How Spinal Cord Injury Claims Are Different
Injury claims always present legal challenges. A spinal injury case, though, will be different than other types. A spinal cord injury lawyer will tell you to be aware of these four differences.
Depth of Medical Examination, Scanning, and Reporting
The spine is a tougher part of the body to check out than most other areas. Many people experience swelling around the spine in the weeks or even months following accidents. Consequently, the examination process with a suspect spinal injury takes longer. Likewise, doctors often have to perform more exams and other medical scans to see what's going on. In many instances, a doctor also has to wait for the swelling to go down before seeing the extent of the damage to the spine.
Reports also tend to be more meticulous. Patients also frequently need to consult with outside specialists. For a spine injury lawyer, this means compressing more material into a demand package than they'd have with a regular injury case.
Time
Unfortunately, spinal injury cases don't usually meet the requirements for longer periods under the statute of limitations. Most states' injury laws give claimants between two and three years to submit their official claims in writing. That means a spine injury lawyer has to get a lot done in a limited time, even if you're waiting to hear back from doctors and specialists. An attorney will often have to compress the work of two years into a few months at the end just because the reports take time to come in.
Notably, this means you should get the claims process rolling as soon as possible. You will want to look for attorneys who can represent you as soon as you suspect you might have a case. This will give whichever spinal injury attorney you choose time to study the case, collect reports, and build a demand package to send to the defendant or their insurer.
Catastrophic Injuries
Most spinal injuries are life-altering enough that they meet the requirements for a state's catastrophic injury laws. This is important because it usually uncaps limits on damages. You can pursue as much compensation as the facts of your case allow.
Preexisting Injury Defense
An insurer might assert that a victim had spinal stenosis long before their claim. The insurer may also argue that they're not liable for what happened because the spinal damage was preexisting. A lawyer will want to refute these arguments as thoroughly as possible by documenting your medical history.
Contact a local law firm, such as Craig P. Kenny & Associates, to learn more.
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