Kansas City Spinal Injury Lawyer

The spinal cord is an essential part of someone’s central nervous system that is vital for the control and movement of your extremities. An injury to the spinal cord can result in paralysis in one or more limbs. Blunt force trauma or an impact to the spine can happen in a car accident, fall, or act of violence. Spine injuries can also occur due to medical negligence, such as a mishap during surgery. No cure exists for spinal cord injuries. Victims must live with the effects for the rest of their lives. After such a serious injury, consider taking legal action against the party that caused your damages with help from the Kansas City spinal injury attorneys at Wendt Law Firm P.C.

Why Choose Us?

Our results speak for themselves – our KC personal injury lawyers have recovered more than $100 million in settlements and verdicts for our past clients.
Our clients benefit from an award-winning lead attorney. Samuel Wendt has won recognition and accolades from numerous legal organizations.
Our Kansas City spinal injury lawyers know each case is unique. We tailor our legal efforts to ensure the best possible results for each individual client and claim.
Our law firm operates on a contingency fee basis. We do not charge anything for our legal services during spinal cord injury cases unless we win.

How Can a Spinal Injury Lawyer Help?

It can be challenging to get an insurance company to offer you a fair settlement award for an injury as serious as one affecting the spine. Insurance claims adjusters will often try their best to convince claimants to settle for lowball amounts – especially for permanent and catastrophic injury claims. In an effort to save the insurer money, a claims adjuster might downplay the victim’s injuries and damages. Hiring a Kansas City spinal injury lawyer can enable you to combat these strategies as a claimant. Your Kansas City spine injury attorney will take the proper steps toward obtaining maximum compensation on your behalf while you concentrate on therapies, rehabilitation, and the future.

Types of Spinal Injuries

At the Wendt Law Firm P.C., we can represent clients with all types of spinal injuries during claims in Kansas City, ranging from spinal concussions to permanent paralysis and other long-term issues. We understand the dynamics of spine injuries, as well as the laws related to these types of accident claims. Find out if we are the right fit for your injury lawsuit as a patient with any kind of spine injury in Kansas City.

Spinal concussion. An impact to the spinal cord can cause a spine concussion, with or without vertebral damage. Most victims fully recover from spinal concussions within a few days or weeks.
Complete vs. incomplete injury. A complete spinal injury entirely removes all ability to feel and move below the point of injury, while an incomplete injury only partially removes these abilities.
Paralysis. Paralysis from a spine injury (loss of feeling and motor function) in all four limbs and the trunk of the body is tetraplegia. Tetraplegia is typically permanent, although it might be possible to improve a patient’s condition slightly with treatments.
Paraplegia. Paraplegia refers to paralysis in all or parts of the lower body. This can include the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.
Anterior cord syndrome vs. posterior cord syndrome. Anterior cord syndrome is a rare incomplete injury that damages the front of the spinal cord. Posterior cord syndrome damages the back of the spinal cord.

The symptoms of a spinal injury can include trouble moving, loss of sensation, changes in sensory perception, loss of bladder or bowel control, spasms, sexual dysfunction, back pain, trouble breathing, difficulty walking, and balance problems. All spinal injuries are serious and require immediate medical attention.

What Causes Most Spinal Cord Injuries in Kansas City?

In Kansas City, a victim of a personal injury accident may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the person or party at fault for his or her injuries. As someone with a spine injury after an accident, it is important to identify who caused the accident to understand who might act as the defendant during your claim. At the Wendt Law Firm P.C., we recognize the most common causes of back and spine injuries in Kansas City.

Automobile accidents
Falls
Diving accidents
Sports impacts
Acts of violence
Medical malpractice
Defective products

The cause of your spine injury can point to the identity of the defendant. If you were in an auto accident, for example, the at-fault driver might be liable for your spinal cord injury. Our lawyers can investigate your spinal cord injury if you are unsure of its cause. Then, we can bring your suit against the appropriate defendant(s) in pursuit of full compensation.

Negligence Lawsuits in Kansas City

Personal injury law classifies the majority of spine injuries as catastrophic. This means that the injury resulted in permanent disability, disfigurement, or significant scarring. When someone’s negligence causes a catastrophic injury, the civil court system gives the victim the opportunity to sue for damages. To prove this type of claim and receive compensation, the plaintiff must have four elements:

Duty. The defendant owed the plaintiff a duty of care. The relationship between the two parties will determine these duties, as may specific industry standards. For example, doctors owe specific duties to patients according to medical best practices.
Breach. The defendant breached his or her duty. In other words, the defendant acted in a way that fell below accepted standards of care for the situation. The defendant may have been negligent, careless, reckless, or unlawful.
Causation. The defendant’s breach caused the accident and the injuries in question. The plaintiff’s spine injury must have resulted from the defendant’s action or failure to act. It doesn’t have to be the only cause, but it must have at least contributed.
Damage. The plaintiff suffered real damages. This is typically easy to prove in a spine injury since the victim will have medical records proving the injury, and expert witnesses explaining the effects the injury will have on the victim’s life.

Recovery in a spine injury claim may include past and future medical bills, the cost of medical equipment such as wheelchairs, live-in medical care, and house and vehicle modifications to accommodate a permanent disability. The victim may also recover non-economic costs such as the lost capacity to earn and lost enjoyment of life. A good Kansas City spinal injury lawyer can help you maximize your compensation for a spine injury.

Speak With to a Kansas City Spinal Injury Attorney

If a defective product caused the spine injury (e.g. a defective seatbelt), the plaintiff does not need to prove negligence. Strict liability laws place responsibility with the product manufacturer if the plaintiff can show the item had a defect and that the item caused the injury. Spinal cord injury cases may also center on premises liability, or a property owner’s duty to keep a safe premises. The plaintiff will have a different burden of proof for these cases depending on his or her relationship to the landowner. Speak to a spinal injury lawyer for more information about your specific spine injury claim in Kansas City.