As leading personal injury lawyers in St. Louis, Missouri, Sotiriou Wilmowski has helped countless clients secure the settlement and justice they deserve. If you were injured in an accident caused by someone else, you deserve compensation. Schedule a free consultation today.
Despite what some critics would lead you to believe, personal injury lawsuits aren’t about scoring a quick payday or taking advantage of a tragedy. Rather, these cases often represent injury victims’ last hope for securing the compensation they need to recover after suffering serious losses in an accident they didn’t cause.
To illustrate this, let’s consider a common scenario:
Imagine you’re driving to work one morning, obeying the speed limit and traffic laws, you’re suddenly t-boned by a distracted driver who was texting. Despite your serious injuries and the other driver’s obvious fault, your insurance company is refusing to pay out the settlement you deserve. Your car is totaled; the medical bills keep piling up; and you’re still not well enough to resume work. You’re starting to think that the only way out of crippling debt may be bankruptcy.
This example might seem extreme, but in reality, it’s an all-too-common scenario for injury victims of all kinds. Fortunately, there is another legal option available to the injury victim in this scenario: They can pursue the full range of compensation they’re owed through a personal injury lawsuit.
Here’s the bottom line: If you suffered serious injuries or losses in an accident you didn’t cause, you shouldn’t be footing the bill for your recovery. This article will explain everything you need to know about personal injury lawsuits, including the role of a personal injury lawyer, types of personal injury cases, types of recoverable compensation, and more.
Are you drowning in medical bills after an accident in Missouri? You don’t have to figure it out alone — Sotiriou Wilmowski is here to help. Schedule a free case evaluation to speak with a passionate attorney about your legal options today.
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The Role of Personal Injury Attorneys
Simply put, the role of a personal injury attorney is to help their clients secure the compensation they need and deserve to recover. As dedicated personal injury lawyers in Missouri, Sotiriou Wilmowski provides comprehensive legal services to clients throughout the state. Here’s a brief outline of what those services include:
- Accessible legal solutions, regardless of income. Sotiriou Wilmowski believes that every injury victim deserves access to top-tier legal solutions, regardless of their financial standing. In addition to free case consultations, Sotiriou Wilmowski provides legal services on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you don’t owe anything until — and unless — they secures a settlement for you.
- Comprehensive investigations. After reviewing the details of your case, Sotiriou Wilmowski will conduct a thorough investigation of your accident and gather various types of key evidence. This may include police reports, eyewitness testimony, photos and video footage, medical reports, and more.
- Determining liability. In many accident cases, determining liability (pinpointing the at-fault party) is complex. After conducting an independent investigation and answering key questions, Sotiriou Wilmowski’s legal team to identify the responsible party, whether that’s an individual, group of people, government agency, manufacturer, property owner, or another party.
- Settlement calculations. Few clients realize the true extent of their accident-related losses, but rest assured that Sotiriou Wilmowski will include every potential damage, including economic and non-economic losses, when calculating a settlement demand.
- Aggressive negotiation with opposing parties and insurers. When you partner with Sotiriou Wilmowski, you’re partnering with aggressive negotiators who can back up his demands with the threat of litigation. They can negotiate with both opposing parties and insurers on your behalf as he fights for your maximum compensation.
- Representation in court. If opposing parties and insurance companies fail to offer a fair settlement, the battle isn’t over. Sotiriou Wilmowski will help you chart the best legal path forward and, when necessary, prepare your case for court. During your trial, they will present rock-solid evidence and deliver compelling arguments for your monetary compensation.
- On-going client support. Pursuing legal action is scary, even when you’ve got a strong case. Too many attorneys and law firms fail to communicate frequently and effectively with their clients, but, luckily, Sotiriou Wilmowski isn’t one of them. Sotiriou Wilmowski will keep you updated during every phase of your legal journey to ensure you feel listened to, supported, and kept in the know.
To secure a fair settlement, you’ll need more than a strong case — you’ll need assistance from a top-tier, dedicated attorneys. For injury victims in Greater St. Louis and beyond, the choice is clear: Attorneys Deme Sotiriou and Tom Wilmowski of Sotiriou Wilmowski.
Types of Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury law deals with cases where individuals suffer physical injuries, emotional distress, or psychological harm caused by another person’s negligent actions. As you can imagine, it applies to a wide variety of different cases, from premises liability claims to car accidents to wrongful death lawsuits.
As a trusted personal injury lawyers in St. Louis, Sotiriou Wilmowski handles various types of personal injury cases, including the following:
- Amputation injury. A loss of a limb through a traumatic accident or medical malpractice can lead to extensive losses that may be recoverable in an amputation injury lawsuit.
- Bad faith insurance claims. When insurance companies deny or delay legitimate claims without reason, policyholders may be entitled to compensation that exceeds policy limits.
