Seriously Injured In A Car Accident In Missouri?

Sansone & Lauber | December 17, 2025 | Car Accidents

Seriously Injured In A Car Accident In Missouri?

If you were seriously injured in a car accident in Missouri, you likely have a strong personal injury claim under Missouri law — and your next move should be to get urgent medical care, then contact a trial-tested Missouri car accident lawyer like Sansone & Lauber at 314-863-0500 to protect your rights, your health, and the full value of your case.

Missouri is an at-fault state and uses a pure comparative fault system, which means you can recover damages even if you are partly responsible for the crash, and you generally have up to five years to file a personal injury lawsuit arising from a car accident. That sounds generous — but waiting is one of the biggest mistakes seriously injured crash victims make.

At Sansone & Lauber, we focus on serious injury and wrongful-death cases across Missouri and Illinois. Our team has secured record-setting results, including a $14.2 million brain-injury verdict from a crash case and many other multi-million-dollar outcomes, and has recovered over $100 million for injured clients. We are consistently recognized as a leading personal injury firm in the region, with 100+ 5-star reviews and a reputation for aggressive, results-driven advocacy.

If you or someone you love is in the hospital or facing life-changing injuries after a crash, you do not have to deal with this alone.

📞 Call Sansone & Lauber now at 314-863-0500 for a free consultation.
No fee unless we win money for you.

1. What Does It Mean To Be “Seriously Injured” in a Missouri Car Accident?

“Serious injury” is more than just a phrase. In real cases, it often means:

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) or concussion
Spinal cord damage, herniated discs, or paralysis
Multiple fractures or complex orthopedic injuries
Internal bleeding and organ damage
Severe facial injuries and disfigurement
Crushed limbs or amputation
Severe psychological trauma (PTSD, anxiety, depression)

These injuries almost always involve:

ER treatment and possible ICU care
Hospitalization and surgery
In-patient or intense outpatient rehab
Months or years of physical therapy
Long-term or permanent limitations

Legally, serious injuries matter because they:

Drive up medical expenses
Lead to long-term or permanent disability
Cause substantial lost wages and loss of earning capacity
Create significant pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life

In other words, a serious injury case is not a “soft tissue” claim that should be rushed into a low settlement. It is a high-stakes financial and legal battle that may determine:

Whether you can afford future medical care
Whether you can stay in your home
Whether your family can stay financially stable

That’s why it is critical to treat your case like what it is: a life-changing legal event, not just an insurance claim.

2. How Missouri Car Accident Law Works for Seriously Injured Victims

Understanding a few key Missouri rules will help you see why serious claims must be handled carefully.

Missouri Is an At-Fault State

Missouri uses a traditional tort (fault-based) system for car accidents:

The driver who caused or contributed to the crash (and their insurer) is responsible for paying damages.
You can pursue a claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, and sometimes multiple policies (commercial, umbrella, etc.).

This is different from “no-fault” states where your own PIP benefits may be primary and lawsuits are restricted.

Missouri Uses Pure Comparative Fault

Missouri applies pure comparative fault, meaning:

You can recover damages even if you were partially at fault — in theory, up to 99% at fault.
Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault.

Example:
A jury finds your damages are $1,000,000 but says you were 20% at fault for the crash. Your recovery would be $800,000 (80% of the total).

Insurance companies routinely abuse this rule, exaggerating your share of fault to cut what they have to pay. One key job of a serious Missouri car accident lawyer is to push that percentage back down with evidence and expert analysis.

Missouri’s Statute of Limitations

For most car accident personal injury cases in Missouri:

You generally have five years from the date of the accident to file a lawsuit for personal injury or property damage.
For wrongful death claims, the deadline is typically three years from the date of death.

That sounds like a long time — but:

Critical evidence (video, black box data, vehicle damage, skid marks, witnesses) is easiest to secure in the first days and weeks.
Waiting months or years can seriously weaken your case.

Bottom line: you do not have to file a lawsuit right away, but you should absolutely talk to a serious injury lawyer quickly so critical evidence is not lost.

If you were seriously hurt in a Missouri crash, call 314-863-0500 and let Sansone & Lauber start protecting evidence and your rights immediately.

3. What To Do Right Away After a Serious Car Accident in Missouri

If you’re reading this soon after a crash, here are the most important steps.

Step 1: Get Emergency Medical Care

Call 911 or have someone do it for you.
Accept transport by ambulance if EMS recommends it.
At the ER or hospital, clearly explain all symptoms and that they come from a car accident.

Traumatic injuries may not fully show themselves right away — especially TBIs and internal injuries. ER doctors and your medical records are the foundation of your case.

