Some injuries cause the victim to become disabled or disfigured. A spinal cord injury forces its victim to spend the rest of his or her life in a wheelchair. In a courtroom, a good personal Injury lawyer focuses on the costly nature of such a disabling condition.
What body part gets damaged in a spinal cord injury?
It is the bundle of nerves that enjoys the protection provided by the backbone. There are different types of spinal cord injuries:
• Paraplegic: Paralysis in the lower part of the body
• Quadriplegic: Paralysis in all 4 limbs.
Spinal cord injuries can affect a wide range of body functions.
Any one of them can make it hard for the victim to breathe.
At times such an injury can limit the body’s ability to control its internal temperature.
Someone that must live with a spinal cord injury could have trouble maintaining bladder control.
Sometimes a person that has sustained a spinal cord injury finds it impossible to demonstrate the expected level of sexual functioning.
Possible causes for such an injury
Negligence on the part of the responsible party
The plaintiff was using a defective product
Possible defenses, if plaintiff was injured in an accident
Comparative negligence: Claiming that the plaintiff could have done something to mitigate the effects of the injury. Any good Injury lawyer in Delano knows that a claim that the plaintiff had agreed to assume the risks associated with the activity that aided creation of the injury-causing accident.
Costs for which a personal injury lawyer would seek compensation
• Medical expenses created by the plaintiff’s time in the hospital.
• Costs associated with long term care for the disabled victim.
• Costs that stem from the plaintiff’s need for rehabilitation services
• Money spent on obtaining assistive devices.
• Modifications to the home, such as a ramp or a lift
• Possible modifications to a workplace setting: The plaintiff’s employer would not cover these, if the injured victim wanted to be self-employed. For instance, if someone with a law degree suffered a spinal cord injury, then he or she might want to set up his or her own practice.
If the same individual was a quadriplegic, and he or she wanted to type up the necessary legal papers, then that would necessitate acquisition of a special device for placement in the mouth. The person using that device grabs it with the teeth and then taps the different keys on the keyboard.
Acquisition of each such a device creates an added expense. Hence, an effort to obtain each needed device becomes quite costly. That fact provides a personal injury lawyer with a reason to seek a large compensation package for the victim/client that is confined to a wheel chair.