St. Louis Catastrophic Injury Attorney

What to expect

What a catastrophic injury claim has to cover

If you are a victim of a catastrophic injury due to a car accident, a St. Louis catastrophic injury attorney can pursue the maximum available insurance recovery, including liability and underinsured motorist coverage. These cases are different from an ordinary injury claim. The medical treatment does not end when the insurer wants to close the file, the losses extend across a working life, and the person carrying the claim is often the family rather than the injured driver.

Catastrophic injuries include the following:

• Brain injuries and spinal cord injuries
• Herniated disc and nerve injury
• Severe burns
• Amputations
• Organ damage
• Multiple bone fractures or breaks
• Wrongful death, when the injuries are fatal

At The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. we have represented victims of catastrophic injuries from motor vehicle crashes since 1998.

• Brain and Spinal Cord Injury: We have extensive experience assisting accident victims who have sustained traumatic brain injuries (TBI), closed head injuries, concussions, and brain damage. We regularly represent the victims of severe spinal cord injuries, including people who have suffered paralysis (quadriplegia and paraplegia). Read more on our St. Louis brain injury lawyer and spinal cord injury lawyer pages.
• Herniated Disc and Nerve Injury: Paralysis is not the only catastrophic outcome of a spinal cord injury. A herniated disc can leave an injured person in excruciating pain, unable to work or conduct the tasks of daily living.
• Organ Damage: Blunt force trauma to internal organs can lead to liver and kidney damage that can be debilitating. Eye injury is another common problem in car and truck accidents, including corneal damage and blindness.
• Fractured Bones: Compound fractures and joint fractures are among the most serious broken bones, leaving the injured person open to developing arthritis later in life.
• Torn Tendons and Ligament Damage: Tendon and ligament injuries can be particularly difficult to treat and can cause recurring problems with age.
• Severe Burns: Burns are an incredibly painful injury. They traumatize a person physically and mentally for life. Our burn and amputation page covers how these claims are built.

Why these claims are valued differently

An ordinary car accident claim is often settled on the bills in hand. A catastrophic claim cannot be, because most of the cost has not arrived yet. The claim has to account for future surgeries and revisions, rehabilitation, in-home care, medical equipment, home and vehicle modifications, and the earning capacity the injured person has lost for the rest of a working life. Those figures are proven through the treating physicians, a life care plan, and qualified testimony on future care and lost earnings, not estimated from a demand letter.

Insurers know this, and the first offer in a catastrophic case is often built on the early medical bills alone. Accepting it closes the claim before the real costs are known. We do not value a case until the medical picture is clear enough to value it properly.

Finding every dollar of coverage

The at-fault driver’s liability policy is only the starting point. We identify every policy that may respond: the at-fault driver’s liability limits, any commercial or employer coverage where a company vehicle was involved, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which is pursued as part of the same claim when the at-fault limits fall short. Policy limits are identified early and pursued in full. Missouri lien law is then used so medical bills get satisfied from the recovery in a way that leaves the client with more of it.

Missouri rules that shape a catastrophic injury case

• Pure comparative fault. Missouri reduces a recovery by the injured person’s share of fault but does not bar it. Insurers often argue fault to shrink a large claim, so the evidence of how the crash happened is gathered early.
• Filing deadlines. Most Missouri injury claims must be filed within five years of the crash; wrongful death claims within three. Catastrophic cases take longer to value, so the deadline is tracked from the first call.
• Policy limits and underinsured motorist coverage. When the at-fault driver’s limits are exhausted, your own UM and UIM coverage may be the largest remaining source of recovery, and it is pursued within the same case.
• Missouri lien law. Health insurers, hospitals and Medicare may hold liens on the recovery. How those liens are handled changes what the client keeps.

What to expect when you call

You speak with the firm, not a call center, and the consultation is free. If the injuries are serious, you talk directly with Attorney Hoffmann. We gather the police report, medical records and insurance information, put the insurers on notice so no recorded statement is given without counsel, and begin identifying coverage while treatment continues. There is no fee unless we recover compensation for you, and every case is different; results depend on the facts.

Contact the Catastrophic Injury Attorney

If you or a loved one suffered a catastrophic injury in a car accident in Missouri, contact The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. at (314) 361-4242. We pursue the maximum available insurance recovery for catastrophic injuries from motor vehicle crashes. The consultation is free, and there is no fee unless we recover compensation for you.