(816) 701-1100When it comes to getting around Kansas City, having a car makes travel quick, easy, and efficient. So efficient, in fact, that over 90 percent of households in the city own at least one car, making car travel more common than almost any other method of transportation.
Unfortunately, the fact that so many people use cars to get around Kansas City can often spell disaster on the road—particularly when drivers are exhibiting negligent behavior. Negligence, defined as “the failure to use reasonable care, resulting in the damage or injury to another,” resulted in 4,720 serious injuries and 940 fatalities in 2016 in Missouri alone.
When you are the victim in an auto accident, you may be entitled to file a personal injury claim for compensation for your physical and emotional injury, as well as other costs related to damages to your vehicle. At Wagstaff & Cartmell, we have helped our clients file for—and receive—millions of dollars in compensation for damages sustained in auto accidents.
Kansas City Car Accident Statistics
Between 2014 and 2016, Kansas City alone saw 912 serious injuries and 178 fatalities as a result of car accidents. Despite statewide efforts to increase safety on Missouri roads, each year saw as drastic as a 19% increase in serious injuries and a 24% increase in fatalities in Kansas City compared to the previous year.
Causes of auto accidents vary on a case-by-case basis. Some car accidents are caused by an outside influence (ie a tree falling onto a car due to inclement weather, or swerving to avoid an animal), but the vast majority of car crashes are caused by the negligent actions and behaviors of other drivers.
Of the serious/fatal accidents that occurred in Kansas City in 2016, most car accidents cases related to driver negligence involved some combination of:
- Run-off-Road Crashes (50% of fatalities, 33% of serious injuries);
- Unlicensed/Improperly Licensed Drivers (26% of fatalities, 21% of serious injuries);
- Horizontal Curves (24% of fatalities, 17% of serious injuries); or,
- Aggressive Driving (17% of fatalities, 15% of serious injuries).
Consequences Of Motor Vehicle Accidents Are Complicated
Being in a car accident is bad enough. Most people, however, don’t understand that the event that takes place when two vehicles crash is only the beginning of a long, tedious, and complicated process, especially when one or more people have been hurt or possibly killed.
All sorts of things pertaining to legal issues can come into play when a car accident occurs, including:
- on-scene medical treatment
- insurance company claims
- medical bills
- collecting contact information
- property damage
- possible brain injuries
- possibly catastrophic injuries
- drunk driving investigations
- distracted driving (cell phone and texting) investigations
- whiplash claims
- filing a police report
This is just to name a few of the things that you may have to deal with. This is what makes it so important that when you are in involved in a car accident, you speak with an experienced car accident lawyer that is aware of both what you will have to face to defend yourself and what you will have to present in order to produce a successful claim in a car accident case.
When you’ve been involved in a car accident, the first thing you should do is get the medical attention you require. After that, you should contact a Kansas City car accident lawyer as soon as possible.
How An Experienced Auto Accident Attorney Can Help
Being the victim of a car wreck is a terrifying and life-changing experience. Not only can you sustain a physical injury that will result in unexpected (and often, costly) medical expenses, but you may have to endure years of emotional trauma and fear as well.
Accident victims often minimize pain and suffering during injury cases believing that their pain will go away in a few days or weeks. The truth is, though, that what seems like a minor injury today could reveal itself to be a much more complicated and much more costly injury that will require expensive and specialized treatment, possibly for the rest of your life. That is what a personal injury case is about. It’s about investigating the full extent of your injuries and making sure that your needs will be taken care, now and in the future.
The team at the law firm of Wagstaff & Cartmell has years of experience dealing with auto accident injury cases and car accident settlements. We have recovered millions of dollars for accident victims in car accident claims, truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and third-party motorists who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Determining Fault In An Auto Accident In Kansas City
Missouri is not a “no-fault” insurance state. This means that when an accident occurs, fault will be determined and the person who has been found to be at fault will be responsible for the damages owed to other involved.
In order to prove fault against a driver, three things must be taken into account:
- The driver has a duty to exercise reasonable caution on the road
- The driver who caused the accident was negligent and did not perform that duty if exercising reasonable caution
- The actions of the negligent driver caused reasonable injury or death.
There is also what is called “compare liability”, where if it can be proven that more than one driver was liable for the cause of the accident resulting in damage, then both may be required to pay a percentage of the compensation awarded for the damage.
On the other hand, Kansas City has the unique characteristic of being a city that is both in Missouri and in Kansas. If your case is handled in Kansas, Kansas uses what is called “modified comparative negligence”.
This difference between these ways of looking at it often comes down to who is seen to be more at fault. In Missouri, it is more likely that both parties will be able t recover damages for an accident even if they are both found to be at fault. For example, if one if party if found to be 80% responsible and the other is found to be 20% responsible, they would be able to recover 80% and 20% of the total damages respectively.
By contrast, in Kansas, is one party is found to be more than 50% responsible for the damage then that person can generally recover no damages at all. There are some special exceptions, but that is the way that most cases will go.
Auto Accidents Are Not The Same As Personal Injury Cases
A car accident injury is not the same as an injury sustained on private property or because you made a mistake with a tool while working on your home. Car accidents involve interactions with law enforcement, multiple insurance companies, insurance claims and insurance adjusters, investigators, doctors, and more. This is why auto accident cases require a personal injury lawyer that understands not only how all these things work together, but how the laws of Kansas City, Missouri apply to it all.
