Fatal Car Accidents in St. Louis

After a fatal car accident in St. Louis, you should not be left to pick up the pieces on your own. Turn to the trusted and knowledgeable fatal car accident attorneys of McCready Law. Call us now or fill out this form to speak to a skilled St. Louis fatal car accident lawyer, free of charge.

There is nothing that can bring back your loved one and no magical cure that can take away your pain. There is, however, a way to hold the driver accountable for the tragedy they inflicted upon you and your family through their recklessness and a way for you to receive a financial recovery that can help lighten the burden following the death of your loved one. To make sure justice is served, the driver is punished and your family is given a chance to heal and move forward in memory of loved one, it is imperative that you find a fatal car accident lawyer in St. Louis right away. Our fatal car accident lawyers of Missouri are here for you.

Our legal team of distinguished personal injury lawyers and experienced paralegals have had the honor of representing hundreds of St. Louis and Missouri families and individuals when they have suffered at the hands of a negligent actor and to date have recovered more than $200 million in verdicts and settlements for our clients.

We live to stand up for the vulnerable, including St. Louis families who have had loved ones taken from them in fatal car accidents. The outcome in your case, the recovery you have collected, and your peace of mind and security for your future all depend upon the abilities of your fatal car accident lawyer. You must find a car accident lawyer who not only possesses the technical capabilities, resources and track record to win your case, but also is someone you can trust. Our fatal car accident team in St. Louis understands that what you are going through is unspeakably painful. We approach your case with compassion and revere the solemn responsibility of providing you with the same level of legal advocacy and litigation that the insurance companies have at their disposal.

Fatal Car Accident in St. Louis: Legal Recourse

After the outrage and devastation of seeing your loved one’s life cut short by a reckless driver in a fatal car accident in Missouri, what are your options? Every fatal accident is unique and affects those close to the victim in many different ways. There is no right or wrong way to grieve, no set time limit for processing your loss.

However, you and your family may be eligible to receive compensation for the loss of a loved one in a St. Louis fatal car accident. Our team of St. Louis lawyers specializes in restoring justice for those who have been harmed by tragedies like fatal car accidents. When you hire the Burger Law fatal car accident law firm, we will demand that you receive maximum compensation and that the person responsible pays for the irreversible harm they have caused through their negligent actions.

In addition to affecting you emotionally, losing a loved one can have a huge impact on your life in practical ways. If your spouse is killed, you may suddenly be a single parent with only one income. You may lose your health insurance through your spouse’s employer, a caretaker to your children and a significant portion of your household income. Filing a wrongful death suit with the help of experienced fatal car accident lawyers in St. Louis can help alleviate the stress and pressure of dealing with these details.

Fatal Car Accident Wrongful Death Claim

If your family member was killed by a reckless or negligent driver in a fatal car accident in Missouri, you have the legal option to make a wrongful death claim. Missouri law on wrongful death allows those who have lost a loved one due to another person’s negligence, such as in the event of a fatal car accident, to be compensated for their losses and to make the negligent person pay for the harm they have caused.

Missouri Revised Statute §537.080 identifies three categories of individuals who are able to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against a defendant. The most immediate family members (spouses, children and descendants, grandparents) have first priority. If no such family members are able to bring the suit, siblings and their descendants may be permitted to do so. If there are no available family members in the first two categories, the court may appoint a special plaintiff ad litem to make a claim for the death of a loved one. Our experienced St. Louis attorneys have a deep understanding of Missouri law and will put our skills to use to ensure that you are compensated for the loss of your loved one and that the person responsible is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.

In filing a wrongful death claim, you will most certainly need a great lawyer who has experience representing families who have lost their loved ones due to the negligence or poor decisions of another person, such as in a fatal car accident. Our attorneys have experience winning tough fatal car accidents and other claims, securing the maximum possible compensation for our deserving clients.

Fatal Car Accident Wrongful Death Case Results

We are a leading personal injury and wrongful death law firm serving those who have been harmed by others across Missouri and other states. With over 100 years of combined experience, we have helped our clients recover more than $200 million in verdicts and settlements.

Our St. Louis attorneys fight relentlessly for victims in fatal car accidents, and our clients’ case results reflect that tenacity. You can hear some of our clients’ stories directly by viewing our testimonial videos or you can read about some of our recent successes below.

