Automobile Injury Attorney Hallsville, MO

Hallsville, MO Personal Injury Lawyers

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Call 866-382-4167 for a Free Consultation | Hallsville, MO Automobile Injury Attorney

Automobile injury attorney in Hallsville, MO. The effects of an auto accident injury are immediate and severe. If a careless driver in Hallsville, MO injured you, you need an automobile injury attorney who will fight to get you justice. At Halvorsen Klote, we have dedicated our practice to fighting for those injured by the negligence of another when the whole world seems to have turned against them. Insurance adjusters can seem heartless, but with the help of a knowledgeable attorney, they will not be able to prevent you from collecting the best possible compensation you are rightfully entitled to. We serve the injured in Hallsville, MO, the Greater St. Louis area and Southern Illinois. You don't pay unless we win. Call a Halvorsen Klote automobile injury attorney in Hallsville, MO today at 866-382-4167 or reach out to us through our website for a complimentary consultation.

We have experience with many different automobile injury claims, including:

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Hallsville, MO Automobile Injury Attorney: Frequently Asked Questions

For most of our clients, this is their first foray into the injury claims process. They understandably have doubts and uncertainties as to how to proceed going about getting compensation for their injuries. Below are some of the questions we get most frequently:

How Do I Know if I Have a Valid Claim?

In order to have a case, your injury needs to create some form of economic damages, such as emergency room bills or time spent off work recovering, and accident had to be caused or contributed to by somebody else. If you your back hurt for a few days after the accident, but your injuries didn't lead to financial loss, you're unlikely to have a successful claim. If you were responsible for your injuries, your own insurance company can pay for your damages, but your premiums will go up.

Fortunately, you don't have to rely on guesswork to understand if you have a case. Halvorsen Klote's Hallsville, MO automobile injury attorneys are more than happy to discuss the validity of your claim for free.

Do I Need to Get a Lawyer for an Automobile Injury?

There are some cases where you probably don't need a lawyer. If there's no dispute about who to blame for the accident and you didn't need much medical treatment — for instance, one appointment with your doctor — send detailed records to the insurance company, and ask for some extra money for the hassle. In those types of situations, an automobile injury attorney probably isn't necessary.

But, if your injuries are more severe, require ongoing medical treatment and result in lost wages, the insurance company is going to do whatever they can to pay you as little as possible. If the insurance company is not willing to compensate you fairly, or is trying to convince you that your injuries were pre-existing, then a lawyer is likely the only way you'll get what you are entitled to. Insurance adjusters have a lot of experience minimizing payouts; personal injury lawyers know how to get maximum compensation.

There are things besides significant injuries that require an attorney, such as if there is a dispute over liability, or if your injuries occurred in a multi-vehicle accident, also make an automobile injury attorney necessary.

How Much Will I Receive For My Hallsville, MO Automobile Injuries?

The damages you recover after a car accident are meant to provide you with an equitable financial recovery for all the ways an injury affected your life. With a knowledgeable Hallsville, MO automobile injury attorney, you'll be compensated for:

• Medical bills
• Lost wages from time spent recovering
• Lost earning potential if you can no longer work
• Out-of-pocket expenses, such as hiring household services for chores you can't do while you're injured
• Noneconomic damages like pain and suffering, or loss of consortium if your spousal relationship is negatively impacted by your injuries

How much compensation you receive for your automobile injuries depends largely on how your injuries have impacted your life.

How Much Will I Get for Pain and Suffering?

There are two commonly accepted ways to calculate noneconomic damages:

• The Multiplier Method — With this approach, we multiply the total of your medical bills, lost wages and out-of-pocket expenses by a number between 1.5 and 5, depending on how severe your injuries were. The more disruptive the injury, the higher the number.

Say the negligent driver caused a moderate neck injury, leading to $15,000 in economic damages, and which caused you to have physical discomfort for four months, and further disrupted you because it forced you to wear a neck brace for a few days. The pain and suffering might be given a multiplier of three. So:

$15,000 in economic damages × 3 for the noneconomic damages multiplier = a $45,000 financial recovery

• The Per Diem Method — "Per Diem" translates from Latin to "per day." Using this approach, your Hallsville, MO automobile injury attorney determines how much money a day of suffering is worth, and multiplies that by the number of days you suffered. So, with the above example, say $200 a day is a fair approximation of your pain and suffering:

$200 × 121 days (four months) = $24,200 in pain and suffering damages (on top of your medical bills and lost wages)

Your attorney will know the best way to calculate your noneconomic damages for your individual case.

Will I Still Get Reimbursement if My Medical Insurance Covers My Medical Bills?

Yes. The settlement or judgment is based on all of your medical expenses, regardless of whether it was paid for by insurance or out of pocket. However, your medical insurance company will place a medical lien on your settlement. That allows them to collect the money that paid for your injuries from your compensation.

