Fort Lupton Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
In addition to being physically and emotionally painful, spinal cord injuries are exorbitantly expensive. Even a less severe spine injury can lead to a lifetime of costly medical bills and necessary changes in lifestyle. A local attorney may be able to help you recover damages to improve your quality of life. You could put those damages towards paying for those increased medical bills and living expenses. Get in touch with a Fort Lupton spinal cord injury lawyer today to get the process of recovery started.
Effects of Living with Spine Injuries
Spinal cord injury survivors face intense physical pain while they try to recuperate from their injuries, and many deal with depression, when faced with the reality of their new altered lives. In addition to the physical pain and mental suffering that follow an injury to the spine, survivors often experience extreme financial difficulties. They face major medical and rehabilitation bills, and private insurance does not always cover those costs. They are also often forced to make significant lifestyle changes, such as renovating their home to make it more handicapped accessible or even moving to an assisted living facility or a nursing home.
Furthermore, many of these survivors must make changes in their careers. Only a small percentage of spine injury survivors work within the first year after their injury. Even after that first year, the rate of employment among people who have suffered spinal trauma is significantly lower than that of the rest of the population because spinal trauma survivors are often physically unable to return to their same line of work due to their inability to perform their job duties.
Recoverable Damages in a Spinal Cord Injury Case
A survivor of spinal trauma can seek damages to recover from all of their actual financial losses, including medical bills, rehabilitation costs, changed living costs, emotional and physical therapy, lost present and future wages, and lost earning potential. They could also pursue recovery for non-economic damages for their physical and mental pain and suffering. Those non-economic damages are generally capped according to CRS §§13-21-102.5(3)(a) and 13-21-102.5(5), but the cap may be inapplicable if the claimant can demonstrate that their injury resulted in a lifelong physical impairment.
Proving Negligence in a Spinal Cord Injury Case
In order to recover damages, a claimant will have to prove that their spinal cord injuries were caused by someone else, either through that other person’s negligence or through that other person’s intentional wrongdoing. A Fort Lupton attorney can examine the evidence to determine if someone else could be held legally responsible for a claimant’s injuries.
Shared Liability
A Colorado court will consider the claimant’s own blame when awarding damages. Colorado Revised Statutes Section 13-21-111 explains that a court will reduce damages in proportion to the claimant’s degree of blame. If a court determines that a claimant was 30 percent responsible for the accident that caused their injury, then the court will award the claimant 30 percent fewer damages.
How a Local Lawyer Could Help
Injuries to the spinal column force people to make drastic changes in their lives. These injuries cause intense pain and suffering, and survivors of these injuries face enormous medical costs in order to address all of their medical concerns. Maintaining a job after suffering a spine injury is also extremely difficult. A skilled local lawyer could help by seeking a judgment against those responsible for your injuries. That financial judgment could allow you to spend more time on your health and less time worrying about your future. Reach out to a Fort Lupton spinal cord injury lawyer today to see what they can do to assist you.
