Burlington County Paralysis Injury Lawyer
Request a Free ConsultationParalysis injuries that result from accidents typically involve damage to the spine. These severe and often permanent injuries can fundamentally alter the course of your or your loved one’s life and place significant limitations on the ability to work and perform daily activities. Consulting a Burlington County paralysis injury lawyer may be the most effective means of filing a claim for compensation against any potentially liable parties.
Recovering from an accident that results in paralysis may necessitate months of therapy, and even then, permanent effects almost always remain. If another party’s negligence led to your or your family member’s paralysis, compensation awarded in a successful civil suit could help support you while you navigate through a new way of life. A Burlington County catastrophic injury lawyer from our firm may be able to assist you in getting the maximum amount of compensation available from all negligent parties.
Characterizing Conditions of Immobility
Paralysis is often the result of a blow to the spinal cord, which can occur in a motor vehicle wreck, a slip and fall, motorcycle crash, truck collision, and other types of accidents. Even if an impact does not sever the spine, crushing damage to the nerve fibers that connect the brain to the rest of the body can cause permanent loss of mobility. The level of paralysis depends on the severity of the damage as well as the location of the injury on the spinal cord.
Injuries that happen high on the spine may cause the most severe and complete conditions of immobility, often from the chest down. In contrast, injuries to the lower half of the spine often affect the mobility below the waist. Paralysis injuries can be characterized by a loss of sensation, control, function, and movement in the affected parts of the body.
Paralysis injury victims may be permanently unable to care for themselves, live independently, or return to their former careers. Their quality of life may also dramatically change as the result of a paralysis injury. As a result, these individuals may wish to consult a Burlington County paralysis injury attorney to determine if they have viable claims for compensation.
Negligence in Burlington County Paralysis Injury Claims
The legal concept of negligence forms the basis of most personal injury claims, including those involving paralysis. To establish negligence, a claimant or his or her loved ones must prove that the parties who caused the accident owed him or her a reasonable duty of care and violated that duty of care. The filing party must also provide evidence that the violation of the duty of care directly caused the plaintiff’s otherwise avoidable paralysis.
For instance, in the case of vehicle accidents, all drivers owe a reasonable duty of care to protect others form foreseeable harm, whether they are other drivers, passengers, bicyclists, or pedestrians. When drivers commit traffic violations, drive while impaired, or otherwise drive unsafely, and their actions cause an accident, they may be liable for the resulting injuries. If an injury victim would not have suffered paralysis had the driver exercised reasonable care, then he or she would be able to seek compensation from the at-fault driver.
Comparative Negligence and Paralysis Injuries
In some cases, injury victims may be partially responsible for the accident that led to their paralysis, or multiple parties may share responsibility for a claimant’s damages. State law provides a modified comparative approach to these situations.
If injury victims are less than 50 percent responsible for the accident that led to their immobility, they can seek compensation. However, their potential compensation will decrease according to their assigned percentage of fault for the accident. A Burlington County personal injury attorney could help determine the correct allocation of responsibility in a paralysis injury case and help a claimant recover the compensation that he or she is entitled to.
Work with a Burlington County Paralysis Injury Attorney Today
A paralysis injury can change all aspects of your life. You are likely to incur significant ongoing medical and personal care expenses, as well as a loss of income if you or your loved one can no longer work. A Burlington County paralysis injury lawyer could evaluate your situation and determine the best course of action in your case.
You are likely to feel highly stressed and overwhelmed in the aftermath of a paralysis injury. By allowing our team to shoulder the burden of your legal claim, you may be able to focus your energy on your rehabilitation and recovery, so contact our firm today.