Car Accident Lawyer Osage County, MO. After you have been injured in a car or truck accident, worrying about your job or your family should be your lowest priority. Between medical treatment, dealing with trauma, and repairing your car, the impact of an car accident in Osage County, MO can quickly overwhelm anyone, doubly so when insurance companies refuse to deal with you or you do not receive the restitution you deserve.
Contact Our Osage County, MO Car Accident Lawyers Here
Combs Waterkotte is here to help Osage County, MO residents who have been involved in car accidents and do not know about what steps to take afterwards. Our Osage County car accident lawyer reviews accident reports, gathers evidence, and corresponds with insurance or financial representatives on behalf of their clients. We fight aggressively on behalf of all our Osage County, MO auto accident clients to get them not only fair and just remuneration, but also closure following an incredibly traumatic experience.
After you’ve been in a Osage County, MO auto accident, don’t hesitate to contact Combs Waterkotte, either online or by calling (314) 900-HELP, and put an experienced and dedicated Osage County, MO auto accident attorney in your corner. Our firm offers no-obligation initial consultations, and guarantees that you do not win or get a settlement in your Osage County auto accident lawsuit, you owe us nothing.
Giving You One Less Thing To Worry About
A Full-Service Osage County, MO Car Accident Lawyer
Every day, thousands of cars and trucks take to the roads in and around Osage County to deliver the mail, take people to and from work, go to the store, or just out for a leisurely drive. Unfortunately, however, car accidents regularly occur, caused by 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-changing injuries and vehicles better suited as scrap metal.
As veteran Osage County, MO car accident lawyers, Combs Waterkotte has taken all kinds of car accident claims and personally viewed how the results of a car accident in Osage County can alter someone’s life, in some cases permanently. Our firm has years of experience handling car accident cases, and knows the tactics insurance companies use to avoid paying proper restitution to Osage County accident victims. We provide unique legal strategies that are designed to satisfy your unique needs and get clients both closure in addition to a just reward for their injuries and losses.
What To Do After A Car Accident In Osage County, 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 Osage County, MO, the staff at Combs Waterkotte suggests that all our clients take these steps after their car accident:
- Make sure you are safe. Find a place to stop away from traffic, if you can, and check to see if you have suffered any injuries.
- Call 911. Not only will you need to file a police report after your accident, but if you or a passenger is severely hurt you may need to have an ambulance dispatched. When the police arrive, tell the truth about the accident but choose your words wisely: 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 license, registration, and insurance details, which you are required to do by law, but also phone numbers and other contact details.
- Take photos. The invention, and widespread adoption, of camera phones means that it is incredibly simple to document your Osage County, MO accident and compile evidence. Take photos of all damage, skid marks, where one or more cars collided, as well as the general area around your accident. If there were pedestrians or passersby who witnessed your accident, it is a good idea to record their accounts of the accident, as it can help your case immensely.
- Get medical attention. If you were injured as a result of your Osage County car accident, immediately get emergency medical care. For more minor injuries, a local urgent care center is a more convenient and cost-effective option than an ER visit. However, more severe or bigger will likely necessitate a trip to the hospital, or potentially a visit to your personal doctor.
- Contact a car accident lawyer. The faster you speak to a reputable and understanding Osage County, MO car accident lawyer, the faster they can get to work on your behalf and allow you to begin the recovery process.
In addition to these steps, our firm recommends that all our clients hold on to the following documents. They can help immeasurably when discussing settlement terms, or to give a more complete idea of the effect a car accident in Osage County, MO had on your life.
- Medical records
- Pictures of the accident scene
- The full police report of the accident
- Witness statements
- 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 an accident victim can claim following a car accident in Osage County, MO. These are:
- Medical damages: these are not strictly limited to hospital bills or doctor’s visits, either. An auto accident victim can claim reimbursement for prescriptions, psychiatric care, rehab or physical therapy to fully recover from accident injuries, and necessary 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, how much the accident impacted your ability to fully perform labor, and how the lasting effects of your accident/injuries may keep you from working to your full potential 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 Osage County auto accident.
- Pain and suffering: these damages can be tough to quantify, since in most cases the amount of anguish one goes through after an accident differs from person to person. In general, though, documenting changes in mental health, lingering symptoms, and attitude is a good rule of thumb.
- Disability or disfigurement: in more severe cases, a Osage County, MO car accident may result in a victim suffering life-changing injuries. While in a large number of cases those injuries are permanent and a settlement cannot take away the immense pain and difficulty these injuries cause, it can help provide an accident victim more freedom to adapt to their new normal.
It is also key to note that Missouri is a comparative fault state, which means that the amount of damages one or more parties receive 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 Osage County, MO Car Accident Lawyer That Puts You First
At Combs Waterkotte, we provide the strength and intelligence of an elite Osage County, MO car accident law firm as well as the one-on-one attention of an individual practice. Our firm has partnered with Osage County residents of all backgrounds to obtain the justice they merit following a car accident in Osage County, MO. We take all our cases on what is called a contingency basis, meaning that unless you win your Osage County, MO car accident case or obtain a favorable settlement, you will not need to owe us anything.
If you have been injured in a car accident in Osage County, MO caused by another driver’s careless actions, do not hesitate: contact a Osage County car accident lawyer at Combs Waterkotte today by calling (314) 900-HELP or online for a free, no-obligation document review.
