Kansas City Catastrophic Injury Lawyer

Our Kansas City catastrophic injury lawyers at Dickerson Oxton, LLC use our experience and expertise to help injured victims and their families recover after a life-altering injury. Personal injuries that leave individuals with lifelong complications, disabilities, difficulties, or shortened expected lifespan are known as catastrophic injuries. The scope of these injuries usually extends beyond the pain, suffering, medical bills and arduous life that the victim alone undergoes.

 

Catastrophic injuries place an unimaginable amount of stress, emotional pain, and very often a financial burden on the families of victims involved. If proper compensation isn’t established early on, these burdens may never lighten; victims and families alike can be left with a lifetime of financial destitution which in all likelihood will never ease, making it all the more important to speak with a dedicated personal injury lawyer in Kansas City. Contact a Kansas City catastrophic injury lawyer if you or a loved one has been victimized resulting in a catastrophic injury.

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Seek Legal Justice in Kansas City, MO

After reading this brief list of the types of Kansas City catastrophic injuries, it is easy to see why these kinds of injuries have such a massive impact on the lives of individuals impacted by a catastrophic accident. All of these personal injuries are life lasting and often require extensive medical rehabilitation. Victims who incur these types of severe injuries usually depend upon some degree of living assistance or support from either paid personnel or family members. This new necessity, just to live, places an enormous burden on those involved.

 

If you or someone close to you has been the victim of a debilitating injury, contact Dickerson Oxton, LLC today to speak with a knowledgeable Kansas City personal injury attorney who has experience in handling serious personal injury claims. Our catastrophic injury attorneys offer client-specific strategies to help make your case a success. You can reach one of our injury attorneys at (913) 428-8220. Alternatively, you can fill out our free consultation form on our website and we will get back to you promptly.

 

Why Choose Us?

Being a smaller law firm, we are directly available to our clients and handle all personal injury cases with the utmost compassion. Unlike our larger competitors, who route calls through paralegals and assistants, our catastrophic injury attorneys are always directly available for any questions or concerns our clients may have. Adopting this client-first mentality allows us to personally connect with each accident victim and understand how they are suffering in order to assess their case.

 

The Kansas City personal injury attorneys at Dickerson Oxton, LLC are dedicated to a personal approach to compassionate legal representation. At our firm, your initial consultation is always free of charge. When we do accept cases, we operate on a contingent fee basis. We choose to operate this way for the sole benefit of our clients; if we don’t win your case, you won’t pay anything. With over a decade of combined litigation experience, the attorneys at Dickerson Oxton, LLC have the knowledge and dedication needed to help you with your case. Please call or contact us online today to speak with a compassionate Kansas City personal injury lawyer. kansas-city-catastrophic-injury-lawyer

What are Common Causes of Catastrophic Injuries?

The same situations or accidents that can cause a less severe, personal injury, can also cause catastrophic injuries in Kansas City, MO. Generally, when pursuing a catastrophic injury case, the negligence of another party must be established. This is a party, who if held responsible, will be required to pay compensation to the injured party. Negligence is defined as the conduct a person engages in which is culpable in that it falls short of what a reasonable person would or would not do in a given situation. Some common sources of Kansas City these injuries are:

 

It should be noted that this is a mere sampling of some of the various roots of catastrophic injuries. All of these sources of injury can leave victims and families with lifelong challenges. Generally speaking, catastrophic personal injuries will forever change the quality of life for a victim, how a victim leads his or her life and even the extent of a injured party’s life.

What are Common Types of Catastrophic Injuries?

As previously mentioned, injuries considered catastrophic can leave the injured party with lifelong complications and can carry unimaginable amounts of stress and hefty financial burdens. While not an exhaustive list, catastrophic injuries acquired during the aforementioned scenarios can include:

 

Traumatic Brain Injuries

 

These types of injuries affect the proper function of the brain. The number of various specific disabilities that brain injuries can cause is truly vast. Additionally, victims of head injuries can suffer from amnesia, personality changes, and cognitive problems. If you or a loved one suffered from this life-changing disability, contact a Kansas City brain injury attorney today to seek financial compensation for your injuries.

 

Spinal Cord Injuries

 

Injuries to the vertebrae, which encases the spinal cord, and to the spinal cord itself can cause severe disabilities and lifelong complications. Victims may lose feeling or sensation in limbs. In extreme cases, injured individuals are left with either full or partial body paralysis. This paralysis leaves the injured party as a paraplegic or quadriplegic, usually making it necessary to be confined to a wheelchair or bed.

 

Burn Injuries

 

One of the most painful things a human can experience is a burn injury. Victims often require skin grafts and reconstructive surgery just to merely attempt to bring their life back to a state of normalcy.

