Paralysis occurs when an individual has a loss of muscle function. Paralysis can happen to all or part of your body. It usually happens when something is wrong with the way messages pass between your muscles and your brain. If you have been injured in an accident that resulted in paralysis, you may be able to take legal action. A capable Nashville paralysis lawyer could listen to the facts of your case, and determine what your next steps should be. Speak with a qualified personal injury attorney that could pursue a positive outcome for you.
Common Causes of Paralysis
Paralysis is always caused by damage to the nervous system. This often occurs as a result of a traumatic injury, such as a head or spinal cord injury. Construction site accidents and car accidents are common causes of these types of injuries. Paralyses also arise from illnesses such as Lyme disease or botulism. These are all potential causes of nerve damage that can result in paralysis.
Pursuing Damages for Negligence
A person does not have a right to a lawsuit simply because they become paralyzed. In order for someone to sue somebody or file a lawsuit, there must be some sort of negligent action by a person resulting in the paralysis of someone else. The damage has to be caused by someone and their action results in the paralysis, such as someone running a red light resulting in a car accident.
A person cannot sue for paralysis, but they can sue somebody who was negligent or reckless who proximately caused their paralysis. A Nashville paralysis lawyer could help an individual begin the process of filing their claim.
Steps Following a Paralyzing Injury
The very first thing someone should do after a serious injury like that is to seek the appropriate medical attention. The treatment will obviously depend on the nature of the injury, but the most important thing is to prevent the situation from getting any worse.
After that, someone’s doctor will typically direct them on how to further their treatment. These injuries will obviously require extensive rehabilitation after initially seeking the emergency care.
Building a Paralysis Claim
The best thing someone can do is contact an attorney very early on in the process. This can be difficult because your main concern after suffering such a traumatic injury is not to see an attorney. However, the earlier you involve an attorney, the easier it is for that attorney to work on establishing liability.
The earlier a Nashville paralysis lawyer gets involved, the more evidence will be preserved that they can gather, such as witness statements and photographs. The attorney could speak to witnesses that knew the injured person before the accident. These people can tell the lawyer how productive they were before the accident, and family members can talk about what they went through.
Establishing Liability in Paralysis Cases
The first thing a lawyer does is work to establish liability for the paralysis. Attorneys begin by trying to obtain medical records. If the case involved something like a car accident, lawyers typically speak to witnesses as well. Lawyers also use accident reconstructions in an attempt to recreate the scene of the accident. Lawyers can bring in an expert to talk about a defect in a product in a products liability case.
After establishing liability, a Nashville paralysis lawyer would move on to proving damages. Damages can be total, partial, or unique, and it is important for lawyers to begin building up all economic avenues for damages immediately.
Examples of Special Documents Required to Demonstrate That Paralysis is Incurable
The most important documents to obtain in a paralysis case is anything that shows how the paralysis is of a permanent nature. Lawyers have procedures for speaking with doctors that can establish what part of the injuries are going to permanent, and which parts can be potentially cured.
The doctors can use this information to establish a dollar figure of damages for a jury. Juries understand something like looking at an x-ray to show a broken bone. It takes a little bit more to understand neurological damage and damage that causes paralysis. For these injuries, lawyers and doctors can utilize computer animation that helps explain the damage to a jury.
Role of an Attorney in Obtaining a Long-Term Life Insurance Plan
In Tennessee, long-term life insurance plans are not something a lawyer will seek at trial in a paralysis case. Instead, a Nashville paralysis lawyer would seek money for what it costs a person to have the care that they need. With that money, they can attempt to purchase different life insurance plans. Historically, insurance companies would not insure somebody with a pre-existing paralysis. Now, since the changes in the law prevent insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions, that is no longer as much of an issue.
Consulting a Nashville Paralysis Attorney
When someone suffers a permanent paralysis it is a good idea to hire an attorney. Paralysis cases are complex cases to litigate and a Nashville paralysis lawyer can help somebody put the damages together in order to ask a jury for an amount of money that will put them back in as close of a position as possible to before the paralysis.
Lawyers that handle these cases have experts that will be able to specifically outline what a paralyzed person needs. These are not easy cases to go through without an attorney, because often these damages can extend for a person’s entire life. It can be crucial to retain the services of an attorney who is experienced in handling paralysis cases. If you have sustained a catastrophic injury that has left you paralyzed, speak with a capable attorney that could advocate for you.
The insurance company has a legal team. You should too.