Call Me Today (816) 795-7500

Areas of Practice - Accidents We Handle

Types of Accidents We Handle

The Horn Law Firm, P.C. is an Independence, Missouri law firm that handles injury and wrongful death claims across Missouri. Over the last 25 years, Horn Law has a track-record of success in maximizing client legal recovery in vehicular crash cases, including car, truck, and motorcycle collisions arising out of interstate, highway, county and rural road collisions.

Distracted Driving Accidents

Distracted drivers, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation, in some form or other, cause up to 80 percent of all accidents on Missouri roadways. Learn more about how Horn Law can help you after a distracted driving accident.

Highways
Accidents

Highways allow for distracted or speeding drivers to cause serious problems for other motorists. Should you be in an accident on a Missouri highway, you need to work with an expert lawyer like Doug Horn who can help you receive the maximum settlement.

Interstate
Accidents

With a higher percentage of commercial vehicles taking up space on I-70, interstate accidents can be some of the most dangerous and deadly in the state of Missouri. For expert legal advice, turn to Horn Law and lead attorney Doug Horn for help.

County & Rural Road Accidents

Attorney Doug Horn has vast experience handling county and rural road accidents throughout the state of Missouri. Doug Horn and his team of experts will ensure that you get the maximum recovery to which you are entitled.

Car & Truck
Accidents

Car and truck accidents occur daily on Missouri roads. As the victim of an accident, make sure you have proper legal representation to ensure that you will get maximum recovery. Work with Horn Law to get what you deserve with out all of the hassle.

Motorcycle
Accidents

Motorcycle accidents have some of the highest fatality rates across the wide range of accidents that take place on Missouri roadways. For this reason, motorcyclists and their families often need representation for accident cases. Horn Law can help!

Drunk Driving
Accidents

While drunk driving is a well-known problem in America, Missourians are still getting behind the wheel after having too much to drink. At Horn Law, we can help you reach a maximum settlement when you are hit and injured by a drunk driver.

Work Trucks & Delivery Vehicle Accidents

The aftermath of being hit by a commercial vehicle can be stressful for the injured and their families. When you work with Horn Law, we take all the guesswork out of how your claim will be made and handled by our expert team of attorneys.

Passenger & Driver
Ejections

When a motorist or passenger is ejected from a vehicle during an accident, serious injuries are likely to occur. Learn more about how you can get a maximum settlement after an ejection from a vehicle.

Uninsured & Underinsured Drivers

Underinsured drivers and those without insurance altogether might not be able to pay for medical expenses or vehicle damage. Speak to an attorney to see how you can get the money you deserve.

Pedestrian
Accidents

When pedestrians are hit by motor vehicles, extensive injuries could be present. If you have been hit by a motorist in Missouri, you need to work with our expert attorneys to craft your lawsuit.

Bicycle
Accidents

Bicycle accidents are especially common in areas without bike lanes, and they put cyclists at high-risk for injuries and death. Work with our team of experts to receive a maximum settlement in your case.

Early Legal Consultation

Horn Law is a rapid response law firm and legal consultation is an important first step to obtaining the best results.

Right from the start, Lead Attorney, Doug Horn, will address the important legal, insurance, medical, and financial matters that are impacting the injured person and his or her family and outline the legal strategies that will result in maximum recovery to the injured person.

Because Horn Law has handled similar cases, we know what it takes to make the best recoveries for our clients. After legal consultation, an injured person should have all his or her questions answered and be prepared to authorize us to move forward with his or her case.

Although our home office is located just east of Kansas City, legal consultation with Lead Attorney Doug Horn can be easily arranged by calling our office at 816-795-7500 during normal business hours or using the chat function after hours or on weekends and holidays. We are always available.

Legal consultations can take place at the office, home or hospital. When time is of the essence, legal consultation can also take place by telephone or video conference.

