If you have been injured in a car accident in Missouri, your first priority is tending to your medical issues. With that understood, you also need to be proactive in protecting your vital legal rights.

There are a number of factors that you need to bear in mind when it comes to protecting your legal rights. These include everything from understanding how compensation in a car accident works to appreciating the importance of having a skilled, experienced car accident attorney on your side.

Compensation in a Car Accident Case

Financial recovery in a car accident case depends upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident itself, coupled with the nature and extent of your injuries. Nonetheless, here are some specific types of injuries, damages, and losses that can result in compensation in a car accident case. These include:

• medical bills and expenses
• pain and suffering
• mental anguish and emotional distress
• lost income
• property damage or loss
• permanent disability

You typically will not be limited to compensation for your existing losses. Rather, you can seek money for losses associated with an accident you reasonably can be expected to face in the future.

You may require ongoing medical care and treatment. The pain associated with your injuries may not abate any time soon. You may not be able to return to your job any time soon. These all represent the types of ongoing losses for which you may be entitled to financial compensation.

In some cases, an experienced car accident lawyer may be able to seek what are known as exemplary or punitive damages. Exemplary or punitive damages represent additional money awarded in a car accident lawsuit. The money is ordered in a situation in which the conduct of the party that caused the accident is considered by be particularly egregious or reckless.

Exemplary or punitive damages are designed to do more than provide additional money in a case. They also exist to provide a type of punishment for the particularly egregious or reckless conduct of the party that caused the accident.

Retaining a Missouri Car Accident Lawyer

Missouri car accident lawyers, like those at the St. Louis law firm of Sansone, Sumner and Lauber, utilize what is called a contingency fee agreement with a client. Pursuant to this type of arrangement, you pay no fee in a car accident case unless your lawyer obtains a favorable settlement or judgment for you. This should work with any budget, big or small.

The first step in retaining the services of a skilled Missouri car accident lawyer is to schedule what is known as an initial consultation. An initial consultation provides you an opportunity to obtain a professional evaluation of your case. In addition, legal counsel will also discuss possible strategies to work towards a fair settlement in your case. You will get answers to your questions. As a general rule, a Missouri personal injury lawyer does not charge a fee for an initial consultation.