If you suffered a back or neck injury in Estero, Florida, you might be facing challenges just to get through an ordinary day. When someone else’s carelessness causes you to get hurt, you should not also have to bear the financial burden.
An Estero spinal cord injury lawyer can inform you of your legal options for seeking compensation for your injuries and losses. If you choose to hire a personal injury lawyer, we are here to help so that you can focus on your rehabilitation and recuperation.
Spinal Cord Injury Compensation
The amount of damages you could receive for your spinal cord injury will depend entirely on the facts and circumstances of your specific case. There is no automatic amount that a person can pursue in these situations, although there are certain categories of compensation that are considered.
Here are some of the categories of compensation that people often pursue when someone else’s negligence causes them to suffer a spinal cord injury:
Medical Bills
Spinal cord injuries are often severe and must get treated with extreme caution. For example, if a fractured vertebra damaged the spinal cord, moving the injured person incorrectly could sever the spinal cord causing permanent paralysis or death. A person with this type of injury will need immediate sophisticated medical attention.
Recoverable medical expenses can include:
- Ambulance or life flight
- Emergency room or trauma center
- Hospitals and doctors
- Intensive care unit
- Surgical procedures
- Physical therapy
- Prescription drugs
A person with a spinal cord injury might need to spend months in a specialized spinal cord injury rehabilitation facility to continue their healing and learn how to perform daily functions again, such as walking and writing.
When an individual has impairment after a spinal cord injury, they might need mobility equipment, home modifications, breathing equipment, and an adapted vehicle. If the person needs daily assistance with medical treatments and personal care, they will likely have expenses for in-home care or a long-term care facility.
Income Loss
A spinal cord injury can knock a person out of the job market for a considerable length of time, if not permanently. The wages the injured individual loses while getting the initial treatment for their injuries can be a part of the personal injury claim.
Looking forward, if they can eventually work again, but cannot make as much money as before due to the impairment, the difference in their income can be recoverable. When they cannot work at all to support themselves, they might have a disability claim.
Intangible Losses
Intangible losses are monetary damages for things that do not always come with bills or receipts in order to easily measure their value in terms of dollars. For example, a person might pursue compensation for their inconvenience, emotional distress, and physical discomfort under the category of monetary damages for pain and suffering.
After a catastrophic injury like spinal cord damage, people often suffer additional types of intangible losses. These losses can be things such as ‘loss of enjoyment of life’ if a person has paralysis from the injury or ‘post-traumatic stress disorder’ due to the accident.
Short-Term Complications from an Estero Spinal Cord Injury
The Mayo Clinic explains that one of the most common outcomes of spinal cord damage is incomplete or complete paralysis. With incomplete paralysis, the patient has some sensation or motor function below the point of the injury to the spine. If the patient has complete paralysis, they cannot feel anything or control any movement below the area of the injury.
The term paraplegia refers to what is commonly called paralysis “from the waist down.” Tetraplegia, also called quadriplegia, affects a person’s body “from the neck down.” A person with a spinal cord injury from an accident might feel extreme pain or pressure, paralysis, weakness, numbness, impaired breathing, difficulty walking or balancing, or a loss of control of the bladder or bowel.
How a Spinal Cord Injury Can Change Your Life
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), spinal cord injury is a leading cause of paralysis in the United States, along with stroke. Losing your ability to control your movements can have a devastating effect on your quality of life.
Depending on how high the injury is in your spine, you might permanently lose control over your arms, legs, pelvic organs, sexual function, bladder, and bowels. Some people with a high spinal cord injury cannot breathe for themselves, so they must be attached to breathing equipment to stay alive, even after leaving the hospital and rehabilitation center.
People who recover some of their motor functions might have chronic pain, weakness, numbness, and other functional issues with their arms or legs. Spinal cord damage is not all or nothing, there are many degrees of impairment a person can experience.
Causes of Damage to the Spinal Cord
The Cleveland Clinic states that most spinal cord damage results from trauma that includes a sudden blow to the bones of the back called vertebrae. When the force of the blow fractures vertebrae, the jagged edges of the broken bones can cut into the spinal cord and the surrounding nerves. The most common causes of damage to the spinal cord are motor vehicle accidents, falls, complications from surgery, athletic injuries, and gunshot wounds.
Contact an Estero Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Today
After a spinal cord injury, you likely have a stack of medical bills. The last thing you need at a time like this is to have to pay legal fees for an attorney. Since we do not charge any upfront legal fees to our personal injury clients at GED Lawyers, you will have one less thing to worry about. You do not have to pay any legal fees until you win.
We work tirelessly for our clients to get the compensation they deserve for their injuries. Do not hesitate to reach out to our team at GED Lawyers today to find out if we are a good fit for you. Contact us for a free case review.
