A spinal cord injury could have a devastating effect on one’s life. It could impact everyday activities, which many people take for granted. The spinal cord relays messages from the brain to all parts of the body. For someone who has suffered a spinal cord injury, the simplest things in life suddenly become a challenge. This could have an impact on the family of the injured individual. A person with a spinal cord injury would often have to rely on family members for assistance. The treatment and care of an individual with a spinal cord injury becomes the most important focus of the family.
Car accidents, motorcycle crashes, medical malpractice, and other situations can lead to serious harm. If you or a loved one suffered severe trauma to your back and vertebrae, speak to an Chesterton spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as possible. The lawyer should know all the details of the injured claimant’s life to best present their claim for damages. Speak to an experienced catastrophic injury attorney to learn about your options for seeking compensation for your damages and injuries.
Since spinal cord injuries are so serious and the rehabilitation process so lengthy, someone should expect the expenses associated with a spinal cord injury to be very high. Each of the physicians, as well as the hospital, would charge for the treatment received. The largest expenses typically involve therapy and rehabilitation.
If a person with a spinal cord injury has health insurance or Medicare, these may pick up some of the charges. However, the charges that are not covered would be the responsibility of the person with the spinal cord injury. Frequently, a Chesterton spinal cord injury lawyer would be able to assist in managing the medical expenses incurred from a spinal cord injury.
A person’s family may be entitled to damages if they have to help care for their family member who has suffered a spinal cord injury. An individual who sustains a spinal cord injury as the result of an accident would be entitled to compensation if someone else was at fault in addition to compensation to the person with the spinal cord injury.
Frequently, family members who care for that individual are entitled to compensation, as well. If family members were not available, the injured individual would have to pay someone to perform these tasks. Simply because a family member is available and helps the person with a spinal cord injury for free does not mean that they are not entitled to compensation in a legal case.
In a case involving a spinal cord injury, the kinds of damages a family might be entitled to are caretaking expenses. If family members were unavailable, the injured individual would be forced to pay someone to assist them. If a family member helps the injured individual, they could present a claim for caretaking expenses. These would include the expenses that would have been incurred but for the availability of family members to assist.
Long-term treatment options might involve therapy, nutritional management, psychological management as well as physical and occupational therapy since spinal cord injuries typically take a long time for rehabilitation. Some people sustain injuries to their spinal cord that are so serious that no amount of rehabilitation would return them to their pre-injury functioning. It is a long and arduous path towards regaining mobility following a spinal cord injury.
The role a spinal cord injury lawyer would play in helping the injured party to obtain the damages needed for the person to live comfortably for the future is to document what the need for future medical treatment would be. This is done through medical testimony as well as expert witnesses. In a spinal cord injury case, this is the only opportunity to make a full recovery for the injured claimant. It is essential that the money be enough to satisfy the future medical needs of the person with a spinal cord injury.
The role of a lawyer in a spinal cord injury case is to help realize sufficient settlement. Any accident that results in a spinal cord injury must be treated differently than a typical personal injury case. The long-term and permanent consequences of a spinal cord injury require a lawyer to dedicate the time and resources necessary to make a maximum recovery.
A spinal cord injury lawyer must realize that whatever settlement comes from the case, it must be sufficient to take care of the individual for the rest of their lives. A lawyer must analyze what the future medical expenses associated with the spinal cord injury would be. In addition, a spinal cord injury lawyer would be in the best position to document the effects the injury has had on the plaintiff. Due to the seriousness of a spinal cord injury, it is important to hire a lawyer who has experience handling these types of cases. Call today to discuss your case with a Chesterton spinal cord injury lawyer.