St. Louis Teen Driver Accident Lawyer

Teenagers are inexperienced drivers. While we all understand that the only way to gain experience is to drive, sometimes a teen’s lack of know-how or careless or reckless actions on the road can cause a car accident that seriously harms someone else.

If you or a loved one was in an accident caused by a teen driver, you may have questions about your rights and how to pursue the compensation you deserve for your injury-related losses. A St. Louis teen-driver accident lawyer is ready to explain your legal rights.

Who Is Liable for Damages In a Teen Driver Accident In St. Louis?

In Missouri, a parent or guardian must sign an underage minor’s driver’s license application. This leaves the parent jointly liable for any damages caused by the teen driver, including property damage and personal injury costs. Signing a driver’s license application means the adult takes on full financial liability.

Often, an injury victim’s claim for damages is made against the vehicle’s insurance policy, which is typically a family policy covering all drivers in the same household. Even when the teenage driver is clearly at fault for the accident, the insurer may try to assign an injured driver in the other vehicle a portion of liability. This allows the insurance company to reduce the compensation they pay on the claim by the injury victim’s percentage of fault.

For this reason, it’s crucial to have experienced legal representation from a St. Louis auto accident lawyer who conducts an independent investigation to build a compelling case demonstrating the teenager’s full legal liability and carefully calculates the injured client’s damages to make a strong claim for the full value of damages.

Common Damages Recovered by Victims Of Teen Driving Accidents In St. Louis

Car accident injuries are expensive to treat, as well as painful and temporarily or permanently debilitating. A successful car accident claim in St. Louis recovers compensation for common damages such as the following:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Out-of-pocket injury-related costs
• Past and future income loss or reduced earning ability
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Catastrophic injury compensation for permanent harm, such as loss of limb, vision damage, hearing loss, organ loss, disfigurement, or diminished quality of life

If you lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a teen driver, a wrongful death lawyer in St. Louis can help your family recover compensation and regain a sense of justice.

Understanding the Dangers of Teen Drivers In St. Louis

According to the National Safety Council (NSC), there were 5,347 accidents involving teen drivers aged 15 to 20 in a single recent year. Tragically, 1,526 fatalities occurred to the occupants of other vehicles as a result of these crashes. Teenagers are more likely to be involved in car accidents due to the following:

• Inexperience causes delayed reaction times
• Teens are more likely to text and drive, and engage in other distractions
• They have immature judgment and less developed decision-making skills
• They have higher instances of impaired driving from alcohol and drug use
• Teens are more likely to exceed the speed limit and engage in other high-risk behaviors
• Teenagers are more likely to be over-confident in their skills while simultaneously having reduced ability to quickly assess road and traffic situations due to inexperience
• Teens often tailgate, or follow other vehicles too closely, due to a misjudgment of required braking distances

Teenagers are also more likely to drive with multiple passengers, creating distractions that take attention away from the road and the task of driving.

In Missouri, when a teenage driver causes a crash, they are responsible under the state’s pure comparative negligence law; however, the teen’s parent may be held liable for the damages.

What Types of St. Louis Car Accidents are Caused by Teen Drivers?

Some teenagers take risks behind the wheel, but even a cautious teen can cause a serious car accident due to an error resulting from their inexperience. The most common types of car accidents caused by teens in Missouri include the following:

• Rear-end collisions
• T-bone accidents (or broadside accidents) in intersections
• Head-on collisions
• Reversing accidents
• Sideswipes
• Collisions with obstacles
• Forcing others off the road due to unsafe lane changes or illegal passing
• Pedestrian accidents

Missouri has a graduated driver’s license law that requires permit holders under the age of 16 to drive with a qualified adult of age 25 or older in the vehicle. This qualified person may be a parent, grandparent, driving instructor, or other responsible adult who has held a driver’s license for at least three years.

What Types of Injuries Happen In St. Louis Teen Driver Accidents?

In an accident, a motorist’s body continues moving forward at the speed the vehicle was driving before the collision, and then the seatbelt snaps them backward, placing the body’s skeletal-muscular system under extreme stress. At the same time, the body often suffers multiple blunt force traumas and crushing injuries from the vehicle’s structure collapsing powerfully inward at collision points. Common injuries in teenage driver accidents in Missouri include the following:

• Traumatic brain injuries, ranging from mild concussions to severe injuries with permanent effects
• Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
• Soft-tissue injuries like sprains, strains, and damage to tendons and ligaments
• Fractures
• Vertebral fractures and herniated disks
• Neck and back injuries
• Internal organ damage
• Spinal cord injuries
• Burns
• Traumatic amputations
• Facial and dental injuries

A teen driving accident scene is often catastrophic, especially when it results in multiple injury victims.

How Can a St. Louis Teen Driver Accident Lawyer Help My Case?

Car accident claims are always complex in fault-based insurance states like Missouri. When the responsible driver is a teenager, it adds a new layer of complexity in proving liability. In addition, insurance company representatives are not on your side, even if they seem compassionate on the phone. Their goal is to protect company profits, which conflicts with your objective to recover the full value of your damages. Instead of leaving your case in their hands, reach out to Miller & Hine for a free case consultation to learn about your legal rights and options.