Step 2: Make Sure There Is a Police Report

A formal crash report is crucial. It will:

Document the collision location, conditions, and vehicles involved.
Identify drivers, insurers, and witnesses.
Often contain preliminary fault findings.

Without a police report, it becomes easier for the at-fault driver’s insurance to dispute what happened.

Step 3: Preserve Evidence

If you or someone you trust is able:

Take photos of:
- All vehicles involved
- The scene, skid marks, debris, and road conditions
- Your visible injuries
Get contact information for witnesses.
Note any nearby cameras (businesses, homes, traffic cameras, dash cams).

When we are retained quickly, Sansone & Lauber sends preservation letters, secures video and black-box data, and, in serious cases, may go to court to prevent crucial evidence from being destroyed or altered.

Step 4: Do NOT Talk to the Insurance Company Alone

The at-fault driver’s insurance company may call within hours or days:

Asking for a “quick statement”
Wanting to “just get your side of the story”
Offering to pay some medical bills or a fast settlement

You may still be medicated, traumatized, or simply exhausted. Anything you say can and will be used to:

Minimize your injuries
Shift blame onto you
Lock you into incomplete or poorly worded answers

Politely say:

“I’m not comfortable discussing this right now. I’m going to speak with an attorney, and they will contact you.”

Then actually call one.

📞 Need someone to deal with the insurer so you don’t have to? Call Sansone & Lauber at 314-863-0500 and let us step between you and the insurance company.

4. Who Pays Your Medical Bills After a Serious Crash in Missouri?

This is one of the first fears seriously injured clients have:

“How am I going to pay for all of this?”

In reality, multiple layers of coverage may apply.

Health Insurance

Your health insurance (employer plan, private policy, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.) usually:

Pays bills up front
Later asserts a lien or reimbursement right against your settlement or verdict

An experienced Missouri injury lawyer will:

Verify which liens are legally valid
Negotiate reductions where possible
Ensure they are properly paid out of any recovery so you’re protected

Medical Payments (MedPay) Coverage

Many Missouri auto policies include MedPay, which:

Pays medical bills up to a set limit (often $1,000–$10,000 or more)
Applies regardless of who was at fault

You may not know you have MedPay until someone reviews your policy. This is one of the first things we look for.

At-Fault Driver’s Liability Coverage

The at-fault driver’s liability insurance is usually the main source of compensation for:

Medical expenses
Lost wages
Pain and suffering
Other damages

But in a serious case, minimum limits are often far too low. That’s where the next layer comes in.

Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist (UM/UIM) Coverage

If the at-fault driver is uninsured or doesn’t carry enough coverage, your own policy may help through UM/UIM coverage:

UM: when the at-fault driver has no insurance
UIM: when their limits are too low

These claims can be complex and full of traps. Coordination between liability and UM/UIM claims must be handled carefully to maximize your recovery.

5. How Serious Injuries Change the Value of Your Missouri Car Accident Case

Serious injuries almost always mean significant damages. The law divides them into two broad categories.

Economic Damages

These are your financial losses, such as:

Past medical bills (ER, hospitalization, surgery, rehab, therapy)
Future medical expenses (follow-up care, future surgeries, lifetime treatment)
Lost wages while you can’t work
Loss of earning capacity if you can’t return to your former job or hours
Home health care, aides, or attendant care
Home or vehicle modifications (ramps, lifts, adaptive equipment)

In serious cases, the largest part of your economic damages might be future costs, which require expert analysis (life-care planners, economists) to properly calculate.

Non-Economic Damages

These compensate you for human losses, including:

Physical pain and discomfort
Emotional distress, anxiety, and PTSD
Loss of enjoyment of life
Loss of independence
Impact on relationships (spouse, children, family)
Scarring and disfigurement

Non-economic damages are often substantial in serious injury cases. A skilled trial lawyer’s job is to turn these into a compelling, credible story that resonates with adjusters, judges, and juries.

If you settle too quickly (before your future course is clear), you risk leaving hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars on the table in a severe case.

6. Common Insurance Tactics in Serious Injury Cases — And How to Protect Yourself

When injuries are serious and potential exposure is high, insurers and defense firms go into full “damage control” mode.

Typical tactics include:

Early lowball offers: Offering quick cash before you’ve hired a lawyer or fully understood your injuries.
Blaming you: Leaning hard on comparative fault to slash your recovery.
Attacking your medical care: Claiming treatment was “unnecessary” or “excessive.”
Digging through your past: Looking for old injuries or conditions to blame.
Delay, delay, delay: Hoping financial pressure will push you into an unfair settlement.

