Hit and Run Accident Attorneys Kearney, MO

Hit and Run Accident Attorneys in Kearney, MO. How do you hold a driver accountable and collect great compensation for your damages when you have been harmed in a hit and run accident? Call the Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorneys of Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online so that we can begin fighting for you and getting you a full recovery for your Kearney, MO hit and run accident.

When a dangerous driver purposefully breaks the rules of the road and injured you or someone you care about, it is typical to feel dismayed and outraged. It is especially unnerving when the reckless party declines to take responsibility for their negligent driving and drives away from the scene of the in a hit and run accident. You may be puzzled about who is going to pay for the damages to your property and you or your family member's injuries. The committed, seasoned and skilled Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorneys at Burger Law know how to hold dangerous and willfully irresponsible driver’s accountable. We will help you comprehend the situation and will fight by your side to maximize your recovery and get you on the path to recovery. Call us now at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a free case review.

In the United States in 2016, 2049 people were killed in hit and run accidents, which was a 62 percent increase from 2009. Of those who died, just about 65 percent of them were pedestrians or bicyclists, and approximately one in five pedestrian deaths occur in hit and run accidents. A hit and run accident transpires every 43 seconds in the United States. Any injury arising from a car accident can be traumatizing and produce life-long consequence or, in the worst cases, wrongful death. However, hit and run cases intensify your wounds as you may not receive medical treatment immediately, and you may not know who to turn to or how to collect equitable compensation for your injuries and damages. Our group of experienced and talented hit and run accident attorneys at Burger Law have helped those harmed in hit and run accidents in the Kearney, MO area get full recoveries and understand how to maximize your compensation. When you reach out to us at (314) 500-HURT, we begin work on your case at once, and we do not charge any fees until we win your suit.

If you have been harmed in a hit and run accident, take a loot at our personal injury calculator to see how much you may be able to collect in compensation.

Hit and Run Accident Attorneys: Understanding the Laws in Kearney, MO

If somebody behaves carelessly and harms you in a hit and run accident, they are not only to blame for your injuries, they are guilty of breaking the law. In Missouri, fleeing the scene of an accident is against the law. When a motorist causes or is involved in an accident, they are required by law to:

• Remain at the crash site
• Move their car if it hazardous to other drivers, otherwise, wait for instructions from police
• Render aid to anyone who is hurt
• Call the Kearney, MO police
• Use flares, reflectors, or flashlights if the accident happened at night or in bad weather
• Trade contact info and insurance information with everybody involved
• Stay at the crash site until a police officer tells them differently

Additionally, an accident report has to be filed if damages exceed $500 or the accident leads to injury or death.

Missouri Statute 577.060 classifies “leaving the scene of an accident" as a Class A Misdemeanor, which is the most serious misdemeanor offense and carries a maximum penalty of one year in a local jail and a fine of $2,000. However, leaving the scene turns into a Class E Felony if any of these three conditions are met:

1. Physical injury was caused by another party;
2. Over $1,000 in damages was caused to another party’s property; or
3. The defendant was previously found guilty of leaving the scene of a hit and run accident.

A hit and run becomes a Class D Felony if the accident is fatal and causes somebody’s death. While it is reassuring that we have laws discouraging hit and runs, a criminal conviction for the irresponsible driver will not get you the money you are entitled to. They may be found culpable in the Kearney, MO criminal court, but you need talented and dedicated hit and run accident attorneys like those at Burger Law who will insist that you get the maximum recovery you need to recover. When you hire us, we start working on your case at once and are relentless until we win. You do not owe us a dime until we win your case and we will represent you aggressively to ensure the negligent party accepts complete responsibility for their careless actions.

