Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyer

No one expects an injury to suddenly send their life spinning off-course, but serious injuries occur to thousands of Americans every day. When the injury was caused by another party’s careless, reckless, or purposefully wrongful actions, it’s even more distressing to live with the burden of expenses and other consequences of the injury, especially when the consequences are temporarily or permanently life-altering. These consequences of an injury are your “damages” in a personal injury claim. 

If you’ve suffered an injury in Kansas City due to the negligent actions of an individual or business, you shouldn’t be left without fair compensation from the party at fault for your injury. A Kansas City personal injury lawyer is ready to provide skilled legal counsel and experienced representation throughout the legal process of recovering compensation. Call the Kansas City personal injury attorneys at Miller & Hine today so we can begin a strategy for prompt action on your case.

Why Choose Miller & Hine for Your Personal Injury Lawyers in Kansas City?

The personal injury attorneys at Miller & Hine provide meticulous attention to detail and personalized attention to every client’s unique case. An experienced Kansas City attorney can make all the difference in achieving your desired outcome. With representation from Miller & Hine, you’ll enjoy the following advantages in your claim:

• A free case consultation and no legal fees until after we win your case so there’s no upfront cost to you
• Over 5 decades of combined legal experience behind your claim
• Skilled investigators to make a compelling case proving the at-fault party’s liability
• Assertive negotiators to maximize your chances of achieving a settlement and avoiding court
• Award-winning attorney Jeff Hine has a renowned reputation and is a former president of the Missouri Board of Law Examiners, while Jason Hine and Jimmy Miller have rising track records of success in recovering millions of dollars for personal injury victims in Kansas City. Recent wins include a $300,000 settlement for a defective product liability claim

You need a knowledgeable and resourceful personal injury lawyer with years of experience in Missouri personal injury law to steer your case into the best course of action. Legal challenges are rarely simple. The insurance company of the party at fault for your injury is likely to dispute your claim or offer a fast settlement for much less than the amount you’re entitled to recover. You deserve someone on your side arguing aggressively for your rights and defending your best interests.

How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help My Case?

While you’re focused on recovering from your injury, your Kansas City accident attorney from Miller & Hine will tirelessly advocate on your behalf throughout every step of the process. You shouldn’t have to take on the challenge of a complex injury claim while you’re vulnerable. Your personal injury lawyer will do the following:

• Investigate all aspects of your injury including examining evidence, deposing eyewitnesses, viewing any video or photographic evidence, visiting the scene of the injury, and consulting with accident reconstruction experts when required
• Use our wealth of local resources to advance your case with on-call expert witnesses
• Identify the liable party and make a compelling case proving their negligence
• Determine if there is a secondary liable party that could increase the amount of compensation available to you
• Carefully calculate your economic and non-economic damages so you can get the most from your claim
• Make a compelling case for your full compensation to the insurance company of the at-fault party
• Negotiate with the insurance company to seek the largest possible settlement
• Prepare the case for court so the insurance company understands that we are willing to go all the way to a lawsuit if required
• Take the case to court if the insurance company disputes liability or undervalues the claim

Because a reputable personal injury attorney doesn’t collect fees until after they win your case, they have a personal incentive to strive for the largest possible amount of compensation as well as compassion for the harm done to you and the drive to achieve justice in your case.

What to Expect From Your Initial Consultation

It’s normal to feel uneasy about consulting with a lawyer since this isn’t a typical activity in the life of the average person. It can be especially daunting when you’re still suffering from the pain and trauma of a serious injury. It helps to know that consultations are free and do not come with any obligation to hire. At your initial consultation, expect to bring any documentation you have, like the police report, accident report, and medical report so your prospective attorney can evaluate the merits of your case. Expect to speak to the attorney about the following:

• Your account of how the accident or injury occurred
• Your current medical condition and prognosis for recovery
• Whether or not you’ve returned to work or can expect to return soon
• Whether or not you’ve been contacted by insurance adjusters and what you’ve said to them
• What you’ve told your employer or other parties about your injury and its impacts
• The contact information of anyone else involved and any eyewitnesses
• Whether or not you’ve given the insurance company medical authorization to view your injury records

All initial consultations are confidential and fall under attorney-client privilege even if you choose not to hire our firm so you can feel comfortable fully disclosing the details of your case.

