If you’ve recently been injured in an accident in Chesterfield, Missouri, don’t hesitate to call Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers at (636) 999-9587. As a victim, you have the right to seek compensation for your resulting medical bills, loss of income, and harder-to-value trauma. Our experienced Chesterfield personal injury lawyers can help you take action and fight to maximize your recovery.
For the past two decades, injury victims and families in Chesterfield have consistently trusted our firm to help them after life-changing accidents. Backed by over 30 years of collective experience, our award-winning Missouri trial lawyers have successfully obtained hundreds of millions of dollars from insurance companies, employers, government agencies, and other powerful adversaries.
Discover the kind of impact we can have on your life after an accident, too. We offer a free consultation, so contact our Chesterfield law office to get started now.
How Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers Helps Injury Victims and Families in Chesterfield, MO
The insurance company might seem to be sympathetic to your situation. However, don’t trust them with your future. They’ll prioritize profits over your right to compensation every time. Force better results by hiring our Chesterfield personal injury attorneys to advocate for you.
At Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers, we’re recognized as Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers, members of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, America’s Top 100 Personal Injury Lawyers, and top-rated Avvo litigators. Why? Our unmatched commitment to client justice and consistent ability to win tough personal injury disputes.
We strive to have a positive impact on the lives of each and every person we represent – from crash victims to injured workers to grieving family members. Our team handles all aspects of personal injury litigation so that our clients have the time to focus on their recovery and future.
Count on us to:
- Conduct an independent investigation into your personal injury case
- Enlist expert witnesses, specialists, and professionals to collaborate with us throughout the claims process
- Gather and evaluate important pieces of evidence
- Depose eyewitnesses and other parties with information about your case
- Represent you during conversations, negotiations, hearings, and/or appeals
- Aggressively pursue a settlement agreement that fully reflects the value of your personal injury claim
- File a lawsuit with the St. Louis County court clerk and serve copies on the defense
- Have a top-rated trial attorney bring your dispute to a jury, if necessary
Don’t get stressed out about what to do or where to turn for help after an accident in Chesterfield, MO. Count on our award-winning legal team to help you make the most of this difficult situation.
We offer a free initial case evaluation, so reach out to our Chesterfield law firm today.
Why Should I Hire a Personal Injury Attorney?
You do not have to take on a powerful insurance company on your own. In fact, it’s best to ask for help. Statistically speaking, you’re more likely to win your personal injury claim and maximize your financial recovery when you hire a personal injury attorney to represent you.
Here’s why:
- The insurance company loses its advantage and is forced to handle your claim in good faith
- You’ll be able to make informed decisions about the future of your case because you’ll know what it’s worth
- The insurance company will have experts in its corner, and so will you
- Your attorney will anticipate and strategize how to deal with claims of comparative negligence
- The insurer will know it has to make a fair settlement offer or have to take its chances going up against award-winning Missouri litigators at trial
Hiring an attorney also gives you the much-needed opportunity to breathe, reflect on your situation, and figure out how to move forward.
Your choice of attorney matters. The right choice could be the difference between a lowball settlement and a top-dollar monetary recovery. Make Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers your first call for help. We’ve helped our clients win hundreds of millions in damages. Now, we’re ready to fight to get you top results, too.
Our Chesterfield Personal Injury Practice Areas
At Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers, all we do is personal injury law. We exclusively represent clients who have suffered serious injuries and tragic losses in avoidable accidents in Chesterfield and throughout the state of Missouri. We have over 30 years of combined experience handling all types of personal injury cases, including:
Car Accidents
Every year, hundreds of motor vehicle accidents are reported in the city of Chesterfield. In fact, Chesterfield averages between two and three collisions every day. Insurance companies have a lot of experience handling auto accident claims. Our car accident attorneys in Chesterfield help crash victims level the playing field and force better results.
Truck Accidents
Auto accidents tend to be catastrophic when large trucks are involved. Many times, violations of critical safety laws established by the FMCSA and other regulatory agencies contribute to these incidents. Our Chesterfield truck accident lawyers have extensive knowledge of trucking regulations and understand the best practices for helping crash victims secure compensation.
