Evidence in a Nashville Spinal Cord Injury Case

Spinal cord injury cases, like any other personal injury case, rely on establishing liability. Evidence is instrumental in proving that the defendant is responsible for the victim’s injuries. Part of collecting evidence in a Nashville spinal cord injury case is similar to any other case, like documenting and preserving the accident scene, photographing everything, et cetera. A qualified spinal cord injury lawyer could help an individual collect the evidence necessary to prove liability.

Expert Witness Testimony

One way to collect and present evidence in a Nashville spinal cord injury case is through the treating physicians. They can explain surgery, how it is performed, what are the risks of that surgery, what are the long-term effects of the injury, and what type of surgery or treatment an individual will need in the future. They are crucial in proving the damages in a spinal cord case. Then, if the person has a loss of earning capacity because of the injury, the types of damages available in that situation are usually explained by a vocational disability expert or an economist.

The physician could come in and discuss, for instance, how a construction worker cannot go back to work in construction, how much that will cost over their lifetime, and whether that is equal as far as the value, so a jury will know what to award them to make up for those lost wages.

Testimony of Family and Friends

Lawyers could also talk with family and friends and have them testify because they can talk about how the person was before they suffered this type of catastrophic spine injury and how the injury has changed them. Some things that friends and family could discuss are whether the injury has changed their relationship with their family friends, their personality, and their emotions.

It can be very depressing to have an injury that keeps a person from living a life that they were accustomed to. The testimony of people who are familiar with the injured party are always great evidence for a jury because they give those people an unbiased view of how the spinal cord injury impacted the victim.

Using Evidence to Establish Liability

Evidence is used to establish liability the same as in any case. The law in Tennessee says that a person has to prove negligence. That is what we have to show in a spinal cord injury case: that somebody was negligent and that negligence caused the spinal cord injury or the damages. The legal terms set forth a duty, a breach of that duty, and causation. For instance, in a car accident case, a victim shows that the person who caused the injury had a duty to stop at a sign, that they have breached that duty by not stopping at the sign, and that the failure to stop caused the accident and caused the spinal cord injury. The process is the same as in any other case, except the damages can be so different and so catastrophic.

Role the Defendant Plays in Collecting Evidence

The defendant is crucial in collecting and presenting evidence in a Nashville spinal cord injury case. A defendant can tell the lawyer who to talk to, how the injury has impacted their life, and share their story with the judge and the jury as to how this injury has changed them and their family forever. Once they start getting the lawyer that information, then the lawyer can go out and get the witnesses, the spouse, the family, and the friends in order to collect their testimony. Individuals who have been injured in spinal cord cases should work with an experienced spinal cord injury lawyer that could help collect the necessary evidence to build their claim.