If You Hurt My Clients?? Oh, You’ll Pay For It!!

Paralysis refers to the loss of function of a muscle or group of muscles. In the majority of paralysis cases, the accident victim loses feeling and sensation in the affected areas. Car and truck accidents can result in catastrophic injuries, including spinal cord injuries, which oftentimes lead to permanent injuries or paralysis. In the car or truck accident context, paralysis usually occurs when a nerve in the spinal cord is severely damaged.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), traffic accidents are responsible for approximately 46 percent of all spinal cord injuries that occur each year in the United States. In many cases, individuals who are paralyzed are totally incapacitated and unable to care for themselves. As a result, they may require long-term or lifelong care at a nursing home or assisted living facility.

If you or someone you love has sustained a spinal cord injury or paralysis as a result of someone else’s recklessness, carelessness, or negligence, you may be eligible to obtain monetary compensation under Louisiana law. The paralysis injury lawyers at Egenberg, APLC can review the facts and circumstances of your accident case with you and explore settlement and litigation options.

Statute of Limitations Concerns
If you have sustained serious injuries in an accident, you should not delay in seeking legal representation. This is because in the State of Louisiana, the statute of limitations expires just one year from the date of the accident. In other words, if you fail to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit within one year of the date of your accident, absent a few very limited exceptions, you will be forever barred from seeking monetary compensation for your injuries. The personal injury attorneys at Egenberg, APLC will be able to ensure that your claim or lawsuit is filed in a timely manner, thereby safeguarding your legal right to recovery.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Catastrophic spinal cord injuries may occur in any setting. However, they are most likely to occur as a result of a car, truck, bicycle, motorcycle, boating, or slip-and-fall accident. In cases where the accident victim’s back strikes the ground directly, the accident victim is more likely to suffer from a spinal cord injury or paralysis. Car and truck accidents may cause the accident victim’s spine to flex beyond its normal range of motion, resulting in severe damage to the spinal cord, and in some cases, paralysis.

Types of Paralysis
The nerves inside the spinal column control the muscles in a person’s body. The nerves of the cervical spine control the upper body’s functioning, while the nerves of the lower spine (i.e. the lumbar spine) control the lower body’s functioning. A person may suffer from upper or lower body paralysis as a result of a serious accident. Paralysis injuries often include the following:

Monoplegia – where one of a person’s limbs is paralyzed
Hemiplegia – where the arm and leg on one side of a person’s body are paralyzed
Paraplegia – where both legs are paralyzed
Tetraplegia – where both the arms and the legs are paralyzed
Treating Spinal Cord and Paralysis Injuries
Despite the recent advances in medicine and medical technology, there is currently no cure for paralysis. Once the spinal cord or a nerve has been irreparably damaged, there is no way to replace it. In most cases, medical treatment for paralysis victims is focused on helping the patient learn how to live as independently as possible and increase his or her quality of life.

The financial costs associated with treating spinal cord and paralysis injuries are high. The total cost depends upon the location and severity of the accident victim’s injury, the geographic location of the therapy and medical treatment, and the accident victim’s overall health. During the first year after the accident, the cost of treating a paralysis victim’s injuries can total anywhere from $300,000 to one million dollars. Thereafter, the cost can be as high as $170,000 per year. The lifetime cost associated with treating a paralysis injury victim can exceed 3 million dollars.

The knowledgeable paralysis injury lawyers at Egenberg, APLC can help you prove damages and permanent impairment in your personal injury case.

Burden of Proof in Serious Personal Injury Cases
To prove a spinal cord or paralysis injury, the injured accident victim must demonstrate that the injury occurred as a direct and proximate result of someone else’s carelessness or negligence. Insurance companies tend to be skeptical of spinal cord and paralysis injuries, and oftentimes question the nature and severity of the injury or injuries sustained. Insurance company adjusters will look for every possible excuse to downplay the severity of a plaintiff’s personal injuries, and in some cases, to deny insurance coverage altogether. In the spinal cord injury context, the insurance company may point to preexisting medical conditions, prior injuries, or prior nerve damage evidenced in the plaintiff’s medical records.

The attorneys at Egenberg, APLC know the tricks and tactics that insurance companies and their adjusters use to try to undervalue claims and avoid paying out money in a serious personal injury case. Our attorneys will work to use medical expert and lay witness testimony to maximize the value of your catastrophic injury case and help you to obtain the monetary compensation you need and deserve under the law.

Available Damages in Spinal Cord and Paralysis Injury Cases
Spinal cord and paralysis injury plaintiffs may be able to claim monetary recovery for some or all of the following:

Related medical and physical therapy bills
Lost wages
Loss of earning capacity
Past, present, and future pain and suffering
Future medical procedures
Emotional distress
Mental anguish
Psychological or psychiatric harm
Loss of spousal companionship
Costs of long-term or lifetime care at a nursing home or assisted living facility
Contact a Louisiana Paralysis Injury Lawyer Today for a Free Initial Consultation and Case Evaluation
If you or someone you love has sustained a serious spinal cord or paralysis injury resulting from someone else’s negligence, let the attorneys at Egenberg, APLC assist you with your case.

To schedule a free consultation and case evaluation with a Louisiana car accident lawyer, please call us or contact us online today.

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“Mr. Egenberg and his associates handled my case with dedication and diligence. Brad pursued all of the issues that were important to me and remained accessible throughout. Brad is professional, approachable and well prepared. I highly recommend him.”

-Janet.