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Folks injured in automobile accidents, by defective products, or at work have a right to fair compensation if someone else is legally responsible for causing those injuries.  That is where the role of a Missouri injury lawyer comes into play.  A lawyer can help maximize your compensation from a claim by providing a variety of services, which include 1) help obtaining the best medical treatment possible, even if you do not have health insurance 2) investigating and discovering all forms of compensation and insurance applicable to your injury 3) maintaining your right of privacy from probing insurance questions, and 4) negotiating an injury settlement that is satisfactory to your case.

Medical treatment is one of the most important aspects of any injury claim.  And breaking that down further into two components, 1) quality and 2) timeframe.  If you don't obtain the right type of treatment it can be just as damaging to your case as not getting treatment at all.  So if you have a spine injury, go see an orthopedist or neurologist that specializes in spine trauma.  Just like the law, medicine is broken into many, many specialties.  Second, getting the right treatment in the right timeframe is critical.  If you wait too long to get medical care, or have long "gaps in treatment" the insurance adjuster will likely lowball your case or deny it all together.  A personal injury lawyer can offer more advice on this important aspect of your case.

Investigating and discovering all insurance policies that apply your case is vital to maximizing settlement value.  Claims adjusters do their best to conceal available coverage, or mislead as to the 'policy limits' available to compensate an injury victim.  An injury attorney ends these games and ascertains all available insurance coverage, and determines what applies and what doesn't.  Sometimes insurance can be "stacked" to provide even additional compensation.  This aspect of the law is evolving in Missouri and predominantly determined by caselaw and policy language. 

Insurance companies love to uncover all your prior medical history, even if it bears no relevance to the case at hand.  They do this through the use of unrestricted medical record release authorizations that they will demand that you sign in order to present a claim for injury.  An accident injury lawyer would never permit this type of invasion of privacy to take place.   Prior health history can devalue your claim and ultimately lead to poor compensation when it comes time to negotiation of a settlement.  Rely on your lawyer to present only the evidence necessary to prevail in your accident injury claim, nothing more.  For more information, contact Missouri injury lawyer Stephen Schultz.  Mr. Schultz is AV-Rated and a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in Missouri for the 4th consecutive year.  He can be reached at (866) 840-3636 or locally at (314) 448-0934


  

Many people are hesitant to involve a personal injury attorney in their claim due to the fear of the unknown.  Though no two injury claims are exactly the same, most follow the same timeline of events.  After being involved in a situation that causes injury, it is in your best interest to seek immediate medical attention.  Documentation of your injuries through medical records and reports provides uncontested proof that you were injured as a result of an accident and were in enough pain to seek medical attention.  Once we have a better understanding of your exact injuries, we are able to refer you to a specialist who can use their expertise to further treat you. 

Most Missouri injury lawyers have close working relationships with many of Missouri's best doctors - all of which have the same goal: to help YOU. During the first phase of your claim, you are given a main focus and we (as your attorney) are given a main focus.  Yours is to obtain all recommended medical treatment.  The duration of your Missouri injury claim is the only time you will be able to receive medical treatment at the at-fault party's expense.  All charges for treatment incurred during this time is treated as addition to your final compensation amount. 

The focus of any experienced accident lawyer is concentrated on investigative work, gathering all details we can revolving around your case.  During this time, we are also able to assist you in finding, scheduling, and getting to your crucial medical appointments. Once your medical treatment is complete, we are able to move forward with establishing your claim's worth.  Together, we consider every aspect in which this injury has affected you and your lifestyle.  Some clients are able to fully recover physically and return to their lifestyle as it was prior to an accident.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case and clients are faced with a future of uncertainty.  Combining your physical, emotional, economical, and social losses, we fight hard to obtain a fair monetary amount to compensate you for this.  Our fight for this does not end until we (including YOU) are satisfied with a settlement. 

