Kansas City Personal Injury Law Firms
Missouri personal injury law covers injuries and harm resulting from accidents such as car accidents or slip and fall, medical malpractice, defective drugs, and much more. While the basic concept of personal injury is the same across the country, each state has unique laws which are very important to your case.
Damages
Damages which you may be able to recover in a Missouri personal injury lawsuit include:
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Past, current, and future medical expenses, including travel required for treatment
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Rehabilitation and therapy
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Special equipment and home modifications to accommodate disability
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Property damage
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Other expenses created by the injury
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Past, current, and future lost wages
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Lost earning capacity
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Disability
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Scarring and disfigurement
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Physical pain and suffering mental and emotional pain and suffering
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Loss of the enjoyment of life
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Loss of consortium
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Punitive damages
Punitive damages, also called exemplary damages, are not meant to compensate injury victims but to punish the wrongdoer and deter future similar acts. Punitive damages are only awarded in cases where you can prove that the defendant showed a complete disregard or conscious indifference to the safety and wellbeing of others. When punitive damages are awarded, in Missouri, 50% goes to the state.
If You Were Partly to Blame
Missouri follows the doctrine of pure comparative negligence. This means that you can recover compensation for your injuries even if you were partly to blame. In fact, you can recover compensation if you were 99% to blame.
Your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault, so if your damages are $100,000 and you are found to be 25% to blame for your injuries, you would only receive $75,000.
Types of Personal Injury Cases
Personal injury law covers a very broad range of harm. The type of personal injury case that you have can affect the amount of time you have to file your lawsuit, the proper legal procedures, and much more. Examples of personal injury claims include:
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Auto accident lawsuits
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Trucking accident claims
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Defective product lawsuits
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Defective drugs and medical device lawsuits
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Slip and fall lawsuits
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Medical malpractice claims
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Assaults
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Construction accident claims
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Industrial accident claims
Statute of Limitations
The statute of limitations is the time limit for filing your lawsuit. For most types of personal injury actions in Missouri the statute of limitations is five years. For some types of cases, however, you have far less time to file or give notice.
The clock starts running either on the date of the injury or on the date that you discovered the injury or the cause of the injury.
If you wait too long to file your lawsuit and the statute of limitations expires, you will lose your right to sue, no matter how strong your case or how greatly you were wronged.