How to Get Compensation for Paralysis
A serious accident can lead to catastrophic injuries such as paralysis. Sometimes paralysis is temporary, but in most cases, it is permanent, causing lasting mobility issues.
Paralysis often arises from accidents such as car crashes, workplace incidents, sports injuries, and medical malpractice. These accidents can all cause damage to the spinal cord or brain.
Paralysis can cause long-term effects. Beyond physical disability, victims of paralysis face challenges such as skyrocketing medical expenses, loss of income, dependency on caregivers, and reduced quality of life.
If you’re young, you may be dealing with paralysis for decades. This can be costly. If someone caused your paralysis, it’s important to get full and fair compensation for all your damages. Here’s how to go about it.
Establish Negligence
To build a successful case, you’ll need to prove negligence. This means demonstrating that someone else’s actions (or inactions) directly caused the accident that led to your paralysis. There are four steps involved:
- Duty of care. You must show the defendant had a legal responsibility to act in a safe manner. For example, all motorists must obey traffic laws.
- Breach of duty. You must also prove the defendant failed to act responsibly.
- Causation. There must be a direct connection between the breach of duty and the paralysis.
- Damages. The breach of duty must have caused physical, emotional, and/or financial damages.
Types of Compensation
Paralysis can cause significant damages. You can be compensated for the following damages:
- Medical expenses. This includes hospital bills, surgeries, and rehabilitation costs, as well as long-term necessities such as wheelchairs, mobility aids, and medications.
- Long-term care. This includes costs for in-home caregivers, facility care, or ongoing therapy.
- Lost income. This includes wages lost during recovery as well as future earning potential, especially in cases where the paralysis is permanent.
- Pain and suffering. This includes compensation for emotional distress, mental anguish, and reduced quality of life.
Seek Legal Help
If you or a loved one is suffering from paralysis, it’s best to seek legal help. Here’s how a personal injury attorney can help:
- Filing a claim. The first step is filing a formal claim against the responsible party. This includes the details of the accident and the damages suffered.
- An attorney will gather supporting evidence, including accident reports, photos or videos of the accident scene, witness statements, medical records, and expert testimonies.
- Negotiation. Most cases settle out of court through negotiation. This is when attorneys from both sides negotiate to reach a fair compensation amount.
- If a settlement cannot be reached, the case may proceed to trial. Here, the case goes to court. Evidence is presented, and a judge or jury determines fault and compensation.
Contact a New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer Today
Paralysis hardly ever gets better and can affect someone for the rest of their life. If a third party caused the injuries, it’s important to seek legal help.
A Morristown catastrophic injury attorney from The Law Offices of Michael P. Burakoff understands it is critical that you recover adequate financial compensation. We also understand just how much a serious injury can change you and your family’s lives forever. Schedule a consultation today by filling out the online form or calling (973) 455-1567.
Source:
christopherreeve.org/todays-care/paralysis-help-overview/stats-about-paralysis/#:~:text=In%202013%2C%20the%20Christopher%20&%20Dana,higher%20than%20previous%20estimates%20showed.
