Gary K. Burger Jr Lawyers, want to be a Justia Connect Pro too? Learn more ›

Gary Burger is managing partner of Burger Law, a St. Louis-based personal injury law firm. Gary has dedicated his 32+ year career to the rigorous pursuit of justice for injury victims and their families. His zealous representation has recovered over $200 million for clients so far.

Gary's legal experience spans all personal injury, including motor vehicle crashes, wrongful death, medical malpractice, product liability, premise liability, workers' compensation and more. His wins have been featured in the media and he has hundreds of great reviews from clients. He is licensed to practice in Missouri and Illinois, the Missouri Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th and 8th Circuits and various Federal District Courts.

Gary has earned numerous awards from peers and national legal organizations. He has been chosen as a Super Lawyer for over a decade and is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. His AV Preeminent rating from LexisNexis and Martindale-Hubbell indicates the highest legal ability and ethical standards and he is Board Certified in Civil Trial Advocacy and Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy by the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Gary's passion for justice extends beyond the courtroom. He leads Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses to share his knowledge and has published dozens of resources for laypeople who want to understand personal injury law. His firm regularly donates to organizations like Legal Services of Eastern Missouri (LSEM) and Gateway Pet Guardians and Gary has served on executive boards for LSEM and Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys.

Besides his professional achievements, Gary is an active member of the St. Louis community. He enjoys spending time with his wife, kids and rescue dogs. Gary is an avid beekeeper and scuba diver. As a certified instructor, he even leads dives at Bonne Terre Mine and has been featured as a diving instructor in media outlets like the TODAY show.

• Premises Liability
• Slip and Fall
• Construction Accident Law
• Motorcycle Accident
• ATV Injury

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• Free Consultation
  Contact us anytime to speak to a lawyer for free about your case. We answer questions for free, and there is no obligation to hire us.
• Contingent Fees
  You pay nothing unless we win your case. That means no out-of-pocket expenses for you to hire us. We agree to a percentage of your settlement amount and only get paid when you do. We also work hard to reduce liens and pursue additional forms of compensation for you to maximize the money that goes in your pocket.

Illinois

Since 1993

Missouri

Since 1992

7th Circuit

8th Circuit

Federal Circuit

Partner and Attorney

Burger Law, LLC

2015 - Current

Partner and Attorney

Cantor & Burger, LLC

2000 - 2015

Attorney

The Brasher Law Firm

1992 - 2000

Washington University School of Law

J.D. (1992)

1989 - 1992

Honors: Scholar in Law Award, 1992

University of Missouri - Columbia

B.A. (1988)

1988

AV Preeminent

Martindale-Hubbell

2024

Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Award is the highest possible honor from the organization, a peer-reviewed rating less than 5% of US attorneys receive

Super Lawyers

Thomson Reuters

2023

A peer-nominated and reviewed selection process that recognizes the top 5% of lawyers in their field, Gary has been awarded the Super Lawyers honor for more than 12 years running

Super Lawyers Top 50

Thomson Reuters

2023

Named to the Super Lawyers list of top 50 lawyers in St. Louis

Clients' Choice

Avvo

2020

Second Highest Jury Verdict

Missouri

2018

Winner of 2018 second highest Jury Verdict in Missouri of $113.7 million

The Missouri Bar

Member

Current

Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys

Member

Current

American Association of Justice

Member

Current

Illinois State Bar Association

Member

Current

Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis

Member

Current

The Hard Stuff in PI Cases: Settlement, Evidence in Trial and Ethics, Continued Legal Education, Virtual

April 28, 2022

Burger Law; Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

In this CLE session, we discussed "Secrets and Tricks" for resolving a PI case at full value in the claims stage, evidentiary foundations for how to get business records and pictures into evidence, when and how to publish to the jury, how to play video depos, business and medical records admission and cross examination, life expectancy, prior pleadings, impeachment, and how to handle certain ethics problems.

Continued Legal Education, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, St. Louis

June 30, 2022

Legal Services of Eastern Missouri

It was great getting to spend the day with LSEM and 200 of Eastern Missouri's brightest legal minds to discuss "Everything Ethics in Estates", "Fiduciary Income Tax Strategies for IRAs", and "The Latest & Greatest in Elder Law."

