There are some car accident cases that my office, and many other personal injury lawyers in Missouri, will just refuse to take on. If your case falls into one of these categories, it may be difficult to find a Missouri personal injury lawyer who will accept your case:
- Cases with minor impact. Bumps and scratches on your rear bumper do not make a good case in Missouri.
- Cases with less than $2,000 of expected total medical bills and lost wages. Cases with lower damages than this can usually be settled on your own. In Missouri, when calculating your medical bills, you have to look at both the full amount charged by your doctor and the smaller amount that was paid by your insurance company. (The insurance industry has a good lobby group in Jefferson City)
- Cases with a pre-existing injury in the same body part. If you have had multiple back surgeries before your accident, then the chance of a jury awarding you a substantial amount of money for your back injury in Southwest Missouri is very low.
- Cases that involve just chiropractic care. Like it or not insurance companies do not value chiropractic care. We also spend way too much time trying to resolve chiropractors billing issues. If you are going to a chiropractor and have insurance, INSIST that they bill your insurance company. If they refuse or claim “they don’t take that insurance”. Leave and find someone who will.
- Cases where the statute of limitations will soon expire. The time limit for a car accident case in Missouri is 5 years. If you have to wait four years and six months to contact an attorney, your delay doesn’t create an emergency on our end.
- Cases where you were charged with the accident. In Missouri, if you were at fault for the accident you will have a very hard time recovering damages.
- Cases where you assumed the risk of your injury. If you were taking unnecessary risks that resulted in the accident, then most attorneys won’t take your case. Car accident cases are sometimes heard by a jury, and juries are fairly fickle. If they believe you put yourself in danger willingly, they will not reward you damages for your car accident.
- Your case has already been filed by another attorney.
- Cases where you have a significant prior criminal history.
If you are unsure of whether or not we will accept your case don’t hesitate to contact us at Krebs Law Firm LLC and we will be happy to visit with you.