The spinal cord is both uniquely essential to the human body functioning normally and uniquely susceptible to permanent harm. Even a relatively minor injury to the spinal cord can have long-term repercussions and require months of intensive medical and rehabilitative care to potentially return an injured person to their pre-accident state, while more severe injuries almost always have permanent and debilitating consequences.
If you sustained spinal trauma because another person acted recklessly or carelessly around you, a seasoned catastrophic injury attorney’s assistance could be essential to your comprehensive recovery. These cases tend to be complex in both legal and practical terms, but a Cleveland spinal cord injury lawyer could provide the custom-tailored support you might need to effectively pursue a positive outcome.
Unlike other parts of the body, the spinal cord cannot always heal naturally from serious damage even with surgical intervention. A “complete” spinal cord injury, which entails the spinal cord being completely severed at the point of impact, will invariably result in permanent and total loss of sensory and motor function below the injury site.
“Incomplete” spinal cord injuries—or injuries where the spinal cord is not completely severed and is instead slightly torn, twisted, or bruised—are comparatively less severe, and injured individuals can sometimes recover a substantial portion of motor function and sensation through intensive medical and rehabilitative efforts. However, these injuries are still extremely expensive to treat and debilitating in the short term.
Regardless of how severe a particular injury is, a Cleveland spinal cord accident attorney could play a crucial role in establishing who is to blame for a particular person’s injury and demanding fair compensation for every short-term and long-term negative effect suffered. Help from skilled legal counsel could be especially important in situations where a person sustains total paraplegia—paralysis below the waist—or quadriplegia—paralysis below the neck—from an accident.
A comprehensive spinal cord injury claim can and should account for various out-of-pocket financial losses related to the injury in question, such as:
However, the impact that serious spine trauma can have on an injured person’s life goes far beyond economic damages to include various non-economic forms of harm as well, like:
Importantly, spinal cord injuries resulting in paraplegia or quadriplegia are one of a few types of injuries defined in Tennessee Code §29-39-102 as a “catastrophic injury,” which means the cap on non-economic recovery established under this same statute is $1,000,000 rather than $750,000. That said, recovering for the maximum available compensation can be difficult without support from a knowledgeable spinal cord injury lawyer in Cleveland.
Suffering a spinal cord injury that results in any level of paralysis is a singularly devastating and life-altering experience. If you sustain an injury this severe because another person was reckless or careless around you, that person should bear financial liability for every form of harm your injury has caused and will cause you in the future.
A Cleveland spinal cord injury lawyer’s guidance could make a huge difference in your ability to effectively pursue fair civil restitution for this type of claim. Call today to learn more.