Free 24/7 Consultation | "Call The Champs"
Menu
At NST Law, we are dedicated to helping injured individuals and their families get the justice and compensation they deserve.
Mr. Trotz has handled personal injury cases involving car accidents, trucking accidents, slip and fall, premises liability, and negligent security. Each and every day, Mr. Trotz represents those who have been injured through no fault of their own, and many of his clients have sustained traumatic, catastrophic and life-altering injuries.
A St. Louis personal injury attorney is a professional who provides legal representation and support to clients who suffered from a personal injury accident and are seeking compensation for their legal case. Whether it’s a serious injury arising from a car accident, a wrongful death, or an instance of medical malpractice, an attorney specializing in personal injury will protect clients from being victimized by insurance companies and large defendants.
Our experienced St. Louis personal injury lawyers at NST Law advocate for the rights of individuals injured in accidents. Our firm will work endlessly to gather all of the evidence and resources to strengthen your case, communicate with you on an ongoing basis, and seek the highest level of compensation for your case.
Under Missouri law, personal injury is tort law. Tort law encompasses various legal issues such as civil injuries arising from negligent, reckless, or intentional acts by another party, known as the defendant. Below is a list of personal injury claims that may be brought against a defendant:
St. Louis comes in second place in the likelihood and number of car crashes of all US cities.
Commercial trucking is very heavy, particularly on Interstate I-70, which runs east to west through St. Louis. With the heavy commercial trucking traffic, unfortunately, comes a high number of accidents.
In Missouri, employees injured on the job or exposed to an occupational disease that arises due to the conditions of their employment can receive workers’ compensation benefits and services.
When a party is responsible for providing safe and secure grounds but fails to, and an injury or death results due to third party crime.
Missouri law defines wrongful death as a death that results from any act, occurrence, transaction, or circumstance that would have entitled such person to recover damages in respect thereof if death had not ensued.
There are roughly 88,000 motorcyclists injured and 5,000 motorcycle fatalities in a single year.
For best results with your case, you should contact our experienced St. Louis area attorneys for a free consultation today. Our trial attorneys at NST Law know how to answer each of your questions and fight for your right to fair compensation. You don’t have to go through this difficult time on your own.
One common type of accident that occurs in St. Louis is bicycle accidents. This is due in part to the high tourist population. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), deaths resulting from bicycle accidents increased by over 5% from 2018 to 2019. In addition, about 850 bicycle drivers died from being hit in car accidents.
Another type of personal injury common in St. Louis is nursing home abuse. The National Center on Elder Abuse (NCEA) reported that 10% of all nursing home patients suffer from abuse, be it sexual, financial, emotional, or physical abuse.
Medical malpractice is yet another common cause of personal injury in the State of Missouri. Medical malpractice claims include late or delayed treatment, improperly prescribed medication, and poorly performed procedures resulting in birth defects or lifestyle changes. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) reports close to 10,000 annual deaths due to errors in prescribing medications and drugs.
Our personal injury lawyers handle cases of all types that fall under the negligence umbrella. Some of these cases include:
For 32+ years, our legal team at NST Law has helped our clients recover over $1.5 billion dollars in personal injury claims.
One of our clients, a retired 65-year-old man, was safely driving on an interstate around a traffic site when he was struck by an 18-wheeler who wasn’t paying attention. As a result, the man became quadriplegic, required round-the-clock medical treatment, and later died due to complications brought on by his condition. The insurance company tried to settle for $600,000.00, but our legal team believed our client deserved more. We knew how to investigate the truck driver’s behavior and found out the trucking company allowed him to exceed federally allowed driving hours. Subsequently, the case resulted in a $6.3 million settlement.
Some of our firm’s recent settlements and verdicts include:
Obtained on behalf of a man who suffered significant injuries in a motorcycle accident when another driver turned in front of him.
Obtained in tractor-trailer accident case for a husband and wife that suffered traumatic injuries.
Obtained in rear-end truck accident settlement for 67-year-old man injured in a crash on the interstate.
Workers’ compensation settlement negotiated for a man who fell 35 feet from a billboard catwalk while on the job.
Experiencing an injury can be a difficult process, but there are steps you should follow to make sure you and others are safe and that your case is preserved:
You should not accept any settlement offers prior to consulting with an experienced trial attorney. Insurance companies do not owe claimants a fiduciary duty and typically offer lower amounts than the claim is worth.
A personal injury investigation starts with your lawyer interviewing you to know where to look and who to talk with. You are the lawyer’s initial source for the incident. From here, your personal injury representation will work with other involved parties, engage in negotiations with insurance companies, and gather evidence. Evidence that the lawyer will gather includes photos from the accident scene, medical records demonstrating your injuries and future medical needs, and communications that may show the defendant is liable. Your lawyer should have experience consulting with expert witnesses and negotiating with insurance adjusters and other parties involved. Contacting a lawyer can be beneficial to you because the investigation process can become complicated.
