Kansas City, Missouri Serious & Catastrophic Injury Lawyers
Horn Law Concentrates in Serious & Catastrophic Injury
While nothing can take the place of face-to face legal consultation with the victim's family when it comes to facing a serious or catastrophic injury caused by a car, truck, motorcycle, work injury, or boating accident, identified below are several areas that Principal Partner Doug Horn and the Horn Law team will cover in the initial consultations in a serious or catastrophic injury situation.
Please refer to the Neck/Back/Spinal page for information regarding spinal cord injuries, quadriplegia, or paraplegia.
Medical Care: It is vital that doctor's instructions and recommendations are followed. In the event there is some problem with being able to follow doctor's orders, the doctor and his staff must be notified. Horn Law can also help with issues, including money issues, that tend to interfere with medical care and treatment. It is important to us that you receive the best care possible.
Medical Expense: Every case we handle has medical expense issues. We can advise with respect to legal complexities involved with all types of auto and health insurance. We will make sure our clients get the full value of insurance coverage and that medical providers are reimbursed for medical services rendered. Because medical bill issues are often resolved at or near the resolution of the case, we take over these issues for you in order that you do not have to worry about overdue medical bills and you are free to concentrate on your recovery.
Medical Evidence: Medical evidence is very important and falls into several different categories.
1. Photographs of Injury. Pictures of bruising, cuts, abrasions, swelling, etc. can be helpful in evaluating your initial state after a disabling trauma. Additionally, hospital room pictures document hospitalizations. Horn Law can aid in any type of photography or video tape.
2. X-rays, MRI, and Other Diagnostic Tests. Initial examinations and testing are most important and will be contained within your medical records. Horn Law will obtain copies of films and other computer-generated medical data. Make sure you keep a record of when and where you underwent examination and testing.
X-rays and testing prior to the accident injury may also be important to show the additional injury to a certain area of your spine. Keep this in mind as we go through our initial consultations.
3. Physical Restrictions. Your doctors and/or physical rehabilitation specialists will likely put physical restrictions on your activities. Again, just like your doctor's orders, it is vital that you follow these restrictions. Insurance company representatives will be investigating and they are looking for any sort of evidence to show that your injuries are not interfering with your personal routine. It is not uncommon for insurance companies to video tape your activities.
4. Daily Limitations. It is a good idea to keep a list of activities that you can not do because of your injury. As well, keep a record of activities that you are limited in. Remember to also note the side effects of medications you are taking because of a serious or catastrophic injury.
We encourage many of our clients to document their limitations by thinking in terms of how the following activities are limited:
Sleeping;
Walking;
Driving;
Sitting (extended)
Household Chores, etc.
5. Rehabilitation. It is expected that any rehab activities will aid in your recovery. This includes home exercises or exercises done in a non-medical facility (gym). Keep a record of what kind of exercises you are doing and how much time was spent doing the rehab activities. Even though someone else is responsible for your injury, you have a duty to mitigate (lessen) the effects of your injury. It has been our experience that your doctor will encourage you to do exercises outside of your medical treatment, especially as you recover from a serious or catastrophic injury.
6. Health Witnesses. In cases of a serious or catastrophic injury, it is helpful to identify co-workers or other people who can testify about your lifestyle and physical abilities prior to the injury. For instance, if you engaged in recreational sports, it would be beneficial to tell us about people who you have played with. This is a piece of evidence that often gets overlooked when you are trying to recover from a serious, disabling injury.
_____________________________________________________________________
Contact Attorney Doug Horn
Serving clients throughout Missouri, Kansas, and the Midwest
(Clicking image opens pop-up window with bigger image)
Social Media
INDEPENDENCE, MO
19049 Valley View Parkway, Suite J
Independence, Missouri 64055
KANSAS CITY, MO
Two Pershing Square, 2300 Main Street, 9th Floor
Kansas City, MO 64108
ST LOUIS, MO
West Port Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63146
OVERLAND PARK, KS
College & Metcalf, Overland Park, KS