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Car Accidents

Trusted St. Louis Car Accident Lawyer

The legal complications of a motor vehicle accident can drastically add to your stress, particularly if you also have a severe injury. You deserve the counsel of attorneys who have handled many other accident cases and know what to do to help you.

The team at Rogers Sevastianos & Bante LLP can help. With more than 100 years of combined legal experience, we serve clients on both the Missouri and Illinois sides of St. Louis.

We handle all varieties of motor vehicle accidents, including:

Since we also handle criminal defense and family law, we can navigate overlaps in practice areas. For example, if the other driver faces criminal charges for their actions or if the strain of your accident has caused your marriage to fall apart.

Why Are Car Accidents Are On The Rise?

Motorists are more distracted today than ever. In recent years, there has been a vast increase in cellphone-related accidents. Talking on a cellphone while trying to concentrate on the road is bad enough. Adding texting to the mix is even worse. Cellphone use contributes significantly to car accidents – one out of every four drivers involved was using a cellphone.

Distracted driving is not the only reason car accidents occur. Other common causes include:

  • Speeding
  • Careless or reckless driving
  • DWI/DUI
  • Exhaustion
  • Driving in poor weather
  • Motor vehicle defects

Between driver error, faulty equipment and poor road conditions, being on the road is far more risky than most realize.

Drunk Driving Is Becoming More Common, Not Less

Our team of personal injury attorneys understands the emotional turmoil a drunk driving accident can have on an innocent victim and their family.

Statistics are the best way to show you proof of just how serious it is when drivers get behind the wheel after drinking:

  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced that U.S. traffic deaths increased by 7.2% in 2015 compared to the previous year.
  • Last year, 35,092 people lost their lives on America’s roadways. NHTSA noted the year-over-year increase is the largest in nearly 50 years.
  • Alcohol-impaired crashes (where a driver had a BAC of 0.08 or higher) played a significant role in the overall increase in traffic fatalities, jumping sharply in 2015 to 10,265.
  • Fatal crashes involving passenger cars increased by 5%.
  • Alarmingly, in Missouri, alcohol-related fatalities increased nearly by 10% between 2014 and 2015.

Historically, drunk driving deaths resulted in 32% of all car accident deaths. Over 1,000 children die in drunk driving accidents annually. This is a growing concern and could affect you or a loved one someday. If you have been injured by a drunk driver, call us. A St. Louis car accident lawyer like ours can help get you on the road to recovery.

Catastrophic Car Accident Injuries

We understand the major physical, emotional and financial toll auto accidents take on you and your family. Even for a relatively minor fender bender, the short-term and long-term health consequences could be quite severe.

Our car accident attorneys are experienced in handling a wide range of injury cases, including:

Some of the injuries listed above will be obvious from the start, while others might not be. For example, if you suffer blunt force trauma or a blow to the head, you may not know you have been injured for days or even weeks afterward. This can cause you to delay medical treatment, which is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Back problems can take even longer to manifest, and the ongoing pain can destroy your quality of life and your ability to make a living. If you did not take immediate action to protect your rights, you may not be able to recover for your monetary damages, let alone the pain and suffering you are going through, and you may continue to suffer for the rest of your life.

Don’t delay – get checked out by a doctor and contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after your accident.

What Should You Do If You Are Injured In An Auto Accident?

If you are physically able to do so after a crash, capture as much evidence as possible:

  1. Take photos – Photograph the damage to all cars and where they are in relation to the roadway. Photograph the scene of the wreck. Take close-ups of the damage and photos that show the entire vehicle, paying attention to shadows and lighting. Take the same shot standing straight up and squatting down. Capture tire marks, skid marks and debris.
  2. Do not move or start your vehicle – In serious collisions, do not move your vehicle or allow the car to be started. This preserves the data from the computers that are on virtually every vehicle.
  3. Seek medical care – You also need to seek medical care immediately.
  4. Do not make a statement or post about the accident – Do not make a statement to anyone or post on any social media about the wreck. These statements and posts will be contorted out of context in the adversarial process that is a part of every insurance claim.
  5. Hire a car accident attorney – Hire a car accident lawyer who is seasoned at handling these cases through trial. The best lawyers prepare cases as if they are going to trial and do not cut corners because they have no real intention to take a claim that far when they are hired. Excellent trial prep yields excellent results at trial or at the settlement table because it presents insurance companies with a greater risk of full and complete compensation – not the half justice too many lesser lawyers are happy to accept.

