While any type of injury can have long-lasting negative effects on your life, the impacts of a paralysis injury tend to be especially severe. Even if you are still able to work after being paralyzed in an accident, you will almost certainly have to deal with various other financial and personal losses, on top of a lifelong loss of mobility and physical freedom.
Recovering fair and prompt financial compensation from the person responsible for injuring you can be particularly difficult with an injury this serious. To get the compensation you deserve, you need help from an experienced Allentown paralysis injury lawyer who has assisted other people in situations like yours, to obtain the recovery they deserve. Our team at Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers has helped clients in each of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties to recover financially after accidents, and we are prepared to fight for you too.
Potential Value of a Paralysis Injury Case
Like any other personal injury claim, the amount of compensation you are eligible for depends on the short-term and long-term effects of your specific harm. Because paralysis affects almost every part of your life, cases based around this type of injury tend to be more valuable than those based on injuries that will heal completely over time.
However, that does not mean every paralysis injury claim in Allentown will be exactly the same, as a seasoned attorney can explain in more detail. For example, some people have careers that do not involve any physical labor, so while being paralyzed below the waist would dramatically change the course of their life, it would likely not prevent them from being able to work in any job at all. On the other hand, someone whose job involved manual labor might end up being unable to hold any job after being paralyzed.
The same basic logic applies to emergency medical expenses, future care costs, home or car modification costs, and even physical and emotional pain—it all depends on the circumstances. A conversation with a knowledgeable legal professional can help clear up what losses could be worked into a particular case, as well as whether a court might award additional punitive damages specifically to discourage other people from doing what the defendant did in your case.
Legal Rules for Paralysis Accident Claims in Allentown
Even though paralysis is a uniquely serious injury that very often lasts for the rest of your life, the same restrictions that affect other personal injury cases also apply to these claims. For instance, if a jury decides that a paralyzed person was partly to blame for causing their own injuries or making them worse afterwards, the court may assign a portion of total fault to them and then reduce how much compensation that person can receive based on their share of fault. An example of this would be in a traffic case where the injured person was speeding or otherwise disobeying the rules of the road at the time of the accident. However, negligent parties and their insurers often try to shift blame onto the injured person to avoid paying out a fair settlement. A seasoned attorney can fight back against baseless accusations like these and ensure that you get the payments you need and deserve.
In addition, Pennsylvania state law allows most personal injury victims just two years after getting hurt to file a lawsuit, or else they will not be allowed to recover any compensation at all. A paralysis accident lawyer in Allentown can explain these limitations in more detail and make sure that your claim is filed in time.
Set Up Your Free Consultation with an Allentown Paralysis Injury Attorney Today
Any accident that causes damage to the brain or spine could result in lifelong paralysis. Unfortunately, obtaining a fair financial recovery after getting hurt in this way can be extremely difficult, especially if you try to file a claim without legal help.
An Allentown paralysis injury lawyer can be your ally from beginning to end of of your case. Managing Partner Richard Godshall has spent the last 18 years focusing on catastrophic injury cases like these, so we know what it takes to get you the compensation you need. We fight hard for our clients, with one recent case involving a settlement of $10 million for an individual who was partially paralyzed in a PA highway crash. Let us put our experience to work for you– give us a call today.
