If you suffered serious injuries that required an extended hospital stay, your doctor has told you not to work during recovery or you are unable to return to work for some period of time due to an accident caused by another, you should be legally entitled to recover what is known as past and future lost wages.
There are literally hundreds of attorneys in the Kansas City and surrounding area. But, when you have been injured in an accident that is due to the negligence of another, you want a personal injury lawyer with specific experience in personal injury law.
When a rear-end collision occurs, the initial assumption is that the car who rear-ended the other one is always at fault for the accident. While that is often the case, there are times when another may be held either partially or fully liable.
Accidents and injuries happen all the time. What happens if you injure yourself in a work-related accident? What are your options? Who takes care of your medical expenses? How do you know if you should file a workman’s compensation claim or pursue a personal injury claim?
Although there is no universal legal definition for a catastrophic injury, most agree that it is an extremely severe physical injury or illness that affects your quality of life on a long-term or permanent basis, affecting you and your loved ones for the rest of your lives. Oftentimes, these types of injuries result in a person being unable to resume the lifestyle he or she led prior to the injury.
June 14, 2019. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that capping jury awards for non-economic damages an injured person is able to recover in a lawsuit violates the right to trial by jury as set out in the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
Published: January 31, 2019 • Updated: January 14, 2025
When you’re injured in an accident and pursuing compensation, an insurance company will almost always be involved.
You may not be the person injured in a personal injury case; however, if you witnessed an accident happening or have seen the effects of an accident on a loved one’s day-to-day life, you may be called to testify as an “incident” or “lay” witness. This refers to:
Accidents involving large commercial semitrucks are typically more complex than ones involving standard motor vehicles. It is not always proving that the truck driver was negligent; the fact is that negligence may extend to the trucking company and even third parties, such as those who loaded the truck.
When pursuing a personal injury claim after an accident, witnesses can help you prove your case and corroborate your claims, supporting elements of causation, liability, and damages. As the injured party bringing a claim, it is your responsibility, along with your legal team, to prove that the accident caused your injuries and that you deserve to be compensated. One key element that can support your claim is witness testimony.
There are different types of witnesses your legal team may want to talk with and call to testify if needed. The first type is known as Lay and Incident Witnesses. These witnesses have no specific expertise related to your claim. They include:
This witness testimony can help prove and corroborate your claim.
Another type of witness is the “expert.” This is exactly what it sounds like – they are experts in a specific field such as engineering, medicine, manufacturing, and more.
Consulting experts: These experts help explain and clarify key issues to you and your legal team. They provide valuable information but do not testify in open court.
Testifying experts: These experts testify in open court. They must have expertise in their area and be skilled and effective communicators.
Depending on your situation, your lawyer will determine which types of experts may be needed, including:
Medical Experts may be used to testify about your specific injuries; your progress, recovery options and treatment; impact on your quality of life, and whether your condition is temporary or permanent.
Mental Health Experts may be used to help explain how the accident and/or your injuries have affected you mentally or emotionally, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or the emotional trauma of handling a disability.
Accident Reconstruction Experts may be used to assist law enforcement and your attorneys in reconstructing the accident using drawings, models, and special computer programs to help determine how the accident occurred, the speed of vehicles, the force of the impact, and more.
Economics Experts may be used when your injuries have affected your ability to earn a living. These experts can testify to how your injuries have affected your ability to earn a living, including current and future wages you might have earned.
Engineering Experts may be used to talk about how something was built; for instance, finding that a roadway’s engineering may have led to the accident.
Manufacturing Experts may be used to show how a product’s manufacturing was defective and led to the accident/injury, such as a vehicle part failing and causing the accident.
Maintenance Experts may be used to prove a trucking company did not perform required maintenance, leading to or contributing to your accident.
A professional may be the only one who can prove an injury was caused by negligence, its impact on your life, and its severity. While it is good to understand the types of witnesses often involved in personal injury cases; your personal injury attorney will determine what is needed based on the specifics of your situation.
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Past results afford no guarantee of future results and each case is different and is judged on its own merits. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based solely upon advertisements.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 3, 2018. It was reviewed on February 21, 2025, for content and accuracy, and re-published.