If a reasonable settlement offer is not agreed upon in a fair amount of time, a lawsuit is filed on your behalf in which we continue your legal battle for fair settlement.  Again, nothing is accepted without the knowledge and approval of a client. Upon settlement of your claim, we handle all remaining medical bills and account balances to ensure that nothing is lingering after a final settlement.  After reaching a settlement both the attorney and client are pleased with, all parties are able to continue with their lives as an injury claim being part of their past. A good lawyer prides himself on the ability to maintain open communication.  Clients always have access to attorney and staff office phones, email addresses, attorney cell phones, and office visits.  

Your injury claim is just that - yours.  You should never be left out of any communications regarding your case and should never be wondering the status of your case.  A compassionate St. Louis personal injury lawyer is available to discuss your case 24/7 and will come to you to address your concerns about the case.

This is a common question that many people ask after they are involved in a car accident or other incident in Missouri.  Its hard to say with certainly whether you need an accident injury lawyer unless you weigh your chances of obtaining a fair settlement from an insurance company.  There are studies and statistical data indicating that having legal representation on your side increases your chances of a fair shake at compensation by over 300%.  You have to look at it this way:  the insurance company is a well-funded, well-represented giant that does not have a personal interest or duty to treat you with respect or fairness.  Insurance companies are in business to generate huge profits.  They keep profits up and shareholders happy by minimizing payouts on PI claims, plain and simple.  Anyone who tells you otherwise is just not being truthful or realistic.

There are instances in which you can settle a case on your own without hiring a lawyer.  Those situations include cases where there is little to no property damage and your injuries are minimal.  By minimal I mean that you saw your primary care doctor, got checked out, and everything is clear and you are feeling fine.  One important piece of advice though:  Never, ever settle your case, even if your injuries are very minor, until you give your body at least 60 days to show any signs of lingering symptoms.  This most commonly comes up in whiplash cases or soft tissue car accidents.  Soft tissue injuries can be sneaky.  You can appear sore for a few days, then fine for a few days, and then things can deteriorate quickly.  In some events, victims experience "radicular" symptoms, which are radiating pains down the arms and legs.  This is a sign of a very serious disc problem.

As an experienced Missouri lawyer with an AV-Preeminent peer review rating from Martindale Hubbell, I can tell you that there will be times that we will turn down potential clients.  We feel that unless we can add value to a client's case by aggressive legal representation, that we would rather explain the process to the caller and advise them to handle the case without a lawyer.  This is something that not all lawyers will do.  There are some personal injury attorneys that will accept every case that walks in the door, even if the injured client could have settled the case without legal representation and therefore avoid paying attorneys' fees.

If you ever need to discuss your case and whether hiring a lawyer is in your best interests, contact a St. Louis personal injury lawyer at Schultz Legal Group law firm by calling toll-free (866) 840-3636.  Schultz Legal Group has offices in Missouri, Illinois, and Arkansas and will come to clients locations whenever necessary to consult on a one-on-one basis.

Our St. Louis personal injury law firm gets hundreds of calls each month from innocent victims injured in car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and by defective products.  We also field phone calls from family members who have lost a loved one because of the reckless conduct of someone else.  People don't call us because they have good news.  They call us because they are under a significant amount of duress and don't know where to turn for quality legal advice.  Our accident attorneys take great care in answering all questions and concerns and offer hope for those who don't understand the insurance claims process.

Unfortunately, insurance adjusters do not have the best interests of injury victims at heart.  In fact, claims adjusters are compensated to minimize injury claims and make sure that the insurance company doesn't pay out any more than the smallest amount legally possible.  Many of these claims are even denied.  The motto "deny, delay, defend" is commonplace in the insurance industry.  An experienced injury lawyer evens the playing field though, and most of the time an attorney can obtain 10-20X more compensation that a victim will be able to get on his or her own.  The threat of a jury trial is often enough to get the insurance company to act in good faith.  However, circumstances exist where insurance companies will remain defiant and unreasonable even when an attorney gets involved.  In that case, your lawyer will need to work up your case and possibly take it all the way through to a jury verdict.  After all, that is what the civil justice system is for.

