St. Louis Attorney | Eric Abramson | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Click the practice area below to filter (FAQ) frequently asked questions relating common legal matters answered by St. Louis Attorney at Law, Eric Abramson.

Criminal Law FAQ Traffic Law FAQ Personal Injury FAQ Criminal Law Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I have a felony on my record?

Answer:
First time, non-violent offenders are often eligible for a Suspended Imposition of Sentence (SIS probation). If you receive SIS probation for your first Felony offense and complete the probation successfully, you will not have a Felony Conviction on your criminal record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why do I have a warrant when I never missed a court date?

Answer:
Felony cases are often issued in warrant status – meaning you do not start out with a court date and you first need to turn yourself in to get a court date scheduled. It is wise to hire a lawyer before you turn yourself in so that lawyer can set a bond hearing immediately. This way the lawyer can try to get you released from custody as soon as possible.

Q: Why do I have a warrant for failure to appear when I never received notice of a court date?

Answer:
Courts typically mail notice of court dates to the mailing address listed on your driver’s license. If you moved and did not update your mailing address with the DMV, you likely would not receive any notices about scheduled court dates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Traffic Law Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is an SR-22 insurance policy and why is Missouri requiring me to maintain SR-22 Insurance?

Frequently Asked Questions

Answer:
An SR-22 insurance policy is similar to any other car insurance policy. The only difference is that the SR-22 policy is automatically reported to the Missouri DOR when its active. Drivers are often required to maintain an SR-22 insurance policy as a condition of reinstating a suspended license. An SR-22 insurance policy basically just informs the state of Missouri that you are maintaining car insurance.

Q: I have a Lieu of Bail hold suspending my license – what does that mean?

Answer:
If you fail to appear in court for a pending traffic charge the judge can issue a warrant for your arrest. The judge can also issue a “Lieu of Bail” hold to suspend your license. This would temporarily suspend your license under you obtain a stay order from the Court. A Lieu of Bail hold suspends your license even if your license was valid before you failed to appear in Court. Each court has different requirements for the issuing of a stay order to lift a Lieu of Bail hold. Therefore it is very important to consult with an expert traffic law attorney immediately.

Q: Why Did I Get A No-Insurance Ticket When My Friend Had Insurance On His Car?

Answer:
Many inexpensive insurance policies only cover the owner of the policy. Because of that, if you drive another person’s vehicle and that person does not have you listed as an “additional driver” under their policy, you are likely driving without insurance coverage. You can avoid receiving No-Insurance tickets in this situation by having a Non-Owners Insurance Policy.

Q: How Can My License be Suspended if I Never Had a License?

Answer:
Everyone has a Driver’s License regardless of whether you have taken the written and/or road test. If you accumulate 8 points within 18 months, your license will be placed under a point suspension even if your license has never been valid. If this happens an added condition of license reinstatement would be to pass the written and road test.

Q: How Can I Tell if My License is Suspended?

Answer:
Call the Missouri DOR customer service line at 573-751- 4475 and ask for the status of your license. You can also find out the requirements for reinstatement by calling this number. Personal Injury Frequently Asked Questions

Q: I was in a car accident and the other driver was at fault. Does it matter if I didn’t have active auto insurance at the time of the accident?

Answer:
Missouri adopted a “Pay to Play” statute and under RSMO 303.390.1 an uninsured driver is unable to collect damages for pain and suffering against the at-fault driver. This basically means that you can only collect reimbursement for your medical bills against the at-fault driver if you were uninsured when the at-fault driver caused your accident. There are exceptions to the “Pay to Pay” statute so it is important to contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately following a car accident.

Q: What should I do after being struck by an at-fault driver?

Answer:
Contact the police to ensure that an accident report is drafted by the responding officer. It is very important to make sure any car accident is well documented to support your insurance claim. If you simply exchange insurance information and leave the scene of the accident the at-fault party might give an inaccurate statement about the accident to their insurance company. I have handled situations where an at-fault driver produced insurance that did not cover the at-fault driver. Because of this, it is always important to contact the police immediately following a car accident. Home View all of Eric’s Firms Practice Areas Learn More about St. Louis Attorney Eric Abramson