The spinal cord—a bundle of nerves running through the vertebrae of the spine—is the central pathway that all nervous system signals pass between the brain and the body. Therefore, any traumatic injury to the spinal cord disrupts the brain’s ability to exchange sensory information with body parts below the injury site. This can lead to partial or total loss of feeling and motor function in those areas of the body.
Sustaining this type of injury by someone else’s misconduct can be devastating and infuriating in equal measure. With help from a capable catastrophic injury attorney, you can demand financial restitution for the harm you have suffered. If you are dealing with any degree of paralysis stemming from a back or neck injury caused by negligence, contacting a Wilmington spinal cord injury lawyer from Doroshow, Pasquale, Krawitz & Bhaya should be among your top priorities.
Determining Fault for Spinal Cord Trauma
One important thing to understand about spinal cord injury litigation, as well as about personal injury lawsuits in general, is that the severity of the injury has no bearing on who is legally liable to pay for the consequences. Instead, civil fault for personal injuries is almost always based on who you—the plaintiff filing suit—can prove was negligent in the lead-up to your injury.
Someone is negligent in a civil claim if they meet all of the following criteria:
- They owed you a duty of care to act responsibly under certain circumstances
- They committed a specific reckless, careless, or illegal act that breached that duty
- They directly caused an otherwise avoidable incident through their breach of duty
- That act directly caused you to suffer physical trauma serious enough to require professional medical care
A spinal injury attorney from our Wilmington team can provide invaluable help with collecting relevant evidence and constructing the strongest possible claim with this legal principle in mind.
How Does Injury Severity Affect Recoverable Damages?
Even if you can recover some or all normal bodily function over time with intensive medical care, suffering a spinal cord injury invariably changes the course of your life. In addition to financial losses (such as medical bills), lost short-term work income, and out-of-pocket expenses for care (such as mobility aids and in-home assistance), you can demand compensation for the non-economic effects of your injury. A lawsuit or settlement demand should take into account physical pain, emotional anguish, and psychological trauma.
In addition to short-term losses, your civil claim can include future losses that you expect to suffer because of your injury. Guidance from one of our seasoned Wilmington lawyers can be crucial to identifying and accurately valuing long-term damages such as future medical bills, diminished earning capacity, and lost enjoyment of life caused by your spinal cord injury.
Speak With a Wilmington Attorney About Your Spinal Injury Case
If you are dealing with a spine injury caused by another person’s negligence, you know all too well that money alone cannot erase every negative impact your injury will have on your life and your loved ones. What civil compensation can do in a situation like this is preserve your financial security and maximize your quality of life despite the immense harm you have undeservedly suffered.
You have support available from a compassionate Wilmington spinal cord injury lawyer who will help you enforce your right to civil recovery. Call Doroshow, Pasquale, Krawitz & Bhaya today to schedule a consultation.