An attorney is able to obtain a settlement most of the time, without dragging the case on for months or years.  Your lawyer will negotiate with the claims adjuster with evidence he has gathered, as well as a better understanding of the laws that apply and the many forms of damages and recovery that are available to the injury victim.  Claims adjusters are not about to educate you on all of the forms of compensation that you may be entitled to.  That will be the job of your lawyer.

If you have been hurt due to the fault of someone else, it is likely that several insurance companies may have a part in the claim.  A personal injury attorney will interpret all insurance policies that may apply to the accident in order to maximize recovery from the client.  In, fact, there are often times additional policies of insurance that the victim didn't even realize applied to the incident.  If you have questions, contact a lawyer by calling (314) 732-1401, or by email.  

A common question that callers ask when contacting our St. Louis personal injury lawyers is: what do you charge for handling an injury claim?  The answer is nothing, unless our lawyers win your case.  This is a relief for most injury victims.  After all, most accidents cause financial stress on an unimaginable level.  The last thing that anyone in this position needs is a lawyer that charges a large up-front attorney retainer.  The attorneys fees that Schultz & Myers charges are contingency on the outcome of each case.  Therefore, our lawyers and clients share a common interest of reaching a successful outcome in each case.

There are many ways to contact an accident injury lawyer for advice on presenting an injury claim.  Some people use the internet.  The internet is a good resource for researching personal injury lawyers.  For example, using a search engine like Google or Yahoo and plugging in search terms such as "St. Louis car accident lawyer" will provide results that are a good starting point for choosing the best lawyer for your case.  It is wise to never choose an accident injury lawyer based upon how flashy a website is.  In fact, the Missouri ethical rules have made it a point to require lawyers to tell potential clients that decisions for legal representation should not be based solely upon advertisements. 

Choosing a lawyer based upon a referral from a friend or family member can also offer choices.  CAUTION:  Do not think that a lawyer referred by someone else is the right lawyer to handle a serious injury claim.  Traffic lawyers do not make good injury lawyers, and vice versa.  Would you seek a foot doctor if you had migraine headaches? No.  The same holds true with lawyers.  Yes, all lawyers have a general understanding of civil personal injury litigation.  The lawyers at Schultz & Myers would conceivably be able to assist a client with a Will, however, we would never do as good as a job as a lawyer who only does Wills.  Accident injury claims for compensation involve complex civil state statutory laws and civil court procedures.  Never take your serious injury case to a law firm that dabbles in all areas of law.  Chances are high that you will not receive all forms of compensation that you deserve.  

When choosing a personal injury lawyer, also bear in mind that going with the biggest law firm in town does not necessarily mean you are getting the best legal representation available.  It is important for all injury victims to get one-on-one personal service from a lawyer, especially in situations like these where the client is under a high degree of emotional and physical stress.  When selecting your lawyer, make sure that he or she plans on staying in touch with you personally on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

Do your homework before retaining any lawyer.  Personal injury claims require handling by an accident lawyer who has both experience and an aggressive strategy.  Without this, your claim can be drawn out for months or years while the lawyer does his best to feel his way through the complexities of these case types. 

Can I file a personal injury claim without a lawyer?  This is a question that our St. Louis personal injury attorneys are asked on a fairly regular basis.  The answer depends on how you define "claim."  Persons injured in accidents certainly can file a claim with an insurance company.  There is no legal necessity to retain a lawyer in order to file a claim with the insurance company that insured the responsible or "negligent" party.  All it really takes to get a claim started is a phone call to the insurance claims department.  However, the east party of the claim pretty much ends at the moment a claims adjuster is assigned to the injury claim and starts initiating contact with the injury victim who is seeking compensation.  It is undisputed that insurance claims adjusters are highly trained negotiators who are promised incentives to minimize compensation that they pay out on claims. 

You cannot file a personal injury "case" in court without the assistance of a lawyer, unless you wish to educate yourself in a crash course on Missouri evidence and Missouri civil procedures rules that are used in all courts in Missouri.  A 'pro se' plaintiff can represent him/herself without a lawyer, however, our St. Louis accident injury lawyers never advise self-representation unless it is in a small claims court dispute.  Accident injury claims are serious cases that require the expertise of an experienced injury lawyer who knows his way around St. Louis civil courts.

