Car Accident Lawyer Vernon County, MO. After you have been hurt in a car or truck accident, worrying about family or work should be your lowest priority. Between medical treatment, dealing with trauma, and repairing your car, the effects of an car accident in Vernon County, MO can quickly take over anyone’s life, doubly so when insurance companies refuse to deal with you or you do not receive the monetary reward you deserve.
Contact Our Vernon County, MO Car Accident Lawyers Here
Combs Waterkotte is here to help residents of Vernon County, MO who have been involved in car accidents and are hesitant about how to proceed. Our Vernon County car accident lawyer works with insurance agents, looks over accident reports, and compiles all evidence for their clients. We fight aggressively for all our Vernon County, MO auto accident clients to win them not only fair and just compensation, but also a measure of justice after one of the most harrowing experiences of their lives.
After you’ve been in a Vernon County, MO auto accident, don’t hesitate to contact Combs Waterkotte, either online or by calling (314) 900-HELP, and put a veteran Vernon County, MO auto accident attorney in your corner. Our firm offers free initial consultations, and promises that if they do not get a positive result in your Vernon County auto accident lawsuit, you will not owe them a fee.
Giving You One Less Thing To Worry About
A Full-Service Vernon County, MO Car Accident Lawyer
Thousands of cars and trucks take to the road every day in and around Vernon County for all sorts of purposes. Unfortunately, though, car accidents regularly occur, whether due to another driver’s careless actions, poor weather conditions, or roads not being properly maintained. 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 experienced Vernon County, MO car accident lawyers, Combs Waterkotte has taken all kinds of car accident claims and seen first-hand how the effects of a car accident in Vernon County 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 Vernon County accident victims. We provide client-centered legal strategies that are tailor-made to meet your particular needs and get clients both justice as well as a just reward for their injuries and losses.
What To Do After A Car Accident In Vernon County, MO
After you have been in a car accident, it is likely that people will be in a state of shock and uncertain how to proceed. However, having dealt with many car accident clients across Vernon County, 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 have suffered any injuries.
- Call 911. Not only will you need to talk with police and get a full report of your car accident, but if you or a passenger is severely injured you may need to call for an ambulance. 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 providers when adjuticating fault.
- Collect all relevant information. Exchange not only your registration, license, and insurance provider, which you are required to do by law, but also phone numbers and other contact details.
- Take pictures. The invention, and widespread adoption, of camera phones means that it is incredibly easy to document your Vernon 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 care. If you were hurt as a result of your Vernon 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 a trip to the emergency room. However, more severe or bigger 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 reputable and understanding Vernon County, MO car accident lawyer, the quicker they can get to work on your behalf and allow you to get on with recovering from your accident.
As well as these steps, our firm urges all our clients to hold on to the following paperwork. They can help a great deal when negotiating a settlement, or to paint a full picture of the effect a car accident in Vernon County, MO had on your life.
- Medical records
- Photos 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 records
- Incidental bills such as 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 after a car accident in Vernon 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 costs for medications, psychiatric care, 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 successfully perform labor, and how the lingering effects of your accident/injuries may stop you from working to your full potential in the future.
- Property damage: this includes repair or replacement of your car as well as any/all additional items that were damaged as a result of your Vernon County auto accident.
- Pain and suffering: these damages can be hard to quantify, 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 personality, attitude, and mental health is a smart rule of thumb.
- Disability or disfigurement: in more severe situations, a Vernon County, MO car accident may result in someone suffering life-altering injuries. While in many cases those injuries are permanent and compensation cannot remedy the unspeakable 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 adjusted 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 Vernon County, MO Car Accident Lawyer Who Cares
At Combs Waterkotte, we provide the muscle and intelligence of an elite Vernon County, MO car accident law firm as well as the personal attention of an individual practice. Our firm has partnered with Vernon County residents of all backgrounds to obtain the justice they merit following a car accident in Vernon County, MO. We take all our cases on what is known as a contingency basis, which means that unless you win your Vernon County, MO car accident case or obtain a favorable settlement, you will not need to owe us a penny.
If you have been injured in a car accident in Vernon County, MO caused by someone else’s reckless behavior, do not hesitate: contact a Vernon County car accident lawyer at Combs Waterkotte today by calling (314) 900-HELP or online for a free, no-strings-attched conversation.
