Spinal cord injuries can compromise your quality of life, and it can also take a toll on your loved ones. One of the biggest stressors that accompany spinal cord injuries is the astronomical cost of medical treatment. However, many spinal cord injuries actually happen due to a responsible party who is at fault. The most common causes of injury to the spinal cord include automobile accidents, assaults, blunt force trauma, falls, gunshot wounds, and sports-related injuries. In this situation, you may have grounds to file a legal case against a responsible party to receive compensatory damages which could help with the exorbitant medical treatment costs.
There are plenty of reputable spinal cord injury lawyers who are available to review your case and help you with this in Everett. Nonetheless, it’s good to know what to expect. The following are some compensatory damage types that you may be able to pursue:
Medical expenses
Medical expenses can include anything from prescriptions, hospital bills, doctor’s bills, therapist sessions, ambulance costs, rehabilitation, and any other necessary devices. Damages for medical care often include future costs associated with the injury besides the costs that have already been paid. This is especially so considering things like rehabilitation and recovery will most definitely be future medical expenses.
In-home assistance
The compensation you can get from spinal cord injury cases can help you for any assistance that you might require at home, perhaps from an on-call nurse or caregiver. These professionals can perform basic tasks for you like cleaning and cooking, as well as transportation services or child care. If necessary, these damages could also pay for special modifications to your house, such as the installation of wheelchair ramps, wheelchair lifts, or widened doorways.
Lost wages
You might have had to miss work because of your injury, so you may be able to receive lost wages damages that come from having been deprived of wages and the future loss of such wages. It covers the income that you’ve been forced to give up due to your limited mobility, hospitalization, and recovery.
Punitive damages
Punitive damages are also called exemplary damages. It is a form of damages that is retributive and often awarded to set a public example. This means that it seeks to punish a defendant for their acknowledged behavior and/or actions that caused tangible harm.
Pain and suffering
Spinal cord injuries can be extremely taxing and painful. Pain and suffering damages offer to compensate you for the pain and emotional distress that the injury caused you. This includes anxiety, depression, and humiliation.
Loss of consortium
A spinal cord injury doesn’t just affect you. It affects your loved ones, as well. It’s very possible that your relationships may suffer under the stress that is caused by your injury. Loss of consortium damages seeks to compensate you for how you and your loved ones have been personally affected by it. This plays an especially vital role in situations where an injury results in the death of a loved one.
If you have suffered a spinal cord injury, these solutions may not entirely solve all your problems, but they do offer some comfort and help to get you through this trying time.
