Whenever spinal cord injuries occur, their effects are likely to be severe and life-changing. The ability to repair a spinal cord currently does not exist, so any injuries suffered may be permanent. If negligence has caused a spinal cord injury to you or someone you love, a Will County spinal cord injury lawyer could provide you with legal guidance for a civil lawsuit.
Building a strong case for damages is key to any personal injury claim. To that end, a knowledgeable catastrophic injury attorney may be able to assist in your case by identifying causation in accidents, documenting the resulting spinal cord injury and its permanent effects, and calculating the costs of future medical needs.
Conditions Resulting from Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries typically originate from stress or pressure to the back or neck of a person. Situations may lead to spinal cord injuries may include:
- Auto accidents
- Construction accidents
- Gunshot wounds
- Assaults
- Sports injuries
- Workplace accidents
Spinal cord injuries could result in a wide spectrum of medical conditions that may impact bodily functions, the ability to use limbs, coordination, and sensation. The different types of medical conditions stemming from spinal cord injuries may include:
- Anterior, central, and posterior cord syndrome
- Paraplegia
- Tetraplegia or quadriplegia
The different varieties of spinal cord syndromes may cause distinct symptoms. Anterior cord syndrome involves an impaired ability to sense touch and temperature, whereas central cord syndrome involves impairment of arm function. Posterior cord syndrome may result in impairment to coordination.
Paraplegia and quadriplegia are spinal cord injuries that might be more familiar to the general public. Paraplegics cannot use their legs and quadriplegics have no function below their necks, both in terms of bodily functions and the ability to move their limbs. Due to the severity of these injuries, speaking with a spinal cord injury lawyer in Will County about legal options for financial recovery may be all the more important.
How Negligence Could Affect an Injury Claim
Most spinal cord injury claims are based on the legal theory of negligence. To establish a claim for negligence, injured individuals must prove the existence of a duty of care, a breach of that duty, and physical injuries resulting directly from the breach of duty. In the case of a motor vehicle accident, drivers have the general duty to drive in a reasonably safe manner and follow traffic laws.
When drivers choose to speed through a red light and cause a collision with another vehicle, they likely breached their duty to drive in a manner that reasonably protects others from harm. If the breach of that duty directly caused the accident and someone suffered spinal cord injuries as a result, there may be sufficient evidence for a Will County lawyer to file a civil spinal cord injury claim based on negligence.
Speak with a Will County Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
If you fall victim to an accident that caused a spinal cord injury, you may be depressed, angry, and unsure how you would be able to care for and support yourself. Fortunately, you may be able to enlist the assistance of a Will County spinal cord injury lawyer to assess the viability of a potential personal injury claim.
Negligent individuals should be held responsible for their actions, and you may be able to hold those individuals accountable by filing a claim for compensation for your losses related to the accident. Even if your future looks uncertain following a catastrophic accident, you are likely to need to take steps to secure your financial future and ensure that you can pay your substantial and continuing medical bills.
Filing a personal injury claim against those responsible for your spinal cord injuries may allow you to begin to recoup some of the losses that you have experienced and create a new life for yourself. To get started exploring what may be possible in your case, call today.
