Missouri Personal Injury Laws

Missouri Statute of Limitations

I’m attorney Josh Myers, of Schultz and Myers, based here in St. Louis, Missouri. In our personal injury law firm, one of the questions we often get is how long after your accident can you wait before you have to file a lawsuit. Otherwise, this is what’s known as the statute of limitations.

So, I want to run through these answers real quickly for you. In Missouri, you have five years after an injury to file a lawsuit. If you don’t file within that time, it’s forever barred. For any kind of wrongful death case, it’s three years. For medical malpractice, it’s two years. That’s a quick summary on Missouri’s statute of limitations laws. I hope that helps. If you’ve ever been involved in an injury and are looking to talk with a personal injury lawyer, please give us a call at (314) 444-4444.

By: Josh Myers

Catastrophic Injury Litigation

No one wants to get hurt and all personal injuries are serious. But some of them are so traumatic and so devastating that we called them Catastrophic Injuries. For example, a closed head injury. Injury to the brain that doesn’t break the skull or sometimes even the skin. Injuries that result in paralysis. Injuries to the unborn, or to new born and small children are typically catastrophic injuries. And hiring an attorney to represent you and your family in a catastrophic injury case requires you to do some extra research. You need an attorney that has the trial experience, the knowledge and the background to take the insurance company to task for the injuries that you sustained. Remember that in a catastrophic injury case you’re not simply looking to get your medical bills paid, but someone has to take care of the long-term consequences of the injury you or a loved one has suffered. If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury, call my office at the number on the screen or visit us on the internet at anytime. I’m happy to visit with you about your case, answer your questions without any cost or obligation and help you get the maximum recovery for the horrible injury you sustained. Call 314-A-LAWYER today for your free consultation.

By: Spencer Farris

Traumatic brain injuries, or brain injuries of any kind, are some of the most devastating injuries. And when you have a big injury, there’s not enough money for what you’re going through. You need to hire a Missouri brain injury attorney to help get as much as possible for your family, because you only have one opportunity to go back and get your damages. Insurance companies track everything. They track what juries pay, they track what medical bills cost, and they track what lawyers are willing to try cases. Over my career, I’ve tried over a hundred lawsuits to juries. Insurance companies know that and they track that. The lawyers that you see on television may have never entered the courtroom, may have never tried a case, and the insurance companies know it and they pay more to lawyers that will force them to pay more. When you hire my law firm, my name is on the door and I’m on the bottom line. I’m responsible to every client. Whether I am writing the letters or whatever’s going out the door, I’m responsible. The insurance company knows that as a small shop and as a small law firm, they have to treat me just like they have to treat the big law firms; we’re going to bring the big guns. When you’ve been hurt and the bills are racking up, you don’t have to pay a lawyer out of pocket to represent you in your injury case. Call my office and if we can help you, we won’t charge you anything until the end of your case if we’re successful for you. Call 314-A-LAWYER today for a free consultation.

By: Spencer Farris

I got a call from a lady the other day who wanted to know how her medical bills were going to be paid after her injury.

Injury Law News brought to you by the S.E. Farris Law Firm.

I’m Spencer Farris and I represent injury victims in the state of Missouri. I get that kind of call a lot from folks who are worried about their rising medical bills and the daily mail that they get with another bill collector looking for payment. And this is what I typically tell them.

Medicare

Senior citizens and folks on social security disability are covered by Medicare and Medicare will pay the medical bills as they are incurred. However, Medicare gets part of their money back from your injury case at the end. Your lawyer will have to negotiate that for you because Medicare will want dollar for dollar on what they spend.

Medicaid

Children in Missouri who don’t have private health insurance, and some adults, are covered by Missouri Medicaid. And Medicaid also will pay Medical bills and, at the end of your lawsuit, they will expect to be repaid. However, a judge can reduce or totally eliminate your payback to Medicaid. You’ll need your lawyer to help you with that.

Private Insurance

The other group that frequently pays medical bills in Missouri is private insurance and private insurance will ask for repayment almost always. Unless they are a special plan, a self-funded union plan or something along those lines that is governed by federal law, they’re not entitled to reimbursement. The word that they will say is subrogation, which means they stand in your shoes and get to collect their money back from the person who hurt you. Make sure that your lawyer is well aware and willing to fight for you so that you don’t have to pay back the health insurance. And this isn’t cheating. You paid benefits to get the health insurance. You wrote a check every month. They shouldn’t get their money back just because they did what they promised to do.

