Due to the life-altering effects of a spinal cord injury, personal injury lawyers feel that the victim of such an injury should understand how to go after a fair compensation. After all, someone with an injured spine must deal with the fact that a certain bundle of nerves has been damaged. That is the bundle of nerves inside of the spinal column.
What is the physical effect of such damage?
The affected victim usually has limbs that are partially or completely paralyzed. In some cases, only the legs get paralyzed; in other instances, both the victim’s arms and legs become partly or totally useless.
Keep in mind the fact that paralysis results in two changes to the affected limb(s). The motor nerves cannot send messages, so the affect limb does not move. By the same token, the motionless limbs fail to receive any nerve signals. In other words, each of them fails to exhibit any awareness of a sensation.
What expenses should get covered, if an accident victim has suffered a spinal cord injury?
Even after leaving the hospital, such a patient must undergo a period of rehabilitation. Any compensation should include reimbursement for the expense introduced by that period of rehabilitation. Moreover, even when the patient has left the rehabilitation facility and returned home, he or she could expect to receive regular visits from a physical therapist.
Still, the family that must care for a loved one with a spinal cord injury must cover other expenses as well. Paralysis of the legs forces the affected victim to be confined to a wheelchair. The family must buy that piece of equipment, and invest in modifications to the family’s home or living quarters.
How hard is it for someone with a spinal cord injury to win a fair compensation?
Unfortunately, the defendant’s lawyer does have the ability to put obstacles on the path to any compensatory funds. The defendant’s lawyer might argue that the plaintiff contributed in some way to creation of the injury-causing accident. For instance, someone that had the nerves
How could the nerves in the backbone get harmed in a hospital? The patient might have to undergo a spinal tap. Then the patient would be told to remain in a reclining position for 4 to 6 hours. If the patient did not follow those instructions, he or she could be charged with having injured the nerves in the backbone.
Another defense used repeatedly claims that the plaintiff/victim had accepted an assumption of risk. That argument often gets used if someone’s back got injured while he or she was taking part in a sporting event. That is why it is important to prove the defendant’s liability by hiring the services of a personal injury lawyer in Huntsville.