Sep 19
Four Important Things to Remember When Meeting with a Car Accident Attorney
Being involved in a car accident can be a confusing and stressful time in your life. And while no one ever plans on being in a car accident, the chances are high that someday, you will find yourself in one. As such, you may find these tips helpful when preparing to meet with your Missouri car accident attorney.
Police Report and Information
It is best to call the police after any collision, regardless of severity, to document the incident. The police report will include both a written statement and a diagram, drawn by the responding officer. The report will provide information surrounding the traffic and weather conditions, while the diagram shows the position of the vehicles when they collided.
The written portion of the police report will also provide a detailed report on the officer’s account on the cause of the accident and who the officer believes to be at fault. The officer is responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the report. A police report is just once piece of the puzzle, but it makes a difference when dealing with insurers or if your case goes to court.
Witness Statements
Many times, police officers take witness statements at the scene, or the next day. These are important especially if they are given within minutes of the accident, and usually, they are quite accurate. Witnesses generally have no stake in the outcome of an accident giving them more credibility. Any information from the witnesses should include their contact information. In the event you file a lawsuit, your car accident lawyer in Missouri is going to reach out to witnesses to obtain more information and perhaps subpoena them to provide testimony at trial.
Financial Information
Any lost income should be included as part of your settlement or judgment award from your accident. The confirmation of how much money you have lost is helpful. You should obtain a statement provided from your employer to ensure its authenticity.
Insurance Information Regarding the Other Driver
The last thing you should bring to your lawyer is the insurance information of the other driver. This information should have been exchanged at the time of the accident, and it is best to have the attorneys at Grayson & Grayson consult with the insurance adjuster and work directly with the insurance agency.
Apr 14
Injured in a car collosion? Call Grayson & Grayson, Today!
The damage car accidents leave behind can be permanent, life altering, and even fatal. However motor collision injuries vary from one person to another and from one collision to another. Always remember that not all injuries are obvious after an accident. Some might take weeks or months for symptoms to show. When you are involved in a collision, you should immediately seek medical attention and hire a Personal Injury Attorney In Jefferson City Missouri from Grayson & Grayson who will provide legal advice on the next cause of action.
The common car collision injuries include:
Neck Injuries
Whiplash is the most common motor vehicle injury. It happens when the accident causes the head turn sideways or shake forward. This movement puts pressure on the neck ligaments causing sprain or strains. While some cases of Whiplash heal themselves with time, the severe cases cause disc herniation, which might need surgery or extensive physiotherapy.
Broken bones of the knee, leg, and chest
Broken bones after a collision always require emergency treatment because of the excruciating pain and high infection risk involved. The treatment depends on the type of broken bone and the extent of breakage. Broken bones might require repairing by casting as well as using screws and metal plates. Auto collisions also lead to dislocation of bones and tearing of the ligaments and muscles which often are not discovered with basic X-Rays during an initial emergency room visit.
Back injuries and Concussions
Injuries to the spine and back are very delicate. Minor injuries such as disc dislocation and strains can be treated using supportive care but the serious injury of the spine can lead to loss of mobility and chronic pain. A concussion occurs when your brain shakes vigorously inside the skull when you head hits a hard surface. This can result in severe nausea, disorientation, vomiting, and headaches. In addition, other auto accident injuries such as cuts and scrapes require stitches to reduce the loss of blood.
After a motor vehicle collision, you will need a qualified Personal Injury Attorney in Jefferson City Missouri from Grayson & Grayson who will handle the case.
Sep 15
If you are injured in a car accident, Contact Grayson & Grayson.
In 2010, Missouri experienced 776 fatal car crashes with 819 resulting fatalities. That ranked the state right in the middle for fatalities in traffic accidents by state in the United States. If you factor in population, the fatality rate in Missouri was 13.66 per 100,000 people, or slightly higher than the national average. 510 of these deaths were the driver, 148 were the passenger, 95 were motorcyclists, 55 were pedestrians, and 7 were bicyclists. Of these fatalities, 319 took place in cars, 299 in light trucks, 13 in large trucks, 1 in a bus, 95 in motorcycles,. Just under one third (32%) of these deaths involved a drunk driver.
It is sobering to see how many of our fellow citizens lose their lives to car collisions every day. . Nearly one-fifth (17%) of car accidents list speeding as the leading cause of the accident. Factoring in fatal accidents, that number jumps to nearly 40%. Another stark statistic relates to motorcycles: despite only being involved in less than two percent of accidents, 80% of accidents involving a motorcyclist resulted in personal injury or death.
When you’ve been involved in a car accident, the insurance company’s only concern is their financial bottom line, not your best interest. If you’re one of the tens of thousands of people injured in a car accident in Missouri every day, you deserve an experience legal team by your side. To get the compensation you deserve, contact the lawyers at the Law Office of Grayson & Grayson today.
Jun 15
If you have been injured due to a doctor’s negligence, contact us today!