Dos and Do Nots After Being in a Hit and Run Accident

While being in any accident is frightening and can leave you feeling helpless, it can be particularly nerve wracking if the negligent driver does not respect the law and flees the scene. The rules are in place for a reason, and it is discouraging and startling when someone disregards those rules and behaves thoughtlessly and irresponsibly. The committed and talented Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorneys at Burger Law hold careless drivers responsible and win you the compensation you are entitled to. It is important to know what to do and what not to do directly following your accident, so you can increase your odds of getting the best possible compensation:

• DO NOT flee the scene yourself. You could think the damages are too insignificant to want to deal with the nuisance, or you may be nervous that you are partially at fault. Leaving the location of a crash will make it much harder for you to get compensation for your injuries, and, more importantly, it is against the law.
• DO get medical care. The health and safety of everybody involved should be your chief thought. If you or somebody else is injured, try to keep them in a stable condition and wait for Kearney, MO emergency services to come and render aid.
• DO NOT hesitate to call the police. Missouri law requires you to call the police in any crash that causes over $500 worth of damages or leads to bodily injury or death. Even if you are not certain what the degree of the damages or injuries are immediately, having a police report will help immeasurably in winning your case.
• DO NOT pursue the driver. When you are hit by another car in a hit and run accident, anger and outrage are natural reactions. You may be motivated to follow the driver and find out who is responsible. That is Kearney, MO law enforcement’s responsibility. Chasing after the other person not only puts yourself, other drivers, passengers and pedestrians at more risk, but it will impede you from being able to get important information and may even make the police suspicious of you.
• DO safely discern what you can about the at-fault driver and vehicle. To do this, you can:
  • Take photographs. If you are not seriously injured and can use your phone before the car is completely gone, take as many photographs as possible. Even if you cannot get an entire license plate number, a partial number and/or the make, model and color of the car will be incredibly helpful in determining who the driver was. It also helps to take photographs of any tire marks or other damage to the crash site.
  • Talk to witnesses. Other people at the accident site may have been able to see more than you did, or will be able to validate your story. Be sure to get their contact information so an insurance company, law enforcement officer or Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorney will be able to get in touch with them later.
  • Write it all down. If you did not have time or the ability to take photos, anything you could observe about the other car or driver will be easier to recall immediately following the crash, and those details will still be of great help to the police and your hit and run accident attorneys.
• DO contact your Kearney, MO insurance company. If the driver is never located, you will have to make an uninsured motorist claim with your own insurance company.
• DO call Burger Law at (314) 500-HURT straight away. Our savvy and knowledgeable hit and run accident attorneys will help you gather evidence, including getting access to close by surveillance footage and contacting witnesses for complete depositions. We work alongside a network of Kearney, MO car accident experts who will be able to reconstruct the scene and demonstrate exactly how the negligible party caused your injuries.

Below are some helpful links and frequently asked questions for hit and runs and other categories of car accidents:

Hit and Run Cases in Missouri

The ideal scenario is that police and/or your hit and run accident attorneys will be able to find the liable driver that caused your damages and hold them responsible for their careless driving. In those cases, the tenacious and skilled Kearney, MO hit and run accident lawyers at Burger Law will make certain you receive full compensation from the driver and their insurance company.

Uninsured Motorist Claims in Hit and Run Accidents

In Missouri, drivers are required to have uninsured motorist insurance. If you cannot find the anegligent driver after a hit and run accident, you and your hit and run accident attorneys will need to use this part of your policy to seek a recovery from your own insurance company. In Kearney, MO, there are four standards that must be met in order for you to make this claim:

1. You received bodily injuries
2. The injuries happened as a result of an uninsured motorist, or in the case a motorist you cannot identify
3. You are legally owed compensation from the at-fault driver
4. All other limits of applicable policies have been exhausted by payment or settlement

In these cases, your own Kearney, MO insurance company acts as a stand in for the negligent party’s insurance company in order to compensate you for your injuries. However, like other insurance companies, they may still have to be persuaded to pay. To have the best opportunity to receive full compensation from an uninsured motorist claim, you need veteran and knowledgeable Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorneys like we have at Burger Law to fight by your side. We have been standing up to insurance companies and other bullies for decades, and will not give in until your own insurance company pays you back the money you have probably been paying into their policies for years.