 

Damage to Internal Organs

 

Any accident or faulty product which damages a person’s internal organs leaves the victim with a lifetime of complications. In many cases, victims require organ transplantation and must take anti-rejection medications daily in order to maintain the new organ. The medical costs associated with organ transplantation alone are astronomical.

 

Injuries Requiring Amputation

 

The loss of a limb due to an accident, negligence or careless actions of another dramatically alters the way an injured party must live the rest of their life. Things that are simple for other people, such as walking, tying your shoes, or opening a door become incredibly complicated (if not impossible) to perform after the loss of a limb.

What Is a Catastrophic Injury Case Worth?

The value of your catastrophic injury claim will depend on the unique losses you suffered in connection to your accident. An award can have two parts: punitive damages and compensatory damages. Punitive damages are not present in every case. They are damages that a judge may award to punish a defendant for causing catastrophic injuries.

 

Compensatory damages refer to the past and future losses an injured party will suffer because of the accident. They refer to both economic and non-economic losses, including medical expenses, lost wages, property damages, legal expenses, travel costs, and pain and suffering.

How Do You Prove Fault in a Catastrophic Injury Case?

To successfully navigate and win a catastrophic injury claim in Missouri, plaintiffs and their legal team need to prove that the defendant was at fault for the accident and injuries sustained. The plaintiff’s legal team needs to demonstrate that the defendant’s negligence, wrong-doing and or carelessness caused the accident that resulted in the injury. 

 

Proving fault may be difficult in certain cases. Video evidence and eyewitness testimony or affidavits can be critical in some cases. If there is video of an individual that is under the influence of drugs or alcohol running a red light, this evidence will exemplify 

 

It’s also important for an attorney to prove that the four elements of negligence occurred. These elements include, duty, breach of duty, causation and damages. 

 

An experienced catastrophic injury attorney that has dealt with serious personal injury cases can help prove fault after an accident.

What Is Pain and Suffering?

Pain and suffering refers to the physical, emotional and/or mental difficulties associated with an accident and related injuries. Pain and suffering, unlike an out-of-pocket loss, is an intangible damage that is difficult to prove. As a plaintiff with a catastrophic injury, you cannot prove the economic value of your pain and suffering using pay stubs or receipts. Instead, it will be up to you and your lawyer to establish physical pain and emotional suffering through evidence such as your personal journal, testimony from friends and family, testimony from you, and expert medical or psychiatric opinions. It is up to a jury how much to award in pain and suffering damages.

 

In a catastrophic injury claim, this type of damage award could be substantial. Pain and suffering damages often match or exceed the total amount of economic damages awarded during a catastrophic injury case. The amount a jury deems appropriate for your pain and suffering will depend on the circumstances of your individual case and how well your lawyer can establish your losses. Note that you will not be eligible for pain and suffering damages in a no-fault insurance claim. You can only claim these losses during a personal injury suit against the at-fault party. Our personal injury lawyers can help you demand fair compensation and negotiate with the insurance companies for the pain and suffering associated with a catastrophic injury.

How Is Pain & Suffering Calculated?

A jury will calculate pain and suffering damages by assessing how much the catastrophic injury has impacted your life. No specific rule exists on how a jury must calculate a pain and suffering damage award. It is up to the jurors to decide how much to award a plaintiff based on their perception of how the serious injury has affected the individual. In general, the more severe the injury, the more money a jury will award in pain and suffering. If a jury decides to use a rule to calculate pain and suffering damages, it will typically use the Multiplier Method or Per Diem Method. The Multiplier Method is the most common. This method takes the total amount of a plaintiff’s economic damages and multiplies it by a number representative of the victim’s physical and emotional stress, often between one and five.

 

A catastrophic injury will generally receive a higher multiplier, such as four or five. This will lead to a higher pain and suffering damage award than a minor injury and smaller multiplier. The Per Diem Method assigns an amount of non-economic damages per day that the plaintiff will foreseeably experience pain and suffering. This method is more common for minor injuries that the victim will fully recover from in the foreseeable future. Using the Per Diem Method, a jury will choose an amount of pain and suffering damages that seems fair per day. This amount often matches the plaintiff’s average daily wage. Then, the jury will multiply this amount by the number of days it will take the victim to fully recover. The best way to accurately estimate, and determine your legal rights, is by calculating your damages with the assistance of an attorney.

Contact a Catastrophic Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been involved in a serious or catastrophic injury, we are here to help. Our law firm has years of experience in the legal process fighting for victims of life-altering injuries. To contact one of our attorneys for general information, call us at (816) 268-1960 or submit our online form for a free initial consultation. We know how difficult these situations can be and our compassionate attorneys offer are here to offer legal advice and a hand to help navigate our client’s through this difficult situation.

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