In Missouri, after a truck accident, you may be eligible to pursue compensation for damages including medical bills, lost wages from work, future care costs, physical therapy, vehicle damage, pain and suffering, emotional distress, out-of-pocket costs, and in certain situations, punitive damages intended to address especially reckless behavior.
If the crash stole a loved one from you, families can also pursue wrongful death damages to cover funeral costs and lost financial support
The amount you can recover depends on factors like the severity of your injuries, who was at fault, and the insurance coverage available.
Economic Damages You Can Claim
Economic damages are the money losses you can prove with receipts, bills, and pay stubs. These cover the actual dollars that came out of your pocket or that you lost because of the accident.
The goal is to return you to the same financial position you were in before the truck hit you. This means covering every penny you spent or lost because of someone else’s mistake.
Medical Bills and Future Care
You can recover every medical expense related to your truck accident injuries. This includes bills you’ve already paid and treatment you’ll need in the future.
Your medical damages begin the moment the ambulance arrives and continue for as long as you require care. We collaborate with medical experts to accurately estimate the costs of your ongoing treatment, ensuring that no expense is overlooked.
Emergency and Hospital Care
This includes all initial costs, such as the ambulance ride from the scene and any emergency room visits. You can also recover the full cost of hospital stays, surgical procedures, and all related services provided during your hospitalization.
Ongoing and Specialized Treatment
You can seek compensation for all follow-up doctor appointments and visits to specialists, such as neurologists or orthopedic surgeons.
This also includes costs for physical therapy, rehabilitation services, and any prescription medications or medical devices required for your recovery.
Long-Term Care
If your injuries are severe and require sustained care, you can recover costs for home health care, nursing assistance, and long-term facility stays.
Medical Equipment
You can recover the cost of any medical equipment needed to assist you with your recovery or to manage a permanent disability. This includes items like wheelchairs, crutches, braces, and other assistive devices.
Lost Wages and Future Earning Capacity
You can claim compensation for any days of work you have missed because of your injuries.
This includes your regular salary, overtime pay, bonuses, and commissions that you would have earned. Your claim is not limited to past income; it also covers your future financial security.
Lost Wages
This category of damages covers the income you have already lost since the time of your accident. We work to meticulously calculate every dollar you missed, ensuring your claim accurately reflects your past earning potential.
Future Earning Capacity
Lost earning capacity is different from lost wages. This is a forward-looking calculation that covers the income you will lose in the future if your injuries permanently prevent you from working at the same level.
If your injuries force you to take a lower-paying job, work fewer hours, or leave the workforce entirely, you can recover the difference between what you made before the accident and what you can earn now.
Our award-winning Missouri truck accident attorneys collaborate with vocational and financial experts to determine these long-term losses.
Vehicle Damage, Rental Costs, and Diminished Value
Your vehicle damage claim covers repair costs or the fair market value if your car was totaled. You can also recover rental car expenses while your vehicle is being fixed.
Diminished value is money for the loss in your car’s resale value. Even after perfect repairs, your vehicle is worth less because it was in a serious accident. This loss is real money you can recover.
You should also keep receipts for towing, storage fees, and any personal items damaged in the crash.
Out-of-Pocket Costs and Home Modifications That Are Covered
After a truck accident, many smaller expenses can add up quickly. You are entitled to recover these out-of-pocket costs that are a direct result of your injuries.
These expenses are often overlooked, but they represent real money you had to spend because of the accident. It is crucial to keep every receipt and document how each expense is connected to your injuries.
Travel and Communication
This category includes all travel costs associated with your medical appointments, such as gas, parking, and mileage. It also covers communication costs, like phone calls related to your case or treatment, which are necessary to manage your recovery.
Household and Medical Needs
You can be compensated for money paid for household help, such as cleaning, yard work, or childcare that you are no longer able to do due to your injuries. Additionally, all medical supplies, including over-the-counter medications, bandages, and comfort items, are recoverable expenses.
Home Modifications
If your injuries result in a permanent disability, you can seek compensation for necessary home modifications. This includes the cost of installing ramps, grab bars, or making other significant changes to your bathroom or living space to accommodate your new physical needs.
Non-Economic Damages You Can Recover
Non-economic damages pay for losses that don’t have a price tag. These cover how the accident affected your life, relationships, and happiness.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering cover the physical hurt and discomfort from your injuries. This includes both the pain you’ve already felt and the pain you’ll experience in the future.
Chronic pain, limited mobility, and permanent disabilities increase your pain and suffering damages. You’ll need to document how your pain affects your daily activities and quality of life.
There’s no legal limit on what you can recover for your pain and suffering. The more severe and long-lasting your injuries, the higher your pain and suffering award will be.
Emotional Distress and PTSD
Truck accidents often cause severe mental and emotional trauma. You can recover damages for anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder caused by the crash.
Many truck accident victims develop a fear of driving or being a passenger.
Sleep problems, nightmares, and panic attacks are also common after a serious crash.
Mental health treatment records help prove these damages.
Your doctor’s notes about how the accident affected your emotional state strengthen your claim.
Loss of Consortium and Enjoyment of Life
Loss of consortium damages compensate your spouse for the impact of your injuries on your marriage. This covers the loss of companionship, intimacy, and household support.