What Is My Personal Injury Claim Worth?

All personal injury cases are unique. The amount available to you in your compensation claim depends on many factors unique to your case. The total amount you can recover depends on the following:

The Severity of Your Injury

Personal injury claims in Missouri are usually categorized by whether they are mild and recoverable, serious, catastrophic, or resulted in a wrongful death. The more severe the injury and the longer-lasting the consequences to the victim or their surviving family members the more compensation available to them in their claim.

Their Medical Costs and Anticipated Future Medical Expenses

It’s relatively easy to calculate the amount a victim has already spent on their medical care following an injury, but attorneys typically consult with medical experts to determine the amount that the victim is likely to pay in the future. An injury victim with a broken leg from a slip-and-fall accident will pay a far lower amount of future medical expenses for removing their cast after healing is complete than a car accident victim who suffered a spinal cord injury with a future of complications related to paralysis.

Income Loss

An attorney must examine the injury victim’s normal gross income and calculate the amount of income they’ve lost and what they can expect to lose in the future until they reach their maximum medical improvement.

Disability

When a preventable injury causes permanent disability, the injury victim may recover additional compensation for non-economic damages like loss of enjoyment of life. In addition to the compensation recovered from the at-fault party’s insurance, they can also apply for disability benefits.

Common Personal Injury Cases in Kansas City

If you’ve been injured in Kansas City or the surrounding region, you may be wondering if your case qualifies for a lawsuit. If your injury was preventable if only someone else had taken reasonable measures to prevent it or had acted the way another, reasonable person or business would have under the same circumstances, it qualifies for a personal injury claim. It helps to know the common types of personal injury lawsuits seen in Missouri courts. These include injuries from the following:

• Car accidents
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Workplace injuries
• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Defective products
• Dog bites
• Medical malpractice
• Premises liability claims for falls, fires, pool accidents, and negligent security
• Acts of violence or assault

Damages from injuries caused by the above can range from mild injuries causing a single hospital bill and a few days of missed work, to life-altering accidents causing disability or impairment. Whether you’ve broken a wrist in a slip-and-fall accident in a convenience store or suffered a brain injury from a car accident, you deserve compensation from the person or business that failed to take reasonable care.

Proving Liability in a Personal Injury Claim in Missouri

Personal injury claims in Kansas City often result in disputes as the defendant and their insurer use the state’s pure comparison negligence doctrine in an attempt to minimize the amount they pay out on a claim. According to Missouri 537.765.:

“Defendant may plead and prove the fault of the plaintiff as an affirmative defense. Any fault chargeable to the plaintiff shall diminish proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages but shall not bar recovery.”

Under this law, an injury victim can recover a portion of their damages even if they are partly at fault for their injury. In other words, if they are found 25 percent at fault for an injury, they can still recover $75,000 of a $100,000 claim. Unfortunately, this incentivizes insurance companies to assign an undue burden of fault to injury victims to lower the amount they pay out on a claim for damages. A personal injury attorney from Miller & Hine will document evidence proving the following:

• The at-fault party owed a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent injuries to others; for example, a driver’s duty to follow traffic laws or a store owner’s duty to repair safety hazards
• They breached this duty by acting negligently or recklessly
• The breach of duty directly caused the injury
• The injury victim suffered economic and non-economic damages from the injury

Your personal injury attorney will handle all communication and negotiations with the at-fault party’s insurer to recover the maximum amount of compensation for your damages through a settlement or in a court lawsuit if required.

What Compensation is Available in a Kansas City Personal Injury Case?

