Why Car Accident Cases Matter in Missouri
Car accidents are the single most common type of personal injury case in Missouri. The Missouri Department of Transportation recorded over 800 traffic fatalities and tens of thousands of injury crashes in 2023 alone. Behind every statistic is a real person whose life was turned upside down by someone else's negligence — a distracted driver who ran a red light, a drunk driver who crossed the center line, a tailgater who rear-ended a stopped vehicle at 60 miles per hour. These are not "fender benders." They are life-altering events that cause traumatic brain injuries, shattered bones, spinal cord damage, and wrongful death.
Insurance companies know car accidents are common, and they have built an entire industry around paying as little as possible on every claim. Adjusters are trained to offer quick, lowball settlements before you understand the full extent of your injuries. They use recorded statements, surveillance, and medical record reviews to find any reason to deny or reduce your claim. Their goal is not fairness — it is profit. Every dollar they don't pay you is a dollar that stays on their balance sheet.
Attorney Mark Taran fights for car accident victims across Missouri. He understands how insurance companies operate, what tactics they deploy, and how to build cases that overcome their defenses. From the moment you call, Mark works to preserve evidence, document your injuries, and position your case for maximum recovery. You pay nothing upfront and nothing unless we win.
Missouri's Pure Comparative Fault — RSMo § 537.765
Missouri follows a "pure comparative fault" system for personal injury claims, codified at RSMo § 537.765. This law determines how fault is allocated between the parties in a car accident and directly impacts how much compensation you can recover. Understanding comparative fault is critical to protecting your rights after a crash.
Under Missouri's system, each party in an accident is assigned a percentage of fault based on the evidence. Your total recovery is then reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if a jury determines your total damages are $500,000 and you were 20% at fault for the accident, your recovery is reduced by 20% — you would receive $400,000. The key threshold is 51%: if you are found to be 51% or more at fault, you are barred from recovering any compensation at all.
Insurance companies exploit comparative fault aggressively. Their adjusters and defense attorneys will look for any reason to assign you a higher percentage of fault — arguing you were speeding, distracted, failed to signal, or didn't brake in time. Even a 10% increase in your assigned fault on a $500,000 case means $50,000 less in your pocket. This is why having an experienced attorney who can investigate the accident, gather evidence of the other driver's negligence, and challenge inflated fault allegations is essential to maximizing your recovery.
Missouri Comparative Fault — Quick Reference
- Under 51% fault: you can recover — damages reduced by your fault percentage
- At 51% or more fault: you are barred from recovery entirely
- Insurance companies routinely inflate your fault percentage to reduce payouts
- An experienced attorney protects your rights and fights fault allegations with evidence
- Example: 20% at fault on $500,000 in damages = $400,000 recovery
Missouri law (RSMo § 537.765) governs comparative fault in personal injury cases. Consult an attorney for advice specific to your situation.
Common Causes of Missouri Car Accidents
Understanding what caused your accident is the foundation of your legal claim. Each cause of action carries different evidence requirements, liability theories, and potential damages. Missouri law holds negligent drivers accountable for the harm they cause — and identifying the specific type of negligence strengthens your case significantly.
📵 Distracted Driving
Texting, phone use, GPS interaction, eating, and infotainment systems divert a driver's attention from the road. Missouri banned texting while driving under RSMo § 304.820 for all drivers. Distracted driving is now the leading cause of car accidents in Missouri and across the nation, accounting for thousands of crashes and hundreds of deaths every year.
🍺 Drunk / Impaired Driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs remains one of the deadliest causes of car accidents. Missouri's legal BAC limit is 0.08% for most drivers and 0.02% for commercial drivers. Impaired drivers face both criminal prosecution and civil liability for all injuries and damages they cause. Punitive damages may also be available in DUI cases.
⚡ Speeding
Excessive speed reduces reaction time and dramatically increases the severity of collisions. At higher speeds, the force of impact rises exponentially — a crash at 60 mph produces four times the force of a crash at 30 mph. Speeding is especially common on Missouri's rural highways and interstates, where long straight roads encourage dangerous velocities.
🚦 Running Red Lights / Stop Signs
Intersection collisions caused by running red lights or stop signs are among the most dangerous types of car accidents. T-bone (side-impact) crashes strike the weakest part of a vehicle's structure, offering minimal protection to occupants. These crashes frequently cause catastrophic injuries including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, and death.
