Do I Have To Go to Court After a Car Accident in St. Louis?

Under Missouri’s fault-based insurance system, car accident victims recover compensation by filing claims against the at-fault driver and their insurer. In most cases, the insurer will settle by paying you a sum of money in exchange for a release of your legal claims.

But occasionally, you will not settle with an insurer. This can happen when the at-fault driver has no auto insurance. It can also happen when the insurer refuses to negotiate a fair settlement with your injury lawyer. To follow through with your claim, you may need to file a lawsuit.

If you’ve recently been involved in a car accident in St. Louis, MO, reach out to Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers at (314) 444-4444. We can handle your claim from start to finish while you heal from the accident and your injuries.

How Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in St. Louis, MO

How Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Car Accident in St. Louis, MO

Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers focuses its practice on providing representation to accident victims in St. Louis, Missouri, and throughout the state. Since our founding in 2010, we have recovered over $100 million in injury compensation for our injured clients.

Our St. Louis car accident lawyers help accident victims by providing:

  • A free consultation to give legal advice and counsel to new clients
  • A legal team with over 100 years of combined legal experience
  • Courtroom experience and the willingness to take insurers to court if they do not offer you a fair settlement

Injuries from a car accident can jeopardize your health and finances. Contact Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your losses and the compensation you can pursue for them.

How Many Injury Claims Happen in St. Louis?

According to the Missouri Traffic Safety Compendium, St. Louis had 13,130 total crashes in 2022. Of these crashes, 9,683 only caused property damage. The remaining crashes killed 79 people and injured 5,229 people.

But not all of these injuries and fatalities spawned injury claims. Some reasons someone might not have an injury claim include:

  • The injured person caused the crash
  • The crash resulted from something other than negligence, like bad weather
  • The crash was a single-vehicle crash with no one else at fault for causing it

So you can say that up to 5,308 injury claims might have resulted from these injuries and fatalities. But there were probably far fewer claims due to these factors. Visit our statistics page to learn more.

Steps for Resolving Car Accident Claims in Missouri

Many clients ask, “Do I have to go to court after a car accident in St. Louis?” The likelihood of going to court is relatively low. According to one study, only 3% of personal injury claims reach a trial verdict.

Instead, most cases get resolved by:

  • Settlement (73%)
  • Withdrawal of the case by the plaintiff (14%)
  • Dismissal of the case by the court (10%)

The typical process for resolving a car accident claim involves settling with the insurance company.

Insurance Claim

Missouri requires all car owners to buy auto liability insurance. Without proof of insurance, owners cannot register their vehicles. Under Missouri law, car owners must buy $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability insurance.

After a crash, accident victims file insurance claims against the driver who caused the collision. A claim is an explanation of what happened with supporting documents to describe the resulting losses.

The insurer will assign a claims adjuster to the case. The adjuster must decide whether to accept or deny the claim. If the adjuster denies the claim, your injury lawyer will try to overcome the denial with additional evidence and legal arguments.

When the adjuster accepts the claim, they will offer a settlement. The offer will likely fall far below the value of your case. Insurers know you need money to pay your medical bills and living expenses. They hope that you will accept a low offer just to get some money coming in.

Your lawyer will try to settle your claim. Settling at this point will avoid the need for a lawsuit. If your case settles during the claim process, you will not need to go to court.

Litigation

If the other driver was uninsured or you were unable to settle your case with the insurance company, you may file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver.

Even after your lawyer files a lawsuit, your case may still settle. Insurance companies do not like paying legal fees for cases they do not expect to win. Insurers also know that jurors have little sympathy for insurance companies. As a result, an insurer risks a huge jury verdict if they allow the case to go to trial.

If your case settles before trial, you will not need to go to court for your accident.

Schedule a Free Consultation With Our St. Louis Car Accident Attorneys

A car accident claim can require skill, experience, and legal knowledge to settle without going to court. Contact Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to discuss how we can help you resolve your car accident claim. Our St. Louis car accident attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, so we only get paid if we obtain compensation for you.

We handle all types of car accident claims, including:

Additional St. Louis Car Accident Resources

Learn more about car accident FAQs: