Paralysis, Paraplegia, and Quadriplegia

Paralysis, Paraplegia, and Quadriplegia Injuries: Are You Eligible for Financial Recovery?

Becoming paralyzed as a result of a preventable accident is a traumatic, life-altering event that leaves the victim struggling with how to adjust to a completely new way of life (i.e. the inability to walk). Depending on the extent of the paralysis, some victims may be paralyzed from the neck down and totally immobilized. It is one of the worst injuries someone can endure in a car accident, motorcycle wreck, truck crash, etc.

What Exactly is Paralysis?

Paralysis is the loss of muscle function. Paralysis can be accompanied by the loss of sensory feeling as well as motor function. A recent study suggests that 1 in 50 people have suffered from some kind of paralysis. The most common cause of paralysis is damage to the nervous systems, especially the spinal cord. Paralysis of the lower half of the body is called paraplegia while the paralysis of the arms and legs is referred to as quadriplegia.

Truck crashes, motorcycle accidents, auto wrecks, and other serious accidents can result in paralysis. Public data reveals that approximately 21.2% of all spinal cord injuries come about from falls. 36% of them come about because of automobile accidents.

Paralysis resulting from a car accident will significantly impact the life of the victim, and the lives of their loved ones. If you find yourself paralyzed as a result of a preventable accident that was caused by the careless actions of another, you may be able to pursue financial restitution for your harms and losses through a personal injury lawsuit.

Catastrophic Spinal Cord Injuries Necessitate Long-Term Care Solutions

One of the primary reasons it is so important to take legal action if you were paralyzed in a preventable accident is the number of medical expenses you are likely to require going forward. Unfortunately, paraplegia and other forms of paralysis generally do not “get better.”

Depending on the degree of disability, the victim may need long-term care over the course of his or her life. Some of the most common types of serious spine injuries include:

• Paraparesis: This is an injury that results in partial paralysis of the victim’s lower body, typically affecting feet, legs, trunk and pelvic organs.
• Paraplegia: This type of spine injury results in full paralysis of the victim’s lower extremities, and often their lower truck.
• Quadriparesis: This type of spine injury results in the partial paralysis of all four of the victim’s extremities.
• Quadriplegia: The most catastrophic spine injury, quadriplegia results in the full paralysis of all four of the victim’s extremities.

If the victim is living at home and/or is partially mobile, he or she may need special modifications in the home and ongoing assistance. Indeed, the effects of a catastrophic spinal cord injury often extend well beyond simple physical impairments. For many, adapting to their new life with physical limitations can be extremely challenging.

There are many emotional, lifestyle and financial issues that must be resolved. Without proper support, recovery is much more challenging for victims and their family members. Our team is here to take care of the legal issues so that victims can focus on their health and their recovery.

Spinal Cord Injuries: What Are They?

When there damages to your spinal cord, you might lose feeling and mobility. A common misperception is that cords need to be detached for function loss to occur. The fact is, most people who suffer from injuries to their spine have cords that remain intact.

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Spine and back injuries are two different things. Back injuries are associated with spinal stenosis, pinched nerves, and ruptured discs.

Common Paralysis Injury Causes

Common spinal cord injury causes include:

• Sports accidents
• Accidents on construction sites
• Bicycle accidents
• Accidents pertaining to slips and falls
• Automobile collisions

Who Can Be Held Liable In a Paralysis Injury Case?

Under Nevada law, any party whose negligent actions (or inactions) contributed to causing paralysis can legally be held liable for the victim’s damages. This includes individuals, property owners, and Las Vegas businesses. Since spine injuries can happen in a number of different ways, negligence can also take many different forms.

How Can Zachary D. Clayton, a Personal Injury Lawyer in Las Vegas, Help You?

Accident victims who suffer paralysis may require financial support and medical care forever. If another person’s negligence caused an injury that led to your paralysis, you will require the assistance of an experienced injury lawyer in Nevada.

LV Personal Injury Lawyers are committed to helping accident victims get the monetary compensation they are entitled to for damages (like pain and suffering, medical debt, and lost wages).

How Injuries to the Spinal Cord Happen

Spinal cord injuries generally happen because of a traumatic and sudden impact on the spine, which fractures or dislocates vertebrae. While a number of injuries to the spinal cord happen because of serious automobile accidents, they can also come about because of injuries sustained at work, sporting accidents, and falls from slippery surfaces or a certain height.

Severe Pain Connected to a Spinal Cord Injury

A spinal cord is comprised of a slew of nerves connecting your mind to your entire body. If there are damages to your spinal cord, the brain and the body won’t be able to transmit signals between each other, leading to sensation loss or paralysis. Based on how the injury has impacted your spinal cord, certain portions of your body might lack functionality.

There are a couple of tracts – one that descends and another that ascends – which transmits information to your brain. Your brain reciprocates by having signals sent to the remainder of your body. Catastrophic spinal cord injuries that can paralyze you might have other adverse impacts that affect your overall quality of life, some of which include:

• Inability to move or loss of movement.
• Loss of bowel or bladder control.
• Trouble breathing.
• A twisted or strangely positioned back or neck.