• Father Killed by Reckless Truck Driver: $500,000 Settlement
• $2.5 Million Settlement for Father’s Fatal Car Accident
• Work-Related Wrongful Death Accident: $1 Million Settlement
• $765,000 Settlement After Fatal Collision

What Damages Are Available in a Fatal Car Accident Case?

Though it is plain that no amount of money could make up for the lost of your loved one after a fatal car accident, you have a chance to receive a financial recovery to compensate you for your losses. By filing a wrongful death claim against the negligent parties, you have an opportunity to hold responsible the person or people who caused your loved one’s fatal car accident and to receive compensation for the losses you have experienced.

You have only one chance to collect a full recovery after a fatal car accident and it is critical that you make the most of it by hiring a skilled lawyer in the St. Louis area. Our St. Louis attorneys have extensive experience negotiating and demanding full recoveries for our clients. As a leading law firm, our team of attorneys is intimately familiar with all the different damages for which you might be eligible for compensation under §537.090. We will not rest until you receive a complete financial recovery.

In your fatal car accident wrongful death claim, you may be able to recover compensation for the following categories of damages.

• Victim’s Economic Damages – any costs your loved one incurred before their death. Economic damages could include medical bills, lost wages, costs of treatment and other expenses or monetary losses. One way to look at this category of damages is that these are the damages the victim would have been compensated for in a personal injury case if they had survived.
• Survivors’ Economic Damages – the costs incurred by the immediate family members (spouses, children, parents, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings) or other surviving family members recognized by the court as legitimate wrongful death plaintiffs. Economic damages for surviving family members could include funeral and burial costs, lost wages, lost benefits and other compensation that they will no longer receive.
• Victim’s Pain and Suffering – non-economic damages for the victim’s pain and suffering before their death. This is an especially important area of compensation in situations where the victim was not killed instantly but survived for some amount of time with major injuries or health conditions. If your loved one lost their life in a St. Louis fatal car accident, you can collect compensation for the pain and suffering they experienced.
• Survivors’ Non-Economic Damages – non-monetary damages you have experienced as a result of your loved one’s fatal car accident death. Non-economic damages for the surviving family member(s) cover things like loss of companionship, guidance, counsel and consortium.
• Punitive Damages – damages meant to punish the responsible party. Punitive damages are only present in cases where the liable person was grossly negligent or intentionally caused harm. If your loved one was killed in a fatal drunk driving car accident in St. Louis or the person responsible could be guilty of criminal murder, manslaughter or a similar offense, you may be able to make them pay through punitive damages.

We have the resources and expertise to identify and investigate all forms of damages you and your family have experienced and will demand full payment to help you continue in life. We fight fiercely for our clients’ rights and do not rest until you receive complete compensation.

Do not wait; call today for help recovering full payment in your wrongful death case after your family member was killed in a fatal car accident. No amount of money could hope to replace your loved one, but receiving maximum compensation can help provide stability for your family and allow you to live on to honor your loved one’s memory.

What Are Common Types of Fatal Cat Accidents in St. Louis?

• Head-On Collisions: motor vehicle crashes where vehicles traveling in opposite directions meet each other and collide head-on, or into the front of both vehicles. Head-on collisions can often be fatal, especially when they occur at high speeds. These car accidents are commonly caused by distracted drivers, fatigued drivers or drivers who are under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Rollover Accidents: when a vehicle rotates to the point that the side or roof of the vehicle meets the ground. Rollover crashes are caused by loss of control over the vehicle, often due to swerving to avoid an obstacle or to overcorrect the vehicle’s direction. Rollover car accidents can be dangerous and even fatal, as passengers in the vehicle can be struck by loose objects or can sustain head and spine injuries if the roof of the car caves in.
• Pedestrian Accidents: a vehicle crashing into or otherwise causing harm to someone who is not in a vehicle, typically on foot. Pedestrian car crashes can be fatal for pedestrian victims because they are exposed and do not have the protection of a vehicle around them. A human body is no match for a large, fast-moving modern vehicle.
• T-bone Accidents: a type of crash where one vehicle runs head-first into the side of another vehicle. T-bone car wrecks happen when a driver ignores traffic signals, runs a red light or misjudges the speed and distance of an oncoming vehicle. T-bone collisions often become fatal car accidents for those in the vehicle situated on the side where it was impacted by the other vehicle.

