Kansas City Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Few injuries are as serious and life-altering as a spinal cord injury. The consequences are devastating when there is an interruption to the brain’s ability to send and receive messages to the body below. Victims of preventable spinal cord injuries suffer from the loss of their ability to accomplish daily routines the way they once did. They are often unable to return to work in their previous capacity—or at all.

Over 15 million people around the world live with spinal cord injuries, the majority of which result from preventable accidents like car accidents, falls, and other trauma. If you or a close family member have experienced a spinal cord injury caused by the negligence of someone else, there is no more critical time to have a sharp, focused, and experienced attorney on your side. Call the spinal cord injury lawyers in Kansas City at Miller & Hine Attorneys at Law for the skilled legal counsel you need after a preventable, life-altering spinal cord injury.

Why Choose Miller & Hine as Your Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys in Kansas City?

At Miller & Hine, our legal team of Kansas City personal injury lawyers have personally witnessed the long-range impacts experienced by victims of spinal cord injuries and the ripple effects on their families. We also know that no two cases are alike. That’s why we take the time to get to know each client and develop a personalized strategy for the best way forward for every unique case. We bring the following to the table for your spinal cord injury claim:

• Because no one prepares for this type of injury, we offer free consultations and contingency-based fees so you pay nothing until after we secure your compensation
• We keep open lines of upfront and honest communication so you’re always up to date on the progress of your case and included in all decision-making
• We perform meticulous investigations with a deeply ingrained understanding of Missouri injury law and insurance system for the best possible outcome
• We’re ready to put five decades of combined experience behind your case as we prepare as though for trial while simultaneously putting a powerful voice behind negotiations for the maximum compensation in a settlement so you’re unlikely to have to see a courtroom

With a team approach as well as individual attention from an attorney dedicated to your case, you can expect results like some of our recent large wins for victims of personal injuries like the $800,000 win in a recent medical malpractice case.

What Are the Most Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries?

The spinal cord contains sensitive bundles of nerves that form a critical pathway for the brain’s messages to and from the extremities. Despite the protection of the bony spinal column, the spinal cord is subject to damaging injuries from severe trauma, particularly when the protective circular vertebrae splinter or shatter. Common causes of preventable spinal cord injuries include the following:

• Car accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Bicycle vs. car accidents
• Falls from heights (often work-injury related)
• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Contact sports
• Diving accidents
• Recreational activities like skiing, skating, and horseback riding
• Acts of violence

When the spinal cord suffers damage from sharp broken bones or severe inflammation, the result is loss of movement and sensation below the point of the injury.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

The consequences of a spinal cord injury depend on the severity of the damage and the level of the spine where the injury occurred. The higher the injury on the spine, the more extensive the damage because messages cannot pass through the damaged region of the cord. Types of spinal cord injuries include the following:

• Injury to the cervical spine: this is the highest portion of the spinal cord beginning at the base of the skull and into the neck. Injury to this area results in paralysis of the body below the head, sometimes called quadriplegia or tetraplegia
• Injury to the thoracic spine: this portion of the spine impacts the upper body, chest, and abdomen, with paralysis of the abdomen, hips, and legs, while the injury victim retains motion and sensation in the arms and shoulders. For lower thoracic spine injuries, victims may retain sensation in the abdomen and lower portion of the body, but not the legs
• Injury to the lumbar spine: injuries in the lumbar spine cause paraplegia or paralysis in the legs and lower body. Most injury victims require wheelchairs but some may walk with braces and assistive equipment

Spinal cord injuries may be complete or incomplete. Incomplete injuries may still allow some feeling and function below the point of the injury, while complete injuries do not.

What Are the Long-Terms Effects of Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injury victims not only suffer the life-changing impacts of immobility, but they also experience significant impacts on other aspects of their health and emotional well-being, requiring long-term medical care for conditions such as the following:

• Frequent urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Frequent respiratory infections
• Pressure sores
• Brittle bones and fractures
• Autonomic dysreflexia

Autonomic dysreflexia is a life-threatening condition with sudden changes in heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration caused by the body’s response to an injury or illness below the point of the spinal cord injury where the injury victim can no longer feel a normal pain response.

Spinal cord injury victims with paraplegia may regain self-sufficiency with physical and occupational therapy, but those with quadriplegia rely on home health care and assisted living as well as medical equipment.

What Compensation Is Available in a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

Because the impacts of a spinal cord injury are far-reaching, the damages are extensive. If the careless, reckless, or wrongful actions of another directly caused the injury, they are responsible for the damages. Typically compensation comes through an appropriate insurance policy, such as auto insurance after a car accident. Common compensation awarded in spinal cord injury claims includes the following:

• Medical expenses and future medical care costs
• Lost income
• Diminished future earning capacity
• Pain, suffering, and emotional anguish
• Diminished life quality
• Loss of enjoyment of life

Although financial compensation for intangible non-economic damages like diminished life quality cannot erase the injury, it does open doors to the best possible medical care and relieves financial burdens so the injury victim can focus on maximizing their recovery.

Reach out to Miller & Hine Attorneys at Law

After suffering a catastrophic injury that could have been avoided had someone else taken reasonable care, you and your family deserve compensation and financial accountability on the part of the person or business entity at fault. Call the spinal cord injury lawyers in Kansas City who understand the critical importance of success in your claim. The Kansas City accident attorneys at Miller & Hine are ready to devote themselves to your case until you see justice and can move forward with the compensation you need and deserve.