Legal Question in Personal Injury in Missouri

Certainly you are entitled to more than $15,000. In fact, our injury lawyers would never accept anything near what is currently offered by the claims adjuster. It sounds like the claims adjuster is playing games with you, which common practice when a car accident injury victim does not have legal representation. You must have a real concern about your future medical prognosis too, which is something the adjuster is NOT going to include in his/her valuation of your claim. This is one of those situations where you would benefit from speaking with a lawyer to discuss your rights. You only have one shot at compensation for a claim, and given the impact speed and injuries, you are going to be railroaded into an unfair settlement unless you have an experienced lawyer.

Hi. I am sorry to hear about your accident and injuries. I am a Missouri attorney out of the St. Louis metro area that focuses my practice almost exclusively on injury claims, and primarily auto accident cases.

There is no reason why the insurance company should not pay for the second doctor's bill. In fact, you are likely entitled to substantially more than you are suggesting, but it may be necessary to obtain representation to end up with an offer that is in line with what you are entitled to. My office, in handling these claims, is often able to negotiate an offer two times what the medical bills add up to, and sometimes three or more times the amount of medical bills, depending on whether you are likely to have any on-going or long-term effects from the injuries.

In addition to compensation for your bills, you are also entitled to a sum of money for pain and suffering, and an amount to cover any future medical expenses, even if they are not likely to occur for another 10 years down the road. Remember that, once you settle, you lose the right to ever pursue any additional compensation whatsoever from the insurance company. I am not able to determine what an appropriate amount for your claim could be without knowing the type of injuries you sustained, but certain types of injuries can be worth substantially more than the medical bills alone.

I can be reached, for your convenience, by e-mail, at [email protected], or by phone as well. Thank you.

NOTE: This answer is for educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. The use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship or privilege between the user and the attorney responding.