No Insurance

Finally, there are a lot of folks that don’t have any health insurance. And in those situations, hospitals and doctors will treat you on what’s called a lien basis. Hospitals don’t have to see you unless you’re in an emergency. But, experienced trial lawyers can help you find a doctor who will treat you on a lien basis and will make sure that your doctor understands that they will get paid.

When you’ve been hurt, the most important thing is to feel better and not be worried about how you’re going to pay for your medical bills. Remember that a trial lawyer who cares about his clients will fight for you and fight to put money in your pocket, rather than spend it all on the health care that you wouldn’t have needed but for your injury. If you have questions about medical care or how to pay for it after an injury, call my office or reach us at the website at the bottom of the screen. I’m happy to visit with you without any cost or obligation and hopefully help put your mind at rest.

The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

Whether you’re shopping at a business or walking down the street, the last thing you expect is to be flat on your back, and feeling pain. When you fall, or what lawyers typically call a “slip and fall injury,” the first thing to do is to figure out what caused you to fall. Was it a change in grade? Was it a slick substance on the floor? This isn’t always easy to do, because as you lay there in pain, the most important thing in your mind is to get medical attention. That is crucially important but if someone with you can take pictures of the scene, it will be invaluable to you later. When you slip and fall on someone else’s property, it’s important to get an experienced attorney who’s capable of investigating those claims. And if the claim involves a government entity, it is even more important to have an experienced attorney to investigate on your behalf. Call my office at the number on the screen, or visit us on the web at any time. I’m happy to visit with you and answer your questions about your slip and fall injury, without any cost or obligation. Call 314-A-LAWYER today, for your free consultation.

By: Spencer Farris

Discovery’s the formal court process where the other side gets to learn about your case through written questions or through depositions.

By: Spencer Farris

They call them man’s best friend, but sometimes dogs cause more harm than good. If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog, there are a couple things that you need to do immediately to protect your rights. One is to contact the authorities, police department or animal control, and fill out a report. Another thing which is very important is to find out and identify the owner of the dog. It doesn’t do any good to call an attorney, it doesn’t do any good to call the police if you don’t know who owns the dog that bit you. If you or a loved one have been bitten by a dog, contact us, call us on the number on your screen, or visit us through the Internet. I’m happy to answer your questions without any cost or obligation. Call 314-A-LAWYER today for your free consultation.

By: Spencer Farris

Truck Accident Litigation

I’ve been representing injury victims for a long time, and as a Saint Louis truck accident attorney, I know that a truck crash is much different than a crash between two cars. Trucks are regulated by state and federal governments, and they’re certain things they must do.  When truck drivers drive over a long period of time as they have to to make a living, they get tired. And driver fatigue is a big issue. Drivers keep logbooks of how long they drive, and I remember one case where a driver had produced his logbooks that look like he was within the law. But because we know how trucking companies work, we’ve gotten the rest of his log books, the ones he submitted for payment to the companies, and found out that he was way, way over his hours. And he’s keeping two sets of books to fool the government. When you’ve been hurt and the bills are racking up, you don’t have to pay a lawyer out of pocket to represent you in your injury case. Call my office, and if we can help you we won’t charge you anything until the end of your case if we’re successful for you. Call 314-A-LAWYER today for free consultation.

By: Spencer Farris

Assist Your Attorney In Litigation

You’ve hired a St. Louis injury attorney to help you with a very important job. Now help him do his job. Injury law news brought to you by the S.E. Farris Law Firm. I’m Spencer Farris, a partner with the S.E. Farris Law Firm in St. Louis. Let’s talk about some things you have to do to help your lawyer do the best he can for you. You need to tell your lawyer everything. Your lawyer needs to know who’s treating you and when your treatment starts and stops. You also need to tell your lawyer about medical bills that you’re receiving. A good St. Louis injury lawyer can stop the bill collectors from bothering you at least until the end of your case. Don’t tell anyone else anything about your case.  Everything you share with your attorney is protected by the attorney client privilege. Don’t talk to strangers meaning your pastor, friends, or family about your case because they do not share the same protections that your lawyer does. Also, don’t talk about your case on the internet. Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are great ways to stay in touch with folks. They’re also a horrible way to share about your injury and a good place for the insurance company to look for ways to defeat your claim. There are no dumb questions. Make sure and visit with your attorney and his staff frequently to let them know what’s going on with your case and keep in touch. You can contact my law firm at our web address or the phone numbers on the screen. If you want to visit about your case, we’re happy to talk with you without any cost or obligation. The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris; Marasco & Nesselbush Personal Injury Lawyers Providence.