There are circumstances when the driver in a single-vehicle accident may not be liable, include hitting a tree or any other object with a car, running off the road, or flipping in the middle of the road without hitting another vehicle.
This legal professional has shown exceptional competence and dedication in their field. I highly recommend their services to anyone seeking legal representation that is committed to unwavering advocacy and support throughout the entirety of their case.
I would describe this lawyer as highly educated, sharp, and top of his game. Explains the car accident process and treatment options well. The lawyer said if they don’t pay you, we will have the jury take it from the insurance company. Great lawyer. Dynamic person.
Interviewed all the TV car accident lawyers and decided to call this law firm that had great reviews. So happy I did. What a difference!
Response from the owner: TV car accident lawyers are just mass production. This is not a good fit for litigated cases. Paralegals instead of lawyers. Monthly quotas for settlements. Car accident victims end up in a cattle call with the lawyers on TV.
Love my car accident lawyer. This law firm is a step above.
Response from the owner: Our lawyers train and track the best approaches on cases. Whether litigation in cases or the practicalities of certain treatment, the growth of our lawyers over time is paramount. Always staying ahead of and setting practice trends. Thank you.
Serious family member have a car accident injury? Look no further. This litigator is for real. Always two steps ahead of the other lawyer.
Response from the owner: This is a sad reality for car accident lawyers. The #1 passenger in an auto accident is a relative. Helping a family make it through this and putting the family back together is one of the most rewarding things I do as an automobile accident attorney.
This lawyer handles really big accident cases in St Louis. He is a lawyer, accountant and has his masters in tax so he gets the injury cases for individuals that can never go back to work or individuals own a business and cannot run it due to injury. He specializes in valuations of massive loss. Thank goodness a firm like this exists.
Response from the owner: Thank you. When accident are severe and you lose the ability to work or to continue a business, having an accounting and tax background is key. Valuing large losses are second nature for us.
Asked a trauma surgeon who operates on car accident victims who are the best injury lawyers that have taken his deposition. He said “by far” it was Mr Hoffmann. Interviewed several attorneys and this was a correct assessment. In a league of his own!
Response from the owner: Our attorney have deposed nearly all the trauma surgeons at every Level 1 Trauma Center in Saint Louis. These doctors save lives after a car accident. Whether controlling bleeding or reestablishing blood flow or bone structures, they are life savers.
Few lawyers in St. Louis can handle the biggest injury cases! This is one of them!
Response from the owner: Our law firm has made great efforts in terms of training to handle life changing injury cases. Whether in depth knowledge of the medical, loss of income and earning capacity, or lifetime medical care plans, our clients feel confident and know their case is in good hands. Thank you for the compliment.
Cannot say enough about this lawyer. Call if in an accident. This attorney handles the biggest car accidents in St Louis.
Response from the owner: Thanks Ash! Our biggest source of cases is our clients. Our second biggest referral source is defense lawyers telling their relatives to call us. Few lawyers can handle the largest cases. Our law firm welcomes and has trained for this. We don’t do mass production settlement like the lawyers on TV. Our clients can never go back to work. Their cases need massive focus and effort and often long fought litigation.
So glad I called attorney Hoffmann. This time I got it right! So glad I hired the Hoffmann Law Firm - professional, reliable and available.
Response from the owner: Thanks Taylor. Our lawyers answer the phone day, night, weekends and even during lunch. Being professional means training to beat the best defense lawyers. Client rely on us to get results and we do.
Great lawyer. Cares about his clients, knows his stuff and goes the extra mile. I recommend this lawyer for car wreck injury claim. Every other lawyer on TV would not even help with my property claim. This attorney did.
Response from the owner: Thank you for the kind words. Every case starts with a great client. You are correct the car accident lawyers on TV are mass production settlement mills. When injury clients fire them, we get their files and the cases are not worked up at all. Appreciate your confidence in us!
Major car accident injury in St Louis area for a family member. Four different lawyers we know said the same thing - call Chris Hoffmann. On another level.
Response from the owner: This is such a great compliment. Most of our cases come from prior client or lawyers that also do car accidents cases but the particular case is too large or too difficult. Being a lawyer and an accountant, we specialize in cases with total lost of income, earning capacity and/or often the inability to continue a family business. Evaluations such as these are second nature for our lawyers. Thanks.
Best in St Louis for auto accident cases. Nobody else is even close.
Response from the owner: So kind of you to leave this review. Whether our lawyers are going after big insurance or their lawyers, skill and experience are essential and win the day for our auto accident clients. Thanks!