Loss of enjoyment of life can be compensated for activities you can no longer do. If you can’t play sports, pursue hobbies, or participate in family activities like before, you deserve compensation.
These damages recognize that life is about more than just paying bills. Your happiness and relationships matter too.
How Disfigurement or Disability Affects Damages
Permanent injuries like scarring, amputations, or paralysis warrant significant additional compensation. These injuries affect how you see yourself and how others see you.
Visible scars or disabilities can impact your self-confidence and social interactions.
The younger you are, the higher these damages typically are because you’ll live with the disfigurement longer.
Permanent disabilities that limit your independence or require ongoing assistance also increase your non-economic damages substantially.
Wrongful Death Damages Available in Missouri
The sudden loss of a loved one in a truck accident is a devastating and heart-wrenching experience. While no amount of money can ever fill the void they left behind, the law provides a way for grieving families to find a measure of justice and secure their financial future.
By filing a wrongful death claim, you can hold the responsible parties accountable for a future that was unjustly taken away.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim
In Missouri, wrongful death claims are typically filed by the spouse, children, or parents of the deceased.
The law recognizes that these family members are the ones who suffer the most profound financial and emotional losses. It is crucial to act quickly, as you must file a wrongful death lawsuit within three years of your loved one’s death, a shorter deadline than the five-year limit for other injury claims.
Recoverable Wrongful Death Damages
Funeral and Burial Expenses
You can recover all reasonable costs for your loved one’s final arrangements, including funeral services, burial expenses, and cremation costs. This ensures that a tragic loss does not also become a financial burden.
Medical Bills Before Death
We seek compensation for all medical bills incurred between the time of the accident and your loved one’s passing, including ambulance services, emergency care, and hospital stays.
Lost Financial Support and Services
Your claim can include the income, benefits, and financial support your family depended on. We work with experts to calculate the full value of the lost financial future. Additionally, we seek compensation for the value of the household services and tasks your loved one performed, from childcare to home maintenance.
Loss of Companionship
This is a claim for the profound emotional loss your family has endured. We seek damages for the love, comfort, companionship, guidance, and emotional support that was taken from you, acknowledging the immeasurable impact of losing a beloved family member.
Punitive Damages Awarded in Missouri Truck Cases
Punitive damages are intended to punish defendants for extremely reckless behavior. These aren’t meant to compensate you but to send a message that such conduct won’t be tolerated.
Courts award punitive damages only when there’s clear evidence of outrageous misconduct.
The defendant must have acted with complete disregard for others’ safety.
Examples that might warrant punitive damages include:
- Truck drivers operating under the influence of drunk driving laws
- Companies falsifying logbooks to hide hours-of-service violations
- Trucking companies knowingly send out unsafe vehicles
- Repeated safety violations that were ignored after warnings
You need strong evidence to prove punitive damages. The standard is higher than for regular compensation.
Steps That Help Maximize Your Compensation
Taking the right actions after your truck accident can significantly impact your final compensation. Being proactive protects your rights and strengthens your claim.
Many people don’t realize how their early decisions affect their case value.
Following these steps helps ensure you don’t accidentally hurt your claim.
Document Care and Pain
Keep detailed records of your recovery process. Consider keeping a daily journal to track your pain levels and note how your injuries are impacting your daily activities.
Document every way your injuries have changed your life. Note activities you can no longer do, sleep problems, and emotional struggles you’re experiencing.
Take photos of your injuries as they heal. Visual evidence of your pain and recovery process helps insurance adjusters and juries understand what you’ve been through.
Track Bills and Expenses
Save every document related to your accident expenses. Create a file for all medical bills, pharmacy receipts, and proof of lost wages.
Keep detailed mileage logs for trips to medical appointments. Save receipts for over-the-counter medications, medical supplies, and any help you had to hire.
The more complete your documentation, the easier it is to prove your damages and recover every penny you’re owed.
Be Careful When Dealing With Insurance Adjusters
Be very careful when dealing with the trucking company’s insurance adjuster. They’re trained to minimize payouts and look for reasons to deny claims.
Never give a recorded statement without speaking to an attorney first. Don’t sign any documents or medical authorization forms that the insurance company sends you.
Avoid posting about your accident on social media. Insurance companies monitor these accounts, looking for evidence to use against you.
Work With An Attorney To Preserve EDR and Logbook Evidence
Critical evidence like the truck’s electronic data recorder and driver logbooks can disappear quickly. Trucking companies often destroy this evidence unless legally required to preserve it.
You need an attorney to send a preservation letter immediately after your accident.
This legal document requires the trucking company to save all relevant evidence for your case.
Electronic logging device data gets overwritten regularly.
Without quick action, this valuable evidence could be lost forever.
Knowledgeable Missouri Semi-Truck Accident Law Firm
We understand the overwhelming stress you’re facing after a serious truck accident. Physical pain, emotional trauma, and financial pressure can feel impossible to handle alone.
At Beck & Beck Missouri Car Accident Lawyers, we’re the only law firm in Missouri that focuses exclusively on auto accident law. We have decades of experience helping truck accident victims pursue the compensation they deserve.
Our family-run practice handles every case personally. We investigate your crash, preserve critical evidence, and manage all communications with insurance companies. You pay no fees unless we win your case.
Contact us today for a free case evaluation. Let us fight for the maximum compensation you deserve while you focus on healing.
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