When 17-year old dancer Janice got in the car with her friend, Julie, she did not realize that she would not ever dance again. Julie was intoxicated. Julie skidded off the road and hit a tree head-on. Janice suffered a catastrophic back injury that left her unable to move her arms or legs. She woke up in the hospital and found that she was a quadriplegic. One of the worst injuries an individual can suffer is a spinal cord injury that results in being confined to a wheelchair for life. When one's arms, torso and legs are paralyzed, the condition is known as quadriplegia or tetraplegia. In other words, quadriplegia is a disabling injury that immobilizes the victim from the neck down, and desensitizes all the limbs. The lack of sensation is caused by spinal injury where the nerve endings that have been damaged by compressed or smashed vertebrae. Whether a spinal injury results from a car accident, a construction accident, a slip and fall, or some other type of accident, the victim's life will be forever changed, as will the lives of the victim's family members. The victim will have to cope with being confined to a wheelchair and will face a lifetime medical costs associated the injury. Such cases will undoubtedly be enormous. If you or a family member is in need of an injury lawyer because you have been in an accident and suffered spinal cord injury, it is important that you critical contact an experienced Nassau County personal injury attorney as you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and other losses.
Symptoms of a spinal cord injuryAfter an accident signs that you might have suffered an injury to your spinal cord include that may result in quadriplegia or some other type of paralysis:
There are many causes of spinal injuries that lead to full paralysis. However, the statistics show that most of these accidents that lead to quadriplegia are caused by a car accident. Whether or not the accident was caused by a bad driver, a drunk driver or debris hitting your windshield, it is likely the accident was not your fault and that someone else was negligent.
While car accidents are a common cause of injuries that lead to quadriplegia, paralysis is sometimes caused by medical mistakes. For example, if medical staff incorrectly positions the patient during surgery, the result could be an injury to the spinal cord.
DamagesVictims of accidents that result in quadriplegia face a variety of associated health problems such as blood clots, pressure sores, muscle spasms, respiratory problems, and bladder and bowel incontinence. Treatment of all of the conditions associated with quadriplegia is costly. It is not fair that you as the victim should have to shoulder all of these expenses out of your own pocket. The law agrees. Through a personal injury lawsuit you can demand that the negligent party who caused your injuries pay your medical bills and other expenses and losses you suffered.
Medical bills may include emergency room treatment, hospital stay, and rehabilitative care. You may also need physical therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and counseling to help you adapt to a different way of moving about and caring for yourself.
You can also demand payment for lost wages. For example, you will likely miss a great deal of work while you are recovering and adjusting to life as a quadriplegic. Furthermore, you not be able to go back to work at all. Thus, you can demand compensation for lost of past and future wages.
Contact the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & AssociatesWhether your accident was a car accident, a workplace accident, a slip and fall accident, a medical mistake or a premises liability accident, if it was caused because another person was negligent, then that person should be held legally and financially accountable. Under the law you can demand damages through a personal injury lawsuit. The staff at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates has years of experience successfully handling personal injury cases stemming from auto, truck, motorcycle, boat, and construction accidents. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Nassau County, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County and Westchester County.