To succeed on a personal injury claim, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant was negligent in his or her actions. Negligence, a theory under tort law, requires proof of i) a duty owed by the defendant to the plaintiff, ii) a breach or violation of that duty, iii) causation showing a link between the defendant’s breach and the plaintiff’s injury, and iv) actual damages suffered by the plaintiff.
To illustrate these points, consider a car accident. Each car operator has a duty to other drivers and pedestrians sharing the road to drive his or her car in a safe manner. If a driver unreasonably neglects to drive his or her car safely and subsequently injures another person in the process, that driver likely breached his or her duty of care. Examples include speeding, texting while driving, or driving under the influence of alcohol. If a business owner fails to reasonably clean up after a spill and you suffer a slip and fall accident, the business owner likely breached their duty of care.
To further expand on Missouri negligence law, state law determines damages based on a comparative fault theory. Comparative fault means that a party’s ability to collect damages awarded to him or her are to be reduced by his or her contribution to causing the accident. For example, if Driver A was texting while driving through a green light and Driver B was speeding and recklessly hit Driver A, Driver A may have avoided the accident if he was paying full attention to the road. Thus, if Driver A is apportioned to be 15% at fault in a $100,000 award, Driver A will recover $85,000.
The types of damages available in personal injury cases can be broken down into a few categories. However, identifying and obtaining these damages is very complicated. Generally speaking, damages are either compensatory or punitive in nature.
Compensatory damages, which are further broken into economic and non-economic, help to bring the plaintiff back to the position they were in before the injury, financially, physically, and emotionally. Compensatory damages that are economic account for the costs directly associated or brought on by the injury. Property damage, lost wages, and medical bills are two examples.
Non-economic damages are those expenses brought on in the aftermath of an injury. Pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, emotional distress, and loss of a family member are some examples. Non-economic damages are more subjective in nature.
On the other hand, punitive damages are awarded only when the defendant’s actions, which brought about the plaintiff’s injury, were intentional or with a deliberate and flagrant disregard for the safety of others. Obtaining punitive damages can be complex because it requires showing a necessary level of intent, such as maliciousness. For example, if a plaintiff was suing a defendant in a sexual abuse case, the plaintiff can demonstrate that the defendants’ actions were reprehensible enough to warrant punitive damages.
At NST Law, we strive to obtain the highest amount of recovery for each claim on behalf of our clients. Generally speaking, all cases are different. That said, the following factors can be taken into account when determining the value of a claim:
The law in Missouri dictates when a claimant must take legal action in a personal injury case in the St. Louis area. Also known as the statute of limitations, this law forever bars an individual from making a claim if it is not done within the stated time frame. The purpose of this is to avoid cluttering the court system with old cases and give defendants an opportunity to respond to claims against them that aren’t too far removed in time.
The statute of limitation in Missouri, governed by Mo. Stat. Section 516.120, generally requires that a party file a claim within five years of discovering his or her injury. In some cases, like workers’ compensation, the statute of limitations is two years. If a claimant genuinely does not determine his injury until after it actually occurred, the time frame may not start until the date of discovery. A good example of this is medical malpractice, whereby the doctor does something negligent, such as leaving a medical sponge in a patient he or she operated on, and it is not revealed until the patient experiences symptoms later on.
Contacting an attorney is highly advised so that your claim is handled in a timely manner and not barred by the statute of limitations.
The last thing preventing victims of personal injury from filing a legal proceeding is legal fees. Most personal injury law firms, including NST Law, offer a fee structure whereby the client pays legal costs only if the lawyers succeed in obtaining a recovery.
While some in the legal community may try to obtain excessive amounts from their clients, our dedicated team at NST Law displays professionalism at all times and will not take advantage of clients who are making an important decision in their life. We handle cases on a contingency fee basis, and the contingency fee percentage is agreed to in writing at the beginning of the case.
If picking the right law firm to represent you and your personal injury case is daunting, you aren’t alone. Selecting a firm with a proven track record that has experience conducting jury trials and providing high-quality legal advice is key. Our legal team at NST Law adheres to various pillars when representing clients such as yourself.
One such priority is providing compassionate individual dedication so that the legal experience of each client is rewarding. This means that our entire team, including attorneys, paralegals, and legal assistants, will show great respect and keep you involved by maintaining consistent contact with you.
Another priority of NST Law is to maximize our efforts in pursuing financial compensation for your case. Our lawyers understand the order of the legal process and are skilled at handling insurance claims, serious accidents, and other challenges unique to personal injury cases. In fact, our team has recovered over $1.5 billion for our personal injury clients.
Contact our team today for more information and schedule a free evaluation of your personal injury case.
“CALL THE CHAMPS!” | AVAILABLE 24/7
"*" indicates required fields
