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Missouri car accidents are traumatic incidents that typically result in both emotional and physical damages.  Following a serious car accident in Missouri, a personal injury victim has up to five (5) years to file a personal injury claim.  Claims for compensation are filed with the responsible party's insurance company.  A Missouri car accident lawyer or Missouri personal injury attorney will typically file a settlement demand with the defendant's insurance company in an effort to resolve the case without the need for litigation.  If the claim cannot be settled, a lawsuit will be filed in the jurisdiction where the crash took place due to Missouri's venue laws. 

If a lawsuit is filed, a plaintiff still has the opportunity to settle his or her case prior to trial.  There are many opportunities to settle a personal injury claim and statistically, over 95% of all injury lawsuits are resolved prior to a trial.  As a Missouri car accident lawyer, we are only able to settle a case with the express authority of the client.  One of our jobs as a lawyer is to advocate for fair compensation for all personal injury claims.  A settlement is fair if it accounts for both economic damages (medical bills, lost wages, prescription costs, etc) and non-economic damages (pain & suffering, emotional pain).  There is no magic formula to determine what constitutes a fair personal injury settlement.  Claims must always be valued on an individual case by case basis.

When determining what is fair compensation for your car accident personal injury claim, factors such as venue, property damage, comparative fault, crash scene dynamics, and other aspects must be carefully weighed.  The amount of your medical bills is never a determining factor of the amount of compensation that should be demanded from an insurance company claims adjuster.  Many attorneys overlook subtle aspects of a case that can actually play a heavy factor on what a jury would really award if the case were to go to trial.  It is important to discuss ALL aspects of your case with a qualified Missouri personal injury lawyer who has experience in court and mediation.  Our lawyers are recognized as a Top 100 trial lawyers by the American Trial Lawyers Association and are members of the elite Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.  Because we are respected by defense attorneys and insurance companies, our St. Louis personal injury lawyers are able to obtain substantial compensation for our client's personal injury claims.

As a St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer, we present injury claims to insurance companies on a daily basis.  Many of them involve the following types of incidents:

• St. Louis car accident injury claims
• St. Louis tractor-trailer accident injury claims
• St. Louis motorcycle accident injury claims
• St. Louis pedestrian injury claims
• St. Louis brain injury claims
• St. Louis spine injury claims
• St. Louis construction accident injury claims
• St. Louis dram shop claims
• St. Louis products liability claims

Anytime our lawyers present a serious injury claim to an insurance company, the claims adjuster makes a decision whether to pay or deny the claim.  In situations where an insurance adjuster improperly or hastily denies a claim, an insurance bad faith claim may become viable down the line.  I say down the line because a bad faith claim will only accrue (become viable) upon a jury verdict.  When a plaintiff in a personal injury lawsuit obtains a jury verdict in his or her favor, and if the insurance claims adjuster had previously denied that claim, the defendant may have a bad faith claim against his own insurance company for failing to pay the claim when it could have, thus exposing the defendant to an excess verdict. 

When an injury victim obtains a verdict in excess of the defendant's policy limits of insurance, the defendant's personal assets then become available to the plaintiff for sale and satisfaction of that excess verdict.  A string of Missouri cases deal specifically with insurance bad faith law and direct insurance companies to be very careful when evaluating the merits of a personal injury claim. Ganaway v. Shelter Mutual Ins., 795 S.W.2d 544 (Mo. App. 1990); Craig v. Iowa Kemper Ins. Co, 565 S.W.2d 716, 711 (Mo. App. W.D. 1978); Grewell v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins., 162 S.W.3d 503, 409 (Mo. App. W.D. 2005); Freeman v. Leader Nat'l Ins. Co., 58 S.W.3d 590, 598 (Mo. App. E.D. 2001); and Zumwalt v. Utilities Insurance Co., 228 S.W.2d 750 753-56 (Mo. 1950).

Insurance companies are constantly denying meritorious St. Louis personal injury claims and they must be held accountable for their actions.  Contact a St. Louis personal injury lawyer at Schultz & Myers to find out if the insurance claims adjuster in your case is acting in bad faith. 

