• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Whiplash & Whiplash Injury St. Louis

Whiplash & Whiplash Injury St. Louis

  • Whiplash
    • What is Whiplash?
    • How Long Does Whiplash Last?
  • Symptoms
  • Treatment
    • Exercises
    • Physiotherapy
    • Surgery
  • Compensation
  • Car Accident
    • What to Do When You Get in a Car Accident
    • The Most Common Causes of Car Accidents
    • Wrong Way Car Crash
    • Why Hire a St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer?
    • Injuries
      • Brain Injury
      • Delayed Injuries
      • Head Injury
      • Leg Injury
    • T-Bone Accident
    • Uninsured Motorist
    • Who Pays My Medical Bills?
  • Blog

liability

Using Location of Damage to Determine Liability – St. Louis Car Accident Lawyers

May 10, 2021 by Christopher

Let’s discuss some crash scenarios in which the location of damage can be used to determine liability.

If another vehicle hits your car, and the other driver and their insurer deny responsibility for the crash, you may be able to use the location of the damage on each of the vehicles to prove fault. Let’s discuss some crash scenarios in which the location of damage can be used to determine liability. 

st. louis car accident damage

Scenario 1: Imagine driving along as someone pulls out of a parking lot or a driveway on your right and T-bones you. In this case, you should check the location of the damage. If the driver has hit your car on the passenger side, it may provide clear evidence that the other driver was not paying enough attention to the road and pulled out of the parking lot or driveway without looking.

There are other possibilities as well. Suppose the other driver pulled out right before you reached them and caused you to hit their car so that the damage is on your car’s front and the other car’s side; there is evidence against you. It is also possible that the other driver pulled out in front of your car so fast that you could not stop on time, and the collision occurred. In this case, the other driver may also contend that they were waiting for the traffic to clear, and you were not paying attention and crashed into their car. 

Scenario 2: Imagine you are driving down the road, and another driver makes a left turn in front of you. In this situation, most drivers will try to swerve to the right to avoid the vehicle cutting in front of them. If there is damage to your vehicle’s left front side or left front corner, it can mean that you tried to avoid the crash by swerving. If the other car has damage to the right front corner, it could mean that they were not paying attention and cut in front of you. However, if the damage to the other car is to the rear right corner, it could mean that you were the one who was not paying attention. 

Scenario 3: When someone runs a red light, the driver will most likely hit the other vehicle broadside because the other driver was crossing the intersection with a green light when the negligent driver ran the red light. In this case, the damage will generally occur to the front side of the negligent driver’s car and the rear of the other driver’s vehicle. 

If you have been in an accident, it is important that, if possible, you take photographs of the accident scene and the vehicle damage. This evidence will prove useful when determining fault and making a compensation claim. A St. Louis car accident lawyer can help protect your rights by helping you prove your accident resulted from another driver’s negligence and work to get you the compensation you are entitled to under Missouri law.

FREE Consultation

Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: liability

Car Crash With an Employee: Do I File Against the Driver or the Company?

July 22, 2020 by Christopher

If you have been involved in a St. Louis car accident with an employee on duty, you may be unsure of what to do next.

The legal aftermath of a car accident is often hard to navigate and leaves victims confused and unsure of what to do next. This is the case when someone is hit by a driver who was on duty, commuting to work in their company vehicle, or performing work duties as drivers. 

When you are in this situation, as a victim, who do you file the claim against? Will you target the driver himself or should you address the driver’s employer? 

We will discuss this situation from a legal point of view to see what options one has when being hit by a driver on duty.

two st. louis men involved in a car accident

What Is Vicarious Liability?

Vicarious liability is a doctrine that applies in certain cases when another person, different from the driver who caused the accident, can be held responsible for their negligence. This applies to accidents caused by teen drivers, drivers who use someone else’s car, drivers who were performing work duties at the time of the accident, and so on.

This means that a driver’s employer can face a car accident claim if their employee caused an accident. The key factor in using this law as a car accident victim is being able to prove that the other driver was, indeed, performing their work duties when they caused the accident.

Most often, though, the car accident claim will directly be addressed to the at-fault driver’s auto insurance company. Minor accidents are easily solved in this manner. The problem arises when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured. If their policy is not active or if it doesn’t cover the damage, you may redirect your claim towards their employer.

Still, victims can first try to use their own UMI (uninsured motorist insurance) to cover the full extent of their damage, but it’s not a rule. You can file a claim towards the driver’s employer, which many victims do because of a higher chance of company insurance covering more extensive damage.

