Missouri Auto Accident & Motorcycle Laws

Truck Accident Litigation

Sometimes car crashes occur due to circumstances that the driver has nothing to do with. If the road on which you are riding has been improperly built or maintained or if the surface itself has been allowed to erode and degrade over time, it makes the road more dangerous to automobile drives and truckers that use those roads. One way to know if the area where your crash occurred is improperly designed or negligently maintained is if there have been several crashes in a short period of time at that stretch of highway. If you have questions about a dangerous piece of highway or roadway, call my office at the number on the screen or you can reach us through the contact form on the internet. I’m happy to visit with you at any time without any cost or obligation. Call 314-A-LAWYER today for your 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

When you’ve been hurt and the bills are piling up, the big question on your mind is: What is my case worth?  Injury Law News brought to you by the S.E. Farris Law Firm. I’m Spencer Farris, a St. Louis injury lawyer at the S.E. Farris Law Firm. The value of your case depends on a lot of factors. Let’s talk about those for a minute.  The facts of your case matter. What happened? Was it a injury that went away after a couple of days, or did you need surgery?   Where did it happen, in a conservative venue, or one where jurors understand that pain and suffering have a value?   How did it happen? There’s a difference to the value of your case if Grandma hit you on the way to bingo versus a corporation in a large truck with a drunk driver. The combination of these factors go into the mix and help determine what your case is worth, what a jury – and therefore a claims adjuster – would assign as the value of your claim.   Choosing the right St. Louis injury attorney matters. The insurance company knows what lawyers have the experience and the credentials necessary to prepare your case to present it to a jury, and that goes into their valuation of your claim.  If you have more questions about the value of your case, please contact my law firm at the phone number or the website address on your screen. We’re happy to talk with you without any cost or obligation about your case.  The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

Between school buses, public transportation and charter buses, we see buses on the road every day. And because there are more and more buses, there are more and more bus accidents. Although buses cost many times what an average passenger car does, they don’t often have the simple safety devices that we take for granted, when we buckle up to go to the grocery store. If you’re in a bus accident, whether it’s because a negligent driver struck your bus, or because your bus driver wasn’t paying attention and hurt you, it’s important to contact an attorney immediately. There are limits to insurance in all bus cases, and making sure that your claim is made is important. Call my office at the number on your screen, or visit us on the internet if you’ve been injured due to a bus accident. I am happy to visit with you, without any cost or obligation. 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

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

You’ve been hurt and you’re angry. You’re not the kind of person who sues, but you want to know what the stages of a lawsuit are. Let’s talk about it.   Injury Law News, brought to you by The S.E. Farris Law Firm.   I’m Spencer Farris, a personal injury lawyer in St. Louis, Missouri, and partner at The S.E Farris Law Firm. People get hurt and call my office every day, thinking that we can get their case resolved in a matter of hours like they do on TV. But there are a lot of stages to a personal injury case, and I want to go through those with you. Before you think about a lawsuit, you need to think about taking care of yourself. If you’re hurt, get medical treatment. Follow your doctor’s instructions, go to your doctor visits, and take your medication. That’s important for two reasons. First of all, you won’t get better if you don’t do those things, and feeling better’s the most important part of recovering from an injury. From a legal perspective, you can’t recover your damages if you don’t document that you have been injured, and the way that you do that is taking the time to follow your doctor’s directions. Get the medical care that you need.  Almost as important as hiring good doctors is to hire a qualified attorney, someone who’s experienced in handling injury cases and someone that you want to work with. Remember that an injury case can take months or even a couple of years to get resolved, and you want to find someone that you don’t mind having a partnership with that will last throughout that time period. Stay in touch with your lawyer. Make sure that if you move or change phone numbers or change doctors your lawyer knows about it. When your doctor’s done treating you, it’s time for your lawyer to get to work gathering the medical records and the facts necessary to present your case. Most lawyers will then put together what’s called a claim packet or a negotiation packet. By this time your lawyer should have contacted the person at fault for your injury and their insurance company. Now, your lawyer presents the case to the insurance company and starts negotiations. Remember that most cases settle at this stage – better than half, at least. If the insurance company is reasonable and your lawyer does his job to present your case, you should be able to get the case settled. It doesn’t always work that way however, and if it doesn’t, you move to the next stage which is an actual lawsuit. We’re going to talk about that in the next video. In the meantime, if you have questions about handling a personal injury case or the stages, please feel free to call or contact my office at the website and the phone number at the bottom of the screen. We’re happy to visit with you at no cost or obligation and talk with you about your case, whether we represent you or not. The S.E. Farris Law Firm is dedicated to the needs of injury victims and their families.

By: Spencer Farris

I want to talk to you for a moment about recorded statements. You’ve been involved in an injury. So a slip and fall, or a car accident, a truck accident, things of that nature. And the insurance company calls you right away. And they say, “Hi, I’m,” and they state their name. From whatever insurance company, “and I want to ask you about your accident or your injury. I need you to know that this phone call is being recorded for quality assurances.” Really, it’s for quality assurances? that’s why you’re recording me? That’s not true.

So they start off with a lie. They’re recording your conversation, in order to defeat your claim. They don’t want to pay you. You’ve just been involved in something that injured your body. You’ve been in the hospital. You might be on pain medications. And this nice person is calling you, and recording your conversation for quality assurance. They’re lying. That should be a big red flag. I need to call a lawyer. Call me at (314) 542-9999. Don’t give them a recorded statement. And let’s talk about why.

They’re going to ask you– let’s call it car collision. “What roads were you on, and which direction were you going?” Well you got to think. Was I going north, or was it west. I can’t remember. “What color was the traffic signal?” “Well when? When I was stopped at it, and hit from behind? Or before that when it was green?” I mean, they’re asking you questions to defeat your claim. “How hard was the impact?” Why do you want to answer those questions? Why would you? “What is the speed limit on that road?” I don’t know. Is it 35 or 40? Maybe it’s 45. They’re not helping you. You need a lawyer. Get the police report and figure those things out, and think about them. This isn’t a quiz, where you’re required to answer immediately.

They’re calling you to try to get you to mess up. So that later, when I’m preparing you for your deposition, and I show you that the police report says that you were stopped at a red electric signal and the speed limit is 40 miles an hour. You say, “Oh, well I told them earlier I thought the car was going 15 or 20.” Well how do you know that? You saw them in your rear-view mirror. You don’t know that. Don’t commit to that. Think about it. Do you know it, or do you not know it? If you know it, say it. And if you don’t know it, don’t say it. But get counsel. Because the insurance company doesn’t want to pay you.

So there’s lots of reasons not to give a recorded statement. They’re later going to take your deposition, which is your sworn statement under oath. And now they have two statements. Don’t do that. What’s the advantage of that? There is none. That’s why you always see lawyers in these 30 second commercials saying don’t give a recorded statement. They’re right, you shouldn’t. Instead, when they ask you for that, that’s your signal to call a good law firm and a good lawyer. And I don’t care who that is, which state you’re in. But you need representation. If you’re in the mid-west, in Missouri or Illinois, that’s all we do. My name is Mark Cantor. And again, our phone number is (314) 542-9999. And either I or my law partner Gary Burger, will personally represent you in your claim. Thank you.

By: Mark Cantor

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