Kansas City Brain Injury Lawyer
Request Free ConsultationThe brain is the center of our thoughts and emotions as well as the control system for all of our bodily functions. Even the smallest injury to the brain can present significant symptoms with impacts on speech, mobility, memory, personality, mood, and cognition. Serious brain injuries often have life-altering consequences for the victim. When a brain injury is the result of someone else’s careless, reckless, or wrongful actions, the victim and their family members shouldn’t be left with the burden of injury-related expenses as well as the physical and emotional aspects of the injury. If you or a close family member suffered a brain injury due to someone else’s actions, a brain injury attorney in Kansas City can help you recover compensation so you have the resources needed for the best medical care. Call our Kansas City brain injury law firm at Miller & Hine Attorneys at Law today for a free case consultation so we can take action on your claim.
Why Choose Miller & Hine for Your Kansas City Brain Injury Attorneys?
The dedicated client advocates at Miller & Hine have spent years devoted to achieving justice for injury victims through the compensation they need to prevent financial hardship after an injury. Our Kansas City personal injury attorneys take a results-oriented approach with unique strategies tailored to every client’s individual circumstances to achieve the maximum compensation available so our injured clients gain a sense of justice and accountability. We offer the following advantages to a brain injury case in Missouri:
- A free case consultation and no fees until after we recover your settlement or win your lawsuit
- Over 50 years of experience and a wealth of resources to put behind your case, including access to the best medical expert witnesses
- Open availability and honest communication with every client because we believe they should be included in all decisions and kept informed of every forward step in their case
- A collaborative team approach to resolving complex claims as well as the individual attention of an attorney devoted to your case
We get to know every client like family, so we personally witness the impacts of the injury and make the most compelling case for full compensation.
Common Causes of Traumatic Brain Injuries in Kansas City
Despite considerable protection from a bony skull and layer of cushioning fluid, a strong blow, violent shake, or penetrating wound can cause injury to the brain’s delicate tissue. Bruising, bleeding, inflammation, and cell death in injured areas cause significant harm. Common causes of brain injuries include the following:
- Car Accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Contact sports injuries
- Recreational injuries
- Workplace accidents
- Acts of violence
After an accident involving an impact, violent shaking, or trauma to the head, it’s critical to seek medical attention and have a thorough evaluation. Prompt action can help to minimize additional damage caused by bleeding, bruising, and swelling inside the brain.
Signs of a Brain Injury
After a blow to the head, it’s critical to watch for signs of brain injury. Some injuries are severe, with immediate noticeable effects, but other brain injuries develop symptoms in the hours or days after an accident due to metabolic changes in the brain from inflammation or bleeding. Signs of a brain injury include the following:
- Headache
- Vision changes
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Ringing in the ears
- Numbness or tingling in the extremities
- Fatigue
- Problems with balance or coordination
- Mood changes
- Problems with memory and concentration
- Sleep disturbances
- Speech problems
- Seizures
Any brain injury is serious. It’s best to have a medical evaluation after a head injury to catch a brain injury as early as possible so treatment can minimize the impacts. If you develop any signs of a traumatic brain injury after an accident, seek medical help as soon as possible.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injuries
When a brain injury results from an accident or violence rather than from a medical condition like a stroke, it’s a traumatic brain injury. The most common type of traumatic brain injury is a concussion. Most concussions are mild and resolve within days or a week of the injury; however, some people develop extended concussion symptoms. Also, multiple concussions during youth may result in a form of dementia later. Common traumatic brain injuries include the following:
- Concussion
- Hematoma
- Diffuse axonal injury
- Brain Hemorrhage
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Coup contrecoup injury
- Skull fracture
- Penetrating brain injury
Penetrating brain injuries typically result from acts of violence such as gunshot wounds. Brain injuries may be open or closed injuries. Medical providers classify brain injuries as mild, moderate, or severe.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Recover in a Brain Injury Case in Kansas City?
Even a mild concussion requires expensive diagnostic tests and causes lost work days. More serious injuries can cause devasting impacts, lengthy hospital stays, and years of rehabilitation and therapies like speech therapy, physical therapy, and occupational therapy. Some brain injury victims may never return to work in their previous capacity, or at all. Compensation in Kansas City brain injury cases depends on the severity of the injury and whether or not the brain injury causes permanent partial or permanent total disability. Brain injury claims typically result in compensation for some or all of the following:
- Medical expenses
- Anticipated future medical expenses
- Lost income
- Future lost wages
- Diminished future earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Diminished quality of life
- Loss of consortium (the ability to enjoy a full physical and emotional relationship with another)
If a brain injury ultimately results in death, and someone else was at fault for the injury, a close surviving family member may recover compensation in a wrongful death claim.
What Can a Brain Injury Lawyer Do For My Case?
Most brain injury cases in Kansas City and elsewhere recover compensation through the appropriate insurance company; for instance, a careless driver’s auto insurance after a car accident or a negligent business owner’s property insurance after a slip-and-fall accident. Sadly, insurance companies exist to make profits, often at the injury victim’s expense. The insurance adjuster the insurer assigns to the case will investigate the accident with the goal of reducing the amount they have to pay out on the claim. They may claim the victim was partly responsible for their injury and reduce the payout by the percentage of the victim’s alleged fault, under Missouri’s comparison negligence system. An experienced brain injury lawyer from Miller & Hine anticipates and counteracts these and other tactics such as delays, denials, and disputed claims. Your lawyer from Miller & Hine will do the following:
- Investigate all aspects of the accident or incident that caused the brain injury
- Compile evidence
- Consult with experts such as accident reconstruction experts and renowned medical professionals
- Carefully calculate past, present, and future damages to seek the maximum compensation
- Send a strong, evidence-backed demand package to the insurance company
- Enter into negotiations for the largest possible settlement
- File a lawsuit within the state’s statute of limitations for personal injuries if the insurance company fails to make an acceptable settlement offer
- Assertively represent your best interests and defend your rights in court litigation if required, and seek a positive jury verdict and large court award for your damages
Recovering compensation after a serious injury like a brain injury is a serious matter with a victim’s and their family’s futures at stake. When it’s this important, you can’t let a paperwork error or oversight cost your family everything. An attorney dedicated to your case ensures you have the best possible chance for financial recovery so you can concentrate on physical and emotional recovery.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Brain Injury Claims in Missouri?
All states limit the amount of time an injury victim has after the date the injury occurred in which to file a lawsuit. Typically, injury claims only require a lawsuit when an insurance company lowballs or wrongfully denies a claim. Setting a statute of limitations helps ensure that evidence remains available and eyewitness testimony is reliable should a case go to court. Missouri has a uniquely generous five-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims including brain injury lawsuits in Kansas City, Missouri.
Call the Brain Injury Lawyers in Kansas City at Miller & Hine Today
No one should have to take on a serious compensation claim while also dealing with an injury with potentially life-altering effects. Hiring an attorney to handle the meticulous paperwork, strategy planning, investigation, and negotiations with an insurer allows the victims of a brain injury to focus on themselves while a dedicated advocate works for justice and compensation on their behalf.
Contact Miller & Hine today for a free consultation so we can evaluate your case and begin working on the best way forward for your claim.