The best counter to these tactics is simple: a serious trial firm that insurance companies know will take a case to a jury if necessary.

That is exactly what Sansone & Lauber is known for — including a $14.2 million brain-injury verdict, the largest car crash verdict in Missouri for 2021 and the largest verdict in Phelps County history, which the Court of Appeals later affirmed.

If you want that kind of leverage on your side, call 314-863-0500 and tell us what happened.

7. How Sansone & Lauber Handles Serious Missouri Car Accident Cases

When you hire us after a serious crash, we treat your case like what it is: a major, life-changing legal battle. Our process typically includes:

7.1 Immediate Action and Evidence Preservation

We move quickly to:

Obtain the police report and 911 audio
Photograph the scene and vehicles
Track down and interview witnesses
Secure any available surveillance or dash-cam video
Preserve electronic data (black-box / EDR) where relevant

In the most serious cases, we work with accident reconstruction experts to analyze speed, impact angles, braking, visibility, and more.

7.2 Building the Medical and Life-Impact Story

We coordinate closely with:

Your treating physicians
Specialists (orthopedic, neurology, neurosurgery, pain management, psychiatry)
Physical and occupational therapists
Life-care planners
Economists and vocational experts

Our goal is to answer — in detail and with proof — these core questions:

What exactly happened to you medically?
How will it affect you for the rest of your life?
What will it cost to live with these injuries going forward?

This is how you convert a “serious accident” into a serious case value.

7.3 Handling All Insurance Communications

Once we represent you:

Adjusters must go through us, not you.
We manage recorded statements (if strategically appropriate at all).
We control the flow of information to protect your claim.

You can focus on rehab and your family, not on fielding calls from multiple insurers.

7.4 Negotiation, Lawsuit, and Trial

We prepare every serious case as if it will go to trial. That trial-ready posture:

Forces insurers to take your case seriously
Strengthens your position in settlement negotiations
Ensures that if they refuse to pay fair value, we are ready to present your case to a jury

Our track record — including multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements and over $100 million recovered overall — is well-documented.

8. FAQs: Seriously Injured in a Missouri Car Accident

“Do I really need a lawyer if the other driver admitted fault?”

Yes — especially in a serious injury case. Even when fault seems clear, the fight is almost always about how much your case is worth, not who caused the crash.

Insurers have teams of adjusters and defense lawyers working to undervalue your claim. You should have someone on your side who does this every day for victims, not corporations.

“What if I was partially at fault?”

Because Missouri uses pure comparative fault, you can still recover even if you were partly responsible.

Our job is to:

Gather evidence to minimize your share of fault
Highlight the other driver’s negligence (speeding, distraction, impairment, violations)
Protect your right to a substantial recovery even if fault is shared

“How long will my case take?”

Serious cases usually take longer than minor ones because:

Your medical condition must stabilize enough to understand your long-term prognosis.
Complex damages (future care, loss of earning capacity) must be carefully developed.
Insurers fight harder when large sums are at stake.

Some cases can be settled pre-suit once the evidence is developed; others require a lawsuit and, sometimes, trial. We will be candid with you about timing based on your specific facts.

“How can I afford a lawyer?”

You don’t pay us by the hour. We represent seriously injured clients on a contingency fee:

No upfront fee
No out-of-pocket case costs while the case is pending
We only get paid if we recover money for you

This aligns our interests with yours: we are motivated to maximize your recovery.

9. What You Should Do Right Now

If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a car accident in Missouri, here is a simple, concrete action plan:

Follow your doctors’ orders and attend all follow-up appointments.
Do not speak to the at-fault insurer about fault or your injuries without legal counsel.
Save everything: photos, videos, medical records, bills, pay stubs, and any letters from insurers.
Stay off social media about the accident and your injuries.
Talk to a serious Missouri car accident trial lawyer as soon as possible.

📞 Call Sansone & Lauber at 314-863-0500
💬 Free consultation. No obligation.
💼 No fee unless we win.

Final Thought: Your Case Is Not “Just Another Claim”

A serious car accident in Missouri can change everything — your health, your career, your independence, and your family’s financial stability.

You deserve:

The best medical care available
The full measure of compensation allowed under Missouri law
A legal team willing to stand up to insurance companies and, if necessary, take your case to a jury

At Sansone & Lauber, that is what we do every day for seriously injured people across Missouri and Illinois.

If you’re asking, “What do I do now?” — start here:

📞 Call Sansone & Lauber at 314-863-0500 today.

We will listen, explain your options, and, if we take your case, fight relentlessly to get you every dollar your serious Missouri car accident case is worth.