Car Accident Lawyers in St Louis and St. Charles, MO.

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Take a picture of the other driver’s car immediately as the other driver who hit you may leave the scene. Yes, this happens every day! It has even happened with our clients, so we know how important it is to act immediately to get photographs.

While you’re still in your car or as soon as you can get out of your car, take pictures of the other driver’s vehicle. Those photos must include the license plate of the vehicle. Get a photo immediately of the other driver and any of their passengers so we can identify them later. Preferably this photo would have the other driver of the vehicle and the vehicle with the license plate number showing in the same photo. In the event the driver takes off, you have all the information you need to then call the police. If you’re not physically in condition to take the pictures, ask someone to do it for you.

Once they leave the scene of the accident, many times they start thinking of ways that it must have been totally or partially your fault. Then they’ll tell their own insurance company that it was your fault and not theirs. This can cause you a lot of grief in getting compensated for your car damages and personal injuries later from their insurance company. People don’t always tell the truth.

If you call the police after the car accident and the officer writes in his or her report that the other driver admitted fault, there is no doubt about it later. Insist that the officer make a police report of the accident so that later there won’t be any issues about whose fault the car accident was.

Unfortunately, sometimes people don’t stop to help other people in need because they don’t want to get involved or be inconvenienced. Still, some caring people are willing to help you and do in fact help by making statements.

You need to ask bystanders or witnesses to help you. When you are at the scene of the accident some folks unrelated to anyone involved in an accident will stop and come over to the scene and ask if you are alright and need any help. In our experience, most people don’t know what to do at this stage. Simply hand them your cell phone and have them put their name and phone number into it at the scene. This just takes a few seconds and they’re usually agreeable to doing so. Once they leave the scene of the accident and you don’t have their name and phone number, they will be gone forever.

You may even point this person out to the police officer so that the officer will then get their contact information as well and be more likely to put it into the police report. Many times, we’ve had clients that are shocked upon seeing the police report that the witness who was at the scene is not listed in the report.

If the other driver decides later to recant their initial admission of fault at the scene of the car accident, an independent witness version of the accident is immensely valuable to your case and insurance claim.

When the other driver’s own insurance company gets a copy of the police report and sees that the independent witness says it was the other driver’s fault, their insurance company will be more likely to accept liability on behalf of their insured driver and pay for your damages and injuries (medical bills).

Of course, the accident is important to you and your life situation, but it is just another claim to the insurance company and they have to take the side of their insured unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. Get the independent witness confirmation and you won’t be sorry later.

Once the other driver’s vehicle leaves the scene of the car accident it is hard to find it to get photographs of it. Now that we have cell phones in our hands all the time, it makes it easy to just take photographs of both sides of the vehicle as well as the front and back. The photos should show the whole sides and front and back of the vehicle and not just a close of the dents. In a car accident case, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Later take photographs of your vehicle too as they are also important! Similarly, take photographs of the whole front and back and both sides of your vehicle. You or someone on your behalf may have to go to the tow lot or salvage yard or repair shop to take these vehicle photos, and it is important to get them within a few days of the accident before any repairs or changes have been made to your damaged vehicle.

When you go to the hospital or doctor, tell them every pain or injury you are feeling at the time as you never know which one of them will be your biggest problem in the future. It is very important to describe every one of your injuries to the medical personnel because as part of their job duties they will write the injuries down into your medical records for future reference and for all to see.

For example, if you go to the hospital after a car accident and your biggest pain at the time is in your neck from whiplash, the lesser pain in your foot might not seem important since your neck hurts so badly.

If you don’t tell the medical care providers at the hospital about the pain in your foot from jamming it against the floorboard or stomping it on the brake and it turns out later there is a fracture in your foot, the insurance company and their lawyers will say that the foot fracture must have occurred from something else you did at a later date because you did not complain about it initially at the hospital or doctor’s office on the day of the car accident.

Take photographs of your scrapes and bruises that show up within the first few days after an accident as they’ll soon go away and the evidence of them is gone forever.

Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words. When we make a claim with the insurance company or end up filing a lawsuit and present your case to a jury, these photos of your injuries will increase the monetary value of your case. It is simply showing and tell for the jury and showing the pictures combined with your testimony about your injury makes it easy for jurors and insurance claims adjusters to understand the pain and problems you’ve been suffering from as a result of the other driver’s negligence.

You are at a great disadvantage without a lawyer present because the insurance professionals do this job every day. They know how to trick you into saying something that will come back to haunt you later, and they’ll have it recorded. Insurance company representatives know how to get you to say something in a way that they and their attorneys can use against you at a later date. Telling the truth is important, and there are ways to phrase it that can’t be used against you.

Hire the Krupp Law Firm as soon as possible after a car accident, and we will protect and help you get reimbursed for your losses and fully compensated for your injuries. If you already gave a statement to the insurance company, we can still help you as we know what to do and how to handle every situation from our years of experience.

Rear End collisions are a common occurrence due to distracted driving. Texting, eating or just being tired can lead to a rear end collision. These types of accidents commonly occur at stop signs and traffic lights.

Low impact collision is when a car collides with another car or an object at a low speed, typically under 15 mph. A low impact collision is typically referred to as a fender bender. Some examples of low impact collisions include:

• Bumping the car in front of you during heavy traffic.
• Side-swiping a parked vehicle, guard rail, or other object.
• Reversing into a car while leaving a parking spot.

A head-on collision (also called a “frontal” crash) is when vehicles moving from opposite directions collide front to front. Many car accidents cause injury but statistics prove head on crashes are more likely to result in serious injuries or fatalities.

Intersection or T-Bone accidents are also called side impact collisions. These accidents typically happen when one vehicle does not stop at a stop sign, stop for a red light or fails to yield the right of way. The collision happens when the vehicle that has the right of way can not slow down and impacts another vehicle in the side.

It is possible that the vehicle at fault cuts off the driver and forces another into an accident.

Vehicle rollover car accidents are typically the most dangerous type of car accident often resulting in fatality.

Vehicle rollovers are when the car, truck, or SUV tips on its side or top.