Paraplegia And Quadriplegia Injury Lawyer Toronto

A spinal cord injury is an incredibly serious injury, often the result of a motor vehicle accident or other type of collision.

When you have this type of injury, you have long-term medical care needs, rehabilitation costs, and expenses for assistive aids and devices.

When your spinal injury is the direct result of another party’s recklessness or negligence, it is imperative to fight for your right to compensation. When you hire the lawyers at Joshua Goldberg Law, we will fight and negotiate on your behalf to obtain a settlement or judgment that compensates you for your injury and allows you to live the remainder of your life with dignity and support.

A spinal cord injury, or SCI, impacts a person’s strength, sensation and ability to feel, and other bodily functions below the level of injury. In many cases, a blow or trauma to the spinal cord leads to partial or complete paralysis of the legs and/or arms. This can also be accompanied by a loss of sensation in specific areas of the body, muscle spasms, chronic pain, and loss of bowel and bladder control. The degree of paralysis varies according to the extent of the damage to the spinal column and can be either temporary or permanent.

With such an injury, the best treatment is often a plan for ongoing medical care, rehabilitation, and physical therapy.

What Is Paraplegia?

Paraplegia is when there is paralysis that affects all or part of the spine, legs, and pelvis. With this type of injury, arm and hand functions remain.

Typically, paraplegia occurs from direct damage to the spinal cord in the thoracic or lumbar/sacral region.

What Is Quadriplegia?

Quadriplegia, sometimes referred to as tetraplegia, is when the arms, hands, spine, legs, bowel, and bladder are all affected by your spinal cord injury.

Quadriplegia refers to severe damage to the spinal cord usually in the neck between the first and fourth vertebrae. The functional limitations may go beyond the arms, legs, and hands, and can even inhibit breathing.

Some individuals with damage in the C5-C8 area of the spine may still be able to raise their arms, bend their elbows, and bend their wrists back.

If you have suffered spinal cord injuries, it is going to impact your day-to-day in a major way.

There will have to be adjustments. You will have to build up a whole new way of living and learning how to thrive with a disability can take time and effort, emotionally and physically.

With legal expertise from spinal cord injury lawyers, you ensure you’re able to cover the costs that come with leading a fulfilling life in the aftermath of such an injury.

A spinal cord injury will help you identify what avenue to pursue in obtaining fair compensation, such as if you’re eligible to make a claim under Statutory Accident Schedule Benefits, or SABS.

The role of a personal injury lawyer in the context of handling claims relating to spinal cord injuries is to ensure a victim is represented fairly and accurately, and that they receive the compensation they are rightfully owed.

For the healthcare costs and long-term needs of a client, your personal injury lawyer will provide you with access to medical specialists and life care planning to ensure your future needs are represented accurately and treated with respect.

The damages you receive from the courts will be directly tied to what your costs are in the present and future.

It is our goal to ensure every client has the funds to allow them to access available treatments and rehabilitation so that they can lead the most productive and independent life possible.

A spinal cord injury occurs from any type of trauma to the spine that causes a level of damage to the spinal discs.

Car accidents, bike accidents, pedestrian accidents, sports and recreational accidents, and slips and falls are the most common causes of spinal cord injuries.

Another way to define a spinal cord injury, beyond the categorizations of paraplegia and quadriplegia, is whether they are complete or incomplete.

Complete Spinal Cord Injuries

A complete spinal cord injury is when there is paralysis below the site of the injury. There is no feeling or voluntary movement and both sides of the body are affected. All sensory and motor function is non-existent below the point of injury.

Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries

An incomplete spinal cord injury accounts for roughly 60% of all spinal cord injuries and occurs when only part of the spine is damaged. This is often through a tear, as a result of spinal cord compression, or some other type of injury or cause.

A person rated with an incomplete spinal cord injury may have partial paralysis while still retaining some feeling and voluntary movement on one or both sides of the body.

This is not to say that an incomplete spinal cord injury is any less serious than one that is rated complete. Our personal injury lawyers understand the limitations, challenges, and complications that an incomplete injury can come with.

In many cases, an incomplete is just as debilitating as a complete SCI, depending on the individual circumstances.

There are all sorts of effects that spinal cord injuries have on the body’s motor function and bodily systems.

• A loss of pain and temperature in certain areas of the body, such as with anterior cord syndrome.

