Car accidents on interstate highways can result in catastrophic injuries. Vehicles have enormous energy when traveling at high speeds. The forces released during I-55 accidents in St. Louis, MO, can tear soft tissues, fracture bones, and permanently damage brain tissue.
Missouri law gives accident victims the right to seek compensation from negligent drivers responsible for their injuries. A St. Louis I-55 accident lawyer from Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers helps injured people fight at-fault drivers and their auto insurers for fair compensation after an accident. Contact us today for a free consultation at (314) 444-4444.
How Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After an I-55 Highway Accident in St. Louis, MO
Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers was founded to provide legal assistance to injured people in St. Louis, Missouri. Our attorneys have over a century of combined legal experience and have recovered over $100 million in financial compensation for the firm’s clients.
When you suffer an injury in a Missouri highway accident, our firm’s dedicated St. Louis car accident attorneys can:
- Analyze your crash and identify potential legal claims
- Gather evidence, such as accident reports and doctors’ records, for your case
- File a claim with the at-fault driver’s auto insurer
- Negotiate for an insurance settlement
- Pursue litigation in court when insurers refuse to settle
A highway accident might produce severe injuries that disable you from working or performing your daily activities. Contact us today for a free case review with an experienced I-55 accident lawyer in St. Louis.
I-55 Highway Accident Statistics
The Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) provides extensive data analysis tools for identifying where traffic accidents happen. Using its Accident Characteristics Summary Reports interface, you can search for traffic accidents that occur on I-55.
In 2024, I-55 had 1,888 traffic accidents over its entire length in Missouri. These crashes included the following outcomes:
- 18 fatal accidents
- 386 non-fatal injury accidents
- 1,484 property damage-only accidents
The MSHP’s tools also allow you to narrow the search to the stretch of I-55 in St. Louis. This search reveals 309 total accidents, including the following:
- One fatal accident
- 90 non-fatal injury accidents
- 218 property damage-only accidents
These reports are not surprising. According to Table 1.12 of the Missouri Traffic Compendium, interstate crashes only account for about 13% of all crashes in the state. However, they also account for about 13% of fatal crashes and 11% of non-fatal injury crashes.
How Highway Accidents Happen
According to the MSHP’s statistics, most I-55 accidents in 2024 happened when two moving vehicles collided. Many accidents also happened when a single vehicle hit a fixed object, like a guardrail or bridge support. A small percentage occurred when a vehicle struck another vehicle parked on the shoulder or ran off the road and overturned.
The following causes can lead to highway accidents on I-55:
Distracted Driving
Distracted drivers and high speeds are a dangerous combination. At the posted speed limit on I-55 through St. Louis of 60 miles per hour, your vehicle travels 88 feet per second. Thus, taking two seconds to read a text is equivalent to driving with your eyes closed for over 175 feet. Over this distance, you could hit another vehicle, run off the road, or strike a concrete barrier.
Tailgating
It is tempting to follow other vehicles too closely, particularly in heavy traffic. However, you significantly increase the risk of a rear-end collision when you fail to leave enough stopping distance to the vehicle in front of you.
Speeding
Drivers who speed increase the risk that they will lose control of their vehicle. They also increase their stopping distance and reduce the time they have to react to traffic or road hazards.
Impaired Driving
Highways have several features that minimize head-on collisions, such as medians and guardrails. However, these physical barriers cannot prevent an impaired driver from going the wrong way on the interstate and crashing into another vehicle.
Liability for I-55 Highway Accidents
Liability for highway crashes in Missouri is determined by applying negligence principles. Liability stemming from negligence means someone failed to exercise reasonable care and, as a result, injured someone else.
Reasonable care means exercising the caution expected of an ordinary driver in the same situation. In some cases, drivers violate the standard of care by committing a traffic violation, such as exceeding the speed limit. In other cases, the driver’s carelessness occurs when they do something unreasonably dangerous, such as trying to eat while driving on the interstate.
In these cases, accident victims can seek injury compensation from the at-fault driver and their insurer by proving the driver’s actions constituted negligence.
Contact Our St. Louis I-55 Accident Attorneys for a Free Consultation
Although I-55 is not the most common location for traffic crashes, it is the site of many serious injuries and fatal accidents. Contact Schultz & Myers Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to learn how we can help you stand up to at-fault drivers and their insurers after you suffer an injury in a crash. Our St. Louis I-55 accident attorneys work on contingency, so we only get attorney’s fees if we successfully handle your case.
