Some of the most significant bodily functions depend on the collection of sensitive nerves and vertebrae in the spinal cord. An accident that affects this part of the body can have life-long health and functionality consequences on the victims.
While surgeries would relieve symptoms and minimize the damage, the cost would be pretty high. Even people with the best healthcare coverage would not afford the overall expenses by themselves. However, an Orange County personal injury attorney can explore your legal options towards getting full compensation and ease the burden of your recovery journey.
What Proof Do I Need for My Spinal Cord Injury Claim?
Many mishaps can result in a vehicular collision, and the sudden impact can cause a violent blow to your spine. But driver error is the leading cause of these accidents. Providing evidence of the driver’s behavior can make them liable for the damages suffered.
You might need to show that they were:
- Driving recklessly
- Tailgating
- Changing lanes or turning Improperly
- Speeding
- Not obeying traffic signals
- Driving under the influence
- Distracted while driving
The most crucial bit of your claim is linking your spinal cord injury and the other party’s negligence. Notably, the relationship should be direct and proximate for it to implicate the other person or institution. Each driver on the road is obliged to look out for other road users and avoid behaviors that jeopardize their safety. So, if their recklessness caused your physical pain, they owe you a civil responsibility.
Even when your Orange County spinal cord injury attorney has compiled all the proof, the other party’s auto insurance might not be very willing to compensate you in full. Expect them to question the severity and nature of your injuries and the claim, just to avoid liability.
How Can I Determine the Seriousness of My Injuries?
After a serious crash, you might not be certain whether you have suffered a spinal cord injury because of the adrenaline rush caused by the anxiety. But when you have the following signs, you might want to get checked:
- Difficulty in clearing secretions from the lungs, coughing, or breathing
- Intense stinging sensation or pain from the spine area
- Changes in fertility, sexual sensitivity, and sexual function
- Spasms or exaggerated reflex activities
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Altered ability to feel cold, heat, or touch
- Inability to move
You will after that have to perform different series of tests to determine the seriousness of your injuries, which an Orange County car accident lawyer will later use to determine compensatory damages. The injuries can be:
- Complete – A complete spinal cord injury is characterized by a total loss of motor and sensory function. This means that the victim lost their ability to feel and control movement below the injury point.
- Incomplete – Your injuries can be considered incomplete if you still have some sensory and motor abilities below the injured area. Victims can have varying degrees of incomplete spinal cord injuries.
Apart from the “completeness” of a spinal code injury, the level of paralysis can determine the seriousness of your injuries. Here are the two main types:
- Paraplegia– This is when the injury has affected your pelvic organs, legs, all or part of the trunk.
- Tetraplegia/Quadriplegia – is when the accident affects your pelvic organs, legs, trunk, hands, and arms.
What Damages Can I Recover for My Spinal Cord Injury?
The kind of damages that victims of spinal cord injuries get differs from case to case. Two or more people from the same car wreck can come out with different injuries. Generally, these are some of the damages that can be awarded after a successful claim process:
- Prolonged care at an assisted living facility or a nursing home
- Loss of spousal support, consortium, or companionship
- Related psychiatric or psychological injuries and treatment
- Mental anguish and emotional distress of the past, present, and future
- Future medical procedures
- Pain and suffering of the past, present, and future
- Loss of earning capacity
- Lost wages
- Bills for physical and mental therapy
Psychological trauma and injuries related to the spinal cord are usually serious, sometimes permanent, and debilitating. You can lose sensation or mobility, which are essential for living life the way you did before the wreck. An Orange County spinal cord injury attorney is committed to assisting victims in getting maximum compensation.
Your Santa Ana car accident attorney will take time to recount all your losses to arrive at the real value of your case. Careful evaluation of an experienced California lawyer gives you some certainty of what your compensation should be worth and give you the confidence to decline any other settlement that falls short.
Can I Lose My Compensation if I Was Partly to Blame?
Many spinal cord injury victims have been hesitant to file a personal injury case because they fear losing all their damages after the court realizes they were partly to blame for the car wreck. Insurance adjusters also take advantage of it to convince you to accept a dramatically low settlement.
The truth is that you might not receive the whole amount for all the damages suffered. This is because California uses comparative negligence in handling car accidents. The court or the insurance adjuster usually assigns the percentage of fault.
Your percentage of blame would reduce your compensation, and you will still receive the other party’s percentage of the blame. If the total damage was $100,000 and you are 20% to blame, you will get $80,000 to cater to a part of the financial needs from the spinal cord injury.
A Legal Professional Securing What You Deserve
Spinal cord injury claims can be awarded a significant amount of monetary compensation because of the costs involved in remedying the effects of the injury. But this is only possible with the help of a seasoned and experienced car accident attorney.
Remember that the other party will also be hiring a good legal expert. So, make sure that you get yourself a lawyer that can match or exceed the expertise of their defense attorney. Talk to us today to evaluate your options.
