Missouri Slip & Fall Laws

You wouldn’t dare hire a surgeon based on a television ad, but many people hire their attorney based on a television ad. It’s a horrible idea. Here’s why.

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

A lot of lawyers want to talk to you about credentials. Board certified? Schmoard certified. Superlawyer? Pooperlawyer. At 800-CASH-COW, we’re the home of the Super-d-Duper Lawyers.

You’re in a wreck and you hurt your neck. We’ll be there to get you your check.

I’m Spencer Farris. I represent injury victims in Missouri, and I’ve been doing it for about 20 years. I hope you enjoyed that video and realized that’s just a joke, and that’s the last way you should pick an attorney.

Here are some of the things you should look for though. You should look for experience. A lawyer who’s trying his first personal injury case is not the lawyer you want trying your only personal injury case. You want someone with trial experience.

You want someone with credentials, and we’ve talked about this before, credentials are a thing that requires some research to see if they’re real credentials or not. Be aware that a lot of the badges and things you see on folks’ websites are nothing more than paid marketing things. Real credentials are things like board certification. That’s a test that lawyers have to take, and it’s not required, so lawyers that are board certified you know have gone the extra mile.

Finally, you want to find a lawyer who’s dedicated to your needs, not someone who’s just trying to see how many cases they can handle and how fast they can move through each one. You’re entitled to personal assistance on your personal injury case, and you want a lawyer that takes that commitment and that relationship seriously.

Television ads are a great place to buy a refrigerator, but they’re a horrible place to hire an attorney.

If you have a personal injury case and would like to talk to an attorney without any cost or obligation, call me at the number on your screen, or visit us at our Internet website. I’m happy to try to help without any cost or obligation, and if we can do nothing more than help you choose the right lawyer, we’re happy to do that as well.

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

By: Spencer Farris

MMI or Maximum Medical Improvement, is the term that the insurance company’s doctor uses when he or she believes that medicine will no longer make you any better, and you’re as good as you’re going to get from the treatment you’ve gotten after your work-related injury.

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

Ok, you have the contact number of Missouri motorcycle accident lawyer, but you want to find someone else who rides, because the physics and the science of being on a motorcycle make those crashes different than a simple car crash. It’s helpful to get someone who understands what it’s like to be out there on the road and how naked and exposed you feel when you’re riding next to a three-ton car. You might be wondering how to hire a personal injury lawyer, or what kind of things you should look at. And the first thing that I tell every client, “Look, if you look around Saint Louis or Missouri, there’s probably 300 or 400 folks that will do just as good a job for you as my firm will do,” but you need to find someone that you feel comfortable working with, because you’re forming a partnership. And if you’re going to spend two or three years locked in a partnership with someone who won’t return your phone calls, doesn’t answer your e-mails, or really doesn’t care about you and thinks of you like you’re a number, no matter how qualified that lawyers is, he’s not the right lawyer for you.

You need a good mix of qualifications, and concern and caring chemistry, if you will, to get the right match so that you hire the right lawyer for you and your case.  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; Nevada Auto Accident Lawyers.

A trial is when your case is finally decided by a judge or a jury, and somebody else decides what your case is about and what it’s worth.

By: Spencer Farris

A lady called me to tell me that she’d been in a car crash and before she even got home from the hospital she had a message on her answering machine from the insurance company. Let me tell you what happened next. 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. I represent injury victims and their families. And when I got the call from this lady I knew that she needed some help.

The insurance company wanted to initially make contact and befriend her if you will and offer her a settlement, that’s 101 in the claims adjusters handbook. They do that because if they settle a case quickly they know that they can so more cheaply. You won’t know the full extent of your injuries. You won’t have spoken to a lawyer and you won’t really know what your case is worth. In this client’s case it was a good thing that she called because we told her not to settle her case and six months later she needed surgery on her neck. You only get one opportunity to settle your case, to get all of your medical paid for, to gather your lost wages, and provide for your family, and to get whatever damages you’re going to get for pain, suffering, and inconvenience. If you do that too quickly in a case and don’t know the full extent of your injuries, you’re going to sell yourself and your family short. That’s what the insurance company wants. Thats what some lawyers want when they advise you to take a quick settlement, but it’s not what’s best for you. If you have questions after you’ve been hurt, call my office at the number you see on the screen or contact us through the internet at the web address below. We’re happy to visit with you for free and give you whatever advice we can on how to handle your case. The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

You’ve been hurt, and you’re thinking that maybe you can handle your case without a personal injury attorney. Let me tell you some things you should look out for. 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 call me all the time and wonder if they even need to have a personal injury attorney represent them in their claim. Maybe not. And I tell folks daily how to handle their own cases. But there are some things you need to be aware of. First and most important is the Statute of Limitations. Every case has a time limit, and it must be filed within the time limit or you forever lost your case. The law changes, and the law of medical bills and damages has changed in the last several years. You need to know what that is in order to present your case to a jury. Your health insurance is going to want to be reimbursed for the medical bills that they’ve paid for on your behalf. They may not be entitled to reimbursement. Whether or not they are is a question that you need to find the answer to. The insurance company has professionals looking out to investigate your case and try to find a way to pay you as little money as possible. Some folks are able to deal with the insurance company and able to handle their own cases. Most are not. In fact, studies show that people with an attorney get four to five times more money on their injury case than those without. You may have questions about handling your own personal injury case. Call my office and I’m happy to visit with you without cost or obligation. I tell folks everyday that they don’t need an attorney to handle their case, and point them in the right direction, and I’m happy to do that for you. Thank you for watching. 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

Products liability is the part of the law that deals with defective or dangerous products. As a Missouri products liability attorney, I’ve been involved in cases where a product was misused and the manufacturer knew that it would be misused in that manner. The one that comes to mind was a baby seat case where a grandpa had strapped a baby into the car, didn’t get the seatbelt routed right, and there was a crash and the baby had a horrible, horrible brain injury because of that. We were able to hold the car seat manufacturer accountable because they knew that folks misused the product in this way and they didn’t design around it.

 It’s coming to light now that General Motors did exactly what Ford did back in the 70s and choose dollars over human lives with their Chevy Cobalt. As a Missouri product liability attorney, we understand that it takes a lot of work from the legal aspect from getting engineers involved and kind of doing reverse forensic sciences to figure out what was wrong with the product. Although, in the GM case, frankly they knew what was wrong and they made a decision to choose dollars over human lives. It’ll take a lot of attorneys to hold them accountable for what they did and for all the lives that they destroyed. There was a problem with the ignition switch that caused the airbag to fail. The airbag that’s designed to protect folks was failing and the cost of the part to fix it was under $1. GM’s first choice was to tell folks don’t hang heavy keys on your keychain. That will keep this from malfunctioning. They’d known for years before they finally did a recall, but they decided that the lives that they would have to pay for cost less than the cars they would have to fix. 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