You can face devastating consequences after experiencing a spinal cord injury in Knoxville or anywhere throughout the State of Tennessee. These consequences can include long-term injury, the inability to work or engage in everyday activities, the inability to care for yourself or your family members, severe disability, and even paralysis.

According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), car accidents are the number one cause of spinal cord injury (SCI) in the U.S. They account for 38.4 percent of all spinal cord injuries. As well, some 17,500 new SCI cases occur each year.

Elements necessary to establish fault of the plaintiff

In order to file a spinal injury lawsuit and achieve a successful outcome, you with the help of an experienced spinal cord injury attorney, must satisfy four elements about your case. They are:

Establishing duty of care – i.e., fault

All drivers on the road owe a duty of care to other drivers and passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, etc. Part of fulfilling this duty includes following all traffic laws, not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and not driving distracted (such as texting while driving).

Demonstrating duty of care was violated – i.e., negligence

Any failure of motorists to fulfill the required duty of care to others constitutes a breach of that duty. Examples may include breaking the posted speed limit, failing to yield right-of-way, or driving distracted.

Establishing causation ­– i.e, liability

As the plaintiff, you must demonstrate that another party’s breach of duty had direct causation for the injuries you incurred. For instance, if another driver fails to yield right-of-way and slams into your vehicle resulting in you suffering a spinal cord injury, direct causation is established.

Demonstrating damages suffered – i.e., costs associated with your injuries

You must show proof of damages sustained (i.e. pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills, etc.) from the injuries you incurred as a result of another driver’s breach of duty.

What damages can I recover in a spinal cord injury lawsuit?

Spinal cord injuries often result in damage that is devastating with a bleak prognosis for recovery. Over 50 percent of spinal cord injury victims sustain significant physical damage, including everything from full paralysis to partial paraplegia. The damage and disability caused by these injuries can lead to a range of consequences including severe financial losses.

If you are a victim of any type of spinal cord injury, you may seek to recover compensation for economic and noneconomic damages.

Economic Damages

The potential financial costs of a spinal cord injury are tremendous. Medical care expenses alone during the first year of treatment for the most severe forms of spinal cord injury can exceed $1 million. The actual costs incurred will depend on factors such as pre-injury employment history, neurological impairment, and education.

The lifetime costs also vary according to age at injury. For instance a person inflicted with a high tetraplegia injury at age 25 may owe 4.7 million over his or her lifetime compared to 2.6 million for someone incurring the same injury at 50 years of age.

All of the treatment and care provided by the hospital, doctors, nurses, and rehab specialists are expensive enough. However, the nature of your condition may also necessitate additional services provided by a residential care facility or a live-in caretaker.

Any care you receive for your spinal cord injury qualifies as compensable under the law. This compensation may cover not only your medical expenses related to direct care services, but also additional expenses such as parking fees at medical appointments and costs to modify your vehicle or home based on your disability.

Additional items that may fall under economic damages include lost wages and lost future income capacity, part of which may result from the time you take off from work to recover or your inability to come back to work due to your injury. An experienced spinal cord injury lawyer can work with the appropriate professionals to determine your lost earning capacity.

Noneconomic Damages

Your attorney can help you obtain compensation for any non-economic damages that apply in your case, such as pain and suffering, loss of consortium, loss of life enjoyment, etc. The monetary value of these damages can be significantly higher than economic damages. However, under Tennessee law (TN Code § 29-39-102), there is a cap on catastrophic non-economic damages of $1 million.

If you have suffered a spinal cord injury as a result of the car accident, you may only see the devastation and your losses mounting on a daily basis. Our car accident attorneys at Banks and Jones are here for you. We can help you recover the compensation you deserve so you can recover your lost wages and pay your bills. To set up a free, no obligation appointment to discuss your case, call us today at 865-546-2141 or send us an email through our contact form.