Injuries quickly become expensive as well as painful and life-altering. Common compensation recovered in personal injury claims in Missouri includes the following damages:

• Hospital bills and future medical costs related to the injury
• Lost income, future income loss, and lowered future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Other applicable non-economic damages unique to each case such as disfigurement compensation, PTSD, or loss of enjoyment of life due to disability

While financial compensation doesn’t undo the harm caused to you by the negligent party, it provides a sense of justice as well as relief for the financial hardship caused by the injury. We are ready to be a powerful voice behind your personal injury claim.

What Does the “Reasonable Person” Standard Mean in Personal Injury Law?

In a personal injury claim, you’re likely to hear an attorney speak about proving that an at-fault party failed to take “reasonable measures” or failed to act the way another, reasonable person would have. This refers to the premise of personal injury law focused on the understanding that we all owe a duty of reasonable care to others. If a person or business fails to act the way another, reasonable person would have under the same circumstances, it’s an act of negligence that leaves them liable for damages to the victim.

The injury victim (plaintiff) has the burden of proof in an injury case. They must demonstrate through a “preponderance of evidence” that the at-fault party’s negligence caused the injury. This means showing that it’s more likely than not that the injury occurred because of the defendant’s actions.

A preponderance of the evidence is a lower standard of proof than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard in criminal cases.

What to Do After a Personal Injury in Kansas City

Sudden injuries are shocking and traumatic, sometimes leaving the victim unconscious or unable to think clearly due to the pain and trauma. However, keeping a clear head and taking purposeful action not only protects your physical safety but also helps to streamline a claim for damages later to expedite your financial recovery. After an injury caused by someone else’s negligence, use your cell phone to preserve evidence. If you are too seriously injured to move safely, hand your phone to an uninjured companion or helpful bystander and do the following:

• Always call 911 to ask for an ambulance. Request police presence for a traffic accident or if you were the victim of a crime
• Use your phone’s camera to take photos of anything that caused or contributed to the injury, such as a broken stair riser in a hotel or the damaged vehicles after a car accident
• Take photos of any visible injuries
• Add the contact information of anyone involved, like another driver in a car accident, or the property owner or business manager of a store where you fell
• Ask for a police report or for a business manager to write out an injury report
• Go directly to the hospital from the site of the injury, preferably in an ambulance. This not only ensures you receive stabilizing medical treatment but also provides evidence that your injury occurred in the accident

When you go to an emergency room after an injury, always ask for a complete medical evaluation as well as treatment for your obvious injury. This helps to catch any injuries with delayed symptom onset that you haven’t noticed yet.

In the days following your injury, be wary of early offers from an insurance company. Always direct communication with the insurer of the at-fault party to your lawyer. Early settlement offers are almost always undervalued and less than the amount that should be available to you. Insurance companies are not on your side after an injury, instead, they prioritize their profit margins.

Common Tactics Used Against Injury Victims By Insurance Companies

Besides making low settlement offers, insurance companies use other predictable methods to protect their profits at the injury victim’s expense. Be aware of the following common tactics:

• An insurance adjuster may call on a recorded line and then use your casual remarks out of context against you later
• The insurance company may claim that the treatment your doctor recommends isn’t necessary for your injury
• The insurance adjuster may follow you on social media to look for photos that make you appear less injured than you claim
• Some insurance companies ask for medical authorization to review the medical report of your injury. It’s better to provide a printed or emailed copy of your injury report rather than full authorization which they can use to comb through your entire medical history to find a previous injury or pre-existing condition they can claim is the true cause of your pain
• They may say you are partly responsible for your injury and reduce your compensation by the percentage they say you are at fault

After you hire an attorney from Miller & Hine, direct all communication with the insurance company to your lawyer.

Call Miller & Hine Today For a Consultation on Your Personal Injury Case in Kansas City

No one should have to take on a complicated legal process alone while dealing with painful or debilitating injuries. Instead, let Miller & Hine focus our team’s legal minds on getting the most out of your compensation claim in Kansas City while you focus your energy on reaching the maximum medical improvement from your injury. Contact our Kansas City personal injury law firm today for a free evaluation of your case.