Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyers

Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Kansas City

If you have specific questions about your legal rights and options, you should not hesitate to talk to a lawyer. In the meantime, here’s a general look at some common issues that can shape the trajectory of personal injury cases.

Proving Liability for Injuries in Missouri

The main way to get compensation for injuries involves showing that the defendant (the person or entity that you’re suing) was negligent. In other words, they didn’t act with the proper level of care, and you were injured as a result. The required level of care depends on the situation. A driver is expected to act as a reasonably prudent driver would act to avoid putting other people at risk. In contrast, a doctor needs to meet a standard of care specific to their field.

An accident may occur when someone didn’t use proper care while they were doing their job. A rule called vicarious liability allows an injured person to hold a business liable if its employee was negligent in the scope of their employment. They don’t need to show that the business was also negligent. This may help an injured person recover a greater amount of damages than what they could get by suing the individual employee. In some cases, a business might be directly liable, such as when its negligent hiring, training, or supervision put others at risk.

Another theory of liability in certain types of personal injury cases is called strict liability. This allows an injured person to hold a defendant liable regardless of how much care the defendant may have used. Perhaps the most common example of strict liability is a case involving a defective product. An injured person would need to show that the defect caused their injuries, but they wouldn’t need to prove that the manufacturer was negligent.

Finally, some claims are known as “intentional torts.” These often involve incidents like assault or sexual assault, for which the defendant also might face criminal charges. However, the criminal case is separate from the civil lawsuit. Prosecutors need to meet a much higher standard of proof than people bringing personal injury claims. You might be able to win your case even if the defendant isn’t convicted of a crime.

The Missouri Personal Injury Statute of Limitations

Missouri imposes a deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, known as the statute of limitations. If you don’t meet the deadline, the judge probably will dismiss your case if the defendant asks. This can seem like a harsh rule because there’s no allowance for the strength of the case or the severity of the plaintiff’s injuries.

The general Missouri personal injury statute of limitations is five years. This applies to most ordinary types of cases, such as car accidents and slip and falls. However, the statute of limitations is usually two years in medical malpractice cases. Lawsuits based on assault or battery also need to be brought within two years. If you’re bringing a wrongful death lawsuit after your loved one died in a fatal accident, you generally have three years to file. Regardless of these deadlines, though, it’s always sensible to get started sooner rather than later so that you can preserve the evidence needed to prove liability and damages.

Missouri Laws Affecting Personal Injury Claims

If you were partly at fault for an accident in which you were injured, you might be worried about whether you can still get compensation. Fortunately, Missouri has a generous rule called pure comparative negligence. It allows an injured person to recover compensation from a defendant who was also at fault, no matter how much the injured person was at fault. Their damages would be reduced in proportion to their own fault. For example, if you were involved in a car crash for which you were 25 percent at fault, you could recover up to 75 percent of your damages. Even if you were 60 percent at fault, you could recover up to 40 percent of your damages.

Some states limit the amount of damages that an injured person can recover, especially when it comes to non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Missouri doesn’t limit damages, including non-economic damages, in most personal injury cases. However, a cap applies to non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. The cap is greater if the malpractice has caused catastrophic injuries. Both the standard cap and the catastrophic injury cap increase by 1.7 percent each year. There’s also a cap on the total damages available in personal injury cases against government entities.

Settlement Considerations in Missouri Personal Injury Cases

Claims brought by injured people generally don’t go all the way to a trial in front of a judge or jury. Litigation is time-consuming and expensive, and there’s no way to know for sure how it will turn out, even if you feel confident about the evidence that you’ve gathered. This makes both plaintiffs and defendants (or their insurers) more inclined to settle a case out of court.

In a settlement, the injured person agrees to release their claims against the defendant in exchange for receiving a certain amount of money. This can allow them to get compensation sooner and begin addressing the bills that may have begun to pile up. It also can help them move forward emotionally from what may have been a traumatic event. However, you shouldn’t necessarily take the first offer that you get. Insurers often try to settle claims for much less than what they’re worth in an effort to protect their profit margin. It’s important to carefully evaluate an offer to make sure that it covers your needs.

Unfortunately, some injured people may not fully recover. In cases involving long-term injuries or permanent disabilities, it usually makes sense to wait to settle until the victim has reached maximum medical improvement. This is the stage at which their doctor doesn’t expect them to make significant further progress. At this point, they’ll have a clearer understanding of the future damages that they may want to include in their claim.

How a Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help

You can expect that the other side will have a legal team working hard to protect their interests. The stakes are high in personal injury cases, especially those involving substantial damages, so it’s only reasonable to get an attorney of your own. They can help with the logistical process of compiling the evidence that you need to prove the defendant’s liability and the damages that you have incurred. Some useful forms of evidence might include photos of the accident scene, statements from people who saw what happened, records of your treatment, receipts and bills showing your costs and losses, and testimony from experts like doctors, economists, forensic analysts, or vocational rehabilitation specialists.

