The 5 Types of Compensation You Can Claim for a Spinal Cord Injury
By: Mark Schiffrin P. A.
Tags: Law, Lawyers, Legal, Personal Injury Attorney, Accident

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are pretty severe. These traumas give way to death, paralysis, and various other physical difficulties. SCIs occur under various circumstances. The common scenarios are inclusive of diving mishaps, vehicle collisions or industrial workplace accidents. Some people tend to suffer spinal injuries while going through surgeries plus injections.

The likelihood of injury heightens when you undergo a procedure that occurs on or around the spinal cord. However, a person tends to sustain an SCI. The outcome might include financial hardship, deep suffering for the victim, physical and mental anguish and their family. This is why claims related to spinal injury compensation need to cover all the trauma.

Some of the common damages are inclusive of economic as well as intangible suffering. Economic damages include medical bills, lost wages, and some other losses associated with the injury that can be quantified. The intangible losses are quality of life issues like emotional suffering, inability to participate in certain activities and lifestyle changes. These cannot be quantified.

However, these damages are vital to assessing the entire case of back injury compensation.SCI victims may make the assumption that they are solely eligible to get their medical expenses plus lost wages recovered. However, make sure to take a proper look at the losses. It is a fact that a fair settlement can help in releasing the burden that is thrown at you as well as your family.

Make sure that settlements are higher. With the right legal guidance, you can take your case to trial plus represent yourself. However, the odds of you getting a decent result, against the experienced lawyers of the defense, are low.

There are many personal injury lawyers who work on a contingency fee basis. This implies that means you don’t owe fees if you do not win for you.

Common types of damages include:

Medical costs

Medical expenses associated with the actual injury can cost you a fortune, sometimes. Still, SCIs needs a long time to get treated. So, you must anticipate these expenses.

Your lawyer would help in the building of these expenses into your compensation claim. SCI patients often tend to encounter a vast range of extra physical issues. These are lowered mobility plus incontinence. It is important to cover the past plus future medical care. This is mainly because SCI-related medical debt can make the grief worse.

Mental Anguish

There are some people who tend to overlook the mental anguish that is associated with a spinal cord injury. Victims might not even want to talk about the internal grief. The family might not be able to empathize with their pain unless they have gone through a SCI themselves.

Apart from having to cope with the physical limitations plus pain, victims also need to understand that their injuries can impact their relationship with their close ones. They might just not be able to enjoy good weekend rides in the mountains! Such realities can lead to a great deal of trauma and melancholy.

Physical Pain

SCIs give way to various long-term physical issues. On the basis of the nature of the injury, a person might not be able to walk, struggle with bowel and bladder control and suffer any sort of sexual dysfunction.

Some of these complications might require you to make frequent visits at the clinic. You might have to take various medications, physical therapy, and some other treatments. The expenses and extent of suffering increase higher for those who are confined to a wheelchair.

Loss of wages and earning capacity

When a person is able to return to his/her workplace,they can go ahead and claim the wages that they would have earned during the period of recovery. However,many SCI injuries give way to a partial/complete loss of capacity to earn wages. A person might be able to work part-time or be forced to take a not-so-decent-paying job. In certain cases, the victim might not be able to work at all. When building makes claims on behalf of the clients, vocational experts are hired to look into the actual residual earning capacity. These consultants tend to determine what the client can/cannot do physically.

When a trial is going on, the consultants are called as testifying experts to let the jury know about the huge economic ramifications for the families of the clients.

Loss of Consortium plus companionship

There are many patients who are victims of SCIs and beyond. Their spouses can bring claims for loss of consortium plus companionship. This is because they too suffer from such tragedies. When their partner is no more due to the accident, he/she might lose a partner who used to help in managing the household, providing financially, care for the kids. There is no doubt that the spouses face a huge physical, emotional and psychological burden. The injured person’s wife/husband can also sue for the loss of household services. The main objective is to compensate for the whole list of losses that the person has suffered because of the injury of the partner.

When it comes to children, there is certain loss of consortium and companionship cases. The online loss of a parent is too difficult for children. Also, they have the right to compensation for the ways their lives have altered. There are some families that tend to install a hospital bed in their homes.

Why hire a Spinal Injury Lawyer?

Spinal cord injuries would impact you in your life. So, you must go ahead and hire a professional spinal injury lawyer. Never take a DIY approach to these cases! A spinal injury lawyer is clearly aware as to which tools plus resources can be used to lure in to increase the overall compensation you receive. They know the exact questions that need to be asked. Go for a spinal injury lawyer who understands your case. He/she should be willing to see it through. This way you and your family receive the damages you deserve.