How to Approach a Case of Vicarious Liability?

As you can see, insurance coverage can become quite complicated in some cases. If you are dealing with a similar situation, we strongly recommend getting in touch with an experienced St. Louis car accident lawyer. They can compare the possible outcomes of the main options you have, choosing the quickest and surest way to get the compensation you need.

What Should You Do?

It may be tempting to file a case against the employer, hoping to get higher compensation. The good news is that companies are more likely to solve the claim quicker, in order to avoid bad publicity, and they also have their own strategies to establish liability correctly. However, that’s not always the case.

FREE Consultation

Speak with an experienced attorney 24/7

Click to Call: (314) 361-4242

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: liability

St. Louis Railroad Crossing Accidents

April 25, 2019 by Christopher

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were 143 cases of casualties related to railroad crossings in 2018 in Missouri.

When these cases happen, people are generally left with fairly severe injuries that require extensive medical treatment. These treatments are expensive, and you are left wondering if there is any way of getting compensation to cover them. But the question is, who do you file the claim against?

railroad crossing

Determining Liability

The only way to know who is responsible for these types of accidents is to take a close look at the details of the case. Your St. Louis car accident attorney can take a look at your situation and see who may be held responsible for the incident, generally by determining what caused it in the first place.

Possible causes of the accident can be:

1. Lack of or Defective Crossing Signals

It’s possible you tried to cross the railroad because nothing informed you of an oncoming train, such as gates or lights. These details can generally point the finger toward the people who are responsible for ensuring these signals work properly, most commonly the railroad company.

If that is determined as the cause of the accident, then it’s possible to demand compensation from either the employees in charge of the signaling devices or the company itself.

2. Other Negligence

Particularly in rural or remote areas, it’s possible there is no need for a gate, as there is not much traffic. However, trains should sound the horn once they approach a crossing, and failure to do so may be the cause of the accident. The area in question may also not be properly maintained, and elements like overgrown trees can make it difficult for drivers to see the train until it is too late.

Sometimes, these accidents are avoidable and drivers manage to get out of harm’s way just in time. But if they don’t, victims have the right to hold the responsible party accountable.

What Happens Next?

Determining who is responsible for the accidents requires some investigation. While these cases are often analyzed by the police, you can also contact a St. Louis auto accident lawyer and have them gather evidence on your behalf to see who may be held accountable.

Essentially, you have to prove a party is guilty of negligence, which is why the accident happened in the first place. However, in Missouri more than one party can be found responsible. During the proceedings, it’s possible for the other party to also claim you have part of the blame, because, for instance, you did not act in time to avoid the accident.

That is why you should consider working with a St. Louis car accident lawyer, as they can help defend you if such accusations arise, and prove the blame is on the other party.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: liability

Footer

The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C.
7751 Carondelet Ave UNIT 601
St. Louis, MO 63105
(314) 361-4242

Free Consultation Request

    RSS Car Accident Lawyer & Auto Accident Attorney St. Louis

    • Soft Tissue Injuries Caused by Car Accidents
    • Teens are 3 Times More Likely to be Killed in a Car Crash
    • What Happens To an Uninsured Motorist in an Accident?
    • Internal Bleeding from Car Accident
    • Leg Crush Injury From Auto Accident
    • Who’s at Fault if Someone Pulls Out in Front of You and Causes a Car Crash?
    • Panic Attack While Driving Lawyer: Common Causes and How to Stay Calm
    • 4 Common Finger Injuries Caused by Car Accidents
    • Auto Accident in a Rental Car
    • 8 Things to Tell Your Car Injury Attorney After an Accident

    Copyright © 2022 The Hoffmann Law Firm L.L.C.
    The images included on this site are not actual attorneys, events, or clients. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely on advertisements. The information you obtain at this site is not, nor is it intended to be, legal advice. You should consult an attorney for advice regarding your individual situation. We invite you to contact us and welcome your calls, letters and electronic mail. Contacting us does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send any confidential information to us until such time as an attorney-client relationship has been established. Attorney Chris Hoffmann handles car and truck accident claims throughout Eastern Missouri and Western Illinois. He represents injured clients in St. Louis, St. Charles, St. Peters, Clayton, East St. Louis, Alton, Hillsboro and Belleville, and other cities in St. Louis County, St. Charles County, and Jefferson Country, MO, and St. Clair County and Madison County, IL.