Certain injuries cause fundamental changes to daily life, even after you’ve healed. Damage to the spinal cord might require you to use a wheelchair for the rest of your life. The loss of a limb means adjusting how you accomplish tasks around the house. A severe brain injury could leave you a fundamentally different person after an incident.
When your life is changed by another person’s negligent or reckless behavior, our Kansas City personal injury attorneys are here to help. The team at CPY Law has helped many Missouri families seek compensation after a catastrophic injury, securing maximum compensation for current bills and future needs.
Our attorneys want you to live with dignity, no matter what. Focus on your future while we lead the legal fight. Pay nothing unless we win. For a free consultation with an experienced catastrophic injury lawyer in Kansas City, MO, contact our law firm today.
What Is Considered a Catastrophic Injury?
A catastrophic injury is any sort of serious, life-changing injury that causes long-term or permanent disability.
Catastrophic injuries often prevent people from continuing in their current job, pursuing gainful employment, or living independently.
Examples of Catastrophic Injuries
Below are just a few examples of catastrophic injuries we’ve seen around Kansas City.
- Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI): Damage to the spinal cord can cause paralysis, loss of motor control, paraplegia, or even quadriplegia (tetraplegia).
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Severe concussions, brain bleeds, and other kinds of brain damage can affect memory, cognition, mental health, and motor function.
- Loss of Limbs: Losing a limb or multiple limbs can make it difficult to perform various daily activities, even with the use of a prosthetic or assistive devices.
- Third- and Fourth-Degree Burns: Full-thickness burns can affect the nerves and muscles in affected areas. Even after debridement and skin grafting, burn survivors may experience disfigurement.
- Serious Bone and Joint Fractures: Compound fractures and severe dislocations of various joints can have lasting repercussions on mobility and everyday function.
- Injuries to Internal Organs: Injuries to vital organs could result in major changes to health and wellness, including injuries to the liver, kidney, lungs, and heart.
- Vision or Hearing Loss: Head trauma and facial injuries could potentially cause hearing or vision impairment.
The Long-Term Impact of Catastrophic Injuries
Catastrophic injuries can have lifelong effects on you and your loved ones. Our Kansas City catastrophic injury lawyers have worked with past clients who’ve experienced these changes following an incident:
- Changes in Physical Health: Catastrophic injuries can cause major changes in your coordination, balance, mobility, and general health. This is especially true when injuries affect the central nervous system, brain, nerves, or vital organs.
- Effects on Mental Health: Living with a disability can be challenging. Survivors of catastrophic injuries may experience depression, anxiety, low moods, and other emotional turmoil as they get accustomed to their new normal.
- Changes in Your Career Path: Catastrophic injuries can upend your career plans. You may need to start over and train for a new occupation after an injury. For some injury survivors, gainful employment may no longer be an option.
- Effects on Your Relationships: Spouses and family members feel the strain of catastrophic injuries, often taking on roles as caregivers. The financial and emotional challenges for a household can be immense.
Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries in Kansas City
Below are just a few common causes of injuries that result in long-term or permanent disability.
Serious Motor Vehicle Crashes
The force generated in a motor vehicle collision can be tremendous. Our auto accident lawyers in Kansas City have helped catastrophic injury survivors seek compensation from negligent parties.
- Car Wrecks: Even if you’re a safe driver, negligent motorists and poor road conditions can cause a life-changing crash.
- Motorcycle Crashes: Motorcyclists are extremely vulnerable to injury even if they are wearing a helmet and protective gear.
- Large Truck Crashes: Tractor-trailers, dump trucks, delivery trucks, and other large commercial vehicles can cause severe injuries in a collision.
- Bike and E-Bike Collisions: Cyclists face significant risk if they’re hit by a motor vehicle or if poor road conditions cause them to crash.
- Pedestrian Crashes: The risk of a catastrophic injury is high even when pedestrians observe traffic laws and only cross at crosswalks.
Major Slips, Trips, and Falls
A serious slip, trip, or fall can result in catastrophic injuries. This is particularly true when there are falls from great heights and any impact to the head or the back. The lawyers at CPY Law can help with property-related injuries and accidents throughout Kansas City.
Dog Bites and Animal Attacks
Serious dog attacks can cause major scarring and catastrophic injuries. This is especially true when the victim of the dog attack is an infant, a toddler, a child, or the elderly. Pet owners need to be held accountable when their dogs harm neighbors, mail carriers, delivery drivers, and others.
Defective Vehicles and Other Dangerous Products
When companies put out defective or dangerous products, it puts consumers’ lives at risk. Poorly designed vehicles may make crashes more likely. Appliances could explode or start fires. Whenever companies put profits over the public, our lawyers will be here to hold them accountable.
Workplace Incidents and On-the-Job Injuries
Serious work-related injuries are possible even with head protection, eye protection, harnesses, and other safety equipment. Workers hurt on the job may be eligible for workers’ compensation to help address lost wages and medical bills. There’s also the potential to file a third-party claim depending on what happened.
Compensation in Catastrophic Injury Claims
Households affected by catastrophic injuries can seek compensation for any losses caused by the incident. This includes economic damages (measurable financial losses) and non-economic damages (subjective and intangible losses).
- Medical Expenses and Future Care: This includes the cost of the ambulance, stabilizing care, and hospitalization. This also covers ongoing medical needs, such as physical rehabilitation, specialist visits, occupational therapy, and the use of assistive devices as a result of the injury.
- Damage to Property/Belongings: This includes the cost of repairing or replacing a vehicle, damaged valuables, and damage to any other personal belongings at the time of the incident.
