What Makes a Catastrophic Injury Claim Different in the Kansas City Area Courts?

All personal injury claims are matters of civil, not criminal court, though if you were injured by someone committing a crime, it’s possible there will be a criminal case in addition to a civil one. However, particularly catastrophic injuries require experienced representation in the courts of Kansas City and Parkville, MO. Talk with a catastrophic injury attorney right away if you’ve been injured by another person’s negligence.

What Makes a Catastrophic Injury Claim Different in the Kansas City and Parkville, MO Area Courts? 

More Complex

Because of the nature of the injuries themselves, these claims tend to need a lot more explanation and evidence than claims involving simpler injuries. Typically, your lawyer will need to gather quite a lot of expert testimony to help judges and juries understand your injuries and the effect they have on your life. You’ll need expert medical witnesses to explain the nature of your injuries in layman’s terms, and you may also need an economist to help them understand the financial burden and a life-care planner or vocational expert to make it clear what kind of costs and needs you’ll have going forward.

You’ll also need very clear and convincing medical evidence and detailed documentation of a permanent disability, like a spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputation, or paralysis. These need to show not only what’s happened to you but also support the contention that these issues will not likely resolve.

Higher Potential Value

When you’re talking about injuries this severe, the damages can reach into the millions once you consider all the ongoing medical expenses, the lost salary and earning potential, and even modifications you may need to your home and ongoing, long-term care. Then there’s the pain and suffering you’ve endured and the emotional trauma, which also should be reimbursed.

Because these cases tend to have high value, you can expect the defendant and their insurance company to aggressively defend themselves. This typically means more complicated negotiations, a longer time in the discovery period of the trial, and a much higher likelihood that the case will go to trial.

Damages Caps

Missouri courts impose no caps on your economic damages. Economic damages are those which you can quantify with bills, receipts, and expert projections about future costs. For most personal injury claims, there is also no cap on non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. However, there is an exception with medical malpractice.

For medical malpractice, the non-economid damages are capped, and this cap is adjusted each year for inflation. In 2025, the cap for catastrophic damages is $828,529. It’s important to know that you’ll have to meet the criteria for “catastrophic” to be able to ask for this full amount, as the cap on non-catastrophic injuries is just $473,445. Missouri law considers quadriplegia, paraplegia, loss of two or more limbs, severe brain impairment, significant loss of vision, or major organ failure as “catastrophic.”

Talk with a Catastrophic Injury Attorney Today

These cases are complicated and can be difficult to win without the right support and experience. Call Spooner & Perkins, Attorneys at Law, in Parkville, MO at 816-572-6324 ​and request a free ​consultation on your case.

Tags: catastrophic injuries, pedestrian accident lawyer, personal injury
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