Missouri Personal Injury Laws

What Happens When Your Bitten by a Dog?

Hi, I’m Josh Myers, attorney at Schultz & Myers. We’re a personal injury law firm here in St. Louis, Missouri. Today I want to answer a question we get a lot, which is what happens if you’re bitten by a dog?

The One Bite Rule

A lot of people come in, and they ask us about this “one bite rule” or what they’ve heard of before called a “one bite rule” , and in Missouri, there’s no such thing. It used to be the law in Missouri that we had to show the dog had some kind of dangerous propensities, or meaning a past history of aggression. Several years back, the law was completely rewritten, so now it is a case of what’s called strict liability.

Basically this means if you were bitten on public property, or if you’re on private property and as long as you were there lawfully, the owner of the dog is completely liable for the damages you suffered.

Dog Bite Case Process

So it’s pretty simple these days. If you’re bitten by someone else’s dog, they’re responsible for that. Of course the real key comes in determining how much money it takes to make up for the harms and the damages that you suffered, and that’s where our expertise comes in.

So I hope this helped answer some questions. If you’ve ever been bitten by a dog, and you’re looking for a personal injury lawyer, I certainly hope that you’ll give us a call and at least let us talk to you about your case. Our phone number’s easy to remember. Just remember the fours: (314) 444-4444.

By: Josh Myers

Bad things happen and you’ve been in a wreck. Now you need to figure out what to do to make the best of this terrible situation.

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

I’m Spencer Farris, a partner at the S.E. Farris Law Firm. We’re going to talk about some things that you can do to help your St. Louis injury lawyer make the best of the bad situation that the car crash caused you. Your situation is the opposite of the movie, Fight Club. Talk about your wreck, talk about your wreck, talk about your wreck. Talk about your wreck to the police. Make sure they know what happened and they know how it happened. Talk about your wreck to health care providers. If you’re having pain and problems, you need to make sure that your doctors see you immediately, and they know why you’re there. Tell them about your wreck. A picture of your crashed car, a picture of your injuries will all be important to your injury lawyer when he represents you. Don’t rely on the insurance company to take pictures for you. And don’t expect that the pictures they take will be available to you if you need them.

After the wreck, expect a call from strangers with the insurance company and other investigation sources. The professionals at the insurance company will work hard to defeat your claim. They’re going to ask you a lot of questions and for a lot of information. Don’t give them a statement. Remember that they’re not there to help you. You wouldn’t do surgery on yourself and you probably shouldn’t handle your own injury case either. In fact, studies by insurance institutes have shown that folks who get a lawyer to represent them after an injury get four-to-five times more money than those without.

If you have more questions, feel free to contact my law firm, at our web address, or the phone number that’s listed. We’re happy to visit with you and talk about your case without cost or obligation. The S.E. Farris law firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

Punitive damages are sometimes called exemplary damages. Those are the damages that a jury awards to punish the defendant for bad acts, and to keep other folks from repeating those kinds of acts.

By: Spencer Farris

Black Box Data

After a truck wreck, it’s important to gather the data from the black box or the data recorder. And a St. Louis truck accident lawyer will have the resources and know-how to get, not only to the scene, but to get permission to download or copy the information that’s on that data recorder so that they have it to present your case. In the data recorder there’s not infinite space, and what happens is, after a certain amount of time, the recorder starts to record again over the breaking, the speed, the other events that are on that data recorder. So it’s crucial to get that offloaded as quickly as possible. 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

Choose Spencer Farris

When you call my law firm – day or night – it’s going to ring out to a cell phone. If you send an email – day or night – it’s going to go out to a cell phone, if there’s somebody not at the desk. I tell everyone who comes to my office and trusts us to handle their case that within 12 hours of contact with my office they’ll hear back from us – either myself or the assistant that’s assigned to the case or the lawyer that’s assigned to the case. When someone comes into us and in our law firm, it’s because something bad has happened to them. They don’t come in to see us because they’re having a great day. Initially, I want folks to feel comfortable that we’re going to take their case seriously. If you’ve taken the breadwinner and he’s no longer able to work because his back hurts to somebody on the street who would see him walking down the street. They’d think how can that be and it’s no big deal, but to this guy losing his house, losing his family, losing those things are very important. At our law firm we want folks to feel comfortable that they’re going to get the attention that they deserve.

