Fulton, MO Personal Injury AttorneY

In Fulton, Missouri, people rely on others to act responsibly and safely every day. Drivers are expected to obey traffic laws, businesses must maintain reasonably safe premises for customers, and dog owners are responsible for properly controlling and securing their pets. Under Missouri law, these legal responsibilities are often referred to as a “duty of care,” meaning a person or business must act with reasonable care under the circumstances. When someone fails to uphold that duty and another person suffers injuries as a result, negligence may exist. At Duckworth Injury Law, we help investigate Fulton, MO injury claims and work to determine whether another party’s careless or reckless conduct caused harm.

To prove negligence in a personal injury or wrongful death case in Fulton, MO, it is not enough to show that a duty of care existed. It must also be proven that the at-fault party breached that duty through their actions or failure to act. This often requires evidence such as surveillance footage, accident scene photographs, witness statements, medical records, expert testimony, and vehicle data. A breach of duty may involve a distracted driver texting behind the wheel, a business failing to warn customers about a dangerous condition, or a property owner neglecting to address a known hazard. In some cases, it is also necessary to prove that the injuries would not have occurred but for the defendant’s conduct and that the harm was a foreseeable result of their actions. 

Before a case can proceed, it must be shown that the defendant’s actions actually caused the accident and the resulting injuries. This is called causation, which includes both actual causation, meaning the injury would not have happened “but for” the defendant’s conduct, and proximate cause, meaning the harm was a foreseeable result of that conduct. For example, a driver may act carelessly, but if another factor caused the crash, causation may not be proven. Insurance companies often try to dispute causation by pointing to pre-existing conditions or other causes of injury. At Duckworth Injury Law, we focus on connecting the evidence to the outcome to show how the defendant’s actions directly led to the harm in Fulton, MO.

To recover in a negligence claim in Fulton, MO, it must also be shown that the defendant’s actions caused your injuries and resulting damages. In many personal injury and wrongful death cases, insurance companies will try to dispute this connection by arguing that the injuries were pre-existing, caused by another event, or not as serious as claimed. If they can separate the injuries from the accident, they may attempt to reduce or deny compensation altogether. Because medical bills, rehabilitation, and other losses can quickly add up, insurers are motivated to minimize what they pay. At Duckworth Injury Law, we push back against these tactics by working with medical professionals and other experts when needed to clearly demonstrate that the injuries and damages were directly caused by the accident.