As your case proceeds through settlement negotiations, you’ll benefit from your attorney’s advocacy in presenting your damages as convincingly and comprehensively as possible. You’ll also benefit from their advice as you weigh whether to take an offer. They can rely on their knowledge of the field and their experience in similar cases in explaining the pros and cons of an offer. (However, you have the right to decide whether to accept an offer.)

If you don’t get a reasonable offer to settle your case, your attorney probably will handle a court setting more smoothly than you could on your own. They’ll know how to present the events in a way that resonates with a judge or jury, and they can navigate processes like jury selection and cross-examination with skill that only a professional will have. Your attorney also will keep track of deadlines, comply with court rules, and otherwise manage the procedural aspects of the case. These shouldn’t be overlooked because even a small lapse could harm your chances.

How to Find a Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer

It can be challenging to figure out which attorney would make the most sense for your situation. Perhaps you’ll get a recommendation from someone whom you know, but there’s a good chance that you’ll end up going online for your search. The Justia Lawyer Directory offers a useful way to compare a broad spectrum of personal injury attorneys in the Kansas City area and contact those who seem like good options.

As you search, you should prioritize lawyers who have experience with the specific type of case that you’re bringing. Not all personal injury attorneys handle all types of cases. For example, if you think that your doctor didn’t meet the professional standard of care, you should look for a lawyer who has handled many medical malpractice cases. If your child got injured by a defective toy, you should work with an attorney with a background in products liability claims, and potentially with experience in child injury cases.

Your attorney should have a track record of competence and integrity. They should comply with the rules of professional conduct imposed by the Missouri Bar. A minor incident from a long time ago might not warrant crossing an attorney off your list, but you should avoid someone who has a consistent record of breaking the rules. Misconduct by your attorney could harm a case, even if it’s otherwise strong.

Exploring attorney websites will give you a sense of the results that they’ve achieved for people in situations like yours. In addition to these tangible data points, you should check out client reviews. These can provide insights into how an attorney relates to their clients and how they handle their cases. If an attorney has endorsements from their peers, this could indicate that they’ve built a strong reputation in the profession, which could make a difference when they’re negotiating with opposing counsel or arguing on your behalf before a judge.

Personal injury lawyers usually offer free consultations. You should discuss your case with a few attorneys so that you can get a range of perspectives. Prepare some questions about your case and about how the attorney generally handles cases. While the attorney thinks about whether they want to represent you, you can think about whether they seem like they would be a knowledgeable and dedicated advocate. It’s also important to work with someone whose personality aligns well with yours. Personal rapport is essential to the attorney-client relationship.

Types of Personal Injury Cases in Missouri

When you think of a personal injury case, you may think first of motor vehicle collisions. These may involve cars, trucks, motorcycles, and bicycles, as well as pedestrians in some devastating cases. However, personal injury law extends much further. Some other examples of these cases include:

• Medical malpractice lawsuits against healthcare providers that didn’t meet the professional standard of care
• Slip and fall cases against property owners that failed to keep up with maintaining their premises
• Products liability claims against manufacturers that released defective products into the market
• Nursing home negligence or abuse cases against licensed care facilities and their employees
• Dog bite lawsuits against owners of dogs who attacked other people
• Claims based on violent crimes like assault

If you got injured on the job, you probably can get benefits through the Missouri workers’ compensation system. These are available regardless of whether your employer was at fault for your injuries. However, workers’ comp benefits don’t extend as broadly as damages in personal injury lawsuits, and you can’t sue your employer to get those additional damages. You might want to explore the possibility of bringing a third-party lawsuit against another person or entity that caused your injuries. This could allow you to recover non-economic damages like pain and suffering if you can prove the defendant’s liability. For example, perhaps you got injured at work because you used a tool with a manufacturing defect, or perhaps you were hit by a careless driver while you were traveling for your job.

Notable Personal Injury Damages Awards in Missouri

The amount of damages available in any given claim or lawsuit depends on its specific facts. However, here are some memorable verdicts and settlements from recent personal injury cases in Missouri:

• $10 million when a driver crossed the center line and caused a head-on collision, resulting in the death of a woman with a surviving husband and eight children
• $10 million for a side-impact crash when a driver ran a red light, causing injuries and impairments that prevented the victim from continuing to do their job
• $5 million (reduced to about $600,000 due to the medical malpractice non-economic damages cap) when a flawed breast reconstruction surgery caused permanent loss of sensation in the patient’s leg
• $1.25 million when a rear-end collision allegedly resulted from a driver reading Facebook messages while they were behind the wheel
• $1 million when an autistic child was molested by another child at a day care, due to inadequate supervision by staff
• $300,000 for a dog bite that resulted in the partial amputation of a finger

You should talk to your attorney about the amount that your case might be worth. They can advise you based on their experience and knowledge of similar cases.

