Spinal cord injuries are catastrophic because they can cause paralysis to varying degrees and leave you unable to work or care for your family. Your injuries are not just physical but emotional and financial. When someone else acted irresponsibly and caused your injuries, they should pay through an insurance settlement or lawsuit. A hard-working catastrophic injury attorney at Erkel Law, P.C. has the experience to handle both options and the compassion to understand what you are going through.
Your family should not have to weather financial instability while you recover. The law can work to your advantage in seeking restitution from the person who caused your injuries through negligence. You want a Sacramento spinal cord injury lawyer who is comfortable taking on large insurance companies to negotiate a settlement, and if an offer is not enough, take the person who harmed you to court.
Negligence involves one person who has a duty to others to act responsibly but acts below the standard a reasonable person would follow. When irresponsibility is the foreseeable cause of an accident and someone is injured, negligence is established, and damages are available. Some common spinal cord accidents based on negligence include:
When the entire body is paralyzed, the condition is called quadriplegia. Lower body paralysis is paraplegia. An attorney at Erkel Law, P.C. handles Sacramento spinal cord injury cases by assessing how much compensation an injured client will need for medical care, rehabilitation, emotional trauma, and living with paralysis.
Once a lawyer establishes negligence, the jury determines the appropriate compensation based on the evidence the attorney presents. Damage awards are economic if they can be calculated and non-economic when a dollar amount is subjectively assigned. Economic damages include:
Punitive damages, defined by California Civil Code § 3294, could be awarded to punish the person who caused the accident if they acted maliciously. Injured persons must prove the defendant’s actions were shocking and far beyond negligent. This process can be complex, but a spinal cord injury lawyer in Sacramento could collect evidence to show the defendant was negligent.
State law uses the doctrine of pure comparative fault. This means the percentage of fault for an accident is allocated between all parties, and the injured person’s damages award will be reduced by the percentage the jury assigns to them, up to 99 percent.
Spinal cord injuries are considered catastrophic because they restrict your ability to work and impact your activities, depending on how completely you are paralyzed. Your finances will also suffer when you cannot work because your mobility is compromised. Erkel Law, P.C. understands what you are going through because the firm dedicates time to getting clients in similar situations compensated so they can live in dignity and with no financial woes.
When you are diagnosed with a spinal cord injury after someone else negligently or recklessly involves you in an accident, you have options. A Sacramento spinal cord injury lawyer will negotiate with insurers and fight in court if a settlement offer is not acceptable. Call today to schedule your consultation.
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