Cases We Handle

Most people don’t spend a lot of time thinking about personal injury law until something goes wrong. But after you suffer a serious injury, things can happen fast. Medical bills quickly add up, insurance companies begin asking questions, and it’s not always clear what your options are.

At Cofman Townsley, our legal team lives and works in the St. Louis area. We’re available 24/7 to help injury victims understand what comes next and how to protect their claim. With more than 50 years of experience and over $1 billion obtained on behalf of our clients, we’ve handled many types of injury cases and know what it takes to build a successful claim.

Whether your situation involves a car accident, a workplace injury, or something more complex, this page gives you a starting point and a path to the help you need.

Types of Personal Injury Cases We Handle

Every case is different, but many follow similar patterns. Below are some of the most common types of personal injury cases we handle in St. Louis:

Car Accidents: From rear-end collisions to multi-vehicle crashes, car accidents are one of the most common reasons people seek legal help after an injury.
Truck Accidents: Accidents involving commercial trucks often involve more severe injuries and additional layers of liability, including trucking companies and their insurers.
Motorcycle Accidents: Riders are more exposed on the road, which can lead to serious injuries even in low-speed crashes.
Uber & Lyft Accidents: Rideshare accident claims can be complicated by multiple insurance policies in play and questions about driver status at the time of the crash.
Boat Accidents: Injuries on the water can involve unique safety issues and liability questions, especially on Missouri’s rivers and lakes.
Train Accidents: Train accidents and collisions at rail crossings can result in catastrophic injuries and often require detailed investigation.
Pedestrian Accidents: When drivers fail to yield or stay attentive, pedestrians can suffer serious injuries.
Bicycle Accidents: Cyclists share the road with vehicles but face greater risk of injury when drivers are distracted or fail to give them enough space.
Premises Liability: Property owners may be held responsible when unsafe or poorly maintained conditions—like wet floors, broken stairs, or inadequate lighting—lead to injuries on their property.
Slips and Falls: Property owners may be responsible when unsafe conditions lead to falls and injuries.
Dog Bites: Animal attacks can cause lasting physical and emotional harm, particularly for child victims.
Workers’ Compensation: Injuries on the job may qualify for benefits, but the process isn’t always straightforward.
Construction Accidents: Construction sites can present a range of hazards, and injuries may involve both workers’ compensation and third-party liability claims.
Medical Malpractice: When a healthcare provider’s mistake leads to harm, it may be possible to pursue a claim for compensation.
Traumatic Brain Injuries: Head injuries can have long-term effects on daily life and ability to work that aren’t always immediately visible.
Burn and Fire Injuries: These injuries often require extensive treatment and can have lasting consequences.
Catastrophic Injuries: Severe injuries can affect every part of a person’s life, from mobility to long-term care needs.
Spinal Cord Injuries: Injuries to the spine can lead to long-term or permanent changes in mobility and often require extensive medical care and rehabilitation.
Wrongful Death: When a loved one’s death is caused by someone else’s actions, families may have the right to pursue compensation for their loss.
Product Liability: Defective or unsafe products, from everyday consumer items to specialized equipment, can cause serious injuries for which manufacturers should be held liable.

What Is a Personal Injury Case?

A personal injury case usually comes down to whether an injury could have been prevented. If someone else, whether that’s a driver, a property owner, a company, or even a medical provider, failed to act with reasonable care, and that failure led to harm, there may be grounds for a claim.

These cases aren’t always obvious at first. It may take time to realize the full extent of some injuries after an accident, and some situations involve more than one responsible party. That’s why understanding your legal options is so important. When in doubt, it never hurts to have a free consultation with an injury lawyer.

Common Causes of Personal Injuries

In St. Louis, we often see injuries tied to reckless or distracted driving, unsafe and ill-maintained property conditions, and ignored workplace hazards. Other injuries stem from defective products that lack proper testing or safety warnings, or medical errors made by healthcare workers who did not provide the necessary level of attention or care. What all these have in common, however, is negligence.

The specifics vary across cases and injury types, but identifying how and why an injury happened is one of the first steps in building a claim.

Personal Injury Statistics

Personal injuries are more common than many people realize, and they remain a significant issue across the United States. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, unintentional injuries are the third leading cause of death nationwide, with more than 197,000 deaths reported in 2024.

Certain types of incidents come up repeatedly. Motor vehicle crashes alone account for tens of thousands of deaths each year, along with millions of injury-related emergency visits. Traffic accidents remain a serious issue right here in Missouri. In 2023, 991 people were killed in crashes statewide, and many of these incidents were tied to preventable factors like speeding and impaired driving.

Types of Compensation Available

In a personal injury claim, compensation is generally divided into two categories:

Economic Damages: These cover measurable financial losses like medical bills, lost wages, and ongoing treatment costs.
Non-Economic Damages: These address the broader impact of an injury, such as pain and suffering or changes to your quality of life.

The value of a claim depends on how the injury affects your day-to-day life, both now and in the future.

How Do You Prove Negligence?

To move forward with a personal injury claim, the injured party or their lawyer typically needs to show that someone else was legally responsible for what happened. That usually involves establishing four key elements:

A duty of care existed
That duty was breached
The breach caused the injury
The injury resulted in damages

On paper, this seems straightforward. In practice, it can involve gathering records, working with expert witnesses who can testify how an injury could be caused and its financial impact, and dealing with insurance companies that may push back on each step.

What to Do After a Personal Injury

The steps you take early on can make a real difference:

Seek medical attention right away. This helps protect both your health and the official record of the injury.
Document what you can. Take photos, make notes, and gather anything that helps capture how the incident happened.
Keep track of your treatment and expenses. Medical records and bills can become important evidence later when making your case for compensation.
Be cautious with insurance companies. Early conversations can shape how a claim is handled.
Speak with a lawyer before making major decisions. Before accepting a settlement or signing anything, it can help to understand where you stand.

Even small steps taken early can have a lasting impact on your recovery and your claim. When questions come up, having someone to walk through your options with you can make the process feel more manageable.

Working With a St. Louis Personal Injury Lawyer

Having someone in your corner can make a difference, especially when you’re dealing with injuries, paperwork, and insurance companies at the same time. At Cofman Townsley, we focus on helping clients understand their options and move forward with clarity.

Because our team is based in St. Louis, we’re familiar with the local courts, insurance dynamics, and the kinds of cases that come up in this area. That local perspective can be an advantage when building and presenting a claim.

Talk to Cofman Townsley About Your Case

If you’ve been injured and aren’t sure what to do next, it may help to talk things through. Cofman Townsley is available 24/7 to answer questions and help you understand your options.

You don’t have to have everything figured out before reaching out. Sometimes the first step is just getting a clearer picture of where you stand. Contact us today.