Car Accident Lawyer in De Soto, MO
Car Accident Lawyer De Soto, MO. After you have been injured in a car or truck accident, worrying about family or work should be the last thing on your mind. Between medical treatment, dealing with trauma, and repairing your car, the aftermath of an car accident in De Soto, MO can easily take over anyone’s life, doubly so when insurance companies refuse to deal with you or you do not receive the restitution you should be getting.
Contact Our De Soto, MO Car Accident Lawyers Here
Combs Waterkotte is here to help residents of De Soto, MO who have been in car accidents and are hesitant about what steps to take afterwards. Our De Soto car accident lawyer works with insurance agents, looks over accident reports, and compiles all evidence for their clients. We fight fearlessly on behalf of all our De Soto, MO auto accident clients to win them not only appropriate compensation, but also closure after going through a very troubling experience.
After you’ve been in a De Soto, MO auto accident, don’t wait: contact Combs Waterkotte, either online or by calling (314) 900-HELP, and put an experienced and dedicated De Soto, MO auto accident attorney in your corner. Our firm offers complimentary initial consultations, and promises that won’t owe us a penny if we do not get a positive outcome in your case.
Giving You Peace Of Mind
A Full-Service De Soto, MO Car Accident Lawyer
On any given day, thousands of vehicles are on the road in and around De Soto in order to go to work, deliver goods, run errands, or just to enjoy the open road. Unfortunately, however, every day many car accidents happen, whether due to bad weather, poor road conditions, or someone else’s negligence. Automotive damages and personal injuries can range from minor cosmetic blemishes or a few cuts and scrapes, to life-altering ailments and a car so damaged as to be unrecognizable.
As veteran De Soto, MO car accident lawyers, Combs Waterkotte has handled car accident claims of all types and seen first-hand how the results of a car accident in De Soto can alter someone’s life, forever in some situations. Our firm has years of experience handling car accident cases, and understands how insurance firms do not enjoy paying proper compensation to De Soto accident victims. We offer personalized legal strategies that are tailor-made to satisfy your particular needs and give our clients closure as well as a just reward for their injuries and losses.
What To Do After A Car Accident In De Soto, MO
Following a car accident, it is likely that people will be in shock and clueless how to proceed. However, having dealt with many car accident clients across De Soto, MO, the staff at Combs Waterkotte suggests that all our clients do the following after their car accident:
- Make sure you are safe. Pull over to somewhere where you will not obstruct traffic, if possible, and check to see if you are hurt.
- Call 911. Not only will you need to file a police report after your accident, but if you or someone else is severely injured you may need to have an ambulance dispatched. When the police come, be honest about the accident but avoid saying anything unnecessary: statements that suggest guilt can and will be used against you by insurance companies when adjuticating fault.
- Collect all relevant information. Exchange not only your insurance card, registration, and license, which you are required to do by law, but also phone numbers and other contact details.
- Take pictures. Camera phones now being ubiquitious means that it is incredibly simple to document your De Soto, MO accident and compile evidence. Take photos of skid marks, property damage, physical surroundings, and the point of impact of your accident. If there were pedestrians or passersby who witnessed your accident, it is wise to record what they saw, as it can greatly benefit your case.
- Get medical attention. If you were injured as a result of your De Soto car accident, immediately get emergency medical care. For smaller injuries, a local urgent care center is a more convenient and cost-effective option than an ER visit. However, larger and more serious injuries will likely necessitate a trip to the hospital, or if they are available a visit to your personal doctor.
- Contact a car accident lawyer. The faster you speak to a trustworthy and understanding De Soto, MO car accident lawyer, the faster they can begin work on your case and allow you to begin the recovery process.
As well as these steps, our firm urges all our clients to hold on to the following documents. They can help a great deal when negotiating a settlement, or to fully illustrate the effect a car accident in De Soto, MO had on your life.
- Medical documentation
- Pictures of the accident scene
- The full police report of the accident
- Witness accounts
- All medical-related bills (ambulance fees, physical therapy costs, medications, etc.)
- Doctor’s reports and observations
- Repair bills
- Incidental bills including rental car receipts
- Lost earning opportunities
- Records of pain and suffering directly caused by your accident
What Damages Can I Recover After A Car Accident?
In general, there are five kinds of damages someone can claim after a car accident in De Soto, MO. These are:
- Medical damages: these are not strictly restricted to hospital bills or doctor’s visits, either. An auto accident victim can claim reimbursement for prescriptions, visits to mental health professionals, rehab or physical therapy to fully recover from accident injuries, and required medical equipment such as casts, too.
- Lost wages/earning potential: for the most part this is determined by what you were earning prior to the accident, the extent of the impact the accident had on your ability to fully perform labor, and how the lasting effects of your accident/injuries may prevent you from working to your full ability in the future.
- Property damage: this includes fixing or replacing your car in addition to any/all additional items that were damaged as a result of your De Soto auto accident.
- Pain and suffering: these damages can be hard to put into words, since for the most part the amount of anguish one goes through after an accident differs from person to person. In general, though, documenting changes in attitude, mental health and need for therapy, and longer-lasting after-effects of your accident is a smart rule of thumb.
- Disability or disfigurement: in more severe situations, a De Soto, MO car accident may result in a victim sustaining life-changing injuries. While in a substantial number of cases those injuries are permanent and a settlement cannot take away the unmeasurable pain and difficulty these injuries cause, it can help provide an accident victim more opportunity to adapt to their new normal.
It is also important to note that Missouri is a comparative fault state, which means that the amount of damages one or more parties can take home is reduced based on how responsible they were for causing a car accident. Missouri is a pure comparative fault state, which allows for even someone who was judged 99% responsible for an accident to collect a proportional amount of damages.
Contact A De Soto, MO Car Accident Lawyer That Puts You First
At Combs Waterkotte, we provide the aggression and acumen of a top De Soto, MO car accident law firm as well as the personal care of a small practice. Our firm has worked with De Soto residents of all backgrounds to obtain the justice they are entitled to receive following a car accident in De Soto, MO. We take all our cases on what is called a contingency basis, meaning that unless you win your De Soto, MO car accident case or obtain a favorable settlement, you will not need to owe us a penny.
If you have been injured as a result of a car accident in De Soto, MO caused by another driver’s reckless behavior, do not wait: contact a De Soto car accident lawyer at Combs Waterkotte today by calling (314) 900-HELP or online for a free, no-obligation document review.