Horn Law Reviews

Before retaining Horn Law to handle an injury case, many of our past clients have taken a look at the Google reviews online. When our clients were surveyed, they indicated that the top reasons they trusted Horn law with their case were because of our trustworthy representation, track record of success, and immediate action taken on their behalf.

The simple truth is that we pride ourselves on the approach we take to every case. That is- we devote our full professional abilities and resources to maximize our client’s recovery.

Accident Investigations

After contacting us, the Horn Law team will act quickly to investigate the crash, including investigations of all the drivers or entities who have fault or bear some responsibility for the collision.

As you might expect, in some cases proving fault is clear-cut. However, in other cases, proving fault can be complex, especially when the collision involves a commercial motor vehicle such as a truck, work or delivery vehicle. In a motor vehicle accident case, the following items can be crucial in establishing fault:

  • Obtaining a detailed record of the facts
  • Conducting an accident scene investigation
  • Conducting driver investigations
  • Inspecting the vehicles involved
  • Preserving any evidence
  • Securing official records, reports, and documentation
  • Engagement of liability experts

Part and parcel to the accident investigation, it is important that Horn Law establish insurance coverages that will be responsible for paying the settlements and awards that we obtain for our clients.

It is important to keep in mind that in many motor vehicle accident cases there may be multiple (3 or more) different types of insurance coverages that may be applicable. Right from the start, we will sort this out and make sure each claim of our client is properly presented. This is the foundation for obtaining the best possible settlement or award.

Special attention must be given to cases where the driver(s) at fault is not insured. In Missouri, these drivers are considered “uninsured motorists” and Missouri law enables the injured victims to make claim against the uninsured motorist coverages that cover the vehicle in which the injured person was in at the time of the collision. Again, there may be multiple coverages that apply.

Handling Insurance Adjusters

An important part of what we do at the outset of the case is to handle the insurance adjusters. We recommend that you do not give the insurance adjusters any sort of statement over the telephone until after you have discussed the case with your attorney.

Insurance adjusters, also known as Claim Adjusters, are there to investigate the accident and then “adjust” the injury claim in favor of the insurance company.

When an injured person retains Horn Law, we put the claims adjusters in the position of having to provide fair and full treatment of the claim. If the adjuster doesn’t act fairly, they know we will file a lawsuit to protect our clients.

While lawsuits are sometimes necessary to protect the rights of injured people, almost all cases we handle involve advanced negotiations, many of which end in settlements. Settlements are a good objective for both sides, but the settlement to our client must fully compensate them the full scope of past, present, and continuing damages. This is what we refer to as a maximum recovery.

Advanced Negotiations and Maximum Recovery

Proper handling of an injury case, especially a case involving serious injury, starts with investigation and ends with advanced negotiations. Advanced negotiations not only take into account the medical bills, lost income, and other personal losses during the recovery period, but also consider the on-going lifetime toll the traumatic injuries will play out over the long-term.

The amount paid to the injured person for his or her continuing damages makes the difference between an average settlement and a maximum recovery settlement. 

Proving continuing damages is critical to the outcome and must be fully evaluated on a case-by-case basis. There are two types of continuing damages: loss of mobility and loss of quality of life.

Generally, loss of mobility takes into account that an injured person, following recovery from the injury, will not have the same freedom of movement that he or she had before the accident injury. This is sometimes referred to as a permanent partial disability.

Another common aspect of continuing damages is the loss of quality of life an injured person experiences after they have gone through medical treatments and rehabilitation.  A loss in quality of life is a big factor in serious injury cases, but also evident in the cases of mild or moderate injuries. Loss of quality of life shows up because the injured person must still “manage” their injury after they have been released from medical care. For most people this means they need to rely upon medications, endure fatigue, loss of restful sleep, loss of productivity, and avoid or curtail certain physical activities.

This bottom line is that loss of quality of life takes into account that an injured person is not going to be 100% following his or her recovery. In some degree or another, the injured person is going to have to “live with” his or her injury for the rest of their life.