Spinal cord injuries have devastating health effects. If after a spinal cord injury you feel that another party may be liable for their injuries, they should, therefore, pursue any compensation they can to help cover the enormous costs and resulting life changes.
Injured person possible causes of action to pursue a claim include negligence, medical malpractice, defective product liability and more. To learn more about how a spinal cord injury lawsuit may be filed and how a personal injury lawyer can help you pursue one, read on.
Available Injury Claims in a Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit
There are many possible claims you can pursue as after a spinal cord injury in order to obtain the maximum fair amount of compensation to which you are owed.
Foremost are the immediate medical costs of the procedure. Emergency care and surgery may be needed, in addition to any medications and medical equipment used during the process. Spinal cord injuries also often result in permanent disability, necessitating ongoing care that is a direct consequence of the incident. Equipment like motorized chairs may be needed, as might home modifications like widened hallways and ramps.
In addition to medical costs, there are the lost income opportunities an injured person incurs if they cannot perform their previous job in the same capacity. These costs are also assessed as part of an injury claim.
Beyond concrete monetary costs, injured people will also want to put a dollar value on the other hardships they have endured. Loss of companionship claims allows you to pursue monetary compensation in lieu of all the activities you could have once performed with your family and loved ones. Pain, suffering, and emotional hardship is other special damages you may be able to pursue.
Finally, depending on the nature of the injury incident, you may even wish to request punitive damages that help discourage similar behavior as the defendant.
Causes of Action a Personal Injury Lawyer May Choose
When filing an injury lawsuit, your “cause of action” refers to the legal doctrine under which you file your claim.
For instance, the majority of injury lawsuits fall under the general umbrella of negligence. Negligence occurs when someone who was responsible for doing something failed in that duty, which lead to a significant injury. Proving negligence requires demonstrating that the other party had the opportunity to prevent the injury but failed to do so in spite of their expected duty of care.
Since some surgeries can accidentally result in nerve damage that destroys spinal cord tissue, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit depending on the circumstances of the surgery and the expectations of the surgical team.
Defective products may also be at fault for your spinal cord damage, such as if a vehicle seat failed to respond to impact as designed, resulting in a worse injury than would normally have occurred if not for the defective product.
You and your attorney will consider these possibilities along with the total amount of monetary damages at stake when you examine the facts of your spinal cord injury case with them. To start pursuing compensation today, contact a Colorado Springs injury lawyer so that you can begin filing a claim.
Use the number you see above or the convenient contact form to the right to receive a free case review and possibly start your claim today.