Most accident claims for compensation in Missouri carry a five year statute of limitations.  There are exceptions to this general rule though!!!!  As a rule of thumb, always contact a St. Louis injury lawyer when you are injured in accident, even if it is just to seek advice on the applicable statute of limitations and pointers on how to deal with the insurance claims adjuster that will soon be a bug in your ear.

Filing a personal injury claim without a lawyer can be tricky.  Our St. Louis law firm has found that many clients who tried to first handle their own injury claim with the insurance company do more harm than good.  Recorded statements to medical record release authorizations to complicated settlement Release agreements, it can be very complex and chances are high that the common accident injury victim does not have the knowledge base to understand all the forms of compensation that are available to an accident victim.

If you have been injured in an accident, contact the lawyers at Schultz & Myers for a free consultation and case evaluation from an experienced attorney.  Lawyers on staff are waiting to answer your important questions and can be reached day or night at (314) 448-0934, or toll-free at (866) 840-3636.  Don't be victimized twice.

Traumatic brain injury, also known as "TBI", can be caused by a multitude of accidents.  These accidents include St. Louis construction accidents, St. Louis car accidents, St. Louis motorcycle accidents, St. Louis 18-wheeler accidents, and other St. Louis personal injury claims.  So what exactly is TBI and how do you treat such a serious injury? 

First, TBI can be caused by unconsciousness and blunt force trauma to the skull, resulting in blood pooling on the brain.  This type of trauma is some of the most serious injury caused in accidents.  It must be treated immediately at a level-1 trauma center.  Making sure you get immediate treatment will have a direct correlation to your recovery.  A traumatic brain injury can cause permanent damage to parts of the neurological system that control some of our most basic bodily functions. 

A St. Louis brain injury lawyer handles these types of injury claims much differently that minor soft tissue injury claims.  A claim of this magnitude requires experts in neurology and orthopedics.  It requires a St. Louis personal injury lawyer to retain experts in these fields, as well as experts in life-care planning and economics.  These experts are key in assisting with the calculation of future damages, both economic and non-economic. 

A traumatic brain injury lawyer should always take extra time in understanding the harms and losses involved in this type of claim.  Your lawyer may make a 'day in the life video' or other type of short video to send to the insurance claims adjuster or play to the jury, to address these harms and losses in a humanistic manner.  It can be particularly effective at obtaining fair compensation for your claim.

You are involved in a car accident in the St. Louis area and what happens next is uncharted waters.  What is the car insurance claims process like?  Will the insurance claims adjuster settlement my claim for property damage or claim for personal injury fairly? Chances are you will do your best to work things out with the insurance companies.  Well be warned, you are in for a wild ride that will end up stressing you out to the extreme and resulting in an unfair settlement offer.  However, there may be no way for you to know what is fair or unfair without first consulting with a St. Louis personal injury lawyer.  Yes, it is time for you to get advice from a St. Louis accident injury lawyer. 

The insurance claims process is inherently complicated.  These insurance policies are written so ambiguously that even judges have a difficult time interpreting their actual meaning.  Don't despair.  A lawyer will help you make sure that all steps are taken to be certain that your claim for compensation is properly preserved.  Submitting medical records and medical bills with a demand for money is not the proper way to obtain fair compensation. Theories of negligence and future medical prognosis reports from well-respected doctors are just a part of what makes an effective claim for compensation.

Car accidents in St. Louis Missouri happen on a daily basis.  As such, most insurance claims adjusters are bombarded with new claims from people with and without legal representation.  Who do you think they will take more seriously?  Car accident lawyer know how to obtain results from adjusters, and in a timely manner.  Without a lawyer, you can bank on an extremely long process in which 12-18 months down the line you will ultimately end up hiring a lawyer due to a lowball settlement offer. 

