Motorcycle Accident Lawyer Farmington MO

The problem

Why motorcycle claims go wrong

A car crash and a motorcycle crash are handled under the same Missouri law. The claims do not go the same way.

The rider gets the blame

Juries and adjusters start with a picture of a reckless biker. A driver who turned left across your lane will say they never saw you, and the insurer treats that as your fault instead of theirs.

The injuries outrun the policy

There is no steel around you. Broken bones, road rash, and head injuries mean bills that pass the other driver's policy limit quickly, and the insurer is happy to pay the limit and call it finished.

The helmet argument

Missouri lets most adult riders choose. The insurer will still argue that what you wore, or did not wear, is the reason you are hurt, and use it to cut the number.

None of this is personal. It is the insurer's process for two-wheeled claims. Our job is to run the other side of it.

Your lawyer

A Farmington lawyer, not a billboard

Patrick Wulfers founded the firm in Farmington in 2022 and is the attorney on every injury case here. Call and one of the three people in our office takes your message; Patrick calls you back himself.

Motorcycle injury cases are handled on contingency with no money down. There is no fee unless we recover for you, and the first conversation is free. If the case is not worth pursuing, we will say so.

American Bar Association
Missouri Association for Trial Attorneys
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

The plan

How a motorcycle claim works with us

Three steps. You handle healing. We handle the insurer.

01

Tell us what happened

A free call or visit. We look at the crash report, your injuries, the bike, and every insurance policy that might apply, including your own.

02

We build the fault case

Skid marks, damage patterns, camera footage, and witnesses fade fast. We gather them while they exist, and we handle every call from the other driver's insurer.

03

We settle or we file

A fair settlement is the goal. When the offer is not fair, we file in St. Francois County and take it from there.

Start with a free consultation →

What happens next

What to do in the first week

Right away

Get checked, and keep the gear

See a doctor even if you walked away. Keep the helmet, jacket, and the bike exactly as they are. They are evidence of how hard the impact was.

Before you talk to insurance

Say as little as possible

Report the crash to your own insurer, which your policy requires. Do not give the other driver's insurer a recorded statement until you have talked to a lawyer.

This week

Call us

Intersection cameras overwrite, witnesses move on, and the other driver's story hardens. The sooner we are involved, the more of the truth we can preserve.

Missouri is an at-fault state. The driver who caused the crash, through their insurance, is responsible for what it cost you: medical care, lost wages, the bike, and the pain of it. Missouri also uses pure comparative fault, so the insurer will try to put a share of the blame on you to shrink the number.

In a motorcycle case, that second rule is where the fight is. The insurer's whole strategy is to make the crash partly your fault.

What a motorcycle injury claim can include

A claim is more than the emergency room bill. Missouri law allows recovery for what the crash cost you and what it took from you.

Medical care, past and future, including surgery, rehab, and follow-up.
Lost wages, and lost earning ability if you cannot return to the same work.
The motorcycle and your riding gear.
Pain, suffering, and the loss of things you used to be able to do.
In a fatal crash, a wrongful death claim by the family.

The helmet question

Since 2020, Missouri riders 26 and older with health insurance that covers motorcycle injuries may ride without a helmet. Riders under 26 and anyone on an instruction permit must wear one.

Riding legally without a helmet does not make a crash your fault. The insurer may still argue that a helmet would have reduced your injuries, and whether that argument gets any traction depends on the injury and the facts. It is one of the first things we look at.

When the other driver's policy is too small

Missouri's minimum liability coverage does not go far against a serious motorcycle injury. When the other driver's limit is less than the claim, the next place to look is your own policy.

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on your own motorcycle or auto policy can pay the difference, and it is coverage you already paid for. Bring your declarations page to the first meeting and we will read it with you.

Deadlines in Missouri

Missouri gives you five years from the date of the crash to file a personal injury lawsuit. That deadline is not the problem. The problem is that evidence and witnesses do not wait, and insurers count on riders assuming they have plenty of time.

A fatal crash has a shorter deadline for the family's wrongful death claim, and claims involving a government vehicle have their own notice rules. We will flag those on the first call.

What clients say

What it's like to work with Patrick

From clients in Farmington and the surrounding counties.

5.0 on Google from 61 reviews · Read them

Patrick helped with a personal injury case and walked me through the whole process start to finish. He took every single one of my calls - even when I needed some reassurance over a long weekend.

Cory Kinder

Never really cared for lawyers. However, Mr. Wulfer's is the exception. He genuinely cares for his clients. Mr. Wullfer's is professional and personable!! He walked me through the whole process, I never felt in the dark of what was to be next. If I had questions he never failed to respond, even after he was done with my case. Affordable, respectful, felt like family.

Renee Smith

I had a great experience working with Mr. Wulfers. He was professional, helpful, and easy to communicate with throughout the entire process. He took the time to listen to my concerns, explain everything clearly, and make sure I understood my options. I really appreciated how responsive and understanding he was. I would definitely recommend him and his law firm to anyone looking for someone who genuinely cares about their clients and provides great service.

Lucy Pace

The difference

Handling it yourself versus handling it with us

No lawyer can promise a result. What we can promise is that the insurer will be dealing with someone who knows how rider claims get argued.

On your own

The driver's version of the crash becomes the record
Your recorded statement gets used against you
The helmet question goes unanswered
The policy limit is offered as if it were the whole claim
Your own underinsured coverage never gets mentioned

With Wulfers Law Firm

Fault is documented before the evidence disappears
Every contact with the insurer goes through us
The helmet and visibility arguments get answered with facts
Every policy that could pay is identified, including yours
The medical record is complete before any number is discussed

Questions people ask

I wasn't wearing a helmet. Do I still have a case?

If you are 26 or older with qualifying health insurance, riding without a helmet is legal in Missouri and does not make the crash your fault. The insurer may argue it made your injuries worse. That is an argument we deal with, not a reason to skip the call.

The driver says they never saw me. Does that matter?

Not seeing a motorcycle that was there to be seen is the driver's failure, not yours. It is the most common thing drivers say after turning across a rider's lane, and we treat it as the starting point for proving fault.

What if I was partly at fault?

Missouri uses pure comparative fault. You can still recover, reduced by your share of the blame. Insurers overstate that share in motorcycle cases, which is one of the main things we push back on.

The other driver had minimum coverage. Is that all I can get?

Often not. Your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may apply, and sometimes another policy in the household does too. We read every policy before we accept anyone's limit as the ceiling.

How long does a motorcycle accident case take?

It depends mostly on how long your medical treatment takes, because we do not settle before we know what the injury will cost. Some claims resolve in months. A serious injury or a filed lawsuit takes longer, and we will tell you where yours stands as it goes.

Hurt on a bike? Don't give the adjuster a statement yet.

Tell Patrick what happened. The first conversation is free.

+1 (573) 417-3022

[email protected]

431 W Karsch Blvd, Farmington MO 63640

Mon - Fri 8:00-3:00