Attempting to Settling Your Car Accident Claim
In most cases, both the plaintiff (you) and the defendant (the other driver or insurance company) will prefer to settle the case out of your for either a structured payment plan or lump sum payment. It is often the fastest way to receive your compensation and get on with your life.
Settling can prove to be a dangerous decision however if you’ve sustained injuries that will require ongoing care or could possibly lead to other complications in the future. When you settle a case, it is final. If something else should go wrong, you will not be able to re-open the case or file a new lawsuit. For example, if you settle a case based on an injury to your hip and then require another surgery a few months later, you won’t be able to go back and ask for more money to pay for the new surgery.
Negotiations between the plaintiff and defendant will be handled by the lawyers or legal teams and the resulting offers will be brought back to their clients. You can, and should, list to any advice your lawyer gives you about accepting or rejecting a settlement, but the final decision on whether to do so will always be up to you.
Taking Your Kansas City Car Accident Claim To Court
Even though most cases are resolved through a settlement, sometimes an agreement just can’t be reached. Often when it finally comes time to go to court, the judge will order that one last attempt be made to settle the case through alternative means, such as arbitration. At this point, many parties will finally agree on a settlement to avoid the significant costs that will be added to everything if a full-blown trial occurs.
If the case does, indeed, go to trial, it will be much like things you’ve probably seen on television. A jury will be selected and both sides will have the chance to state and argue their case. Evidence will be presented and witnesses will be called, and eventually, the jury will be left to make a decision.
When the jury makes its decision, it will be announced in the courtroom. Whatever they decide to award (or deny to award) will also be announced. That will then be the end of the case unless one side or the other decides to appeal the decision to another court.
Contact An Experienced Kansas City Car Accident Attorney
At Wagstaff & Cartmell our team of experienced personal injury attorneys has experience not only with car accident cases and injuries but with the special circumstances involved in a city like Kansas City where the jurisdiction can be in either of two states. Our results and testimonies speak for themselves.
Don’t’ risk the well-being of you, your loved ones, or the rest of your family to uncertain legal advice and inferior legal representation. You can contact us online anytime or call (816) 701-1100 to schedule an appointment. You’ll receive a free consultation and case evaluation and we’ll be happy to discuss exactly what we can do to help you.
Auto Accident FAQs
In 2018, 56,581 people were injured or killed in a car accident in Missouri. That is an average of 155 crashes each day that either cause death or injury. In Kansas City alone, there were 20,783 collisions in 2017 — causing 98 deaths and 8,021 injuries.
If you have been hurt in a car accident, you likely have many questions about what to do — and what comes next. Below, we’ll answer some of the most common questions that we receive. If you need additional information, reach out to a Kansas City car accident attorney.
There is a time limit, known as the statute of limitations, for filing legal claims in Missouri. Generally, you have 5 years to file a personal injury case; the clock on this limit starts to run at the date of the injury. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, such as for claims against government entities. For this reason, you should consult with a lawyer as soon as possible after an auto accident.
Under Missouri law, even if you were partially at fault for an accident, you can still recover for your losses, but your damages will be reduced by the percentage that you were at fault. This is known as a pure comparative fault system. For example, if you suffered $20,000 in damages and a court decides that you were 35% to blame for the crash, then your compensation will be reduced by 35%, or $7,000, for a total recovery of $13,000.
If you are in a car accident, the at-fault driver’s insurance company may quickly offer you a settlement. Accepting this settlement typically means giving up your right to sue — even if it turns out that your injuries were more serious than you originally believed. For this reason, you should consult with a lawyer before signing any documents or accepting a settlement offer from an insurance company.
Under Missouri law, all drivers must have a minimum amount of insurance ($25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $10,000 per accident for property damage), as well as uninsured motorist coverage ($25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury). If another driver hits you, and they either don’t have insurance or don’t have enough insurance to cover your claim, then you can file a claim against your own insurance policy’s uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) coverage.
If you are pursuing a legal claim against another driver for a motor vehicle accident, you may be concerned about the possibility of going to trial. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the chances of going to trial are exceptionally low — about 3% — with most cases settling before trial. Working with an experienced trial lawyer who is ready and willing to take your case to court can increase the likelihood of achieving a favorable settlement.
After a car accident, you may be overwhelmed: unable to work, in pain, and facing mounting bills. If another driver was at fault for the collision, then you may be entitled to compensation for your losses. A Kansas City car accident lawyer can aggressively advocate for your rights and help you get the best outcome for your claim.
Since 1997, the attorneys of Wagstaff & Cartmell have represented clients who have been hurt in a range of accidents, including car crashes. We have both the experience and the knowledge to get the best possible results for our clients. To learn more or to schedule a free initial consultation, call us today at 816-701-1100 or email us at any time
Contact An Experienced Kansas City Car Accident Attorney
At Wagstaff & Cartmell our team of experienced personal injury attorneys has experience not only with car accident cases and injuries but with the special circumstances involved in a city like Kansas City where the jurisdiction can be in either of two states. Our results and testimonies speak for themselves.
Don’t’ risk the well-being of you, your loved ones, or the rest of your family to uncertain legal advice and inferior legal representation. You can contact us online anytime or call (816) 701-1100 to schedule an appointment. You’ll receive a free consultation and case evaluation and we’ll be happy to discuss exactly what we can do to help you.
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Fax: (816) 531-2372
