Injury Lawyer Missouri

Injury Lawyer St. Louis and Missouri. If you were injured because somebody else broke the rules, the St. Louis-based Missouri injury lawyer firm of Burger Law will offer aggressive, dedicated and knowledgeable legal representation to get you the recovery you deserve. Call us now at (314) 500-HURT or fill out our online form for a free consultation.

As members of society, we all have a responsibility to do what we can to keep each other safe and prevent other people from being harmed. But there are always rulebreakers who, either by carelessness or recklessness, injure others by not prioritizing their safety. When that happens, the law provides an avenue for you to receive compensation. However, too often people do not want to take responsibility for their actions and insurance adjusters or defense attorneys refuse to be fair. That is where Burger Law's Missouri injury lawyer team steps in. We have built a reputation among Missouri insurance companies for not accepting anything less than the full compensation you are owed. We start working on your case from the moment you hire us, and do not back down until there is nothing left to fight.

If you were injured because of someone else's negligence or misconduct, reach out to an injury lawyer in Missouri right away. An injury can be shocking and create a lot of uncertainty about when and if you will ever feel like you again, and if you are going to be able to be there for your Missouri family. At Burger Law, our injury lawyers deal with tough injury cases. We know how to get great results, hold liable parties accountable and get you the sense of justice you deserve. With our dedicated legal counsel, you will feel cared for and included. Let us take on the legal battle so you can focus on recovering. If you are not sure you have a case, or just want to know if the settlement offer you have already received is fair, we are happy to answer any questions you may have for free. Call an injury lawyer today at (314) 500-HURT.

If you were injured in Missouri because someone else broke the rules, see how much your claim may be worth with our free personal injury calculator.

Do I Have An Injury Claim in Missouri?

Whether or not you are able to make a claim and seek financial compensation depends on what kind of injury case you have, and the action or inaction of other parties involved in your injuries. Generally, you have an injury claim in Missouri if:

• Someone owed you reasonable care
• They violated that duty of care
• That violation caused physical injuries
• Those injuries led to financial damages

That last part is extremely important. You can only receive compensation if you lost money from the injury. For example, if you slip in an icy parking lot and sustain a bruise that, while it may be sore for a while, does not lead to any financial losses in the form of lost wages or medical expenses, you likely do not have a personal injury claim.

Types of Liability and Negligence in Missouri Injury Claims

Who your injury lawyer can hold accountable depends on various types of liability in tort claims and how they apply to your injury case. Different types of liability cases your Missouri injury lawyer at Burger Law has pursued are:

• Ordinary negligence

  The vast majority of personal injury claims are considered ordinary negligence. Examples of this could be someone texting and driving and rear-ending you, a store not putting down a "wet floor" sign, a landlord or business failing to de-ice their parking lot or sidewalk or failing to make repairs such as wood-rotted stairs. While the behavior may not be appalling, it is still enough to hold someone liable because they did not use the ordinary care that a reasonable person would have used.

• Gross negligence

  Gross negligence refers to incredibly reckless behavior. Under Missouri Revised Statute §562.016, somebody "acts recklessly" in Missouri when they are

  ... reckless when he or she consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that circumstances exist or that a result will follow, and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care which a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

  Examples of gross negligence include drunk driving or driving far above the speed limit, a doctor prescribing a medication their patient is allergic to or a nursing home failing to move bedridden patients or does not provide residents with enough food and water.

• Vicarious liability

  In personal injury cases, vicarious liability occurs when a "supervisory party," most commonly an employer, is held responsible for the actions of the people under them during the course of their work. For example, if a grocery store employee spills a liquid and does not clean it up and put down a "wet floor" sign, a rideshare driver causes a car crash, you are injured by a truck driver on a delivery or a bartender knowingly overserves a patron who causes a drunk driving accident. In those cases, while the employee is responsible for your injuries, you would make a claim against the employer and their insurance company.

