What Legal Recourse Do You Have After Suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury in Parkville?

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be life-altering, and trying to recover is difficult enough. If you’re also embroiled in a personal injury claim and trying to figure out how to get compensation for what someone else is responsible for, the stress can be nearly overwhelming. Talk to a Parkville, MO traumatic brain injury lawyer to find out specifically what your options are and get a legal professional on your side to help you explore all your legal options.

What Legal Recourse Do You Have After Suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury in Parkville, MO?

Missouri follows a system called pure comparative negligence for personal injury cases, and this system lets you to recover damages even if you share some responsibility for the accident. The amount you recover gets reduced by your percentage of fault, however, so if a court finds you 20% at fault, your award would drop by that much.

This means you can bring a claim so long as the accident wasn’t completely your fault alone; however, it also means that insurance companies will be looking to shift blame as much as possible, so it’s important to have a lawyer on your side to protect your rights.

Statute of Limitations for Claims

In Missouri, you generally have five years from the date you discover the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline will apply to most cases where you might suffer a TBI, and missing it usually means you will lose your right to sue. There are exceptions where you might have more or less time, so starting the process as soon as you can is always the best step.

Types of Claims Available

Missouri is an at-fault state, so you would typically start by filing a claim against the other driver’s or property owner’s insurance first. If those negotiations fail, a lawsuit in civil court could follow, and your lawyer will tell you more. Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory in our state, and it protects you in a car accident situation where the other driver doesn’t have insurance.

If the injury happened at work, then workers’ compensation might apply instead of a claim and potential suit, or it might be in addition to those. Worker’s comp typically covers workers regardless of who was at fault but also limits your ability to bring a lawsuit against your employer. However, if a third party contributed to the accident, like a faulty equipment maker, you could pursue a separate claim against them.

Steps to Pursue a Claim

Contact a Traumatic Brain Injury Attorney

Contact a lawyer as soon as you can. Your lawyer will gather evidence for you, keep things moving, deal with the paperwork, and negotiations, and more.

Notify the Insurer

Notify the at-fault party’s insurer promptly, and ask your attorney for help if you’re unable to take care of these issues yourself. Your lawyer will investigate, calculate damages, and negotiate a settlement with the insurer. If needed, they’ll file a complaint in court and take the lawsuit all the way through if the insurer refuses to settle for a reasonable amount.

Workers’ Compensation Options

If your injury occurred on the job, you have a lot of hoops to jump through, and your lawyer can help you with this, too.

Whatever your situation, you want to act quickly to protect your rights. For help anywhere in the larger Parkville area, contact Spooner & Perkins, Attorneys at Law today for a consultation.

Tags: personal injury, Personal injury lawyers, TBI
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