- Lost Wages and Future Earnings: This includes any extended leave from your job to recover as well as any loss of future earning capacity when your injuries cause long-term or permanent disability.
- Renovations and Accommodations: This includes changes to doorways and the addition of ramps to make your home wheelchair accessible. This also includes the installation of rails, screen readers, and other changes to your living space for accessibility.
- Pain and Suffering: This includes emotional distress, mental anguish, chronic pain from lingering injuries, and ongoing sleep disturbances after a catastrophic injury.
- Lower Quality of Life: This includes a reduced sense of contentment or well-being, loss of enjoyment in your favorite hobbies, and any strain on your relationships after a catastrophic injury.
At CPY Law, our Kansas City catastrophic injury lawyers will help you understand how much your claim is really worth.
Partial Responsibility: Missouri’s Pure Comparative Fault Law
Missouri follows a pure comparative fault rule (RSMo § 537.765). This means you can still seek compensation if you were partly or mostly at fault for the incident that caused your catastrophic injury. Your compensation is reduced by your share of liability.
For example, say that you were in a bad crash on I-35 caused by a large commercial truck and you receive $500,000 in compensation. However, you were found 20% liable for the incident. Because of pure comparative fault, you’d still receive $400,000 in compensation.
How Long Do I Have to File a Catastrophic Injury Lawsuit in Kansas City, MO?
In Missouri, you typically have five years from the date of the incident to file a lawsuit for catastrophic injury (RSMo § 516.120).
There are exceptions to the five-year statute of limitations. If the catastrophic injury involves a government entity, for example, you need to file a formal notice of claim within 90 days of the incident.
Even though you may have a few years to file a lawsuit, it’s best to contact a Kansas City catastrophic injury lawyer as soon as possible. The attorneys at CPY Law can secure key evidence, build a strong case, and communicate with the insurance company to help you receive maximum compensation that truly considers your life after a severe injury.
Why Choose CPY Law After a Catastrophic Injury in Kansas City
People throughout Kansas City know they can trust CPY Law to hold negligent parties accountable when they cause catastrophic injuries. We want survivors and their families to focus on healing and what the future holds while we handle the legal fight.
Here’s why people throughout Jackson, Clay, Platte, and Cass counties trust CPY Law.
- Reliability and Legal Excellence: The team at CPY Law has decades of legal experience in Missouri. We work closely with catastrophic injury victims and their families to identify the best solutions for their cases.
- We Hold Ourselves Accountable to You: When you hire our catastrophic injury attorneys, we will own the problem and lead the fight forward. We do what we say, and we ask the same of our staff and colleagues.
- Free and Confidential Case Reviews: You don’t have to worry about upfront legal fees at CPY Law. Consultations are free, confidential, and no obligation. We want to hear what happened and give our honest opinion about your best options.
- Clients Pay Us Nothing Unless We Win: CPY Law works on a contingency fee basis. That means our attorneys only get paid after your catastrophic injury case is successfully resolved. If we don’t win, you pay nothing.
Contact Our Kansas City Catastrophic Injury Attorneys Near You
After a catastrophic injury, you need attorneys who will advocate for every dollar and make sure the full impact of your injuries is accounted for. CPY Law is here to lead that fight forward while you and your family prepare for what’s ahead. For a free consultation with a proven catastrophic injury lawyer near you, contact our Kansas City law firm today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Catastrophic Injuries in Kansas City
These are some of the most common questions we’ve heard from survivors of catastrophic injuries and members of their families.
How much is my catastrophic injury claim worth?
That depends on a wide range of factors. While we can’t estimate the value of your catastrophic injury claim with a full assessment, here’s what affects compensation you may receive:
- The severity of your injuries
- Your long-term medical care needs
- Whether you need in-house care after your injury
- Home renovations and other disability accommodations
- Loss of future earnings because of an inability to work
- Overall quality of life after the injury
Our catastrophic injury attorneys in Kansas City can help you learn how much your claim is worth and seek maximum compensation.
How are future medical care costs for a catastrophic injury calculated?
This varies from person to person, but here are the basics when estimating future costs of care.
- What Life Looks Like at Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI): Doctors will wait until your condition has stabilized before they make any assessment of your future needs.
- Consulting with a Certified Life-Care Planner: Once you’ve reached MMI, a life-care planner can take an exhaustive inventory of what you’ll require going forward. This covers everything from surgery and health needs to home renovations and periodic replacement of assistive devices.
- Estimating Adjustments for Inflation: Since catastrophic injuries can impact the rest of someone’s life, life-care planners will take inflation into account so you can continue to receive good care with your compensation over time.
Can family members sue for the effects of a person’s catastrophic injury?
In some cases, yes. The state of Missouri permits spouses to sue for a separate loss of consortium claim following a serious debilitating injury. The loss of consortium claim address changes in a relationship due to a catastrophic injury, such as the loss of intimacy or affection, the inability to participate as a partner or parent, and loss of companionship.
Our lawyers can discuss the potential for a loss of consortium and how much your claim could be worth as we build the catastrophic injury case.
What if a work-related injury caused by catastrophic injury? What are my options for compensation?
If you suffer a catastrophic injury or severe medical condition at work, you may be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. In addition to the wage replacement and medical coverage through workers’ comp, you may also be able to file a third-party injury claim against a negligent party.
For anyone badly hurt on the job here in Kansas City, our catastrophic injury attorneys can review what happened and help identify all potential avenues for compensation based on your situation.