🔄 Unsafe Lane Changes
Failure to check blind spots, merging without signaling, and cutting off other drivers cause sideswipe collisions and multi-vehicle pileups. On Missouri highways, unsafe lane changes at high speed can send vehicles spinning into barriers, medians, or oncoming traffic — turning a momentary lapse in judgment into a fatal accident.
🌧️ Weather-Related Accidents
Rain, ice, snow, and fog create hazardous driving conditions across Missouri, particularly during winter months. However, bad weather does not eliminate a driver's duty of care. Missouri law requires drivers to adjust their speed and driving behavior to match road conditions. A driver who fails to slow down on icy roads or follow at a safe distance in rain can still be held liable for accidents they cause.
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Car Accident Injuries & Damages
Car accident injuries range from minor soft tissue damage to catastrophic, life-altering conditions. Even "minor" accidents can cause injuries that don't manifest symptoms for days or weeks after the crash — which is why immediate medical evaluation is critical. Understanding the full scope of your injuries and all available damages is essential to recovering fair compensation.
🩺 Whiplash & Soft Tissue
Neck strain, back pain, and soft tissue injuries are the most common car accident injuries. They occur when the body is jolted violently during impact. While often dismissed as "minor," whiplash can become chronic, causing ongoing pain, limited mobility, and the need for long-term physical therapy.
🦴 Fractures
Broken bones from impact are extremely common in car accidents — ribs, arms, legs, wrists, and pelvis fractures all occur regularly. Compound fractures require surgical repair with pins, plates, and rods, followed by months of physical rehabilitation and potential permanent limitations.
🧠 Traumatic Brain Injury
Concussions and closed head injuries occur when the brain strikes the inside of the skull during impact, even without direct head contact. TBIs can cause cognitive impairment, memory loss, personality changes, and permanent disability. Even mild concussions require careful medical monitoring.
⚡ Spinal Cord Injuries
Herniated discs, spinal fractures, and spinal cord damage can result from the violent forces of a car collision. Severe spinal injuries may cause partial or complete paralysis. Treatment involves emergency surgery, extensive rehabilitation, adaptive equipment, and lifelong care costing millions of dollars.
🩹 Lacerations & Scarring
Shattered glass, torn metal, and deployed airbags can cause deep lacerations and puncture wounds. Facial lacerations may result in permanent scarring and disfigurement, causing emotional distress and reduced quality of life in addition to the physical injury.
✝️ Wrongful Death
When a car accident victim is killed, surviving family members may bring a wrongful death claim under RSMo § 537.080. Recoverable damages include funeral and burial expenses, lost financial support, loss of consortium and companionship, and grief damages.
Damages You Can Recover
Medical expenses — all past and future costs: emergency room visits, surgery, hospitalization, diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, rehabilitation, prescription medications, and projected future treatment for permanent injuries.
Lost wages and earning capacity — income lost during your recovery period, plus reduced future earning capacity if your injuries prevent you from returning to your previous occupation or working at the same level.
Pain and suffering — Missouri does not cap non-economic damages in motor vehicle accident cases. Juries are free to award whatever amount they determine is fair compensation for the severity, duration, and life impact of your physical pain and emotional suffering.
Property damage — the cost to repair or replace your vehicle and any personal property destroyed in the crash, including electronics, child car seats, and other items.
Uninsured / Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Missouri
Missouri has one of the highest rates of uninsured drivers in the country — an estimated 15–20% of motorists on Missouri roads carry no liability insurance at all. For car accident victims, this creates a critical question: if the driver who hit you has no insurance or insufficient coverage, how do you recover for your injuries, medical bills, and lost wages?
The answer is Uninsured/Underinsured (UM/UIM) motorist coverage — insurance you carry on your own policy that protects you when the at-fault driver cannot cover your damages. Missouri requires insurers to offer UM/UIM coverage when you purchase a policy, though you are permitted to reject it in writing. If you accepted UM/UIM coverage, your own insurance company is obligated to pay up to your policy limits when the at-fault driver is uninsured or underinsured.
Missouri law (RSMo § 379.200) permits stacking of UM/UIM policies when multiple policies apply to a single accident. If you have UM coverage on more than one vehicle, or if multiple family members in the same household carry separate policies, those coverages can be stacked — potentially doubling or tripling your available recovery. Many car accident victims don't realize they have access to stacked coverage until an attorney reviews their policies.
