Few types of personal injuries are more devastating or more consequential to a person’s life than those resulting in permanent paralysis. Even if your injuries are not life-threatening, the lifelong loss of physical mobility and sensation could cause immense professional, financial, and personal harm not just to you, but potentially to your family and loved ones as well.
If someone else’s negligence is the primary reason for your newfound disability, you may want to contact a Blair County paralysis injury lawyer to talk about options for civil recovery. Time is often of the essence in cases like this, so the sooner you retain a knowledgeable Blair County catastrophic injury attorney, the sooner you could obtain the compensation you need to maximize your quality of life.
Unfortunately, there are numerous ways in which another person’s reckless or careless conduct could directly lead to another person becoming permanently paralyzed, from auto accidents to sudden falls to negligence by a healthcare provider. Regardless of the exact means by which an injury like this occurs, the important thing when it comes to ensuing civil litigation is the existence of negligence. In other words, proving that another person owed the injured person a “duty” to act in a certain way, failed to meet that duty, and directly caused his or her injury through that misconduct.
For example, a speeding driver might cause severe spine trauma resulting in paralysis through a T-bone crash at an intersection. In other cases, a doctor’s negligent failure to diagnose a patient’s medical condition could lead to the patient sustaining paralysis due to brain damage caused by an untreated stroke.
Likewise, the severity of a paralyzing injury or condition has a direct correlation with the value of an ensuing claim since different degrees of harm may cause different kinds and severity of losses. A Blair County attorney could review what a paralyzed plaintiff’s situation could mean for his or her prospects of civil recovery during a private initial consultation.
Even if a paralyzed individual has substantive evidence showing that someone else negligently or intentionally caused him or her to get hurt, he or she could still struggle to recover for the full value of ensuing damages if he or she runs afoul of the restrictions that Pennsylvania law places on personal injury litigation. For instance, under 42 P.S. §7102, any victim found 51 percent or more at fault for causing his or her own injuries cannot recover any compensation whatsoever. Further,any smaller percentage of fault borne by a plaintiff could result in a proportional reduction in the value of his or her damage award. For example, if a plaintiff is found to be 15 percent at fault, the award will be reduced by 15 percent.
Furthermore, 42 P.S. §5524 sets a two-year filing deadline on all personal injury cases, including those based on injuries that will have lifelong repercussions. A knowledgeable lawyer’s assistance could be crucial to overcoming these and other legal roadblocks when seeking compensation for a paralysis injury in Blair County.
Unfortunately, no amount of financial recovery can undo the lasting physical harm that a permanent paralyzing injury causes. What a successful civil claim could do, though, is ensure you have the financial means to maintain a high quality of life despite the harm done to you by a negligent or reckless third party, as well as impose a measure of justice against that individual or entity.
Guidance from a qualified Blair County paralysis injury lawyer could make a tremendous difference in how your case plays out. Call Marcus & Mack today to learn more.
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