By: Spencer Farris

In our modern mobile society, freight and passengers move by rail car every day, just at the same time you and your family are in your car, travelling the highways. And it’s inevitable that at the intersection there’s a potential for devastating collisions. We try to avoid that with crossing equipment and crossbars, but sometimes it doesn’t function properly. Sometimes it hasn’t been properly maintained, sometimes it simply doesn’t exist. If you’ve been injured, or a loved one has been killed at a train crossing, you owe it to yourself and to your family to hire a personal injury attorney who can investigate the causes of the collision and determine whether or not your rights should be protected.  Call 314-A-LAWYER today for your free consultation.

By: Spencer Farris

You’ve been injured and you’re thinking of dealing with the insurance company without an attorney. That’s probably a mistake, but here are some things to watch out for if you decide to go down that road.

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

I’m Spencer Farris and I represent injury victims throughout Saint Louis and the state of Missouri. I’ve helped hundreds of folks handle their case for personal injury, but every now and then I meet someone who thinks that they don’t need an attorney. Let me tell you a few things to look out for if you decide that you don’t want to hire an attorney.

Get pictures. Whether it’s the car you’ve been crashed in or the place that you fell, a picture is worth a thousand words. And if you’re relying on the insurance company to take pictures for you, you’re making a big mistake. If those pictures would have been helpful to you and they disappear, you’ll never be able to recreate that important evidence for your case.

The insurance company will want to take a statement from you and that’s a mistake. Remember that the person asking the questions controls and frames how your answers come out, and the insurance company is not there to help you. You never want to give a statement without someone on your side to help you through that step, and typically that’s where you have an attorney.

Finally, the insurance company’s going to want you to sign medical authorizations. And in Missouri, you don’t give up your right to all privacy just because you’ve had an injury case. You don’t have to sign the authorization that gives the insurance company the right to get all of your medical records from the time that you’re born, but the form that they give you will do just that. Don’t sign that form.

Studies have shown over and over that folks with attorneys get four to five times more money for their injury case than those without. If you’ve been injured and you have questions – whether you want to hire an attorney or not – please call me at the number on your screen or visit us at our internet website that you see on the screen as well. We’re happy to help, and if we can help you resolve your case without hiring us, great. And if you need an attorney, we’d be proud to represent you.

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

By: Spencer Farris

I talked to a man yesterday who had dropped his case because he didn’t think he could afford a lawyer. Let me tell you what I told him. Injury Law News. Brought to you by The S.E. Farris Law Firm. I’m Spencer Farris, a partner at The S.E. Farris Law Firm. Folks don’t plan to get hurt at work or anywhere else. Therefore they don’t set aside money for attorney fees. Then when something bad happens, they think, “I can’t afford an attorney.” But you can and here’s how. Most qualified injury attorneys in Missouri work on what’s called a contingent fee, which means the lawyer doesn’t get paid until the end of your case if they’re successful for you. The lawyer pays the expenses of litigation as you go. Again, they don’t get their money back unless they’ve been successful for you. It’s important then to hire an attorney. Studies show that folks with lawyers get four to five times more money than those without. Insurance companies know it too. That’s why they’ll offer you a quick settlement before you have a chance to talk to a lawyer. At my law firm, you don’t pay until the end of your case, and then only if you’re successful. Another way that that’s important for you is it means you can hire an experienced, qualified lawyer to handle your case for the same percentage as someone without that experience. The difference is when you hire a good lawyer, a qualified lawyer; you get more money. If you want to talk about your case and decide if my firm is the best one to handle your case, call us at the number below, or visit us on our website which you see below. Thanks for listening. The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

Pursuing Injury Claim

Folks call me sometimes and think they can’t pursue an injury case because they’re partially at fault. Let me tell you what I usually tell them. Injury law news brought to you by the S.E. Farris Law Firm. I’m Spencer Farris, a partner at the S.E. Farris Law Firm. Just because you’re partially at fault for your injury doesn’t mean the courthouse doors are closed to you. In Missouri, we follow something called comparative fault and that means you recover for your part of your injury that you didn’t cause. If you’re in a car crash and you were struck by someone even though you were driving a little too fast, the person who struck you has to pay for the part of the damages that they caused. If you’re 20% at fault, you still recover 80% of your damages. I represented a man who got distracted and fell due to a defect in the sidewalk. He was able to recover for the portion of his damages that the defective sidewalk caused even though he didn’t get back the part that was due to his inattention. If you’ve been hurt and you’re worried that it’s partially your fault, contact my office. I’m happy to visit with you without cost or obligation. Just because you’re partially at fault doesn’t mean you’ve completely lost your claim and I’m here to help. Thanks. The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris