Our St. Louis Lawyers Explain the Damages We Can Seek for Your Injuries in a Car Accident Caused by a Negligent Driver
Your life can change in seconds if you’re in a dangerous car accident. If your crash was caused by a negligent driver, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries under Missouri law. Our dedicated St. Louis car accident lawyers at Bollwerk & Associates, LLC can help you determine what to do after a car accident to build a winning case. Our team will fight with the at-fault motorist’s insurance company to seek the maximum damages in your settlement.
Economic Damages You May Receive in Your St. Louis Car Accident Settlement
If you are a victim of an auto collision, you can seek economic and noneconomic damages under Missouri law. Economic damages compensate you for your past and future out-of-pocket losses, whether physical, financial, or emotional. Our experienced St. Louis car accident lawyers will fight for your right to receive these types of compensation.
Medical Expenses
You can seek compensation for the cost of all necessary medical treatments to help you recover from your injuries. This includes reimbursement of your medical bills for emergency room visits, doctor appointments, diagnostic tests, hospitalizations, surgeries, medications, and physical therapy. If you suffered a permanent injury like a traumatic brain injury or paralysis, you may also be entitled to the cost of home health, personal care, and modifications to your house.
Lost Wages and Lost Earning Capacity
If you suffer serious injuries, you may have to take time off work for weeks, months, or longer. You can seek compensation for all your lost wages, commissions, bonuses, sick and vacation time, and other job perks.
Unfortunately, your injuries may not allow you to return to your previous work. If a disabling condition forces you to make a career change and take a pay cut, damages for lost earning capacity compensate you for the wages you will lose during your lifetime.
Property Damages
The negligent driver’s insurance company may also reimburse you for the cost of vehicle and other property damage caused by the accident. If your vehicle or other property can’t be repaired, they may pay to replace it.
Noneconomic Damages You May Seek in Your Claim
In Missouri, you can also receive noneconomic damages for the physical and emotional pain and suffering you experienced as a result of the trauma you experienced in the crash and throughout medical treatment. Noneconomic damages may compensate you for any of the following:
- Emotional distress
- Chronic pain
- Anxiety, depression, and insomnia
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of enjoyment and reduced quality of life
When Can You Seek Punitive Damages?
Punitive damages are used to punish the negligent driver, but they are not frequently awarded in car accident claims. However, you may be entitled to them under if you can prove that the other driver intentionally hurt you or acted with a flagrant and deliberate disregard for others’ safety. Our car accident attorneys may be able to recover punitive damages if the motorist was drunk, engaged in road rage, or intentionally struck your car.
How Are Your Damages Determined After a St. Louis Car Accident?
Our legal team understands how to calculate the compensation you can seek and how to prove the other driver’s negligence. The types of evidence needed to establish your economic and property damages may include:
- Medical bills
- Medical records
- Paystubs and other wage loss documentation
- Repair or replacement estimates and receipts
- Expert witnesses, such as a medical professional or accident reconstruction expert
Noneconomic damages are not based on monetary losses, so they can be more complicated to prove and calculate. Evidence that may prove your noneconomic damages may include:
- Medical records
- Expert testimony
- Personal accounts from family and friends
- Personal journals
Attorney Jill Bollwerk has been helping car accident victims for over 33 years and will use her experience successfully settling and litigating car collision cases to value and fight for your economic and noneconomic damages. She and our legal team will fight like a big firm while providing you with the personal service of a small firm to ensure you obtain the justice and the damages you deserve.
