Personal Injury Law

St Louis Missouri Car Accident - Limits of Auto Insurance - Negligence "Per Se" and possible Negligent Entrustment or Negligent Maintenance of Car

By Benjamin J. Sansone, Esq.

In the St Louis County municipality of Wildwood Missouri, a single car accident occurred when a teenager lost control of his vehicle, ran of the road, and struck a utility pole. The negligent driver had several passengers in his car, and one of them, a teenage girl, is my client. My client suffered serious personal injuries as a result of the auto accident, including visible scarring, a broken nose, injured neck and back, and a deviated septum. Her claim could easily be worth more than the $100,000, the limit of auto insurance the driver had and that is available to satisfy her car accident claim. This means it is my job as the injured passenger's personal injury attorney to find all sources of liability and potential insurance coverage to make sure that there is adequate coverage to pay all of her legally justifiable damages. Including, stacking auto insurance policies, adding all under-insured motorist coverage, med pay coverage, umbrella policies, and any potential liability on behalf of the state or local government based on road safety conditions.

Being an aggressive St Louis Missouri injury lawyer, The driver was issued several citations as a result of the accident, therefore, should he plea guilty or be found guilty of any of the violations the case may become a "negligence per se" case. Meaning, the issue of liability is essentially admitted through the plea or finding of guilty in the related criminal case. Additionally, liability also exists beyond mere negligent operation of the automobile because the tires on the car involved in the accident were bald (see pic); therefore, the parents that owned the car were negligent in maintaining the vehicle which contributed to the cause of the accident; primarily the loss of control of the vehcile.

Many Missouri and Illinois injury attorneys may overlook these collateral sources of insurance and simply stay with the primary coverage. Before settling a multi-million dollar case about a year ago, the lead defense lawyer for the hospital stated to my clients that I and my co-counsel were the most imaginative, aggressive, and creative lawyers he has ever dealt with. This was a major factor to securing a massive settlement for our clients because we explored every possible source of legal liability and came up with unique and sound legal theories to impose liability on several parties; thus maximizing the result for our clients on whose behalf we brought a Missouri wrongful death claim in the St Louis City Circuit Court.

Full post as published by Missouri Injury Law Blog on January 18, 2008 (boomark / email).