Nobody expects to be involved in a car accident. Yet, far too many North Carolinians know what it’s like to be taken by surprise on the road and wind up suffering devastating injuries. While some of these injuries will heal with time, others will not. This is the case for spinal cord injury sufferers.
These individuals often have a hard road ahead of them. If you or a loved one is amongst that group, then there’s probably a lot weighing heavy on your mind. How am I going to pay for needed medical treatment? What about rehabilitative care? How will my loved one generate income when he is unable to work due to his newfound disability? These are legitimate questions that need quick answers. After all, the costs associated with caring for a spinal cord injury can be astronomical.
A personal injury lawsuit may help
Although the future might seem bleak, there’s hope. To start, you or your loved one can choose to pursue a personal injury lawsuit if the accident in question was caused by the negligence of another. If successful, compensation may be obtained to help alleviate damages. But this still doesn’t do anything for you or your loved one’s ability to cope with the physical limitations placed on everyday life.
Be aware of medical and technological advances
Fortunately, there’s hope on this front, too. It seems like nearly every month there’s a news story about advances in technological innovations that are promising for spinal cord injury suffers. Just recently, for example, a PhD student paired up with a couple of tech companies to produce a headset that picks up on electrical impulses in the brain and transmits them a spinal cord injury victim’s hand, thereby generating movement that otherwise would not occur. In other words, the technology simply bypasses the spinal cord altogether.
While not widely available at this point, the new technology holds a lot of potential. To start, the device is created using a 3D printer, meaning that it can be created quickly and as it is needed. Also, it’s small size means that spinal cord injury sufferers can take it with them. Current technology is bulky and typically restricted to hospital use. New equipment like this headset may allow spinal cord injury victims to reclaim a significant part of their life.
This is just one of the many ways in which spinal cord injury research is showing promising results for victims. It might take some time for these advances to become widely available, but significant help is on the horizon.
Of course, in the meantime you or your loved one may be struggling with how to get by. You can find support from family members and friends, physical and mental health professionals, and groups of similarly situated individuals. You need to focus on the things you can still do despite your newfound limitations and divert your attention to the things in your life that you truly care about. You also need to be patient with yourself, setting realistic goals that you can achieve. These tips will help minimize the affects of the injury on your or your loved one’s life.
Compensation is going to be critical for you and your loved one moving forward, though. You’ll need it for all the reasons we mentioned above. But there’s another aspect of a successful personal injury lawsuit: accountability. If you feel cheated by the person who injured you, then suing them can help you feel like they’ve been held responsible and punished in some fashion.
If recovering compensation for your or your loved one’s injuries and obtaining accountability appeal to you so that you or your loved one can focus on the next chapter of life, then it might be the right time to discuss your case with a legal professional.
