Injuries that cause paralysis could upend your life in a heartbeat. The extent and severity might require that you find other employment, interrupt your schooling, and relearn basic tasks. Adapting to paralysis can take a severe toll on you and your family.
If another party’s negligence caused the accident that led to your injury, you might have legal recourse against them. Pursuing a claim for damages could grant you the satisfaction of holding negligent parties accountable while providing you with the funds necessary to support your recovery.
Contact a Mableton paralysis injury lawyer right away if an accident left you paralyzed. A local catastrophic injury attorney could seek evidence of negligence and assert your legal right to damages from the responsible parties.
Negligence Behind Many Paralytic Injuries
The primary causes of paralysis in the United States are spinal cord injuries, stroke, cerebral palsy, and muscular dystrophy. A failure to use an appropriate degree of caution or care, which is the definition of negligence, could be a factor in many of these causes.
Medical error during delivery could cause birth injuries that lead to cerebral palsy. Delayed diagnosis of muscular dystrophy or stroke could result in more severe paralysis than the patient might have developed with better care. If a medical professional’s failure to meet the prevailing standard of care led to a paralysis injury, a lawsuit alleging medical malpractice might be an option.
Spinal cord injuries among elderly people are most often the result of falls, while vehicle accidents are the primary cause among younger adults and children. Falls and motor vehicle accidents often result from negligence. A Mableton lawyer could identify the parties whose negligence contributed to your spinal cord injury and assert a claim for damages.
Damages in a Paralysis Injury Case
When a paralyzed person proves that another party contributed to the accident that caused the injury, they are entitled to receive damages. Damages compensate for all the expenses you and your family incurred and will incur due to the injury. Damages typically include reimbursement for the following costs:
- Medical treatment, including medication, rehabilitation, and physical therapy
- Mental health care to cope with the consequences of the injury
- Renovations to make a home handicapped-accessible
- Adaptations to an existing vehicle or a new vehicle that accommodates the injured person
- Lost income and diminished future earning opportunities
- Future medical care to treat injury-related conditions
Damages also compensate for the subjective impact of an injury, such as disability, lost opportunities, inability to participate in favorite activities, physical pain, disfigurement, and emotional anguish. A Mableton attorney could help you document the many ways your paralysis injury has affected your quality of life.
Injured Person’s Conduct Could Affect Damages
Sometimes accidents happen because of the combined negligence of more than one party. If you were partially responsible for the accident that caused your injury, you could still collect damages in many cases. Georgia follows the modified comparative negligence theory, which allows injured people whose conduct contributed to their injury to collect damages if they were not primarily responsible.
Under the Official Code of Georgia §51-12-33, each party to an action must pay a percentage of the plaintiff’s damages that equals their share of responsibility for the accident that caused the injury. If a case goes to trial, a jury will decide how much responsibility each party had. In the more typical case, the parties will reach a negotiated settlement before trial. Allocating fault and damages amongst the negligent parties is part of the settlement negotiation process.
An experienced Mableton attorney could establish your limited responsibility for your paralysis injury through testimony and other available evidence. By limiting your share of responsibility, the attorney could maximize the damages you recover.
Let a Mableton Paralysis Injury Attorney Handle Your Case
The months immediately following a paralytic injury are excruciating for the injured person and their family. You must adjust nearly every aspect of your life and expectations for your future.
A Mableton paralysis injury lawyer could relieve you and your family of some of the burdens you are facing. Allowing a legal professional to take over communication with insurance companies could allow you to focus on the more important tasks, like healing. Schedule a consultation with a caring legal professional as soon as possible.
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