Personal Injury IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RIGHT CHOICE

Kansas City Personal Injury Lawyers

Put an Experienced & Respected Team on Your Side

When you are injured by someone else’s negligent or wrongful behavior, you have the right to take legal action. Serious injuries often come with a host of physical, financial, and emotional challenges. A personal injury lawsuit can allow you to recover financial compensation to help offset these and other related damages.

Potts Law Firm is a renowned personal injury law firm, serving clients in Kansas City, Missouri, and throughout the United States. Our team of personal injury lawyers has extensive experience handling all types of claims, including those involving catastrophic bodily injury and wrongful death. We understand the many difficulties you and your family are facing, which is why we provide compassionate, client-focused representation tailored to your unique needs.

Schedule a free initial consultation with one of our Kansas City personal injury lawyers today. Call (816) 312-5125 or contact us online to get started.

What Do You Have to Prove in Your Personal Injury Case?

As the person bringing the claim, known as the “plaintiff,” you have the burden of proof in your personal injury case. This means that you are the one responsible for proving your case against the defendant.

Because most personal injury claims are based on negligence, you typically must prove each of the following elements to have a successful case:

  • Duty of Care: You must establish the duty of care. This involves proving that the defendant had a legal obligation to take certain actions and/or avoid certain actions in order to prevent foreseeable injury or harm.
  • Breach: You will likely also need to prove that the defendant breached, or failed to uphold, the duty of care. If the other party was negligent or acted wrongfully (i.e., illegally), they have likely breached the duty of care.
  • Injury: To have a case, you must prove that you were injured. Even if the other party clearly violated the duty of care, if you were not injured—or did not suffer some type of financial or emotional harm—you do not have a case.
  • Damages: You must also prove that you suffered damages, or losses, as a result of your injury. Damages can be both economic and noneconomic in nature and may include things like medical expenses, lost wages, lost earning ability, and pain and suffering.
  • Causation: Lastly, you must prove that the defendant’s negligent or wrongful actions or inactions were the proximate cause of your injury and resulting damages. Even if the defendant was only partly at fault, you could still have a case.

Our Kansas City personal injury lawyers know how to prove each of these elements. We build solid cases based on powerful evidence obtained through independent investigations, and we frequently work with accident reconstructionists, economists, medical professionals, and other specialists who provide expert testimony on behalf of our clients.

What Damages Can Be Recovered in a Personal Injury Claim?

A successful personal injury claim allows you to recover damages, or the economic and noneconomic losses you have suffered as a result of your injury.

There are two main types of damages available in Missouri personal injury cases:

  • Compensatory Damages: Compensatory damages are meant to compensate the victim for specific losses, economic and noneconomic, related to their injury.
  • Punitive Damages: Punitive damages are sometimes awarded in cases involving gross negligence or wanton/willful misconduct and are meant to punish the defendant.

As previously mentioned, compensatory damages can be economic or noneconomic in nature, meaning they may have a set monetary value, or they may be intangible.

Some examples of common compensatory damages in personal injury cases include:

  • Medical expenses, including future care costs
  • Lost income, wages, and employment benefits
  • Loss of earning capacity due to permanent injury or impairment
  • Loss of future earnings and employment benefits
  • Mental and physical pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of consortium or companionship

Our goal at Potts Law Firm is to help you recover every penny you are owed. We are aggressive when it comes to pursuing maximum compensation for our clients and seek to obtain settlements and verdicts that cover the full cost of their economic and noneconomic damages, including future concerns.

How the Kansas City Personal Injury Team at Potts Law Firm Can Help

Getting back on your feet after a serious accident or injury can be extremely challenging. At Potts Law Firm, we know how difficult this time is for you and your family, which is why we are prepared to handle every aspect of your personal injury case.

Our attorneys have extensive experience handling all types of personal injury claims, including but not limited to those involving:

  • Car accidents
  • Aviation accidents
  • Bicycle accidents
  • Birth injuries
  • Boat and Jet Ski accidents
  • Bus accidents
  • Construction accidents
  • Drunk driving accidents
  • Industrial accidents
  • Medical malpractice
  • Motorcycle accidents
  • Nursing home abuse
  • Oilfield and offshore injuries
  • Pedestrian accidents
  • Premises liability
  • Sports injuries
  • Truck accidents

We also assist clients who have been injured by defective and dangerous products, including auto defects, defective drugs and medical devices, and other harmful consumer goods.

No matter how complex your case may be, you can rely on our Kansas City personal injury attorneys to be there for you throughout the legal process. We provide clear and consistent communication, as well as frequent updates on the status of your case. While we strive to achieve favorable settlements in as little time as possible, we also recognize that not every case can be effectively resolved without litigation. Whenever necessary, our firm is fully prepared to aggressively represent you at trial.

Learn more, including how we can help you fight for the fair compensation you are owed, during a free initial consultation. Contact us at (816) 312-5125 today.

It's All About Your Recovery

Hear From Our Past Client's
  • I had a wonderful experience with this law firm.

    “They were able to complete it in a timely manner and were great at keeping me up to date with communication throughout the entire process. I highly recommend using this law firm if the need arises.”

    - Stephen P.
  • I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him or any of the team at Potts.

