Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Law Firm

While working his way through law school as a law clerk for Max Von Erdmannsdorff in North Kansas City, one of Lynn's assignments was to help research the law for the drafting of the briefs in the case of Cameron Mutual Insurance v. Madden, 533 S.W.2d 538, which went to the Supreme Court of Missouri and stands as a landmark decision allowing for the stacking of uninsured motorist coverage in Missouri. Throughout his professional career Lynn has had a special interest in and has devoted a substantial part of his practice to the handling of uninsured and underinsured motorist cases.

In certain cases where the insurance carrier has failed to pay an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim without just cause or excuse you may be entitled to collect penalties and your attorney fees in addition to what you may be owed under the policy. Nearly 20 years ago, Lynn pioneered and helped guide the trial bar in how to recover attorney fees in Article he wrote which was published in the April 1991 issue of The Missouri Trial Attorney entitled, "Vexatious Penalties and Attorney Fees in Uninsured Motorist Cases."

Uninsured motorist coverage is a form of insurance that pays compensation for bodily injury or death which results from an accident caused by the operation of a motor vehicle which was not insured on the date of the collision. Underinsured motorist coverage pays compensation for bodily injury or death that results from an accident caused by a motor vehicle which was insured on the date of the collision but its limits are lower than your underinsured motorist coverage limits or the damages which you have suffered in the collision.

While the two coverages are similar, they are also quite different. Uninsured motorist coverage stacks, letting you collect not only on the vehicle involved in the accident but also on your other insured vehicles as well. Underinsured motorist coverage usually will not stack. Also, while no consent to settle is necessary on an uninsured motorist claim, you must usually obtain advance consent to settle from your own carrier before settling with the other insurance carrier if you intend to assert a claim for underinsured motorist coverage under your policy.

In some states, uninsured and underinsured motorist cases have a longer Statute of Limitations than the limitations period which would apply to cases which must be brought against the party causing the accident. Missouri, for example, allows a personal injury action on an uninsured motorist claim to be brought anytime within 10 years of an accident compared to a 5 year period in which suit must be brought against the party who caused the injury.

It must be noted, however, that uninsured motorist cases which result in death often have a different Statute of Limitations than uninsured motorist claims which result in personal injury. In Missouri, uninsured motorist cases which result in death have a 3 year Statute of Limitations in which to bring suit.

If you or a family member have been injured in an accident with an uninsured or underinsured motorist within the past 10 years, or if a member of your family has been killed in an accident caused by an uninsured or underinsured motorist within the last 3 years, it is important that you contact an experienced injury attorney before you lose valuable legal rights. Call 417-256-8133, toll free at 888-653-4391 or e-mail Lynn or Roy to for a no charge, no obligation initial consultation. We will advance the costs necessary to prosecute your case and will not charge any attorneys fees unless we recover money damages for you.