Even if you don't carry UM/UIM coverage, other avenues may exist. Household members' policies, employer-provided coverage, or umbrella policies may apply. An experienced attorney can identify all available sources of compensation and pursue every dollar you're entitled to recover. Use our Missouri Settlement Estimator to get a preliminary estimate of what your case may be worth.
The 7-Step Protocol After a Missouri Car Accident
What you do in the hours and days after a car accident directly impacts your ability to recover fair compensation. Insurance companies begin building their defense the moment a claim is filed. The steps you take to protect yourself and preserve evidence can mean the difference between a full recovery and a fraction of what you deserve.
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1
Call 911 and seek immediate medical care Even if you feel fine at the scene, adrenaline masks pain. Internal injuries — traumatic brain bleeding, organ damage, spinal cord compression — can be life-threatening and symptom-free for hours or days. A medical evaluation creates the documentation that connects your injuries directly to the accident. Every day you delay treatment gives the insurance company ammunition to argue your injuries aren't related to the crash.
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Call the police and get a written accident report A police accident report is one of the most important pieces of evidence in any car accident case. It documents the responding officer's observations, fault assessment, traffic violations, road conditions, and witness statements. Get the report number at the scene and request a copy as soon as it becomes available.
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3
Document the scene — photographs, witnesses, everything Use your phone to photograph all vehicles involved (from multiple angles), damage to each vehicle, the road surface, traffic signals and signs, skid marks, debris, weather conditions, and your visible injuries. Collect the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of all witnesses. Do not rely on the police to collect all witness information — they often don't.
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Preserve all medical records and bills Keep every medical document: emergency room records, diagnostic imaging (X-rays, CT scans, MRIs), surgical reports, physical therapy notes, prescription records, and receipts for out-of-pocket expenses. These records prove the nature and extent of your injuries and the costs you have incurred and will continue to incur.
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Do not talk to the other driver's insurance company Anything you say to the at-fault driver's insurance adjuster — including descriptions of your pain, your daily activities, or a casual "I'm doing okay" — can and will be used to minimize your claim. Do not give recorded statements. Do not sign any documents. Do not accept any offers. Refer all communication to your attorney.
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Preserve evidence before it disappears Surveillance footage from nearby businesses, traffic cameras, and dashboard cameras is routinely overwritten or deleted within days or weeks. A preservation demand letter from your attorney can compel businesses and government agencies to retain this footage. Vehicle data recorders (black boxes) in modern cars contain crash data that can prove speed, braking, and steering — but this data can be overwritten too. Time is critical.
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Contact a car accident attorney immediately The other driver's insurance company has adjusters, attorneys, and investigators working to protect their interests from the moment of the crash. You need an attorney working just as hard on your side. Mark Taran offers a free consultation with no obligation — he'll evaluate your case, explain your options, and begin protecting your rights immediately. Submit your case for free review online or call (573) 227-8841.
Missouri's Statute of Limitations for Car Accidents
Missouri law imposes strict deadlines for filing personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits. If you miss these deadlines, you permanently lose your right to recover compensation — regardless of how clear the other driver's fault was or how severe your injuries are.
Personal injury claims arising from a car accident must be filed within 5 years from the date of the accident, pursuant to RSMo § 516.120. This is the deadline for filing a lawsuit in court — not just for making an insurance claim.
Wrongful death claims — when a car accident victim is killed — must be filed within 3 years from the date of death, pursuant to RSMo § 537.080.
While five years may sound like a long time, waiting to act is one of the most common and costly mistakes car accident victims make. Evidence deteriorates rapidly. Witnesses relocate and forget critical details. Surveillance footage from businesses and traffic cameras is overwritten within days or weeks. Vehicle damage is repaired or scrapped, destroying physical evidence of the collision's severity. Medical records become harder to connect to the accident as time passes.
Insurance companies also benefit from delay. The longer you wait, the more opportunity they have to argue that your injuries were caused by something other than the accident, that your medical treatment was excessive, or that you weren't seriously hurt because you didn't seek legal help promptly. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after a car accident to begin preserving evidence and building the strongest possible case.
Frequently Asked Questions
Free Car Accident Case Review
Takes 60 seconds. Mark personally reviews every submission. No fee unless you win.
✓ Request Received
Mark will contact you within 24 hours. Call (573) 227-8841 if you need to speak with someone sooner.