• Motor deficits that are worse in the upper extremities compared to the lower extremities, such as with central cord syndrome.

• A weakening of muscles and a loss of sensation, sometimes while still retaining the ability to make movement.

• A recovery of some movement in certain areas of the body and a lack of recovery in other regions.

• A lack of coordination.

• Bladder dysfunction.

Even though spinal cord injuries vary so much in severity, each level still carries with it often extensive medical and rehabilitation needs.

Post-spinal cord injury, if you aren’t dealing with complete paralysis, you may still require assistance with activities of daily living, including preparing and eating meals, getting dressed and undressed, bathing, and getting in and out of bed.

There may also be challenges relating to mobility aids and devices, bowel and bladder supplies, and home and vehicle modifications.

Add to this list what you may require from physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and psychologists.

Spinal injury patients suffer from both physical and psychological challenges that must be addressed with therapy.

Therapeutic interventions for a spinal cord injury may include positioning, stretching, weight-bearing activities, mobility training, treadmill training, strength training, and more. The sort of medical and physical therapies for spinal injury patients are focused on restoring cardiovascular performance, building muscle, and reducing spasticity.

Psychological therapies vary. These treatments are meant to target the emotional and behavioral problems that may either develop or worsen with a spinal injury. After a spinal cord injury, extreme feelings of sadness and/or anxiety may develop. An injured person is also at an increased risk of clinical depression.

Why we mention medical and psychological therapies for spinal injury patients because these are often paid out-of-pocket and sometimes require months of sessions. The cost is high which is why seeking compensation when you are rightfully owed it is essential to your present and future.

For compensation claims, the requested amounts are tied to what the individual and their family need to live.

As a spinal cord injury victim, you are allowed to claim compensation for all past and future medical expenses, personal care services you may require, past and future income losses relating to the injury, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and more.

As you tally up the financial damages for a paralysis injury or spinal cord injury, you will find that the amount of compensation is significant.

When you file your claim, you want a legal expert at your side to fight the insurance company who will be doing their best to minimize what they have to pay for damages.

An insurance company may try to argue that the victim is not taking their recovery seriously, that their pain is overstated, they may doubt the testimony of medical experts and argue that full compensation is not required on account of these things.

Paralysis injury lawyers at Joshua Goldberg Law are keenly experienced in handling these arguments and obstacles towards justice.

Medical expertise and documents are required to verify the claims being made in a spinal cord case. When it comes to quadriplegia, paraplegia, brain injuries, and/or other types of severe injuries, medical expert testimony can share more details on the condition of the injured.

A medical expert can share X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs highlighting the effects of spinal cord trauma.

They can also share insight into how a spinal cord injury affects your daily life. They can confirm the limitations an injured person is under presently as well as what they will likely have to contend with in the immediate future and long term.

There are lots of adaptations that must happen when adjusting to life with a long-term disability, including the use of assistive devices.

The home renovations one must engage in for someone who has paraplegia or quadriplegia are extensive.

Simple home adaptations have to be made, such as changing all door knobs to levers, removing carpet and installing hard floors, and adding grab bars in appropriate areas.

Then, there are more expensive renovations that have to be put in, such as access ramps, installing a lift or roll-in shower, widening doorways and hallways to accommodate a wheelchair, lowering countertops and surfaces, and adding home automation features to make day-to-day living that much easier.

Carefully consider who you hire for your spinal cord injury lawyer. You want someone experienced and with a proven track record of success.

Not all personal injury lawyers may be experts in handling personal injury cases but find yourself someone with specific expertise in handling spinal cord injury claims.

When you connect with one of our lawyers, you can rest assured that the compensation you deserve, benefits you need, and access to medical rehabilitation or psychological therapy to help you in your recovery are closer to being had than before.

Our spinal cord injury lawyers have helped many clients establish financial stability with funds received from claims.

Having handled many cases of severe spinal cord injuries, Joshua Goldberg Law remains a strong legal advocate for fair compensation for these types of injuries.

When you hire our legal team to work for you, expect to receive sufficient support and care as we engage in negotiations and legal advocacy on your behalf to ensure you are treated right in the aftermath of a devastating injury.

Sit down with Joshua Goldberg Law for a free consultation today to learn about how we handle accident cases, evaluate our proven track record, and discover what we can bring to the table to help you recover compensation for your injuries.