• Third-party liability

  Third-party liability most often applies in workers' compensation claims. If you were injured on the job, the state gives you an opportunity for guaranteed compensation from your employer. However, more compensation may be available if someone besides your employer caused or contributed to your accident. For instance, you could sue a manufacturer if a dangerous product injured you while working, or a client if you were on the client's property and were injured by a dangerous condition. Third-party liability is common in construction accidents.

• Strict liability

  Under the doctrine of strict liability, in certain types of claims an individual or organization is automatically liable for your injuries, regardless of their intent or disregard for safety, or if they were negligent. The most common examples are pet owners being responsible for animal bites and manufacturers, vendors automatically being liable in a products liability case or people involved in an ultrahazardous activity, for example storing fireworks and flammable liquid next to each other in an apartment building.

• Negligent Entrustment

  Negligent entrustment occurs when someone allows another person to perform an activity or use something they are in control of that the other person is not in a condition to do safely. This is common in car accidents, if a vehicle owner gives the keys to someone they know was drunk or unlicensed.

Your Burger Law injury lawyer in Missouri knows how to file each one of these claims with great success. An important aspect of investigating all possible liable parties is you can get the full compensation you deserve, as your case will not be limited by insurance policy limits or on whether one party cannot pay.

Common Cases our Injury Lawyers Take in Missouri

The Missouri injury lawyers of Burger Law have experience getting great compensation in all types of personal injury cases, including:

• Auto accidents, such as:
  • Car accidents
  • Truck accidents
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Bus accidents
  • Fatal car accidents
  • Drunk driving accidents
  • Distracted driving accidents
  • Hit and run accidents

  How to know if you have an auto accident claim: Missouri Revised Statute §304.012 dictates that all motorists are "to exercise highest degree of care," which is higher than the standard reasonable care. If you were injured because another driver was negligent, such as texting and driving, or grossly negligent, such as drunk or reckless driving, then you have an accident claim. If a defective car component such as brakes or seat belts contributed to your injuries, you can sue a manufacturer under strict liability.

• Slip and falls and other premises liability claims

  How to know if you have a premises liability claim: Under Missouri Revised Statute §537.348, a landowner can be held liable for your injuries if they were caused by a "grossly negligent" failure to warn against or repair a dangerous property condition that the owner either knew about or should have known about. That can be anything from black ice in the parking lot, a wet spot on the floor, loose wiring or a loose floorboard. You cannot make an injury claim in Missouri if you were trespassing on the property.

• Product liability

  How to know if you have a product liability claim: Product liability claims typically fall into one of three categories:

  • Design defect: an inherent flaw that affects all products with the same design
  • Manufacturing defects: an issue somewhere in the production line that can affect anywhere from one product to an entire line
  • Failure to warn: the product was designed, manufactured and used safely, however the instructions were inadequate or there was no warning against inherent dangers

  Under, §537.760, you can make a strict liability claim against anyone involved in the distribution channel from design to sale, as long as you were using the product in a "reasonably anticipated" manner.

• Dog bite

  How to know if you have a dog bite claim: Dog bites also come under a strict liability claim, meaning you can make a claim against a dog owner even if they took measures to restrain the dog or were previously unaware of its "viciousness." Under §537.760, you can make a dog bite claim if:

  • You did not provoke the dog
  • The bite happened on public property or private property you were lawfully on
• Medical malpractice, such as:
  • Nursing home negligence
  • Birth injuries
  • Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnosis
  • Leaving objects in after surgery
  • Hospital system failures

  How to know if you have a medical malpractice claim: Medical malpractice cases are based on the standard of care, which is the accepted treatment of a patient by a doctor in a certain field and in a certain location. Meaning, the standard of care for a neurologist in St. Louis is different than that of a primary care physician in Kadoka, South Dakota. As part of your malpractice claim, your injury lawyer will find a local Missouri doctor from the same field as the doctor you are making a claim to explain how the first doctor violated the standard of care.

  Bad outcomes happen in the medical world, so not every medical mistake amounts to malpractice. For example, say you go to a family doctor, they prescribe an accepted method of treatment and after two weeks the your condition has not improved or has worsened. If they refer you to a specialist, they still followed the standard of care. If they do nothing and you sustain further harm, you may very well have a claim.