Our Missouri Personal Injury Lawyers have the unfortunate task of encountering fatal car accident wrongful death claims on a regular basis.  The situation is particularly traumatic for family members and understanding Missouri's wrongful death statute can be confusing.  Because in Missouri, only certain surviving family members are permitted to file a Missouri death claim on behalf of a person fatally injured in a car accident.  Those persons are broken up into three (3) classes, with surviving spouses and children getting first opportunity at filing any wrongful death claim.  Even the forms and type of compensation permitted in a fatal car accident wrongful death claim is limited in Missouri.

Wrongful death claims and wrongful death settlements for compensation must be approved in a Missouri court.  A Judge will hear evidence put on by all persons with a claim filed on behalf of a fatal car accident victim.  The Judge will make sure that all classes of persons have notice of a potential claim and right to recovery before he or she will approve any settlement proposed by the parties.  Occasionally an insurance claims adjuster will attempt to propose a wrongful death settlement disbursement to surviving family members.  It becomes critical to immediately discuss your options with a Missouri personal injury lawyer before accepting any proposed wrongful death settlement.  In certain situations there may be excess liability insurance or an umbrella policy that will provide extra compensation to surviving wrongful death claimants.  Insurance companies rarely, if ever, volunteer this excess coverage as applicable.

Typically a wrongful death claim is filed in the jurisdiction and venue in which the Missouri fatal car accident took place.  Most judges require the attendance of ALL claimants at a settlement approval hearing, although some judges will accept sworn affidavits in lieu of live testimony if attendance would cause undue hardship.  Wrongful death claimants who live out of the state of Missouri may sometimes use these affidavits in place of traveling to court in Missouri.

A Missouri wrongful death attorney at Schultz & Myers is available to discuss your case and concerns at (314) 448-0934, or toll-free at (866) 840-3636.

Car accidents happen everyone in and around the city of St. Louis Missouri.  Some of these car accidents are more severe than others, resulting in personal injuries to drivers and passengers.  Victims are transported to level 1 trauma centers such as Barnes Jewish or St. Johns Mercy Medical Center for treatment for their injuries.  For those accidents that take place in rural areas around St. Louis, Air Evac or Arch Air may be dispatched to the scene of the crash to airlift injury victims to the quality hospitals located in the city.  A typical admission into one of these hospitals will cost $5,000-$10,000 depending upon the level of diagnostic treatment ordered by emergency room physicians.  X-rays, MRI, and CAT Scans are some of the most frequently ordered procedures when a car accident injury victim arrives in the emergency room.

St. Louis car accident injury claims for compensation can occasionally be settled with the insurance company by a St. Louis personal injury lawyer.  For those car accident injury cases that cannot be settled for fair compensation by an injury lawyer, a lawsuit can be filed against the negligent driver and his/her car insurance company.  Missouri venue laws require a Missouri personal injury lawyer to file a car accident lawsuit in the jurisdiction in which the crash took place.  So car accidents in St. Louis City must be filed in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis.  Car accidents in St. Charles County would be filed in the Circuit Court of St. Charles County, and so on. 

St. Louis car accident claims for compensation can include several theories of negligence and prayer for several forms of financial recovery, including compensation for lost wages, past and future medical bills, pain & suffering, and emotional damages.  A Missouri personal injury lawyer can offer advice as to what forms of recovery apply to each type of injury case and the overall value of the claim. 

Have you been injured in a car accident in the St. Louis area?  Don't attempt to negotiate any settlement with an insurance company without first consulting with a personal injury lawyer at Schultz & Myers LLC.  Never sign a medical record release authorization or submit to a recorded statement.  Doing so will expose yourself to the games that insurance company claims adjusters play with personal injury victims.  Call the Schultz & Myers car accident injury victim hotline at (314) 448-0934 or toll-free at (866) 840-3636.

With the upcoming 4th of July weekend approaching, many motorists will be hitting the highways in search of their holiday destination.  With the influx of traffic, there will be Missouri car accidents this weekend.  Some of those accidents will involve alcohol, others will be caused by distracted driving.  One of the most common causes of serious car accidents in Missouri is driver distraction or inattention.  The safest way to avoid a car accident of this type is to keep off your cellphone and keep eyes on the road. 

Traffic on Interstates 70 and 44 will be heavy this weekend.  Despite the 70 mph speed limit, traffic will be slow and congested at times.  This presents a real danger, as cars and trucks that are used to traveling at freeway speeds for set distances will be faced with slowing traffic.  This is precisely what caused the recent fatal tractor-trailer crash in Herculaneum Missouri a few weeks ago.  In that instance, a distracted truck driver failed to notice slowing traffic and violently collided into seven passenger cars that were slowing in traffic congestion. 

