Spinal cord injuries require extensive medical intervention and can leave you impaired or paralyzed. Hopefully, with intense rehabilitation, you will regain your mobility, but meanwhile, you may be unable to perform your job or enjoy your family time as before. If another person behaved carelessly or intentionally harmed you, they should compensate you.
Once medical professionals have stabilized you after your injury, call Schechter Shaffer & Harris. If your injury resulted from a car, recreational, or industrial accident, one of our catastrophic injury attorneys could fight for a suitable settlement. If necessary, any of our competent litigators could fight in court for a substantial damages award. Contact a Houston spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as you are able after getting medical treatment.
Spinal cord injuries can happen anytime that the head, neck, or back sustains a blow. For older Americans, a fall in the shower is one of the most common. This type of fall might be actionable if the senior had the shower area retrofitted with safety bars that malfunctioned because they were not installed correctly. The manufacturer or contractor may be responsible for a defective product. Other common causes of spinal cord injuries include:
A spinal cord injury attorney in Houston could review medical and police reports, witness statements, cell phone and surveillance video, and other evidence pertinent to the case.
Medical personnel will immediately try to determine where along the spinal cord an injury falls so they know how to treat it in the future. They assess the ‘completeness’ of the injury. If a patient has some motor function or feeling below the injury, it is incomplete and complete if there is no movement or feeling.
The lack of function and feeling throughout the entire body is called quadriplegia. When just the lower body is compromised, it is called paraplegia.
Determining the appropriate amount of compensation is crucial because it must last as long as the patient is impaired, which could be a lifetime. A personal injury attorney fights for every dollar to cover all damages.
Plaintiffs must show that defendants’ actions or omissions are negligent in order to prevail in personal injury actions. Negligence is based on four principles: duty, breach, causation, and damages. People have a duty to act as reasonable persons in similar situations act. If they do not, they breach their duty. If they cause an accident with injuries, negligence is established.
In Texas, a plaintiff seeking damages after a spinal cord injury accident can still prevail even if they are partially at fault. Modified comparative negligence, also called proportionate responsibility, allows a plaintiff to sue if they are not more negligent than the defendant, known as the 51 percent rule. The damages award will be reduced according to the percentage of fault assigned to the plaintiff. A a skilled spinal cord injury attorney in Houston could discuss the potential division of negligence when filing a claim.
The Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 grants most plaintiffs two years from the accident date (with some exceptions) to file personal injury lawsuits, including those involving spinal cord injuries, which is why it is important to seek legal counsel quickly.
Spinal cord injuries are always traumatic and can upend your life if they are severe enough. If someone else’s recklessness caused your plight, the at-fault party should be responsible for paying your medical bills and other losses you face, such as wages and mobility.
While you dedicate yourself to recovering, we dedicate our time to getting you the compensation you will need to see you through this distressing ordeal. Call today and speak with a Houston spinal cord injury lawyer who can navigate the complex legal waters.
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