Paralysis is one of the most serious effects of a car accident. You may not be able to live the life that you did before the accident or may never be able to work again. Moreover, you may need continuous care to help you perform the activities of daily life. The impacts of any spinal cord injury are extensive and will be extremely expensive for you and your family. If someone else was to blame for your paralysis resulting from a car accident, they would have a legal obligation to compensate you. Contact the Jacksonville car accident lawyers at Horton & Mendez Injury Attorneys to learn more about how you can pursue compensation for a car accident injury.
Car Accident Paralysis Statistics
Car accidents are now the leading cause of spinal cord injuries and paralysis in the United States.
Roughly 40% of spinal cord injuries occur in car accidents. There are approximately 18,000 new spinal cord injuries in the United States each year, and these injuries vary in severity. The majority of spinal cord injuries are incomplete, meaning that there is a chance you may make some degree of recovery. Still, you would be likely to lose some function and may have a lengthy and difficult road ahead of you.
Causes of Paralysis from Car Accidents
Paralysis can result from damage to your brain or spine. Your brain sends messages to move to the rest of your body through the spinal cord. If there is damage to the part of the brain that controls these messages, you may lose the ability to move.
Spinal cord damage is the most common cause of paralysis. The trauma of the accident may have broken the vertebrae that surround your spinal cord, causing the cord to be compressed or damaged. When the spinal cord is damaged, it may not be able to carry messages to any part of the body that is below the affected area.
Types of Paralysis Resulting from Car Accidents
The type of spinal cord injury that you suffer may be complete or incomplete. A complete spinal cord injury is a total injury where the communication between your brain and the rest of your body is severed because of an injury to the spinal cord. You would generally not recover from a complete spinal cord injury. An incomplete spinal cord injury is when there is still some feeling below the affected area. While you may lose some motion or movement, there is a chance that you may be able to make some degree of recovery from an incomplete spinal cord injury.
There are four primary types of paralysis that can result from a car accident:
- Monoplegia: This type of paralysis occurs when you cannot move a specific limb. Monoplegia usually results from an injury to your brain. This condition can be a temporary one, and you may be able to regain some or all of the lost function.
- Hemiplegia: This condition is when you cannot move an arm and leg on the same side of your body. Hemiplegia can result from a brain injury or an incomplete spinal cord injury, and it can also be temporary. You may be able to recover from hemiplegia through rehabilitation.
- Paraplegia: This is paralysis below the legs when you have suffered a complete or incomplete spinal cord injury. Paraplegia is often a permanent injury that will affect you for the rest of your life.
- Quadriplegia: This is the most serious type of paralysis, and it usually occurs when the damage to the spinal cord is higher up in your body. Here, you would lose the use of all four limbs. This type of injury is usually permanent, and it will result in the highest settlement because you have suffered the most damage.
Seeking Compensation for Paralysis Injuries
The medical expenses alone for an injury involving paralysis can be massive. The most severe types of paralysis have lifetime medical costs of over $5 million, depending on the age of the victim at the time of the accident. Thus, your case may be worth a lot of money because it not only compensates you for medical bills but also for the other effects of the accident. Those additional damages can be several multiples of your medical bills.
To receive compensation, you would usually file an insurance claim against the responsible driver’s policy or a lawsuit against them in court. To win your case, you would need to prove the other driver was negligent by presenting evidence of what happened to cause the accident. You are the one who has the burden of proof to demonstrate fault in the accident.
The difficult part of your legal case then begins. You would need to secure an adequate amount of compensation to cover the damages you have suffered. You must know this number prior to filing the claim or lawsuit since you have the obligation to prove your damages. Your attorney would work with experts to determine the amount of your damages and negotiate compensation with the driver’s insurance company (and your own, assuming that you need to file a claim against your underinsured motorist coverage) or persuade the jury of your amount of damages.
Contact an Experienced Jacksonville Car Accident Lawyer Today
If you have been hurt in a car accident, you need an experienced attorney to help you pursue compensation. You need to maximize your settlement check or award to pay for all the costs associated with your injury. The lawyers at Horton & Mendez Injury Attorneys get results for our clients because we provide uncompromising legal representation while showing compassion to the people we are here to help. You can schedule a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers by sending us a message through our website or by calling us today at 910-405-7751. There is no fee to you for our services unless you win your case.
