How to Successfully Make a Claim for a Spinal Cord Injury

There are more than 4,000 new spinal cord injuries in Canada every year. Traumatic spinal cord injuries occur at a rate of approximately 1,298 incidents per million people.
Out of all of these people, the populations more likely to sustain a SCI are the younger and older populations. They occur among younger people who are more likely to take risks that result in severe injury while the elderly population is unable to prevent events like slips and falls in their weakened state.

In this post, Ristich Law will be exploring more about spinal cord injuries, why they happen, and how victims can be compensated.

What Is Spinal Cord Injury?

In nearly half of spinal cord injury cases, the person was involved in a traumatic event that caused a build-up of swelling or bleeding in or around the spinal cord. The damage occurs when dislocations, fractures, or contusions impact the spine.
The most common type of spinal cord injuries occur during a motor vehicle accident. In most cases, this is the result of the seatbelt not being used. The next type of spinal cord injury occurs from falling from a great distance i.e., from trees or buildings. Violence is the third leading cause of spinal cord injury. This can include assault from another person or even self-harm.
The severity of the injury will determine the symptoms that you may have had. Spinal cord injuries are usually diagnosed based on:

• Difficulty performing normal activities such as breathing and walking
• Pressure or pain in the back, neck, or head
• Numbness or tingling in the extremities
• Weakness or paralysis of one or more areas of the body

Spinal cord injuries consist of either temporary or permanent changes to motor functions and sensory function. The injury causes a ceasefire in communication from the brain to the rest of the body. It can be the result of a direct trauma where the nerves became severed or an indirect trauma where the surrounding area was affected.

How Does It Affect a Person’s Life?

Spinal cord injuries are usually very traumatic in nature. These injuries can permanently hinder your strength and sensation while impacting nearly every aspect of your life. There are nearly 600 spinal cord injuries reported every year in Ontario alone.
The road to recovery following a spinal cord injury is not easy. When the injury is reversible, it usually requires two to three years of intensive rehabilitation and hospitalization to begin to regain your independence. This process can be extremely expensive and become a huge burden to figure out how to pay for it, especially if you are unable to continue working.
Negligent parties, or those who are responsible for your injuries, can be held accountable for their actions through monetary compensation for these injuries. When we handle spinal cord injury cases, our personal injury lawyers at Ristich Law will fight to make sure that the negligent party pays for all of the necessary benefits to aid in your recovery.
Spinal cord injuries often result in an overabundance of medical expenses, including rehabilitation and medicine. When the paralysis is permanent, you may need home renovations to make your home more accessible. You may have to hire people to handle your housekeeping and to take care of you in ways that you may no longer be able to handle on your own.

How Do You File This Claim?

To file a personal injury claim involving a spinal cord injury, there are a few things that have to happen as soon as possible following the accident. The first thing that you need to focus on is seeking medical treatment for your injuries.
Sometimes this step alerts the proper authorities. If for some reason the police are not involved, you may have to report the accident and your injuries to the nearest collision reporting center.
Get in touch with a personal injury lawyer who specializes in spinal cord injury like our team at Ristich Law. The sooner you get in touch with us, the sooner we will be able to assess the scene of the accident and preserve any evidence. We will also be able to collect pertinent information such as witness statements and facts about the accident.
We will then be able to file all of the documentation needed to move forward in the claim process.
The amount of compensation that you may need depends entirely on the severity of your injury. Is it permanent? Does it affect your daily life? Were you at all liable for your injuries? Two types of damages may be collected through a personal injury claim involving a spinal cord injury.
There are pecuniary damages involving the loss being measured by the economic impact that it’s had on you. This includes medical expenses and lost wages. Non-pecuniary damages are more difficult to measure and cannot be given a dollar amount. This includes pain and suffering, degraded quality of life, and loss of mobility.

Ontario Limitations Act of 2002

Keep in mind the Ontario Limitations Act of 2002. There is a statute of limitations for most types of personal injury claims.
Once you learn that another party involved in the accident is at fault for your injuries, you should begin the process for your claim. The statute of limitations at the basic level requires claims to be made within two years. There are some exceptions to the statute, but in most cases, the claims need to be started within 15 years following the injury.

Start Your Spinal Cord Injury Claim Process Today

A spinal cord injury can have a detrimental effect on your quality of life and your overall well-being. You can file a claim for this type of personal injury and be successful if you have the right personal injury lawyer fighting got you.
Contact Ristich Law today to learn how you can get justice for your spinal cord injuries.