Following a personal injury, it can be challenging to adapt to the new physical restrictions of your recovery. You may have hospital or doctor’s bills—a financial stressor made worse by time away from work. Finally, dealing with the emotional consequences of knowing your accident was caused by the carelessness of another can leave you despondent. Fortunately, a personal injury lawyer can help you take action. By filing a civil suit against the at-fault party, you could recover damages for your injuries. The process can be challenging, however—between investigating your case, filing paperwork on time, and even negotiating a fair settlement with the insurance company. Let our Kansas City MO personal injury lawyers review your case.
What you need to know about personal injury claims
A variety of physical damages can result from an accident, which is referred to as personal injuries. These injuries can span from minor injuries to severe ones. They are sometimes also classified as potentially permanent or temporary, and either complete or only partly, depending on how much restriction they may place on your ability to work or care for yourself. A personal injury may include:
- Brain injury
- Back, spinal cord, or lumbar injury
- Broken or fractured bones
- Lacerations
- Burns
- And others
Personal injury law – also called tort law – is a type of civil law that protects you if you or your property has been damaged by a person’s action, or, possibly, inaction. The cornerstone of personal injury law is a liability for damages arising from negligence: for your claim to be successful, it must be established that a third party acted negligently, causing you harm.
Kansas City MO Personal Injury Lawyer
Is it worth filing a claim? When you are injured by another person or group, filing a claim allows you to claim compensation, often referred to as damages, from the at-fault person or group. Depending on the kind and extent of your injuries, you may be entitled to a wide range of damages in a personal injury case. In the past, both economic and non-economic damages were successfully recovered by personal injury victims. Here are a few examples:
- Temporary or permanent disability
- Medical bills, including emergency fees and bills for ongoing treatment
- Property damages
- Loss of income
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Punitive damages
- Pain and suffering
It can be rather difficult to estimate the actual value of your personal injury claim. Getting in touch with a reliable doctor can not only help you get medical attention for your injuries but also get some insight into the economics of medical costs. Based on that medical expense, it is possible to strengthen your case by retaining an attorney who has experience with civil discovery procedures.
In addition to taking on cases in Kansas City, our firm contains multiple experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyers. Contact our firm today to schedule your free initial consultation with one of the members of our legal team.
Car Accident Resources: How drunk driving fatalities in Missouri compare to the rest of the US
There were an estimated 42,795 fatalities due to motor vehicle crashes in 2022, down by 0.3% from the year prior, according to early estimates released in April 2023 from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While a reduction in crash-related deaths, even one as slight as this, is generally positive, the facts remain deeply concerning: Crash-related deaths rose more than 10% in 2021 and more than 7% the year before that, marking a disturbing trend leading into and persisting through the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the most recent full year of traffic-death data available, drunken driving fatalities rose by 14% from 2020. Monge and Associates cited data from NHTSA to identify states with the highest rate of fatalities from car accidents involving at least one drunken driver. States are ranked by drunken driving fatalities per 100,000 residents. This rate is listed up to its first decimal point, but the exact ranking of states was determined from the total rate calculation, which did not result in ties.
A blood-alcohol content of .08 or higher is considered impaired. Judgment and driving abilities continue to worsen as BAC levels increase. Laws adopted between 1982 and 1997 throughout most of the U.S. successfully decreased the proportion of DUI-related motor vehicle fatalities in subsequent years.
Alternative transportation programs have also shown some promise in helping to deter drunken driving. Even in areas lacking robust transit options, recent studies suggest that alternatives such as rideshare services like Uber and Lyft can reduce drunken driving-related collisions.
Keep reading to see what percentage of car crash deaths in Missouri involved drunken driving and how it compares to the 49 other states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. See the ranking of all 52 states and territories here.
Missouri by the numbers
#15 highest
– Drunken driving fatalities per 100k residents: 4.7 (290, 29% of all car crash fatalities)
– Fatalities involving driver with BAC 0.15 and above: 3.2 per 100K (196, 67.6% of all drunken driving fatalities)
– Change in drunken driving fatalities from 2012: 2.5% increase
Continue below to see drunk driving statistics of other states in your region.
Arkansas by the numbers
#7 highest
– Drunken driving fatalities per 100k residents: 6.1 (185, 27% of all car crash fatalities)
– Fatalities involving driver with BAC 0.15 and above: 3.8 per 100K (116, 62.7% of all drunken driving fatalities)
– Change in drunken driving fatalities from 2012: 28.5% increase
Illinois by the numbers
#26 lowest
– Drunken driving fatalities per 100k residents: 3.6 (461, 35% of all car crash fatalities)
– Fatalities involving driver with BAC 0.15 and above: 2.6 per 100K (332, 72% of all drunken driving fatalities)
– Change in drunken driving fatalities from 2012: 43.2% increase