Seeking treatment for an illness or injury can be a frustrating time, and if you feel you haven’t received sufficient care, you may be wondering if there’s something you can do. Medical malpractice occurs when your health care provider has not provided treatment to a sufficient standard, and the negligent treatment causes injury. Some common cases include misdiagnosis, improper treatment, surgical errors or delay of treatment.
There are still limits on the damages you can seek and the methods in which you can seek them. First, because of tort reform, your damages can be capped even though a jury of your peers decides your injuries are much worse. Second, there is a statute of limitations on bringing a medical malpractice case. If you do not bring your case in the time allowed by law, the court will not hear your case. Because of recent changes in the law at the request of doctors, an injured patient must file an affidavit by an expert. This requires time to complete before your case can be initiated.
The rules for bringing medical malpractice cases are complex, and as a case unfolds, they become even more complex. Insurance companies for doctors generally hire strong legal teams in their corner, so make sure you have one, too. The legal team at Grayson & Grayson is available for a consultation today.
Mar 15
Work with the experienced Jefferson City Dog Bit Attorneys
If you have suffered a dog bite, contact us today. We can help.
If you get bit by a dog, the owner’s first reaction will probably be to deny that the dog has never attacked before. The owner will be halfway to convincing you their dog is the nicest, sweetest, most gentle four-legged creature that ever lived, even while your wound bleeds on the sidewalk. But in Missouri, dog bite laws are “strict liability,” which means the dog’s prior actions do not matter. All you need to prove is the owner of the dog and the resulting bite.
There are a few conditions that stipulate your innocence. First, you must have been bitten either on public property or while lawfully on private property. If you have been trespassing, you may not be qualified to seek damages. Second, you must not have provoked the dog. If you meet these considerations, you can seek damages.
If the dog has attacked or bitten someone before without provocation, the owner is responsible for greater damages. This is especially true if second attacks result in serious injury or death. Criminal penalties exist for keeping a dangerous dog.
If you decide the owner is responsible for your bite, keep in mind potential defenses the owner may use. Be sure that you must be prepared to show that you did not provoke the dog. If you have decided to use a negligence claim, saying that the owner’s negligence caused the injury, be aware of a potential “common negligence” defense, where the law reduces the damages by the percent it was your fault, if that can be proved.
If you have been bitten by a dog, contact the Jefferson City dog bite attorneys at Law Office Grayson & Grayson today.
May 22
Did you know that your insurance company is a determining factor in whether a lawsuit is filed against you? Being sued or being named in a lawsuit can be a scary experience. Often fear is the result of the unknown – Will I lose my home? Will I have to go to court and testify? How much can be taken from me? We all go to great lengths to keep from being sued. In fact, we buy insurance to protect against it.
But then it happens – an automobile accident or someone falls on your property and a claim is made against your insurance policy. Before you even hear about the claim, your insurance company assigns an adjuster to handle the claim. Insurance adjusters are busy – they handle hundreds, if not thousands of claims and often have little time to devote to properly evaluating your claim. Your insurance adjuster may ‘investigate’ the claim against you. They decide how much to offer the person who made the claim against you and then your adjuster tries to settle the claim.
Even though you were responsible and purchased plenty of insurance to cover you, your insurance company may not want to settle the claim. Your insurance company will make the decision on what they feel your claim is worth and instead of trying to keep you from being sued –they will tell the attorney to sue you. Sometimes, the disagreement can be over as little as a few dollars that your insurance company refuses to pay.
Even if your adjuster believes your claim is worth more than the insurance company wants to offer, they are not able to do so because their ‘supervisors’ only give them small amounts to negotiate with – even though you have purchased plenty of insurance to cover yourself.
If you have ever dealt with an insurance adjuster, you know they can be rude, pushy, abrasive, aggressive, and often not very forthcoming. We as consumers must not forget that we pay our insurance companies to protect our interest. Our insurance adjusters are our agents – they work for us.
So how can you know if your insurance company’s desire to save a few dollars is holding up resolution of the claim against you? You should demand information – in writing. Ask your insurance company how much they have offered to resolve the claim (after all that is the whole reason you pay monthly premiums). Ask your insurance company how much the person who made the claim against you is requesting to resolve the matter outside of court. Ask your insurance company how they came to the conclusion to offer that dollar amount. Their answer (or lack of an answer) just might surprise you! Demand that your insurance company let you in on the settlement negotiations. If they are honestly and fairly trying to resolve the claim on your behalf, why would they hide this information from you? Again, their answer will surprise you.
Finally, listen carefully to the words they use. They will blame the person making the claim (or their attorney) for being unreasonable. They have been trained to do this. But understand that while they blame the person making the claim for being unreasonable, they are telling that person to sue you.
You should keep in mind that you and your insurance company have different goals. Your insurance company does not want to spend money paying out your insurance policy to settle your claim. You do not want to be sued.
The law recognizes there can be differences in goals so much so that a conflict of interest may exist between you and your insurance company! If you believe your own insurance company does not have your best interests in mind, you can hire your own attorney to keep your insurance company in check.
If you find yourself in the position of owning insurance but possibly being sued, be careful, those that you have paid to watch your back may just be picking your pockets.
