In a matter of moments, reckless or careless misconduct by another person could lead to you getting into an accident with life-altering and possibly even life-threatening consequences. One of the most dangerous repercussions a traumatic accident can have is damage to the spinal cord, particularly if the damage done to you ends up causing permanent paralysis.
While money alone cannot possibly erase all the negative effects that an injury of this severity may result in, pursuing fair compensation with a catastrophic injury attorney’s help can still be key to minimizing the impact this type of injury has on your overall quality of life. From start to finish of settlement negotiations or a civil court trial, your tenacious Prairieville spinal cord injury lawyer could ensure your rights are respected and demand every cent of the compensation you deserve.
What Makes Spinal Cord Trauma So Severe?
While any injury stemming directly from someone else’s irresponsible actions can certainly be painful and frustrating in the short term, most personal injuries will heal completely with time and proper medical care. However, the spinal cord—a “cord” of nerves running from the brain down the spine and serving as the central communication pathway for the entire central nervous system—often cannot repair itself from external trauma, sometimes even with immediate surgical intervention from highly skilled medical professionals.
On top of that, an injury to the spinal cord affects much more of the body than just the area immediately around the injury. Since the spinal cord is the main connecting pathway between the brain and other body parts, any break in that pathway cuts the brain off from every part of the body below the injured area.
Damage to the lower spinal cord may result in paraplegia, which is a total loss of sensation and motor control below the waist. Other spinal injuries near the neck may lead to quadriplegia of the entire body under the neck, including all four limbs and the whole torso. Assistance from a skilled Prairieville spinal cord injury attorney can be especially crucial to recovering fair compensation after suffering this severe type of trauma.
Possible Obstacles to Financial Recovery After an Accident
A big reason why spinal cord injury lawsuits are so complex is the fact that injuries of this nature often continue to negatively impact a person’s life for decades after their legal proceedings end. Because spinal injuries are often long-term or permanent, it is vital while filing suit to identify and estimate a fair value for future losses that have not yet completely developed at the time of filing. Long-term medical bills, lost working capacity, and various forms of physical and psychological suffering are all examples of long-term damages that a lawsuit could account for.
It is also important to act quickly after an accident. Louisiana Civil Code §3492 generally allows people injured through the negligence of others—including those who have suffered permanent and debilitating injuries—just one year after initially being hurt to begin filing suit. This is a much shorter filing period than the ones most other states provide for personal injury victims, which makes it even more important to seek help from an experienced lawyer right away after suffering a spinal cord injury in Prairieville.
Contact a Prairieville Spinal Cord Injury Attorney Today
Spinal cord trauma is always an extremely serious matter. Even minor damage to the spinal cord can require months of intensive—and expensive—medical treatment. Anyone who caused your injuries through their own negligent or wrongful act should be the one who pays for your ensuing losses.
It can be difficult to get the payments you deserve without assistance from seasoned legal counsel. Fortunately, our team at Tomeny | Best is here to help. Call us today to learn more about what our Prairieville spinal cord injury lawyers could do for you.