If you notice traffic slowing ahead of you, check your rear-view mirror for fast-approaching vehicles.  If necessary, active your emergency flashers briefly to grab the attention of motorists traveling behind you, including large trucks.  If that doesn't work, your last resort may be to pull off onto the shoulder of the roadway to avoid a collision.  Bottom line is pay attention to your sorroundings on the highway and have a safe holiday weekend.  You don't want to be calling a St. Louis personal injury lawyer this weekend due to a preventable car accident.

As a St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer, I am always asked by new client what the value of their car accident injury claim is.  The answer is not a simple one.  Any personal injury lawyer that is able to opine as to the value of an injury claim after first meeting with a new client is either purposely or mistakingly misleading the client.  The true value of an injury claim can only be determined when the victim has completed treatment OR when all treating doctors are in a position to forecast what the cost of future medical treatment will be.  Even the best doctors are not fortune tellers, they cannot forecast future medical costs with absolute certainty.  After it is all said and done, a lawyer can only offer a ballpark of what a car accident compensation claim is worth.

Compensation for injuries sustained in a serious car accident in Missouri depends on many factors, some of which have nothing to do with the injury victim.  For instance, the venue where the lawsuit will be filed factors into value.  Venue is a procedural law in which a lawyer must observe and file a civil injury lawsuit in a certain Missouri county or city circuit court.  The current venue laws in Missouri require a plaintiff to file his or her injury lawsuit in the county or city where the car accident took place.  Rural venues such as Audrain County, Butler County, and Clay County typically offer rather conservative jury pools, where a plaintiff can reasonably anticipate a verdict that is lower than an urban county such as St. Louis County or St. Charles County.  Venue is a value indicator that is often overlooked by less experienced Missouri personal injury lawyers.

Medical bills, lost wages, future medical costs, emotional damages, and pain & suffering all play a large part of how to value a car accident personal injury claim.  Medical bills and lost wages make up the economic damage component of the claim, while emotional damages and pain & suffering comprise the non-economic damage portion of the claim.  Age, marital status, economic status, and other factors also effect the value of the claim.  Younger plaintiff's can typically expect to obtain more compensation for their personal injuries, especially if the injuries are permanent.  Keep in mind that even soft-tissue injuries such as disc herneation and whiplash injuries can be categorized as permanent.

The first step to understanding the value of your Missouri car accident injury claim is to contact a St. Louis personal injury lawyer.  An experienced injury lawyer can discuss all the components that will effect the value of your specific case and offer advice on how to protect this value from being minimized by an insurance claims adjuster.  Contact a Missouri personal injury lawyer by calling (866) 840-3636 or locally at (314) 448-0934.

A common tactic used by the insurance claims adjuster is to argue that a victim's injuries are pre-existing, especially if the injuries involve the neck and/or back.  Almost all of us have had some type of back pain in our lives.  This pain doesn't necessarily have to be due to trauma, such as a car accident.  Sporatic neck or back pain can be due to a sports injury, or just 'sleeping on your neck wrong."  Nevertheless, car accident victims will find that an insurance claims adjuster will capitalize on any prior complaints of pain to the same body part solely in an effort to minimize the victim's right to compensation.  Victims often times fall for this tactic, unless of course they have a Missouri car accident lawyer on the case.

Another strategy employed by the insurance claims adjuster is to request that a victim sign a medical record release authorization that will allow the adjuster to gather any and all medical records of the victim.  The problem is that these medical record release authorizations are notoriously over-broad and not limited in time or scope.  The authorization essentially allows the adjuster to get any medical records for any point in time and for any injury.  This is contrary to what is permissible under Missouri law.  Judges do not allow insurance adjusters or defense attorneys access to any and all medical records, but only those that are directly related to the injury at issue in the case.  Insurance adjusters hope that victims do not retain a lawyer because a lawyer would never allow his or her client to sign such an overbroad records release authorization.

If you have been injured in a car accident in Missouri, don't fall prey to insurance claims adjuster tactics.  An adjuster will go out of his or her way to make sure you don't get fair compensation for your car accident claim, including the use of unethical tactics that are contrary to Missouri law.  Don't be victimized twice.

