day activities are affected. In the mid and long-term, your relationships will suffer, and you might have a hard time adjusting to your new life. 

All this trouble can cost a lot of money, and the financial pressure adds a lot to the problems disabled people report in general. Bills are piling up while your income is reduced to a fraction, or interrupted entirely. 

What Are Your Options?

The best option you have, and the most common one, is to make a claim with your insurance company, or with the insurance company of the at-fault driver. This depends on the state where the accident happened. 

In at-fault states, like Missouri, you will typically make a third-party claim to the insurance company of the at-fault driver. If you are at fault for the accident, then your auto insurance policy will generally cover the damage, according to the policy you have. 

In case the driver that caused the accident is uninsured or underinsured, you can be covered by your uninsured motorist policy. In Missouri, drivers are required to be covered for accidents with uninsured drivers, but underinsured motorist policies are optional. Check what is covered exactly by your policy and gather as much evidence as you can to prove that the other driver caused the accident.

Let’s say you do make a claim with the insurance company responsible in your case, but your damages exceed the limits of the policy. In such cases, you might have to make a claim to your own health insurance, or demand compensation from a healthcare program like Medicaid or Medicare.

Getting Fair Compensation

While checking the limits of your policy is, indeed, important when you make a claim, it’s still good to know that most first offers coming from an insurer will be lowball offers. In other words, don’t accept the first offer that’s put on the table. You might need to bring strong, hard evidence of your disability when negotiating with the insurer, but the final settlement will be more helpful. 

In serious car accidents that result in severe injury, it is a good idea to speak with an experienced St. Louis auto accident attorney. With so many options and details to consider, leaving the legal hassle to a professional will make the difference in your quality of life in the long run.

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Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

5 Things Victims Should Do After a St. Louis Semi-Truck Accident

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Accidents in the trucking industry often result in much damage, and even loss of life.

When you are involved in a car accident with a semi-truck that wasn’t your fault, you likely have many questions regarding what you should do next. The actions you take in the moments following the accident are crucial to ensuring you get properly compensated for all the damages you’ve suffered.

Here are 5 things any car accident victim should do after a semi-truck accident:

st. louis semi truck

1. Call the Police

By calling the police, you are creating a 3rd party recollection of the events that took place. The police will come to the scene, document it, and create their own report, which you can use later on in your car accident claim. When you and the insurance company can have different views over a particular detail of the case, the answer may be found in the police report.

2. Document the Scene Yourself

Then, if you are able to, you should document the scene as best as you can, by taking a lot of photos on your smartphone. Consider taking pictures of:

  • Your vehicle
  • The semi-truck
  • Any witnesses present
  • Your own injuries (if they are visible)
  • Marks on the road
  • Damaged property

A lot of the evidence is time-sensitive, such as tire marks on the road. They may not be there a few weeks or days later when you want to document the scene. By taking these photos, you are already building a case.

3. Exchange Insurance Information

The police report will also have the name of the semi-truck driver, though you should still exchange insurance information with them. This will make it easier for you when you want to file the car accident claim since you’ll already have the company’s contact information on hand.

4. Go to the Hospital – Even If You Feel Fine

Car accident victims don’t always feel the full repercussions of a car accident right after the event. Some injuries, such as whiplash, may only start to show symptoms the next or a few days after the car accident.

Apart from the fact that this can hurt your claim, it’s also dangerous. As a rule of thumb, always go to the doctor right after a car accident, even mild ones.

5. Contact a Lawyer

It’s likely that in these cases to go up against the insurance company of the trucking company, and not the driver. This can create certain difficulties for the victim, especially if they want to sue the company for damages, as opposed to going the insurance route.

To make things easier for you, you should speak with an experienced car accident attorney for help. They can advise the best course of action based on the specifics of your case.

FREE Consulation

Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242