    “Michael Bins has been extremely helpful in helping us to navigate a situation with an insurance claim on a commercial property. He’s gone above and beyond in moving our case toward a positive resolution that we’re satisfied with.”

    - Theo C.
  • The Potts Law Firm is a powerhouse of brilliant attorneys.

    “They know the law from every angle, dig deep, and will not accept anything less than what was asked in the original suit. The Potts team never backed down until the case was settled in full.”

    - Molly H.
  • I would recommend Potts Law Firm for any and all legal matters that come my way in the future!

    “The Potts Law Firm answered all of my numerous questions in layman’s terms which is what I needed. I was able to lie back & heal from my injuries knowing full well that my obligations were being handled appropriately.”

    - W. Gary
  • Great law firm!

    “Very responsive they would call and text me about everything going down! They helped me get through my car crash and I would greatly recommend this team!”

    - Hugo G.

it's all about your best possible result

Explore our past successes
  • Paraplegic Minor $12 Million

    Derek H. Potts and Timothy L. Sifers obtained a $12,100,000 verdict against Lisa Gard, M.D. for medical malpractice involving a minor. The jury found the Salina emergency room doctor to be negligent in her assessment of the minor upon presentation in the emergency room, failing to timely diagnose a rare spinal condition. The case was one of the largest verdicts in history in the State of Kansas.

  • Birth Injury $4.6 Million

    Derek H. Potts and Samuel Cullan were members of the plaintiff's trial team which obtained a $4,600,000 verdict for a minor delivered at Bethany Medical Center. Ariana Wilburn, the minor, suffered a spinal cord presentation after being born in the breech position.

  • Hypoxic-Ischemic Birth Injury $3.5 Million

    Potts Law Firm secured a $3,500,000 settlement for a single mother whose infant suffered severe brain damage while being delivered in a New Mexico hospital. The mother, having no previous pregnancy or medical issues, began laboring and immediately went to a hospital. Despite the clear signs of fetal distress and hypoxia (lack of oxygen), the doctor and nurse did not order an emergency cesarean section.

  • Catastrophic Injuries $3.5 Million

    Derek H. Potts was co-lead counsel with Thomas Cartmell in representing John Novogradac of Kansas City whose health was neglected during his stay at two nursing home facilities. Mr. Novogradac developed bedsores on his body and had above-knee amputations on both legs after his wounds became severely infected with gangrenous and dead tissue.

  • Trucking Accident $1.05 Million

    Potts Law Firm served as lead counsel for the family of Kook Oh who was killed by an 18-wheeler in Alvarado, Texas. Mr. Dortch sued the driver of the 18-wheeler and his employer. Following a week-long jury trial, Micah’s client received a verdict awarding over one million dollars in damages and a finding of punitive liability on the part of each of the defendants. I

  • Pharmaceutical Birth Defect $1.05 Million

    Potts Law Firm secured a $1,050,000 settlement for a mother whose infant suffered birth defects from a pharmaceutical drug that was taken during pregnancy. Though the migraine drug manufacturer knew the medication could cause a fetus to develop a cleft lip and/or cleft palate when consumed by the mother during the early stages of pregnancy, they failed to warn consumers about these dangers.

  • Sgroi vs. St. Louis University Hospital $1 Million

    St. Louis City District Court, 2009. Lead Plaintiffs Trial Counsel obtained a $1,004,421 verdict due to medical malpractice and successfully argued an appeal before Missouri Supreme Court upholding the verdict. Total fees and expenses of $525,702.04. See Sgroi vs SLUH, No. SC 89840.

  • Failure to Diagnose $825,000

    Derek H. Potts obtained an $825,000 jury verdict in St. Louis against the hospital and doctor for failing to diagnose a hip fracture.  It was appealed to the Missouri Supreme Court which affirmed the verdict, adding interest.

  • Wrongful Death $800,000

    Potts Law Firm secured an $800,000 settlement on behalf of a family for the wrongful death of their father. The father of five from Las Vegas, New Mexico was wheelchair-bound.  While visiting his dentist’s office, the father maneuvered his electric wheelchair up a ramp.  The ramp did not have a curb or rails to prevent a fall. Despite being airlifted to a hospital, the father died of his injuries.

  • Foot Injury $750,000

    Potts Law Firm secured a $750,000 settlement for an oil rig worker whose foot was severely injured after being caught in rig tongs. The oil rig company had failed to properly tag out and lock out the tongs after a power outage.  When the power returned to the rig, the tongs closed on the worker’s foot, crushing his bones.

How Long Do You Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit in Missouri?

Every state has its own filing deadline, or statute of limitations, on personal injury cases. In Missouri, the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is five years from the date of injury, or five years from the date on which the injury was discovered or reasonably could have been discovered. This means that you have just five years to sue for damages; if you wait too long, you could lose your right to take legal action after a serious accident or injury.

Although five years may seem like a long time, the truth is that the years can pass very quickly. The longer you wait to file your claim, the more likely it is that important evidence will be lost. We encourage you to reach out to Potts Law Firm today to learn how we can assist you with your personal injury case. The sooner we can begin investigating your claim, gathering evidence, and negotiating with the insurance company, the better.

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOUR SUCCESS

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