How Paralysis Injuries Get Diagnosed

Physicians diagnose paralysis injuries by way of the following:

• Neurological tests
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Computerized tomography (CT) scans
• X-rays

To Get the Financial Restitution You Deserve, You Might Have To Put up a Fight

Understand that getting monetary compensation for a paralysis injury once an accident happens won’t be easy. Most insurance agencies will contest personal injury claims when a significant sum of money (to cover lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical treatment) is requested. Their intention is to turn a profit (as opposed to compensating victims of injuries properly).

That’s why it’s worthwhile to hire a skilled and experienced legal firm. LV Personal Injury Lawyers will offer you effective and skilled legal counsel to get you the restitution you need.

If the paralysis injuries you sustained happened at a construction site, was a slip and fall incident, or was a bicycle, truck, or car accident, you will probably face a lot of financial and personal challenges moving forward. That’s why it is necessary to hold negligent parties responsible for their careless and reckless actions by way of a personal injury lawsuit.

Getting Medical Treatment without Health Insurance

If medical care is necessary to treat paralysis, but you can’t afford it, an experienced accident attorney in Las Vegas can aid you in locating a chiropractor, therapist, or doctor that will provide you with medical assistance by way of a medical lien. The lawyer will collaborate with therapists and doctors to ensure that your progress is properly chronicled.

Defense attorneys and insurers will usually say that medical data isn’t enough. They do this to delay or avoid paying you. Our personal injury lawyers in Nevada will work diligently to ensure that this doesn’t happen.

The Insurance Company is Not Your Friend

Always remember – the insurance company is not on your side, and they are definitely not your friend in the journey to pursue financial restitution for your harms and losses. It can be difficult at times since it is quite common for a claims adjuster associated with the negligent party’s insurance company to call an accident victim and sound friendly and sympathetic over the phone.

They may try to make it sound like they are looking out for your best interests and just want to get you some money sooner rather than later. They may even be bold and try to convince you to hire a lawyer since they will “only slow the process down.” This is nonsense.

The reason a claims adjuster will contact you so quickly after an accident is because they are attempting to get you to accept a lowball settlement offer before you had a chance to fully assess your harms and losses, or get you to provide a recorded statement, before you’ve had the chance to speak with a Las Vegas injury attorney.

Do Not Agree to a Recorded Statement

Insurance adjusters will quickly ask you to provide a recorded statement about the accident, and they may ask you about your health and any bodily injuries. The reason you should never agree to provide such a statement before talking to a lawyer is because the insurance company will save that statement and try to use it against you down the road if litigation is pursued.

This most commonly occurs if you respond to a question about your injuries and you may inadvertently state you are feeling “okay.” That alone could be enough for the insurance company to deny or reduce any potential settlement payout.

Will It Cost Me an Arm and a Leg to Hire a Las Vegas Paralysis Injury Lawyer?

No, it will not cost you a ton of money to hire a lawyer. In fact, it will actually cost you nothing upfront to retain the services of a skilled Las Vegas paralysis lawyer Zachary D. Clayton, Esq. This is because, in most injury cases, an attorney will work on a contingency fee basis. This means the lawyer’s fee is contingent on them securing a favorable outcome in your case.

Overview of Contingency Fee Agreements in Paralysis Injury Cases

This type of legal arrangement allows the injured party to hire an experienced lawyer without having to front the cost of legal fees. In a contingency fee arrangement, a lawyer’s fees will be deducted from the final settlement in your case — or from the final verdict at trial. In addition, most Las Vegas personal injury lawyers will also deduct any expenses that were fronted by the attorney.

The exact contingent fee percentage will typically vary based on the type of case and when it gets resolved.

Limited Amount of Time to Take Legal Action

If you suffered a paralysis injury from an accident, the proverbial clock begins to run on your ability to file a civil action to seek financial restitution for your harms and losses. This is because of the statute of limitations. For most accident cases, you have two years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in a Nevada court.

There are some exceptions to this general rule. For example,  the statute of limitations can be tolled when the victim is a minor under the age of 18. In this scenario, the statute of limitations will not begin until they reach the age of majority (i.e. 18 years old). If an accident victim is found to be mentally incompetent at the time of the injury, the statute of limitations will be tolled until the date in which the victim is deemed to no longer be disabled.

Now is the Time to Schedule a Free Case Review with LV Personal Injury Lawyers

Contact the top-notch Vegas personal injury law firm today so we can get started working for you. Our legal team will never charge an hourly fee for our services. If you are now paralyzed after a serious accident caused by someone else’s negligence, the skilled and knowledgeable attorneys with LV Personal Injury Lawyers will work tirelessly on your behalf.

Our team of knowledgeable and experienced attorneys will also take as much time as necessary to get the financial restitution you are owed. To schedule a free, confidential case evaluation with our legal counsel, call us or contact us online.