Blog Articles

Slip and fall cases sound simple on paper.  You were walking through a store, a puddle or a loose rug or a broken step caught you off guard, and now you're hurt.  Open and shut, right?  Unfortunately, slip and fall cases are some of the toughest personal injury claims to win, and the reason usual...

"Who's going to pay for this?" It's usually one of the first questions people ask after they've been hurt in an accident. Honestly, it's not always a simple answer. A lot of folks assume liability is obvious:  the other driver ran the red light, so they're liable, end of story.  Sometimes it real...

You were in a wreck, or you slipped and fell, or maybe a piece of machinery malfunctioned and hurt you.  Now the insurance company is telling you it was partly your fault.  Maybe you were going five miles over the speed limit. Maybe you didn't see the "wet floor" sign until it was too late.  So d...

If you've been hurt and you're considering talking to a lawyer for the first time, it's normal to feel a little unsure about what to expect.  At Bautista LeRoy LLC, we want your first meeting with us to be as helpful as possible, and that starts with knowing what to bring.  The more information w...

This is one of the most common questions we hear at Bautista LeRoy LLC, and it makes complete sense.  When you're recovering from an injury, dealing with medical bills, and maybe missing work, you want to know when things will be resolved.  The honest answer is that it depends.  But we can walk y...

At Bautista LeRoy LLC, we hear the phrase "no win, no fee" a lot, and we hear a lot of questions about it too.  Clients in our Kansas City, St. Louis, and Bentonville offices often want to know what it really means before they agree to work with a lawyer.  It's a fair question.  Here's a plain ex...

If you've ever settled a personal injury claim, or talked to someone who has, you've probably heard them say something like, "I got a $50,000 settlement, but I only walked away with $20,000." Such a gap surprises a lot of people, and a big part of it usually comes down to one word: liens. Liens ...

The phone rings less than a week after your accident.  It's the insurance adjuster, and they've got good news.  They're ready to settle. Immediately.  Today, even.  They might even have a check number ready to go. Before you breathe that sigh of relief, ask yourself one question: why is an insur...

You just got off the phone with the other driver's insurance company.  They were polite, maybe even sympathetic.  They said they just need a quick recorded statement to "get your side of the story" and "move your claim along."  Sounds reasonable, right? Don't do it. We've seen this play out hun...

Families across the country, including the State of Illinois, are taking legal action against social media companies for the harm their products have caused to children and adolescents. Individuals are filing civil lawsuits alleging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and YouTub...

This month, BautistaLeRoy celebrates 12 years of Better Business Bureau (BBB) Accreditation. This represents not just a badge, but also reflects the long-term commitment of our team of attorneys in following BBB's rigorous set of standards.  Our A+ rating is a testament to our honesty in advertising, transparency in business practices, and a proactive approach to resolving client concerns.

Surgery can be dangerous.  Everyone intuitively knows this.  A recent study revealed that more than one-third of surgical patients experience at least one adverse event.  The most common of these are bleeding, infection, and blood clots.  While these events may not be caused by errors in the oper...

Our clients in Illinois frequently ask what happens if he or she was partly at fault for the accident? The short answer is your amount of fault, or negligence, affects how much compensation you can recover.  In some scenarios, it could prevent you from recovering anything.    What Is Comparativ...

For decades, private railroad grade crossing collision cases have not been viable in Illinois because the Appellate Court of Illinois, 5th District, held railroads had no duty to motorists at these particular intersections in Pearce v. Ill. Cent. Gulf R.R. Co., 411 N.E.2d 102 (Ill. App. Ct. 1980)...

Medical malpractice cases can be among the most challenging legal matters to navigate, and Illinois is no exception. Families who believe they have been victims of medical negligence often face a maze of legal, medical, and procedural hurdles. Understanding why these cases are so complex can help...

We at Bautista LeRoy LLC are pleased to announce attorney, Mr. Joe Fridkin, has joined our ranks.  Mr. Fridkin is the former owner of The Fridkin Law Firm, LLC, which he founded in 2012 to serve clients in business and construction litigation, real estate and related commercial disputes, and plai...

Railroad crossing accidents are a serious and ongoing safety issue in Illinois. Recent fatal car-versus-train collisions, particularly in 2024 and 2025, highlight the extreme dangers drivers face when crossing train tracks — and the important legal rights available to injured victims and their fa...

We may receive this question several times a day from potential clients.  Unfortunately, the answer is it depends, and the reason for that is all injury cases have different facts and circumstances.  And those facts and circumstances will change as the case develops from the time a law firm is re...

Most people assume when a doctor prescribes a medication or a nurse hands them a pill it has already been checked for safety. Most patients are not aware of how drugs interact with one another, nor should they be expected to know. That responsibility belongs to the healthcare system and the profe...

When families place a loved one in a nursing home, they do it with the hope that trained professionals will keep that person safe, supervised, and properly cared for. Unfortunately, choking and asphyxiation incidents remain far more common in long-term care settings than most people realize. Thes...

BautistaLeRoy's attorneys have been recognized as part of the Top 100 in the 2025 Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyers and Top 50 in Kansas City again. This time the publisher added Ryan Gavin, Bautista LeRoy's partner in St. Louis, to the list.  In the competitive landscape of legal excellence, this ...

On November 19, 2025, the founding partners, Andrew LeRoy and Jose Bautista, of Bautista LeRoy LLC, argued in front of the Missouri Supreme Court. Bautista LeRoy LLC represented a client who was injured while operating a stand-up forklift. Three weeks prior to trial, the trial judge struck the P...

Bautista LeRoy LLC, an award-winning law firm known for securing justice for individuals and families in catastrophic injury cases, proudly announces the opening of its new office in Bentonville. Serving the northwest Arkansas area from its Kansas City base for years, the firm now possesses a loc...

The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized BautistaLeRoy as one of the Best Law Firms in the 2026th edition, with three of its lawyers receiving recognitions—Jose Bautista, Andrew LeRoy, and Ryan Gavin. Jose Bautista received recognitions in Kansas City for the practice areas of Mass Tort Lit...

Andrew S. LeRoy of Bautista LeRoy was recently recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for excellence in Medical Malpractice Law and Personal Injury Litigation.  “I was born and raised in Kansas City,” says Andrew in an interview. “Those people that raised me are the same...