Personal injury lawyer help in Buchanan County, Missouri

Buchanan County, Missouri includes 6 named communities, the largest being Saint Joseph. Whether an accident happened on a county road, in a small town or in one of the larger communities, the same Missouri rules apply: a 5-year filing deadline for most injury claims, pure comparative negligence, and lawsuits filed in the Buchanan County Circuit Court. This page is the county-wide guide, with links to a page for each community.

Ask Legal Matters is a free claim-review request service, not a law firm. Requests from Buchanan County may be shared with independent attorneys and legal services partners who handle car, truck, motorcycle and pedestrian accidents, slip and fall injuries, workplace injuries and workers' compensation, medical malpractice and wrongful death matters in Missouri. There is no charge to submit a request and no obligation to hire anyone.

Each community below has its own guide with the local court, insurance rules and every type of injury claim.

• Saint Joseph, MOpop. 76,780

Smaller communities in Buchanan County include Agency, De Kalb, Easton, Faucett, Rushville. Residents of these areas follow the same Missouri rules, use the same Buchanan County Circuit Court, and can request a free claim review from anywhere in the county.

Missouri generally gives an injured person five years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (RSMo § 516.120); medical malpractice claims generally must be filed within two years, and wrongful death claims typically run from the date of death. Claims against a city, county, school district or state agency require a formal notice of claim far sooner, sometimes within a few months. Once the deadline passes, the Buchanan County Circuit Court will dismiss the case regardless of how clear the fault was, so the practical rule in Buchanan County is to get legal advice early.

Missouri follows pure comparative negligence. In plain terms, you can recover damages even if you were mostly at fault, but your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. Insurance adjusters apply this rule from the first phone call, which is why the way an accident is described and documented in the days after it happens in Buchanan County has a direct effect on what a claim is worth.

After a crash in Buchanan County, the at-fault driver's liability insurance is the primary source of compensation. Missouri requires drivers to carry only 25/50/25 in coverage (thousands of dollars for bodily injury per person, per accident, and property damage), which serious injuries quickly exhaust. Underinsured motorist coverage on your own policy and claims against additional responsible parties often make the difference in Buchanan County cases.

Lawsuits arising from accidents in Buchanan County are typically filed in the Buchanan County Circuit Court, the trial court of general jurisdiction for Buchanan County, although cases can sometimes be filed where the defendant resides or does business, and claims against out-of-state trucking companies or manufacturers may end up in federal court. Most claims settle before trial, but the credible ability to try a case in Buchanan County is what moves insurers to pay fair value.

Employees injured on the job in Buchanan County are generally covered by Missouri workers' compensation, administered through the Missouri Division of Workers' Compensation. Report the injury to your employer immediately and file a claim within the state's deadline (generally about two years). Workers' compensation does not pay for pain and suffering, so when a third party such as a subcontractor, driver or equipment manufacturer caused the injury, a separate personal injury claim is often worth pursuing alongside it.

• Andrew County, MO
• Clinton County, MO
• Holt County, MO
• Dekalb County, MO

See the Missouri personal injury guide for every county in the state.