Don't be victimized twice.  Just as the Missouri driving rules of the road are a roadmap for safely driving a car on our streets and highways, a lawyers strategies is the roadmap to a successful outcome in your personal injury claim. 

One of the most common topics in an initial consultation with a car accident injury claimant is pain and suffering.  Missouri law allows for compensation in a St. Louis car accident claim for general damages, which include pain and suffering.  So how much is pain and suffering worth in a personal injury claim?  This question has no definitive answer, but there are several guidelines to give you a ballpark.  First and foremost, it is a myth that a car accident injury claim can be valued at 3X your medical bills.  There is no truth to this proposition.  In fact, our St. Louis personal injury attorneys typically obtain much more than 3X medical 'specials' for each injury claim. 

The value of a pain and suffering claim depends on the injury sustained, particularly whether it was traumatic and whether it will be 'permanent.'  For example, whiplash often times resolves itself unless there is a permanent disc injury.  If there is a permanent disc injury, the value of pain and suffering increases because of the future medical issues which are probable to aggravate the victim for quite some time.  If the victim suffers an emotional injury, pain and suffering is likely not to be worth much.  For some reason, juries are apprehensive to award a large pain and suffering verdict for emotional or psychological damages.  Pain and suffering compensation is typically not permitted for a Missouri wrongful death claim, unless the decent suffered consciously prior to the death. 

Pain and suffering in a car accident claim also depends on the age of the victim.  Younger plaintiff's typically are valued higher when it comes to settling the pain and suffering part of the injury claim.  The younger the plaintiff, the longer the future he/she has to experience future pain and suffering.  If you suffer a neurological injury from a car accident at an early age, pain and suffering for your catastrophic injury claim can be 10X medical bills or even much more. 

All in all, speaking to a personal injury lawyer about the specific circumstances of your accident claim will provide you with advice as to the value of the pain and suffering part of your case for compensation.  Call the toll-free injury line by dialing (866) 840-3636 for advice from a top personal injury lawyer.  Don't wait for the insurance adjuster to TELL you what your pain and suffering claim is worth.  Get advice from a professional who knows Missouri law.

St. Louis personal injury and accident attorney Stephen Schultz has had his cases published in the Missouri Lawyers Weekly, St. Louis Post Dispatch, STL.TODAY.COM, News Channel 5, and other local media outlets. His cases have also been featured in nationwide legal publishing such as the Jere Beasley Report.  The St. Louis personal injury lawyers at Schultz Legal Group represent injury victims in automobile accidents, trucking accidents, motorcycle accidents, slip & falls, products liability, medical negligence, and drug recall claims.  Our injury lawyers seek maximum compensation for each injured client.  No matter how small or large the injury case is, our attorneys work the case up as if it will go to trial.  A strong work ethic such as this is critical in obtaining full financial recovery for each case.

There is negligence everywhere.  Whether or not the negligence will result in liability depends on many factors.  One of the things our St. Louis car accident injury lawyers do is use our private investigator on each automobile accident case.  Even simple rear-enders will sometimes prove difficult and unless you treat each case as your top priority, evidence will fall through the cracks.  Our private investigators will obtain recorded statements on each car accident case.  These statements can later be used against the defendant as an 'admission'.  Often times we find that drivers are most candid BEFORE a defense lawyer or insurance claims adjuster 'coaches' them on what to say.  Getting our investigator involved early in each case is paramount to success.  It can make or break your car accident claim for compensation.

Don't leave your personal injury claim to chance.  You only get one shot and full compensation.  If you don't use the best, you won't get the best result.  Our results are boasted in legal and media periodicals across the country, and for good reason.  The personal injury attorneys at Schultz Legal Group at rated in the top 1% of trial lawyers in the country and rated Top 100 trial lawyers in the state of Missouri.  This recognition only comes with dedication to serious personal injury and wrongful death litigation, in conjunction with a passion to achieve the best possible result on each and every claim.  Contact our St. Louis car accident injury lawyers by calling the injury free consultation hotline at 314.448.0934 or toll-free at 866.840.3636.