Running a Law Firm While Getting a $113 Million Verdict, Maximum Lawyer Conference, St. Louis

October 11, 2021

Maximum Lawyer Conference

Gary was excited to act as master of ceremonies for the Maximum Lawyer conference in St. Louis with about 250 attendees from around the country. Had fun working on my business, learning from friends and teaching lawyers. Attorneys Jim Hacking and Tyson Mutrux created Maximum Lawyers. Over the years, this group has grown into a collaboration of attorneys worldwide to share ideas, resources, solutions, challenges, and triumphs of being a legal entrepreneur.

Civial Trial Advocacy

National Board of Trial Advocacy

Civil Pretrial Practice Advocacy

National Board of Trial Advocacy

Q. What If I feel like I was wrongly accused of a accident that was partially my fault?

July 22, 2024

A: Illinois has a modified comparative fault rule, which means that someone who is partially at fault can still recover compensation from the other party's insurance as long as they were 50% or less at fault (the amount they recover would be reduced by the share of fault they carry, so if they were 40% at fault for the accident, they could only recover 60% of the damages they suffered). Of course, the degree of fault may be disputed but without your insurance company and their lawyers representing you, you may have a difficult time disputing your degree of fault without a lawyer of your own.

Did you sign something agreeing to pay his damages? How did it come to be that you became responsible for the $17,000 in property damage? Did they sue you personally? Often in car accidents, if the liable party is uninsured, it is not worth it for the damaged party to pursue a suit against the individual since it's unlikely they will recover the payment from that person. Instead they might be better off making an uninsured claim against their own insurance policy. I don't have enough information about your situation, but I hope this helps you understand the facts you are facing. You can call my firm (burgerlaw.com or 314-500-HURT) or someone like us to talk to a lawyer in a free consultation to get a better idea of what you're dealing with here. ... Read More

Q. i need a lawyer who can write demand letter. i live in oregon . thank you

July 22, 2024

A: This may be something that you can handle on your own. Be polite and professional but firm and assertive. You will want to summarize the relevant details in your case and list the damages (costs). Gather any supporting evidence or documents and get your facts straight.

Looking for guidance and examples online can help, such as this page (https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter6-4.html) I just found in a Google search.

You may find a lawyer who is willing to glance over your drafted letter in a free consultation and give you some feedback. It doesn't hurt to check with a couple of firms in your area.

Q. My wife and I were attacked and it broke her neck broke my ribs and we were wrongfully in prison can you help us

July 22, 2024

A: I believe to answer this question fully and accurately, your lawyer would need more details. I'm taking your question to mean that civilians assaulted and restrained you and your wife. That sounds horrifying and I'm sorry you had to experience that.

There are a few things you should do right away:

1. Get medical care for your injuries, both physical and psychological, including ongoing care like physical therapy, surgery, whatever is needed to restore you to full health.

2. Report the situation to the police.

3. Consult a lawyer in your area to get preliminary advice based on the details of your situation and to potentially hire them to represent you.

There may be a criminal case against the assailants and potentially a personal injury claim as well. Without knowing any other details, I can share the minimum requirements for a civil lawsuit in Texas against those who harmed you.

Duty of care: the defendant owed you and your wife a duty of care. In this kind of situation, their duty of care was simply to leave you be and not go out of their way to harm and detain you without cause.

Negligence: they violated their duty of care. In a case like yours, attacking you and your wife could be a form of negligence from their duty to refrain from harming others without cause (ie not self defense).

Causation: it was the defendant's behavior (through action or inaction) that caused you harm. In the case of an attack or assault, this is generally pretty straightforward.

Damages: you suffered damages as a result. This would be satisfied by your injuries, which leads to your medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages if you had to miss work due to your injuries, etc.

I urge you to get a free consultation or three from local attorneys who can look at the evidence and facts in your case to advise you on your legal options to remedy the harm and losses you have suffered. ... Read More