This attorney is very smart, very experienced, returns phone calls and knows the answers when asked. One call and I knew this was a great law firm for auto accidents.
Response from the owner: Our law firm appreciates this. This is a comment we get from so many people who call…”none of the lawyers we called told me all the things that you did.” Whether we take a car accident case or not, helping people is a good thing.
5 Star Lawyer for sure! Best you will find in Saint Louis.
Response from the owner: Thanks for the 5 Star Rating. Reviews like this are great. Injury victims quickly figure out the TV advertisers are not good. We work hard at being the best we can be and it reflects in our representation of car accident victims.
Watch this lawyer in action. Was way better than all the others. Get this lawyer for an automobile accident for sure.
Response from the owner: Thanks for the recommendation. Besides doing cases, our attorneys train for this. Hard work, case knowledge and technique is key to success in car accident litigation.
Very pleased with The Hoffmann Law Firm. Lawyers are attentive, friendly and go the distance to force the settlement you want. The TV lawyers recommend low offers. This law firm gets the maximum.
Response from the owner: We get calls from car accident victims that had to fire the TV lawyers that they hired. They give the same two reasons: 1) they never spoke to a lawyer at the Big TV law firms, only a paralegal, and 2) the paralegal recommended they accept a low offer. At our law firm, you only talk to the lawyer and if an offer is low we tell you to sue. Thanks!
Several lawyers said to call this lawyer because he is the best. You will appreciate this law firm. Helped with the injury and property claims. Attentive and knowledgeable. Great reputation in St Louis.
Response from the owner: Thanks Lexi. Our #1 source of cases is other lawyers referring us cases that are too big for them to handle.
Would use this accident law firm. Best in Saint Louis. Highly rated and it shows. After one phone call, you just know this attorney is better. 5 Stars!!
Response from the owner: Thanks for recommending our lawyers in St Louis. There is a major difference in lawyers as you well know.
Car accident lawyers on tv are not good . Get this attorney ! He is a pro !!
Response from the owner: Thanks Nathan. TV lawyers market for car accidents, use paralegals instead of lawyers and give their employees settlement quotas hence forcing cheap settlements. At our law firm, you get a lawyer who keeps pushing forward for more.
Quality lawyer. Best law firm for a car accident. Advice was way better than other lawyers I called in St. Louis. Helped with property and injury.
Response from the owner: Thanks. The TV lawyer advertisers are just car accident settlement mills. As soon as people call a real attorney, they always tell us how much better and more helpful we were. Appreciate this.
This lawyer is big time. Smooth. The other lawyers on the other side were not nearly as good as this attorney. I recommend friends in St Louis to him for accident injuries and they all say the same thing…”that lawyer is great.”
Response from the owner: Very nice of you to say. Our lawyers work hard on auto accident cases.
Family used this car accident attorney after a crash. Located in St Louis. This lawyer answers the phone and will walk you through the process. Knows his stuff!
Response from the owner: Taking calls, going over the car accident injury and property process is important. Clients that call always say we are the only lawyers that explained everything. Much appreciated.
Tried the lawyers on TV. They were not good. Hired this car accident lawyer instead because he had great reviews. The reviews are correct. This attorney is as good as they get. He does big injury cases that need to be litigated.
Response from the owner: Car accident lawyers on TV do not litigate cases. It is mass production. They have quotas. Local attorneys are best on auto accidents.
Used this attorney for an auto accident. Highly recommend this lawyer in St. Louis. Communicates well.
Response from the owner: Communicating with clients is essential. Taking the client though the car accident claims process is important otherwise major mistakes can occur. It is an effort that we make. Thanks!
Fantastic law firm, I would recommend! Received free consultation related to an auto accident when my parked car was damaged by a baseball. Very supportive advice, these guys are good!
I was in a car accident in St.Louis and hired Chris as my lawyer. He was amazing!!! He helped me every step of the way and was able to get me a great settlement!!!Highly, highly, highly recommend him!
Response from the owner: Each step is important in a car accident. Thanks for recommending us for car accidents injury claims.
Since there is only one driver involved, in most cases the driver is held responsible for the accident. However, there are circumstances when the driver in a single-vehicle accident may not be liable.
Factors that can contribute to cause a single vehicle personal injury case
Motor vehicle mechanical problems and design defects
Improper signage, warning devices about roadway hazards or traffic barriers
Roadway hazards such as road construction, road damage or bridge problems
Negligence such as driving carelessly or too fast.
