St. Peters Car Accident Attorney

You cannot prevent other drivers on Missouri roads and highways from acting carelessly and causing accidents. But you can take charge of the situation after the accident by making the right decisions about hiring a skilled car accident lawyer. Our lawyers have extensive experience in handling car accidents. We will listen carefully to your concerns and offer trusted guidance.

St. Peters Car Accident Attorneys

The injury attorneys at Sansone & Lauber focus on helping our fellow citizens in St. Peters who have been injured in car accidents caused by negligence. Our firm has obtained millions of dollars in compensation for our clients who have sustained serious injuries as a result of the negligence of others.

If you have been harmed by another driver’s carelessness or disregard for safety, we will fight for you. You need a strong advocate who understands what you are going through and can help you recover from a car crash. We do not represent insurance companies or large corporations.

How Much is My Car Accident Settlement Worth?

After a serious collision, our knowledgeable auto accident attorneys will assess your injuries and property damage in order to prepare a claim and try to negotiate a fair settlement. The settlement of an auto accident should reflect the extent of your financial losses and other damages.

Damages in a car accident include specific costs such as your medical bills, lost income and the costs of repairing or replacing a damaged automobile. Other damages include compensation for pain and suffering associated with injuries caused by a car accident.

A car accident settlement includes an approximation of what a jury might determine for pain and suffering. More severe injuries—such as paralysis, fractures, brain trauma, scarring and disfigurement—are typically valued higher than less serious injuries such as whiplash and soft tissue strains and sprains.

An out-of-court settlement allows you to receive money more quickly after a car accident. A settlement may be reached at any time, even while a car accident case is being tried in court. Insurance companies will typically make a lowball offer if you try to reach a settlement without the help of a lawyer. Obtaining a just settlement typically requires aggressive negotiation by an experienced car accident lawyer.

Car Accidents Cases We Have Handled

The car accident lawyers at Sansone & Lauber in St. Peters, MO seek the maximum amount available for people who have been harmed through no fault of their own and need aggressive legal representation to get back on their feet.

$2,300,000

Missouri Drunk Driving Accident. Our firm represented a St. Louis area pedestrian who was dragged by a drunk driver who he was trying to assist and severely injured.

$2,200,000

Rear-end Car Crash. Verdict for a rear end accident on the highway causing severe injuries.

$1,750,000

Motorcyclist hit by a driver. Verdict for a Motorcyclist hit by a driver making a left turn in front of him and causing an accident.

Our Car Accident Attorneys in St. Peters Can Help You After an Accident

We will investigate your car accident thoroughly, interview witnesses and identify all the potentially responsible parties. If the car accident was complex, such as a hit-and-run car wreck, we may work with a traffic reconstruction expert to pinpoint how the accident occurred. We know what questions to ask and where to find the evidence needed to build a strong legal case.

We will review your medical records to determine the extent of your car accident injuries caused by the car accident and make an assessment of any future medical costs or modifications to your home required because of your injury.

After preparing all evidence, we will submit a claim to the insurance company of the at-fault driver or drivers reflecting the full value of your losses. If the insurance company refuses to make a fair settlement offer, we will file a personal injury lawsuit and seek justice in the courtroom, where we are confident of our litigation skills

We will keep you informed of our progress on your behalf and any settlement offers that are made. We will advise you of whether a settlement offer represents fair value so that you can make an informed decision about whether to accept or proceed with the lawsuit.

We will stand beside you through the entire process and handle your case on a contingency fee basis so that you do not pay any legal fee unless we obtain a settlement or verdict for you.

How the Missouri Legal System Treats Car Accidents

Motorists are required to drive their cars safely at all times. Under Missouri law, automobile drivers are required to operate their cars on public roads with the highest degree of care—essentially what a careful or prudent driver would do under similar circumstances.

For example, if a road is a slick a prudent driver would slow down to a speed that was safe for the road conditions to avoid a car accident. A prudent driver remains vigilant at all times and avoids distractions such as reading text messages or email. A prudent driver brakes if a traffic light turns yellow at an intersection rather than trying to speed through the intersection before the light flashes red. Many car crashes are preventable if drivers act cautiously and drive defensively.

Drivers who fail to fulfill the legal duty to drive carefully are liable for injuries they cause in a car accident. A legal concept known as “proximate causation” comes into play. It essentially means an injury has to be reasonably foreseeable as a result of an accident. For example, physical and mental injuries that result from the trauma of a car collision caused by another driver are reasonably predictable. However, to prove that you will want car accident attorneys who have experience handling legal battles for motor vehicle accident victims.

Types of Car Accidents Our Attorneys Handle

Our St. Peters lawyers have extensive experience representing individuals injured in a car accident as a driver, trucker, cyclist, passenger, or pedestrian. The common accident scenarios involve:

Speeding — Many serious car crashes are caused by drivers who are exceeding the posted speed limit or driving too fast for existing road design and conditions. Drivers who speed reduce the amount of time they have to avoid an accident and put others motorists a risk. According to federal traffic data, speeding was a contributing factor in 35 percent of the fatal crashes in Missouri in a recent year.Accidents at intersections are another common type of car accidents. Approximately 40 percent of all car accidents every year occur at intersections. Most car accidents involving intersections are caused by driver error such as failure to yield the right-of-way.

Failure to Yield — When turning left at an intersection, the driver must yield to oncoming cars unless the driver has a left turn arrow. According to Missouri law, a driver attempting to make a left turn is required to yield when another vehicle is approaching from the opposite direction and is close enough to the intersection that it is an immediate hazard. Many intersection accidents are caused by drivers misjudging the speed of approaching traffic and turning left without adequate time to clear the intersection.

T-Boned at an Intersection — Many serious collisions at intersections involve drivers running red lights. Most drivers recognize that running a traffic light is very dangerous. Drivers may try to accelerate to beat a changing traffic light and run a red light. Auto accidents caused by drivers running red lights are preventable. The police investigation and witness statements from other motorists can provide proof that a driver ran a red light and caused a crash. Often, the police will charge a motorist who runs a red light with speeding or reckless driving.The most common type of collision that occurs when a driver runs a red light is a “T-bone accident.” These collisions in which one car slams into the side of another car can produce serious injuries, including significant head injuries and neck injuries caused by the snapping of the head sideways upon impact.

Rear-Ended by Another Car — Rear-end collisions also are common car accidents at intersections. The driver in the back is presumed to be at fault unless the car in front stopped abruptly and without signaling. Distracted drivers who do not realize the car in front has braked or the traffic signal has turned red cause many rear-end collisions. More than a fourth of car accidents are rear-end collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

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