Bicycle Accidents
Bicyclists can suffer serious injuries when they’re involved in traffic accidents with larger vehicles. All too often, riders are blamed for accidents when, in reality, negligent motorists simply aren’t paying enough attention to who else is sharing the road. Our Chesterfield bicycle accident lawyers help injured riders take action, prove their losses, and secure much-needed monetary awards.
Motorcycle Accidents
As a motorcyclist, you do not have a lot of protection if you’re involved in an accident. Injuries can be catastrophic – even if you’re wearing a helmet. Our Chesterfield motorcycle accident lawyers can help you seek compensation for your costly medical bills, current and future lost wages, and the suffering and anguish you’ve experienced since your wreck.
Catastrophic Injuries
When an injury is catastrophic, it will disrupt your ability to live your life and potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars (or more) over the course of your lifetime. While almost any injury has the potential to be catastrophic, the most common include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, burns, and amputations. Our Chesterfield catastrophic injury lawyers can help you prove your losses, establish liability, and ultimately recover a financial award.
Wrongful Death
Losing a family member is never easy. It can be even more difficult when the loss is sudden, unexpected, and avoidable. Our Chesterfield wrongful death lawyers help families make the most of these situations by demanding justice through insurance claims and lawsuits.
How Much Will it Cost to Hire a Personal Injury Lawyer in Chesterfield?
Accidents are stressful and costly. Hiring a personal injury attorney in Chesterfield to help you recover compensation shouldn’t add to the stress you’re under.
That’s why we represent clients on a contingency fee basis.
We’re so confident we can win your case that we’ll make our fees dependent on the outcome. If we don’t win compensation for your personal injury case, you pay nothing.
When we win, our fees are a pre-agreed-upon percentage of your settlement amount or jury award. Typically, you can expect to pay between 33 and 40 percent of your financial recovery.
Call our law office in Chesterfield to learn more about our fee structure and why you’ll want our top-rated legal team to help you take on a powerful insurance company.
What’s Negligence and How Do I Prove It?
While some personal injury claims might be based on strict liability or intentional torts, the primary cause of action is typically negligence.
Negligence, in a nutshell, means that you were injured because of someone else’s carelessness.
In order to win your personal injury lawsuit, you’ll need to prove negligence. This requires establishing four distinct elements.
- Duty: the defendant owed you a duty of care, which is typically a responsibility to act reasonably under the circumstances
- Breach: the defendant failed to act reasonably and, as a result, breached the duty owed to you under Missouri state law
- Causation: you got hurt as a direct and proximate result of the defendant’s conduct
- Damages: you’ve suffered identifiable damages, such as lost wages, disability, medical bills, and emotional distress
Ultimately, you need to demonstrate that you would not have gotten hurt but for the defendant’s conduct. Their carelessness caused you to get hurt, and now, you expect them to take financial responsibility for the results.
How Long Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Missouri?
A five-year statute of limitations applies to most personal injury lawsuits in the state of Missouri.
However, there are some exceptions:
- Wrongful death: three years
- Workers’ compensation: two years
- Medical malpractice: two years
Claims against a government agency often have much shorter notice requirements and deadlines.
You have to file your legal claim before the applicable statute of limitations expires. When time runs out, so does your opportunity to demand justice from a negligent party or their insurance company.
What Is My Chesterfield Personal Injury Case Worth?
It depends. Several factors will influence how much your claim for damages might be worth.
- What type of accident were you involved in?
- Are you the victim of an intentional tort or crime?
- How old are you?
- What’s your life expectancy?
- What physical injuries have you suffered?
- Are your injuries debilitating or catastrophic?
- What costs have you paid out-of-pocket?
- What will it cost to replace or repair damaged property?
- Is shared negligence a factor?
- Did the accident aggravate a pre-existing condition?
- What have you done to mitigate your damages?
Every victim will have a different story to tell after an accident. The details that make each story unique are what will drive valuation.
Knowledge is power, especially when you’re going up against a powerful insurance company. When you know what your personal injury case is worth, you’ll be prepared to make informed decisions about whether to accept or reject any settlement offers you receive.
Learn more about what your personal injury claim might be worth by calling our law office.
What Compensation Can I Recover After an Accident in Chesterfield, Missouri?