The passenger has no control of the vehicle, and is generally not at fault. However, in some rare circumstances the passenger may contribute to the accident. For example, if the driver is under the influence of drugs or has been driving, and the passenger is likely aware of this fact and still decided to ride with them. This “assumption of risk” is often used by lawyers in an attempt to minimize the value of claim.
Missouri is a comparative fault state. This means, a party’s recovery is reduced by his/her share of fault. In almost all cases, the passenger is not at fault, because they have no control of the car. So, comparative fault is normally not an issue in single vehicle accidents except under rare circumstances.
Apart from the driver error, there may be other factors that can come into play when it comes to single car accidents. It may happen that the vehicle had some manufacturing defect or the road construction workers forgot to set up road barriers. Failure on the part of the authorities to maintain roadways can also amount to negligence. This type of negligence can result in serious injuries, extensive property damage, and in worse cases, loss of life. It is important to note that just because there is no other vehicle involved in the accident, this does not mean that there is not a potential personal injury claim. If the accident was caused by another person’s failure to act responsibly or properly, a personal injury case can arise.
Liability for a Single-Vehicle Accident
Scenario 1 – A driver is not paying attention to the road signs and as a result causes another car to swerve and crash in an attempt to avoid a collision. In this case, there is no collision and only the second car is damaged. Although only the second driver has crashed, it is not his or her fault. The driver of the first car can be held liable for causing the accident.
Scenario 2 – There is one car driving on the road. The car runs off the road and hits a tree, not damaging any other vehicles, and the accident has not been caused by another vehicle. The driver is the one responsible for the crash.
Scenario 3 – If poor road conditions caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle, the driver may file a claim against the agency in charge of maintaining the road. When claiming that poor road conditions caused a single-vehicle accident, a counter argument can be made that the driver should have paid more attention and lowered the speed. A St. Louis car crash attorney can be helpful to prove liability is this situation.
Getting legal help for a single vehicle claim
A vast majority of single car accidents involve driver error. It is important that all evidence of mechanical failure is preserved. The victim should take pictures of the accident scene and surrounding area to prove that road hazards were the cause of crash. In some cases, accident reconstruction may be necessary to show the cause of accident.
Compensation for Single-Vehicle Car Accidents
If you have been involved in a single-vehicle accident and you believe the accident was not your fault, gather the relevant evidence to prove your claim. Contact a St. Louis car crash attorney to give you legal advice and help you file for compensation. Call The Hoffmann Law Firm, L.L.C. at (314) 361-4242.
4 Common Causes of Single Vehicle Accidents
Distraction
Every time you take your eyes off the road, you put yourself at risk. The reason is that when you’re in a car, you are often traveling at high speeds. Taking just a second or two to check your phone or give in to some other type of distraction can mean the difference between safety and immense danger. Often, that danger comes in the form of driving off of the road and hitting an object.
Intoxication
Between poor judgment, compromised motor skills, and a propensity for passing out at the wheel, drunk driving is one of the most common causes of single vehicle accidents. If you choose to engage in this behavior, there is a good chance that you’ll leave the road and hit a sign, tree, or pedestrian. Avoiding this result comes down to simply not driving while intoxicated.
Animals in the Road
Whether you’re in the heart of St. Louis or slightly outside the city, there is always a chance of wildlife being in the road. This factor often causes people to make erratic moves in an attempt to save the animal in front of them. While noble, that behavior often leads to a crash. The best way to protect yourself from that result is by keeping your speed down. That way, when you see an animal in the street, you can slow down instead of making a sharp turn.
Weather Conditions
Hydroplaning is one of the scariest things that can happen to you when behind the wheel. What happens is that your tires stop sticking to the ground and you subsequently lose control of your car. In a rural setting, that can mean driving into a ditch or off a cliff. In the city, you could be headed for a collision with a street sign or pedestrian. Either way, you’ll want to watch your behavior closely when weather conditions are wet or icy. One additional note is that people often have trouble with glare, too. You can fight that effect with the help of clean windows, clean mirrors, and polarized sunglasses
The unfortunate truth about single vehicle accidents is that if you get in one, there is a good chance that you won’t have a personal injury case. Still, you may have a credible claim if some other party played a role in your accident. Some typical examples include you evading a reckless driver or you hitting a piece of road debris. No matter what the conditions surrounding your crash are, it is best to talk to a St. Louis car accident lawyer about your options.