Local injury attorney Stephen Schultz was recently featured on the front page of the St. Louis Post Dispatch paper.  The article covered the recent case settlement achieved by Schultz in the tragic fatal car accident case involving off-duty Sunset Hills police officer Christine Miller.  The settlement was reached approximately 8 months following the filing of the civil lawsuit.  The full cover story can be read on the St. Louis Post Dispatch website.  Christine Miller was criminally charged with 4 counts of involuntary manslaughter and 1 count of vehicular assault.  Miller's criminal case remains pending. 

The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Stephen Schultz alleged negligence against Christine Miller and O'Leary's Restaurant & Bar.  The lawsuit claimed that O'Leary's knowingly continued to serve alcohol to a "visibly intoxicated person" as defined under Missouri dram shop law in Missouri Revised Statute 537.053.  This statute creates civil liability for bars and taverns who continue to serve a customer even after that person is exhibiting openly outward signs of extreme intoxication.  Factors such as blood alcohol concentration (BAC), weight and gender, food consumption, and witness statements come into play when determining whether or not a viable dram shop claim exists.  One of the biggest hurdles to jump through in these cases is the higher burden of proof, "clear and convincing", as opposed to "preponderance" which is the usual burden in personal injury civil cases.

A drunk driver certainly has to be held accountable for his/her actions when they cause a car accident.  However, Missouri is clear that bars and restaurants can and will share responsibility when they put profits over safety of the general public.  Bars in business to sell alcohol, but there comes a point when a customer needs to be cut off to prevent serious injury to the customer and general public.  Bars should go the extra step and call a cab for that individual instead of looking the other way.  Contact St. Louis dram shop lawyer Stephen Schultz for more information on these types of claims. 

A serious Jefferson County car accident temporarily closed Highway 30 early Saturday morning.  The crash took place in the westbound lanes of Highway 30 in Imperial Missouri as a Ford Taurus was being operated by 44 year-old Harrison Lane was traveling in the wrong direction.  68 year-old Virgil Isaak of Dittmer was traveling westbound on Highway 30 and apparently did everything he could in attempting to avoid the head-on crash.  Isaak was seriously injured in the head-on collision and was transported to St. Anthonys Medical Center directly from the accident scene.  Both cars sustained total damage in the crash and had to be picked up by a local wrecker service.

Head-on collisions caused some of the most catastrophic injuries of any type of impact.  Only the broadside, or "t-bone", type car accident causes similar bodily injury.  Even low-speed head-on collisions can caused soft-tissue injuries.  These types of injuries can progressively get worse as time goes on, which is why it is critical to seek appropriate medical care, starting at the accident scene.  Selecting the appropriate physician is also important.  For example, soft-tissue injuries require the attention of a orthopedist and neurologist.  Seeking care from a chiropractor is not advised, at least not until an orthopedist and neurologist has had the opportunity to first diagnose the root injury. 

Car accidents are serious and require aggressive and experienced legal representation.  Contact the Jefferson County car accident lawyers at Schultz Legal Group at (866) 840-3636 for an immediate consultation with an injury attorney.  You may be entitled to substantial compensation for your serious injury claim.

A Missouri American Water dump truck driver was seriously injured when another vehicle failed to yield and encroached upon his lane of traffic.  The car accident took place at Interstate 270 on the Gravois Road exit ramp.  The driver of a smaller passenger vehicle exited the highway onto Gravois, but failed to yield to the truck driver.  The Missouri American Water dump truck was fully loaded and towing a trailer, which would have resulted in an increased stopping distance.  The truck driver likely had little to any time to react to the other vehicle, let alone stop the 40,000+ pound loaded dump truck.

Persons who are injured while working in the course and scope of their employment have the right to file a Missouri workers compensation claim.  However, most injured workers do not know that they may also recover compensation from the third party person or persons who caused the injury.  In the case of a pizza delivery driver, truck driver, or courier, the injury victim can file a workers compensation claim and may also be able to file a 'third-party case" against the tortfeasor.

The St. Louis accident lawyers at Schultz Legal Group focus on serious injury cases.  Our injury lawyers can be reached at (314) 448-0934 to discuss the merits of your claim and how to recover all forms of compensation available pursuant to Missouri law.