Is It Worth It to Hire an Injury Lawyer in Kansas City, Missouri?
Hiring an experienced professional for any service provides you with a number of benefits that you would not otherwise have if you handled the situation alone. A personal injury attorney is no different.
A personal injury lawyer is an investment in your recovery. Your lawyer will have a wide range of resources available to use in your case that will come at no extra cost to you — all investigatory costs are part of your legal fees. Your attorney will also have experience handling negotiations, evaluating and calculating settlements, and filing paperwork in civil court — and any errors during this process can lead to significant consequences for your case.
Errors can delay the filing process, and if you wait too long to file, the court will dismiss your claim and you will lose your chances at recovery. In addition, you may not know the damages you qualify for, and may estimate that you need a lower settlement than you actually do. This can lead to you accepting insufficient settlement offers and not having the adequate funds to pay for your damages.
In addition, hiring a Kansas City personal injury attorney from Fowler Pickert Eisenmenger Norfleet comes at no risk to you. This is due to our contingency fee system, which helps make personal injury representation more accessible to all Missouri residents.
What Does a Personal Injury Lawyer Typically Cost?
At Fowler Pickert Eisenmenger Norfleet, we recognize that legal representation can be expensive. Our contingency fee system limits your out of pocket expenses and does not require you to pay any upfront costs.
Under a contingency fee agreement, you do not have to pay for any of our legal fees unless we secure a settlement on your behalf. No settlement, no invoice from our firm. If we do secure compensation for you, we will take an agreed-upon percentage of your final settlement as payment. Typically, contingency fee arrangements are around 33%.
How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit in Kansas City?
Missouri, like all other states, imposes a statute of limitations on lawsuits filed in Missouri civil court. The statute of limitations is a deadline by which you must file your claim, or the court will dismiss it and you will lose your chances at collecting maximum compensation.
Missouri Statute of Limitations
You have five years from the date of your accident to file your claim in Missouri civil court. There are some exceptions to this rule, but they are not common in most personal injury lawsuits.
For example, if you are mentally incapacitated or under the age of 21 at the time of the accident, you have five years to file your individual case once you turn 21 or from the court declares you mentally competent. If the person responsible for your injury leaves Missouri during the five-year period, the length of his or her absence will likely not count as part of your filing deadline.
While this rule may seem restrictive, the statute of limitations ensures your evidence is fresh and your witnesses are reliable. Waiting too long to file your claim increases the chances that your evidence may not be available or viable enough to use in your case, and unreliable witness testimony can seriously harm your claim.
Contact the experienced Kansas City injury attorneys at our Missouri law firm to begin the filing process and ensure you meet this strict deadline. Our experts can give you legal advice and provide you with general information about the legal process.
