Car Accident Lawyer Howard County, MO. After you have suffered injuries in a car or truck accident, worrying about your job or your family should be your lowest priority. Between car repairs, medical treatment, and mental trauma or anguish, the impact of an car accident in Howard County, MO can easily take over anyone’s life, especially when insurance companies refuse to deal with you or you do not receive the monetary reward you deserve.
Contact Our Howard County, MO Car Accident Lawyers Here
Combs Waterkotte is here to help residents of Howard County, MO who have been in car accidents and do not know about how to proceed. Our Howard County car accident lawyer finds evidence, deals with insurance and financial agents, and compiles accident reports on behalf of their clients. We fight fiercely on behalf of all our Howard County, MO auto accident clients to win them not only fair and just financial rewards, but also justice and closure following an incredibly traumatic experience.
Following a Howard County, MO auto accident, don’t hesitate to contact Combs Waterkotte, either online or by calling (314) 900-HELP, and put a dedicated Howard County, MO auto accident attorney on your side. Our firm offers free initial consultations, and vows 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 Howard County, MO Car Accident Lawyer
On any given day, thousands of vehicles are on the road in and around Howard County for all sorts of purposes. Unfortunately, however, every day many car accidents happen, caused by bad weather, poor road conditions, or someone else’s negligence. Injuries and property damage can range from bumps and bruises and small scratches and dings, to life-changing injuries and vehicles better suited as scrap metal.
As experienced Howard County, MO car accident lawyers, Combs Waterkotte has handled all kinds of car accident claims and seen first-hand how the aftermath of a car accident in Howard County can alter someone’s life, forever in some situations. Our firm has years of experience in the courtroom, and has seen the lengths insurance companies go to avoid paying just restitution to Howard County accident victims. We provide personalized legal strategies that are built to satisfy your unique needs and give our clients justice in addition to a fair reward for their injuries and losses.
What To Do After A Car Accident In Howard County, MO
Following a car accident, it is likely that people will be in shock and clueless how to proceed. However, having worked with many car accident clients across Howard County, MO, the staff at Combs Waterkotte recommends that all our clients take these steps after their car accident:
- Make sure you are safe. Pull over to somewhere where you will not obstruct traffic, if you can, 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 a passenger is severely hurt you may need to call for an ambulance. When the police arrive, be honest about the accident but choose your words wisely: statements that suggest guilt can and will be used against you by insurance providers when finding 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 pictures. Camera phones now being ubiquitious means that it is incredibly simple to document your Howard 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 nearby pedestrians saw your accident, it is wise to record their accounts of the accident, as it can help your case immensely.
- Get medical attention. If you were hurt as a result of your Howard County car accident, immediately get emergency medical care. For smaller injuries, a local urgent care center is a more affordable and convenient option than a trip to the emergency room. However, larger and more serious injuries will likely require a trip to the hospital, or if they are available a visit to your personal doctor.
- Contact a car accident lawyer. The faster you call a trustworthy and understanding Howard County, MO car accident lawyer, the faster they can get to work on your behalf 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 paint a full picture of the effect a car accident in Howard County, MO had on your life.
- Medical documentation
- Pictures of the accident scene
- The full police report of the accident
- Witness statements
- All medical-related bills (ambulance fees, rehab costs, medications, etc.)
- Doctor’s reports and observations
- Repair documentation
- Incidental bills including rental car receipts
- Lost earning opportunities
- Records of pain and suffering resulting from 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 Howard County, MO. These are:
- Medical damages: these are not only limited to hospital bills or doctor’s visits, either. An auto accident victim can claim costs for medications, psychological appointments, rehab or physical therapy to fully recover from accident injuries, and necessary medical equipment such as a wheelchair, too.
- Lost wages/earning potential: generally this is based off of what you were earning prior to the accident, the extent of the impact the accident had on your ability to adequately perform work, and how the knock-on effects of your accident/injuries may prevent you from working to your full potential in the future.
- Property damage: this includes repair or replacement of your car in addition to any/all personal effects that were damaged as a result of your Howard County auto accident.
- Pain and suffering: these damages can be tough to quantify, since in most cases the amount of discomfort a Howard County, MO victim goes through after an accident varies from person to person. In general, though, documenting changes in personality, attitude, and mental health is a good idea.
- Disability or disfigurement: in more severe cases, a Howard County, MO car accident may result in a victim sustaining life-altering injuries. While in many cases those injuries are permanent and compensation 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 quantity of damages one or more parties are entitled to is adjusted based on the level they were at fault they were for causing a car accident. Missouri is a pure comparative fault state, which allows for even someone who was determined to be 99% responsible for an accident to collect a commensurate amount of damages.
Contact A Howard County, MO Car Accident Lawyer That Puts You First
At Combs Waterkotte, we offer the strength and intelligence of a top Howard County, MO car accident law firm as well as the one-on-one attention of a small practice. Our firm has partnered with Howard County residents of all backgrounds to secure the justice they merit following a car accident in Howard County, MO. We take all our cases on what is known as a contingency basis, which means that unless you get a positive result in your Howard County, MO car accident case, you will not need to owe us a penny.
If you have been injured in a car accident in Howard County, MO caused by another party’s negligence, do not hesitate: contact a Howard County car accident lawyer at Combs Waterkotte today by calling (314) 900-HELP or online for a free, no-strings-attched consultation.