The law allows a variety of avenues to reduce medical liens. A skilled Hallsville, MO automobile injury attorney will be able to work with your insurance company and healthcare providers to reduce those liens and make sure as little is taken out of your financial recovery as possible.

What If the Insurance Coverage is Limited?

Missouri and Illinois have almost the same minimum auto insurance requirements:

• $25,000 minimum coverage for bodily injury per person
• $50,000 minimum coverage for bodily injury per accident
• $25,000 (Missouri)/$20,000 (Illinois) minimum coverage for property damage

The other driver could have those, or other policy limits, but there is still no guarantee that there's enough to cover all of your damages. That doesn't mean we can't get more compensation than the limits. First, your Hallsville, MO automobile injury attorney can file an underinsured motorist claim under your own policy, asking them to make up the difference. Secondly, in their investigation your attorney might uncover other liable parties who you can also make a claim against.

What Other Parties Could Be Held Accountable for My Auto Accident Injuries in Hallsville, MO?

In most cases, liability is squarely on the driver responsible for the crash. However, depending on the specifics of your case, other parties may be liable:

• An auto company may may have produced a faulty vehicle component, leading to a product liability claim
• In a truck crash, the trucking company may have failed to maintain a truck, or may have forced their driver to drive more hours than regulations allow
• A mechanic may have negligently worked on the car, which contributed to the accident
• A bar or restaurant if someone got drunk at their venue, drove afterwards and caused a crash
• A local, state or federal entity responsible for designing and maintaining the safety of roads
• A construction company if the accident was caused by an unsafe construction site

What if I'm Being Blamed For My Accident?

Shifting blame is a common trick insurance adjusters use to avoid paying you. Having sound evidence, as well as an experienced automobile injury attorney fighting back against insurance companies, will help prove you're not at-fault.

If it's true that you were partially to blame for your injuries, you are not completely barred from compensation. Both Missouri Law and 735 ILCS 5/2-1116 allow for what's called "comparative fault." Meaning, if you were 30 percent at fault for the accident, you can recover 70 percent of your damages from the other party. In Illinois, your right to compensation is barred if you were more than 50 percent to blame.

What if I Was Injured as a Passenger?

If you were injured as a passenger, you still seek compensation from the liable driver's insurance company, even if it's someone you know. While they may have to pay a moderate amount more for insurance, that doesn't compare to the economic and noneconomic damages you've suffered because of their negligence. An automobile injury attorney can help make the process less personal.

Will I Have to Go to Court?

You probably will not have to go attend hearings or a trial for a car accident claim. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that only four percent of tort claims go to trial.

Depositions and mediations are common formal procedures in automobile injury claims, but your automobile injury attorney will prep you for those and handle most of the work.

How Long Will I Have to Wait Until I'm Compensated?

That depends on a lot of things, such as the severity of your injuries, how clear negligence is and even the insurance company or adjuster we're negotiating with. A personal injury claim can last anywhere from six to eight weeks to three or four years before it results in fair compensation. Many insurance adjusters start cooperating immediately once they've learned that you hired a lawyer. In other cases, they'll wait until the eve of trial to finally agree to what is fair, or there are complexities to the case that require considerable investigation and expert testimony.

Most cases are settled within three to nine months. While while we understand that you'd like to receive your compensation soon, it's always the best idea to hold out for the full, fair compensation you're owed. You only have chance to receive compensation.

Is It Expensive to Hire an Automobile Injury Attorney?

Halvorsen Klote's Hallsville, MO automobile injury attorney receive our fees through a contingency fee. That means we we get a portion of your final payout, and we only get paid at the conclusion of your claim. If we don't secure any compensation for you, you don't owe us anything, so there's no reason to see money as an obstacle in hiring one of our lawyers.

We see no reason that money should be an obstacle for people who need quality legal representation to make a full financial recovery.

To learn more about personal injury claims, have a look at our other FAQs, have a look at our legal resources page or request a free consultation.

Other cases we take on in Hallsville, MO include:

• Fatal Car Accident Lawyer
• Auto Accident Attorney
• Bike Wreck Lawyer
• What to Do After a Car Accident
• Premises Liability Attorneys
• Motorcycle Accidents Attorney
• Lawyer for Bicycle Accident
• Pedestrian Accident Lawyer
• Injury Claim Lawyer

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Consult With an Automobile Injury Attorney in Hallsville, MO Today

We founded our practice on the idea that everyone deserves the same high quality legal representation that large insurance companies have. Injuries are always unexpected and create fear and confusion. But we will be by your side every step of the way. We stand up to insurance companies every day and know how to get our Hallsville, MO clients the full financial recovery they deserve. We pride ourselves on our client communication, and do everything we can to make the claims process easy and seamless for you and your Hallsville, MO family. Speak to a Halvorsen Klote automobile injury attorney in Hallsville, MO now at 866-382-4167 or contact us online for a free case evaluation.

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