Our Car Accident Attorneys Will Fight For You In:

Head-On Collisions

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, head-on collisions are among the most dangerous and deadly of all motor vehicle accidents. The injuries that result from these accidents can often result in lasting disability or death for their victims. Our attorneys will immediately begin investigating the circumstances surrounding your accident and building a strong foundation for your car accident case.

Road Rage

When a driver disregards the safety of others and knows that their driving could cause an accident, the law calls their behavior reckless. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) defines aggressive driving as a progression of unlawful driving actions such as speeding, improper or excessive lane changing, failing to signal intent and improper passing.

High-Speed Collisions

Like inattentive driving, speed plays a role in the greatest number of auto collisions and truck crashes in Missouri and Illinois. High-speed collisions also play a role in approximately 30% of all fatal crashes, according to a study by NHTSA. For the innocent survivors of a high-speed car accident, the physical and emotional recovery process can be horribly painful and unbelievably expensive.

Texting While Driving

When a driver becomes distracted, his automobile becomes an unguided missile that threatens all of us on the roadway. Despite the fact that the dangers of texting are both well known and widespread, texting while driving has become a daily danger, with accidents on the rise.

Drunk Driving Accidents

Drunk driving is no accident. Driving while intoxicated – whether by liquor or by drugs – begins with a choice. Yet, tragically, drunk driving and intoxication remain one of the leading causes of injuries and deaths on our roadways. When a driver chooses to break the law and operate a vehicle after drinking, they also choose to gamble with their life and the innocent lives of all of us on the roadway.

Drunk driving accidents often result when a driver speeds, drives too slowly, makes an improper turn in front of oncoming traffic, fails to stop at a red light or stop sign, drives on the wrong side of the road or rear-ends another vehicle. In some cases, the supplier of the alcohol may be found negligent as well.

The victim of a drunk driving accident is often left with overwhelming emotional trauma as well as expensive and sometimes debilitating personal injuries. Death and paralysis are common results of drunk driving crashes.

What Types Of Compensation Can You Recover After An Accident?

There are several varieties of compensation available for the survivors of car crashes or the relatives of someone who passed away in a crash. Some of these include:

  • Hospital bills
  • Physical therapy
  • Prescription medications
  • Lost wages
  • Loss of earning potential
  • Burial costs
  • Pain and suffering

We will help you explore every option available to you. When it comes to personal injury claims, we are determined to recover fair and just compensation through our creative strategies.

Will You Be Compensated For Pain And Suffering After A Car Accident?

Yes, pain and suffering are factors in car accident litigation. Pain and suffering fall under the category of noneconomic damages since it is not tied to an objective cost capable of quantification, like medical bills or property damage.

There are several ways to calculate pain and suffering damages. In a jury trial, we tell your story – one that is specifically tailored to your claim. We ask jurors to consider factors such as inconvenience, a loss of enjoyment of life, long-term or permanent disability, or how/whether your relationships will be impacted and how/whether your daily life will be significantly altered as a result of your injuries.

In short, we help jurors understand what was taken from you so that you get full and fair compensation. We won’t settle for a penny less than you deserve. As experienced trial attorneys, we can help you calculate pain and suffering damages in a way that accurately reflects the losses you’ve suffered.

Building Long-Lasting Relationships With Our Clients

We do much more than simply file papers for you. We take the time to build relationships with our clients so we can help you with any long-term legal issues you face. You will have us by your side today, tomorrow and well into the future.

Speak To An Auto Accident Lawyer Today

When you need a St. Louis car accident attorney to assist you with every step of your injury claim, Rogers Sevastianos & Bante LLP is ready. You can contact us to schedule a free initial consultation. Please call (314) 354-8484 or send us an email today.