While there are some exceptions – including claims for workers’ compensation benefits – you’ll be able to pursue two types of compensatory damages in a civil personal injury case: economic and non-economic. Each type of award serves a different purpose and is designed to help you cope with the consequences you’re experiencing as a victim.
Economic damages help you deal with the financial costs of your accident and resulting injuries, such as:
- Diminished earning capacity
- Lost wages and income
- Current medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing care
- Out-of-pocket costs
Receiving economic damages should make you financially whole. It should be as if the accident never happened – at least in terms of your financial situation.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are intended to help you deal with trauma and changes that are much more personal, including:
- Chronic physical pain
- Embarrassment
- Emotional distress
- Loss of companionship
- Disability
- Reduced quality of life
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
These types of experiences vary from person to person. Since there’s no standard value, it’s critical to enlist experts to weigh in and help you prove just how much of an impact your accident has had on your life.
Expect the defense to downplay your injuries and minimize the ways in which your life has changed since you got hurt. Trust our personal injury attorneys serving Chesterfield to help you fight back against these allegations and work to help you recover a substantial monetary award.
Can Shared Fault Limit My Personal Injury Settlement?
Yes. Missouri’s pure comparative negligence statute applies to most civil personal injury cases. As a result, shared fault will adversely affect how much money you might be able to recover through a legal claim for damages.
Since damages are reduced proportionately to fault, the more fault you share, the less money your claim will be worth.
Let’s say you’re assigned 40 percent of the blame for a recent slip and fall accident in Chesterfield. Your case is initially valued at $400,000. However, when shared fault is taken into account, your maximum take-home recovery is reduced to $240,000.
Victim-blaming tactics are often an insurance company’s first line of defense. Our personal injury lawyers in Chesterfield, Missouri, will be ready to defend you against these claims.
Will My Personal Injury Case Go to Trial?
It’s unlikely, but possible. For every 100 personal injury lawsuits, only about 4 to 5 make it to a jury. The vast majority are settled privately between parties before they reach the trial phase.
Whether or not your case makes it to trial can depend on a variety of factors:
- Has the insurance company handled your personal injury claim in good faith?
- Is liability contested?
- Do you share responsibility for your injuries?
- How far apart are the parties in terms of valuation?
Trials are expensive and time-consuming. However, they can sometimes be necessary to achieve the results you deserve.
One way to potentially avoid the cost and stress of a trial and increase the odds of a meaningful recovery is by hiring an experienced litigator to handle your personal injury case.
Choosing the team at Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers sends a clear message to the insurance company: you’re not afraid of going the distance to get the results you deserve. This can force the insurer to engage in more honest and productive negotiations and ultimately offer you a fair settlement.
What Should I Do After an Accident in Chesterfield, Missouri?
Don’t underestimate just how much of an impact your choices and decisions after an accident can have on your ability to recover compensation down the line.
Here’s what you should (and shouldn’t) do after your accident in Chesterfield to set the stage for a successful monetary recovery:
- Report the accident to the appropriate party/parties, including the Chesterfield Police Department, your employer, or the property owner.
- Document the accident to the best of your ability by taking photographs of the scene, property damage, hazards, and your injuries.
- Resist the temptation to apologize or admit fault for the accident – this could potentially derail your legal claim before it even starts.
- Seek prompt medical attention at the closest emergency room to you in Chesterfield.
- Get the names of eyewitnesses and write down their contact information.
- Obtain copies of the police report and/or other accident reports.
- Refuse to provide the insurance company with a recorded statement unless explicitly directed to do so by your attorney.
The sooner you hire an experienced personal injury attorney in Chesterfield to represent you, the better. We know that nothing about an accident is convenient. They can happen anytime, anywhere. That’s why our team is always available to provide help and guidance. Call our Chesterfield law office 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Chesterfield Personal Injury Lawyer
You should not have to struggle with the consequences of a recent accident in Chesterfield, Missouri, on your own. You got hurt because someone else was careless. They have to be held accountable. Roach Law Car Accident Lawyers can help you make that a reality.
Our Chesterfield personal injury lawyers have 30+ years of collective experience. As tireless advocates for our clients, we’ve forced powerful corporations to pay hundreds of millions in monetary awards.
Now, you can have our award-winning legal team in your corner, too. Call our law office serving Chesterfield to get started. Your first consultation with our team is absolutely free.