• Workers' Compensation

  How to know if you have a workers' compensation claim: Missouri's workers' compensation laws are in place to protect both employers and employee: you automatically get compensation for an injury sustained at work, and in employer your lawyer is protected from lawsuits. However, complications may arise in which you need a Missouri workers' compensation lawyer:

  • Your employer denies or disputes your claim
  • You do not trust the doctors your employer chose
  • Your symptoms get worse over time
  • Your employer retaliates or forces you to return to work before you are able
  • Other complications such as third-party liability claims, preexisting conditions or the fact that your employer does not have workers' compensation insurance

  Your Missouri injury lawyer of Burger Law will stand up to anyone who tries to take advantage of you, including your employer and their insurance company.

• Construction accidents

  How to know if you have a construction accident claim: Twelve of the top 25 most dangerous jobs in the U.S. are in construction. While most injuries to construction workers are covered under workers' compensation, an injury lawyer can help you determine if you may have a third-party liability claim.

  A Burger Law injury lawyer can also help you pursue a negligence claim against a Missouri construction company if you were a civilian who was injured by debris or other safety hazards at a construction site.

Whatever liability claim you are pursuing and whatever type of accident caused your injuries, you can be sure your Missouri injury lawyer at Burger Law has seen it before. We start investigating your case from the moment you hire us in order to hold every liable party accountable. In the most tragic of cases, we represent families of those who were killed in a wrongful death in order to get them some sense of justice and ease their financial burdens.

Our Missouri Injury Lawyers Fight to Get You Compensation For Your Injuries

Some injury claims are more complicated than others. Maybe you were injured by an uninsured driver, multiple parties may be at fault or the manufacturer of a defective product is no longer in business. Or maybe your injuries were catastrophic and you will need medical care for the rest of your life. Whatever complications you may have in your case, our injury lawyers have seen it before and will not back down until you get the full financial recovery you deserve. We know that injuries can be devastating and dedicate ourselves to helping people get justice for anything from mild to severe injuries, including:

• Head injuries
• Back, neck and spine injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Eye injuries
• Sepsis infections
• Internal injuries
• Burns
• Broken bones
• Loss of limb
• Paraplegia or quadriplegia
• Dislocations
• PTSD

Whether your injuries resulted in just a few chiropractic appointments or have left you or a loved one wheelchair bound for the rest of your life, you should not have to pay for the harm somebody else caused. Call Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT to balance the scales of justice.

How Long Do I Have to File an Injury Claim in Missouri?

Each state has its own set statute of limitations, and Missouri's is fairly generous at five years under Missouri Revised Statute §516.120. That clock starts from the date of your injury. There are a few exceptions:

• Missouri Revised Statute §516.105 — In a malpractice claim, you have two years from either the date of negligence or the date you discovered your injury. However, you cannot make a claim more than ten years after the date of the malpractice.
• Missouri Revised Statute §537.100 — In a wrongful death claim, you have three years from the date of your loved one's death to file a claim.
• There are three more exceptions that apply to any type of injury claim in Missouri:
  • If you were under 18 at the time of the injury, the countdown starts on your 18th birthday.
  • If you were under a legal disability at the time of the injury, the countdown starts when the disability ends.
  • If the party you are making a claim against leaves the state of Missouri, their time out of state does not count against the clock.

While two years may seem like a long time, delaying could bring complications to your case, such as eyewitnesses forgetting key events. If you were injured because of someone else's negligence, call a Missouri injury lawyer at Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT.

Injuries are always unexpected and create immediate hardships for the injured party and their family. But we are here to stand by your side and let you know that this too shall pass. Every Missouri injury lawyer at Burger Law has dedicated their lives to the service of others by standing up to bullies like resistant insurance companies and fighting back against the wrongdoers. In over 30 years of experience we have secured our clients over $180 million in verdicts and settlements. For the justice and financial recovery you deserve, call a Burger Law Missouri injury lawyer at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review.