Very few things make your heart sink more than hearing you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury. You know that victims of spinal cord injuries often end up with life-changing conditions as a result of their injury. Overcoming these challenges can seem impossible.
Every year, spinal cord injuries affect nearly half a million people around the world. Many of these injuries were preventable. That can make your injury or your loved one’s injury even more devastating — knowing it did not have to happen. To help you get through your recovery, you need to speak with an experienced and aggressive spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as possible after your accident. Your lawyer can help you recover maximum compensation for your injuries.
Common Causes
To suffer a spinal cord injury, your body must be put through extreme force. This most often happens in severe car accidents. In 2018, 768 people died in Louisiana car crashes. While not every car accident or spinal cord injury causes death, this shows the severity with which your life might change if you suffer a serious injury.
Car accidents are not the only cause of spinal cord injuries. Other causes include:
- Slip and fall
- Workplace accident
- Sport injuries
- Criminal activity
A spinal cord injury can have lifelong consequences. When your injury and suffering are caused by someone else’s negligence, you should try to hold them accountable for their actions and for your medical bills. You may face astronomical bills to pay as a result of your injury. You should not have to pay a penny out of your own pocket. To help you recover maximum compensation, you need to speak with a skilled spinal cord injury lawyer right away.
If you suffer a spinal cord injury through an act of violence or any criminal activity, the person who caused your injury might face a criminal charge or trial. Do not assume that a finding of guilt in the criminal case will help you cover your expenses. The criminal case, if the person is found guilty, may only provide you with restitution, a fraction of the actual amount of damages you could collect.
Your New Orleans spinal cord injury lawyer can help you show the negligent person is to blame for your injuries and help you collect every dollar you deserve. Your ability to recover from your spinal cord injury could depend on the amount of compensation you recover to help you get the best medical attention you can.
Signs and Symptoms
Spinal cord injuries are not always immediately apparent. Some injuries may take time to develop into a life-altering condition. If you or a loved one has recently been in an accident where you may have suffered a spinal cord injury, pay attention to some warning signs:
- Sudden loss of movement
- Difficulty breathing
- Loss of bladder control
- Extreme back pain
- Weakness
- Instability
- Difficulty walking
When you spot any of these signs in yourself or a loved one, seek medical attention immediately. The sooner you act to get yourself the physical treatment you need, the better your chances of making a full and complete recovery.
The same goes for your ability to recover compensation. From the date of your accident, Louisiana law only gives you one year to file a personal injury claim against the at fault party. Since spinal cord injuries can be serious and take years to recover from, the sooner you contact an experienced New Orleans spinal cord injury lawyer, the better the chance you have to recover enough compensation so you do not have to pay out of pocket for your expenses.
Damages You Could Collect
When you file a personal injury claim, the goal is to collect compensation from the negligent person, the one who caused your injury. To do that, your lawyer will work to show that the other person acted in a negligent manner and you suffered a spinal cord injury as a result.
Your lawyer may try to get you compensation for:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Lost wages
- Lost earning potential
- Loss of companionship
- Loss of life enjoyment
- Present and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation costs
It’s important to note that the vast majority of your financial burden will come in the future. You may see the pile of medical bills sitting on your kitchen table, but that only represents a fraction of what you will need to ensure you do not pay a dime of your own.
Not only do you have massive medical bills, spinal cord injuries of keep victims from returning to work for a long time, sometimes forever. This severely affects your ability to earn a living and provide for your family. Your family may even feel additional and unnecessary stress to cover the financial losses of you being out of work. This is not their burden to bear, nor is it yours. To overcome this challenge, your spinal cord injury lawyer will fight to collect maximum compensation for your injuries.
Speak with a Trusted Lawyer Today
Spinal cord injuries are devastating and often life-altering. You do not have to face this challenge alone. Partnering with the right New Orleans personal injury lawyer can make a difference in your spinal cord injury case.
You need a lawyer who can investigate your accident, speak with witnesses, consult with medical experts, negotiate and stand up to the big insurance companies, and protect your rights at trial. While most personal injury cases settle out of court, sometimes insurance companies refuse to be reasonable and a trial is necessary to help you recover maximum compensation. That’s why you need a lawyer with proven experience helping spinal cord injury victims like you recover for their injuries and their suffering.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you need an aggressive lawyer working to protect your rights. Contact us today online or at 504-526-2222 to find out how we can help you collect every dollar you deserve.