- Burn injuries. Burn injury lawsuits can help plaintiffs secure compensation for heat, chemical, or electrical burn injuries caused by another’s negligence.
- Dog bite injury. Under Missouri law, dog owners are strictly liable for bites or attacks that cause injury to another person, even if the dog has no history of aggression.
- Post-concussion syndrome. In some cases, an injured person develops a complex medical condition known as post-concussion syndrome (PCS), for which they are entitled to compensation. PCS may cause prolonged concussion-like symptoms such as headaches, cognitive impairment, and more.
- Slip-and-fall accidents. When someone suffers fall injuries on another person’s property due to hazardous conditions, property owners may be held liable under Missouri’s premises liability laws.
- Spinal cord injury. Damage to the spinal cord may cause partial or complete paralysis, both of which are expensive to treat and often require lifelong medical care — just two of the many recoverable losses in spinal cord injury cases.
- Traumatic brain injury. Sustaining a sudden blow to the head or neck in an accident can cause a traumatic brain injury (TBI) for which the at-fault party is liable.
- Work injury. Although injuries caused by a workplace accident are typically covered by workers’ compensation, some injured parties can pursue a more comprehensive settlement package against a third party.
Don’t see your case listed here? That doesn’t mean Sotiriou Wilmowski doesn’t handle it. With more than 35 years of combined legal experience and indisputable expertise, Sotiriou Wilmowski is adept at trying a wide range of injury and motor vehicle accident claims. To confirm they accept cases like yours, call Sotiriou Wilmowski at 314-925-1000 today.
Legal Considerations for Each Type of Case
There’s no law keeping you from filing a personal injury lawsuit without an attorney. However, there are countless compelling reasons to partner with a legal professional in these cases, including the vast legal knowledge required to actually understand the implications and limitations of your claim.
Consider bad faith insurance claims:
To prevail in a bad faith insurance claim, you not only need to understand what constitutes an unreasonable denial by insurers but also the legal difference between unjustified and justified delays. Securing maximum compensation will also depend on whether or not you know that you may be eligible to seek damages that exceed your policy limits. These are just a few of the many critical insights that your lawyer will already understand.
Although each type of personal injury case is different, they often overlap insofar as the legal knowledge required to navigate them. Here are a few important legal considerations and factors that affect personal injury cases in Missouri:
- Statute of limitations. In Missouri, most personal injury claims must be filed within five years of the injury. However, the time limit is shorter for some cases, including for wrongful death claims, medical malpractice claims, and lawsuits against a government agency.
- Comparative fault. Missouri adheres to the legal concept of “pure comparative fault,” meaning that although plaintiffs can pursue legal action when they’re partially responsible for an accident, their recoverable compensation will be reduced by their percentage of fault.
- Insurance coverage. Knowing how to navigate available insurance policies is crucial in evaluating potential sources of compensation in a lawsuit.
- Evidence collection. Establishing negligence and liability requires compiling various types of compelling evidence, from medical records and police reports to eyewitness testimonies and digital media.
- Damages. Understanding your eligibility to recover certain types of damages — as well as your ability to accurately calculate a comprehensive list of damages — is essential to securing maximum compensation.
- Legal representation. Not all personal injury attorneys are equally adept at negotiating with insurers, pursuing in-court litigation, and navigating legal complexities. In many cases, the settlement a plaintiff receives is, at least in part, a reflection of their attorney.
This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a few of the many legal considerations that Sotiriou Wilmowski takes into account when evaluating personal injury cases. One of the most important factors in securing a fair settlement is understanding the types of compensation available to an injury victim.
Types of Compensation in Personal Injury Lawsuits
In Missouri, plaintiffs in personal injury cases can pursue a range of compensatory damages to address their losses, including both economic and non-economic damages.
Whereas economic damages are designed to compensate an injury victim for easily calculable losses, such as medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage, non-economic damages compensate a plaintiff for their losses which evade a dollar amount. Examples of non-economic damages include compensation for pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and more.
In rare cases, a court will also award punitive damages to an injury victim. Whereas compensatory damages are designed to compensate a plaintiff for accident-related losses, punitive damages exist to punish a defendant for especially wanton, egregious, or malicious behavior. Plaintiffs cannot seek punitive damages, as they are awarded strictly at the court’s discretion.
Sotiriou Wilmowski: Dedicated Personal Injury Lawyers in St. Louis
At the end of the day, personal injury law is all about providing injury victims with a pathway for securing the compensation they deserve. However, navigating the complexities of these claims can be challenging — especially without top-tier legal assistance.
If you’re interested in exploring your legal options, Attorneys Deme Sotiriou and Tom Wilmowski of Sotiriou Wilmowski are ready to help. Schedule a free consultation online or call our law office at 314-925-1000 to speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer today.
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