Your Legal Right to Compensation
Making sense of a serious accident is rarely easy, especially if you have reason to believe that another person’s negligence caused your injuries. While you might already know that you have a legal right to compensation, the wrongdoer and their insurance company could refuse to admit liability, forcing you to take time away from work without pay and expecting you to cover your own hospital bills and medical expenses without adequate assistance.
Insurance Companies Are Not on Your Side
Each year, tens of thousands of Missourians find themselves in a similar position after being injured in a car crash, semi-truck accident, or slip-and-fall incident. Unfortunately, many give in to the insurance company’s coercion, accepting settlements that scarcely compensate their existing losses, let alone their anticipated care needs. Insurance companies, after all, are for-profit businesses—their loyalties lie with their shareholders, whose overarching concern is almost always ensuring a high return on their investment. They do not make money by giving accident victims the compensation they deserve and will often do everything in their power to drive down the value of a settlement, even if it means depriving accident victims of the resources they need to regain their independence.
However, you do not have to accept the insurance company’s high-pressure negotiation tactics. Foster Wallace, LLC, has spent years aggressively advocating for the rights of our personal injury clients in Liberty, Missouri, and across the Kansas City metropolitan area. Founded by attorneys who have experience working for insurance companies, we are intimately familiar with the strategies insurers will use to deny your claim.
When we accept a new case, we do everything in our power to ensure that our clients receive the best available counsel. We offer free, no-obligation consultations, and digital resources are available to everyone seeking legal knowledge.
You do not have to wait for the insurance company to do the right thing. Send Foster Wallace, LLC, a message online or call us at 816-249-2101 to schedule your free consultation as soon as possible.
How to Start Preparing for a Personal Injury Claim in Liberty, MO
Preparing for a personal injury claim can seem intimidating, especially if you are still in pain and trying to make sense of Missouri’s civil court system. For most people, the first step in taking action against a wrongdoer is scheduling a consultation with an experienced accident attorney in Liberty. However, you do not have to wait for your appointment date to begin strengthening your case.
Foster Wallace, LLC, is a community-oriented law firm that believes every American should have equal access to our justice system. We give back to the Liberty community by not only offering scholarships to prospective local students but also providing the following free services:
Easy-to-read self-help content.
We continuously update our digital library, FAQ, and blog, publishing self-help content that explains legal concepts in laymen’s terms.
Digital legal education resources.
Foster Wallace’s in-house legal professionals have written nearly a dozen downloadable surveys, reports, and personal injury e-books, many of which are available in both English and Spanish.
No-charge consultations.
Our attorneys understand that accidents are not only physically painful but financially devastating. Since Foster Wallace believes that money should never be a barrier to justice, we never charge our clients for consultations. When you come in for your first appointment, you will be given the opportunity to discuss the facts of your case, ask questions, and learn how our attorneys could help you overcome your accident injuries.
No win, no fee policy.
We offer more than free consultations: we operate on a contingency fee basis and only accept payment as a percentage of your eventual settlement. If we cannot secure the compensation you need, you do not have to reimburse us for our services.
Contacting a Liberty attorney is easy, and it does not cost you anything. Fill out our contact form or call us at 816-249-2101 today to schedule your consultation.
Foster Wallace’s Personal Injury Practice Areas in Liberty, MO
Foster Wallace’s dedicated personal injury practice accepts cases involving:
Premises Liability Accidents
Wrongful Death
Car Accidents
Motorcycle Accidents
Nursing Home Neglect
Sports Injuries
Dog Bites
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Truck Accidents
Pedestrian Accidents
Bicycle Accidents
Your Potential Damages After a Devastating Missouri Personal Injury Accident
Missouri law is unambiguous: if you or a loved one has been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you could be entitled to significant compensation for your losses. Our state’s legal system allows for a recovery even if an accident does not result in crippling injury, disability, or loss of life.
Foster Wallace, LLC, regularly works with clients in Liberty who have suffered a variety of serious injuries, including:
- Amputations
- Back injuries
- Broken and fractured bones
- Bruises and contusions
- Cuts and lacerations
- Head injuries
- Paralysis
- Road rash
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Whiplash
- Wrongful death
Since Missouri does not currently cap the damages available in a personal injury claim, our attorneys could help you secure the compensation you need to reclaim your independence and begin moving past your accident.
After your initial consultation, Foster Wallace could help you assess the extent of your damages, which could include:
- Past, present, and anticipated medical bills
- Physical rehabilitation
- Prescription medication co-pays
- Lost income from work
- Lost vacation days or paid time off (PTO)
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Diminished earning potential
- Disability
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment
- Loss of consortium
While Missouri law allows for a comprehensive recovery, your claim is still time-sensitive: state law might not cap damages, but it does set a strict statute of limitations. If you wait too long to file a claim, the insurance company or the defendant’s defense attorney could inform the court that you have surpassed the statute of limitations, leading the judge to dismiss your case without ever giving you the chance to tell your side of the story.
How You Can Protect Your Rights After a Liberty Accident
Once you report an accident, file an insurance claim, or serve a lawsuit, the defendant and their insurance company will begin searching for strategies to reduce their financial liability. Even if you have a seemingly open-and-shut case, they could try to drive down the value of your settlement by:
- Claiming that you cannot prove that the defendant’s negligence caused your injuries
- Telling the court that you could have avoided the accident if you had been more prudent
- Alleging that your own recklessness caused or contributed to the accident.
Since the insurance adjuster could try to sabotage your claim, you might have to be proactive in safeguarding your rights to a legal recovery. After an accident, you should take the following steps to prevent the insurance company from sabotaging your case:
Call the police
Missouri law requires that motorists who have been involved in an accident inform law enforcement if the crash resulted in bodily injury, death, or significant property damage.
Seek immediate medical attention
You should always seek medical attention after an accident, even if you do not believe that you have been seriously injured. Since traumatic events can trigger an adrenaline rush, you might not realize that you have been hurt for hours or days after the accident. Additionally, seeing the doctor shows the insurance company that you have genuine concerns about your physical well-being and are not simply trying to capitalize off the accident.
Collect evidence
If you do not require urgent medical care, you should collect evidence from the accident site. For example, you could take pictures of the condition that caused your accident, photograph any visible injuries, and write down or otherwise record your recollection of the events leading up to the incident.
Speak to eyewitnesses
If you believe that a bystander may have witnessed your accident, ask them for their full name, phone number, and other contact information—their testimony could prove critical in insurance negotiations or in court.
Contact an attorney
You stand your best chance of securing a settlement when you have an experienced attorney on your side. Numerous studies have shown that personal injury plaintiffs with legal counsel are not only more likely to succeed in their claims, but they also receive more compensation than plaintiffs who represent themselves.