Kansas City Car Accident Statistics

The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety provides statistics on fatal car crashes in Kansas City, as well as other cities in Missouri. In 2023, there were 97 fatalities in Kansas City car accidents. These included 60 fatalities involving aggressive driving and 17 fatalities involving a substance-impaired driver. There were 20 non-motorist fatalities, which included pedestrians and bicyclists, as well as 16 motorcyclist fatalities. Nine fatalities involved a commercial motor vehicle.

Deadliest Roads in Kansas City

An analysis by local media of data from the Kansas City Police Department identified the 10 deadliest roads in the city in 2022 and 2023. These were:

• I-435 (23 deaths on the roadway, 3 at on-ramps)
• Truman Road (4 deaths on the roadway, 8 at intersections)
• U.S. 71 (11 deaths on the roadway)
• I-70 (11 deaths on the roadway)
• Prospect Avenue (5 deaths on the roadway, 4 at intersections)
• Ward Parkway (4 deaths on the roadway, 4 at intersections)
• Troost Avenue (6 deaths on the roadway, 1 at intersections)
• Independence Avenue (1 death on the roadway, 5 at intersections)
• Emanuel Cleaver II Boulevard (4 deaths on the roadway)
• 31st Street (2 deaths on the roadway, 2 at intersections)

Kansas City is notorious for having one of the highest fatality rates among all major U.S. cities. Traffic safety experts believe that poor road designs encouraging speeding may have influenced this trend.

Kansas City Personal Injury Resources

After being involved in a car crash in Kansas City, you probably should get a copy of the police report on the crash. This could help support any claim or lawsuit based on your injuries. Traffic crash reports generated by the Kansas City Police Department may be purchased online through the BuyCrash system for a fee of $9 per report. You’ll need to provide the report number, your name, and the date of the crash.

If you think that a doctor provided you with substandard care, you can file a complaint with the Missouri Board of Registration for the Healing Arts. This is part of the Missouri Division of Professional Registration. If you have a concern involving a hospital, meanwhile, you should start by bringing it to the attention of the facility. If it doesn’t properly address your concern, you can file a complaint with the Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services. However, these complaints won’t provide you with compensation for your injuries.

A Kansas City resident dealing with the aftermath of a violent crime may want to reach out to the Victim Assistance Unit in the Kansas City Police Department. This can provide crisis intervention services, referrals to support services, and information about your rights. More broadly, the Missouri Department of Public Safety operates a Crime Victims’ Compensation Program. This provides financial assistance to people who have sustained traumatic injuries from certain violent crimes. The Department of Public Safety also provides a general list of programs and resources for crime victims.

After an injury on the job, you may want to explore the information provided by the Division of Workers’ Compensation in the Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations. This helps explain core issues such as who is covered by the workers’ comp program, the benefits that are available, and how to file a claim or handle a dispute with the employer or insurer.

FAQs

1. How much does it cost to work with a personal injury lawyer?

   It shouldn’t cost anything upfront to work with a lawyer. They generally charge contingency fees, so they’ll only get paid if they get money for the client. The fee will be a percentage of the settlement or judgment in the case, often between 25 and 40 percent. You might need to pay a larger chunk of your award to the attorney if the case goes to trial.

2. Can I get damages if I had a pre-existing condition?

   Yes, you may be able to get damages if the defendant’s conduct aggravated your condition. Your damages would account only for the extent of the aggravation. These cases can be tricky and may meet with resistance from defendants or insurers. Expert testimony may play a key role in establishing the degree to which the incident worsened your condition.

3. Is a dog owner in Missouri strictly liable for dog bites?

   Yes, Missouri law makes a dog owner strictly liable for damages suffered by someone who was bitten by the dog while they were on public property or lawfully on private property, even if they were on the dog owner’s property. It doesn’t matter whether the owner knew that the dog had vicious tendencies. However, there’s an exception for provoking the dog, and damages may be reduced by the victim’s percentage of fault.

4. Can I sue the bar that served the drunk driver who hit me?

   Only in narrow situations. Missouri allows for a personal injury claim against a bar or similar entity when the injured person can prove that the bar knowingly served alcohol to someone who was visibly intoxicated, or that the bar knew or should have known that alcohol was served to an underage person. This requires proof by clear and convincing evidence, rather than the usual preponderance of the evidence standard in civil cases.

5. Should I see the doctor even if I don’t feel too bad?

   Yes, it’s always smart to see a doctor after an accident, regardless of whether you think that you’re seriously injured. Not all conditions are immediately obvious, and waiting longer than necessary to get treatment could lead to unnecessary complications. It’s also usually a good idea to create a medical record that documents your injuries for the purpose of any legal action that you later pursue.