Any kind of motor vehicle collision can be fatal, especially when one or more of the vehicles involved are traveling at high speeds at the time of the impact. If you or a loved one are seriously injured or killed in a car accident in St. Louis or elsewhere in Missouri, contact a lawyer right away.

Fatal Car Accident Injuries

Car accidents and other motor vehicle accidents vary wildly in severity and, in turn, so too do the settlements victims of car accidents receive. Of course, loss of life is the worst possible outcome in a car accident. If someone you love was in a fatal car accident in St. Louis or anywhere in Missouri, you need a lawyer right away to handle your case with care and fight fiercely for your family’s recovery.

Normal car accidents can cause all kinds of injuries, ranging from mild scrapes that heal on their own to severe injuries that result in long-term or permanent disability and/or disfigurement. In the same way, car accident injuries in fatal car accidents in St. Louis range from those that leave the victim in the hospital fighting for their life for days to injuries that cause death instantly. A victim who dies in a car accident could die on-site, as is the case for about forty-six percent of car accident fatalities, according to the Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine, or later on from complications.

Top Fatal Injuries

Injuries sustained in car accidents can typically be described as either impact injuries or penetrating injuries. In impact injuries, a stationary or moving object strikes a part of the victim’s body. Penetrating injuries, on the other hand, occur when an object pierces the victim’s body. Both types of injuries can be fatal depending on the severity and area of the body affected. The most common car accident injuries that become fatal include the following:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) According to the CDC, in 2020 there were 64,000 traumatic brain injury deaths, and car accidents are one of the leading causes of fatal TBI. Traumatic brain injuries are caused by sudden trauma, either by impact or penetration, to the brain. While mild and moderate cases generally heal successfully, severe TBI can result in coma or death. Severe traumatic brain injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for individuals under the age of 44.
• Spinal Cord Injuries According to the World Health Organization, 90% of spinal cord injury cases are caused by trauma, and car accidents are the leading source. Spinal cord injury fatalities are strongly associated with the severity of the injury and the availability of prompt and proper medical care. 10-20% of spinal cord injury sufferers die before they can be brought to a hospital, and another 3% die during emergency hospitalization immediately following the injury.
• Internal Bleeding Internal bleeding can be dangerous anywhere in the body and one of the most common causes of internal bleeding is trauma from car accidents, including impact and penetrating injuries as well as deceleration injuries, when the sudden stop of a vehicle causes internal organs or vessels to break or rupture. Internal bleeding can cause fatal organ failure when untreated, and severe cases are often fatal even with timely intervention. The problem with internal bleeding is that it is sometimes difficult to detect, and car accident victims may not realize the severity of their condition until it is too late.
• Broken Bones Trauma from car accidents and other accidents is the most common cause of broken bones, and the majority of the time, broken bones are not fatal. However, extreme breaks like displaced fractures or comminuted fractures when the bone is shattered into several pieces can be especially dangerous, as these shards of bone could puncture and do damage within the body. In is also well-established that broken bones increase the risk of death in adults over the age of 50.

St. Louis Fatal Car Accident Lawyers Who Fight

After any kind of traumatic event, it is often difficult to take action or to even know what to do next. When you have lost a family member in a fatal car accident in Missouri, the first thing you need to do is call the fatal car accident lawyers in St. Louis.  Once you have made the call and hired a dedicated and tenacious attorney to represent you, let us bear the burden of your suit so you can take much-needed time to grieve.

We recognize how difficult and delicate this time is, and we approach our duties as your fatal car accident law firm with the utmost care and respect. Our clients trust us with their lives and their futures, and we never let them down. Hiring a lawyer for any matter, let alone something as significant as a wrongful death suit is a consequential decision and one you should not make lightly. That is why our  legal team has worked hard to provide a wealth of resources to help those who have been harmed by others in St. Louis and throughout Missouri. Before you make a decision, learn more about how to choose the right law firm, answers to frequently asked questions about wrongful death claims and other insights into your legal options.

We are always available to answer your questions for free. If you have questions about what to do, if you have a wrongful death case, whether you need a lawyer or would like to discuss anything else regarding your case, contact our knowledgeable and compassionate lawyers today. If your loved one was killed in a fatal car accident in Missouri, take the first step toward justice and closure.