Whether the at fault driver is located or not, the hit and run accident attorneys at Burger law will make certain you get the full compensation that you are entitled to. When you sustain injuries because somebody else did not respect the rules of the road, you are entitled to maximum compensation for all of damages you have sustained because of the accident, for example: your medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning potential, pain and suffering, mental anguish and reduced ability to enjoy life. No matter how severe your injuries, we demand that you are compensated for every nickel you are entitled to. If you or a family member in Kearney, MO has been harmed in a hit and run accident, call Burger Law today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online.

Causes of Hit and Run Accidents

It is any driver’s legal and moral duty to stay at an accident site. When someone flees the scene of a hit and run accident, it is because they are more concerned about the repercussions for themselves than any damage or harm their irresponsible behavior caused. There are a variety of reasons the liable party might not want to take responsibility for their actions:

• The driver does not have car insurance

  In Kearney, MO, not having appropriate insurance can cause you to have your license suspended for up to a year, paying a $400 reinstatement fee, a $500 fine and/or up to 15 days in jail. "No insurance" tickets are also never removed from a Kearney, MO driver’s record.

• The driver does not have a driver’s license, or has a suspended license

  This also carries severe penalties and can be either a Class A misdemeanor or a Class E felony, based on whether you have been discovered without a valid license before.

• A drunk driver or a driver otherwise under the influence of drugs

  A DWI is a criminal charge that can also result in fines, jail time, and revocation of a license.

• The driver may have a warrant out for their arrest

  It probably is not surprising that people who have already committed a crime would risk breaking the law again to run away from a crash site.

• Distracted driving

  Driving while not focusing on the road is reckless and dangerous. People can become distracted if they are texting, eating, looking at directions, tired or are just daydreaming.

• Lack of potential witnesses or low lighting

  A driver may flee a crash site simply because they think they will not be caught. Hit and run accidents are 4.5 times more likely to occur between midnight and 4AM, when there is low visibility and far fewer witnesses on the Kearney, MO roads or sidewalks.

• A panicked driver

  Sometimes the driver has a clean record but simply leaves the accident because they are afraid and do not want to get in trouble. Occasionally, these drivers turn themselves in once they have calmed down.

While we cannot control what other drivers do on the road, we can take some safety measures as both drivers and pedestrians. Try to avoid walking in areas with bad lighting at night, and when you are driving, stay alert at all times and never assume that leaving the scene of an accident is the best choice.

Regardless of the reason a driver chooses to leave the scene after causing a hit and run accident, they must have presumed the benefits of running were greater than the cons. The Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorneys at Burger Law will hold them accountable and ensure they see they were wrong. In our seventy years of experience as hit and run accident attorneys in Kearney, MO we have successfully litigated hit and run cases in many differing circumstances. We demand maximum compensation for all of our hit and run accident clients and will not let up until you recover the money you are owed to put you on the path to recovery. Call us today at (314) 500-HURT for a free consultation and so we can get started on your case right away.

The Kearney, MO lawyers of Burger Law have the experience and knowledge to help you receive the full recovery you deserve after any accident or injury caused by someone else leaves you injured. Learn more about our fields of expertise below.

• Truck Crash Lawyers in Missouri
• Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer in Missouri

If you or a loved one sustained injuries in a Kearney, MO hit and run accident, you are probably feeling confused, angry, and vulnerable. Injuries and their related bills can uproot your life. Burger Law is here to help you recover. When you hire our team of Kearney, MO hit and run accident attorneys, we start working on your case and fighting for you straight away. We insist that the negligent parties and their insurance companies are held accountable and we insist on getting you great compensation to aid you in your recovery. Call us today at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online for a complimentary case review to take the first step in getting your life back on track.