After a catastrophic spinal injury, time is critical—not because you need to “rush a settlement,” but because evidence and documentation can disappear.
In Kearney, many serious injuries happen on routes people rely on every day, including busy commuting corridors and intersections where traffic patterns change quickly. When a wreck or incident occurs, the details that later prove fault and severity can be lost if you don’t act early.
Consider doing these steps as soon as you’re able:
- Request the incident report (police report, crash report, or workplace accident log) and keep a copy.
- Write down a timeline while it’s fresh: what you were doing, what you saw/heard, and when symptoms worsened.
- Save medical records as they come in: ER notes, imaging reports, discharge paperwork, follow-up visit summaries.
- Document functional changes (even if they feel “small” at the time)—mobility, transfers, bladder/bowel changes, pain levels, sleep, and ability to work.
A paralysis claim often depends on showing not only that an injury happened, but that the event caused the neurological damage and how that damage affects life going forward.


