Impact of a Nashville Spinal Cord Injury

Following a spinal cord injury, you may have many questions about what to expect following your spinal cord injury accident. Or, you may have certain expectations of spinal cord injuries already, but it is important to consult a knowledgeable attorney that can dispel any misconceptions and explain what the impact of a Nashville spinal cord injury may actually be. Speak with a compassionate spinal cord injury attorney today and know that you are in capable hands.

The impact of a Nashville spinal cord injury on a person's life depends on the severity of the injuries. Sometimes, somebody will have a minor spinal cord injury and will be just fine. But if a person has paralysis or a constant pain, their life has forever changed. They might be able to sleep in the same bed, or they may not. They may hardly sleep at all. An individual could have emotional damages from the trauma and so on.

A person can have a mounting medical treatment and medical bills and can go through an intense rehabilitation therapy. If it is severe, they may need nutritional management. An individual may need vocational training to get back into the workforce. Sometimes they are going to need psychological treatment, constant monitoring by physicians, etc. One must look at the entire picture of how that person’s life has changed and then find options that are available to put their life back together.

The impact of a Nashville spinal cord injury can also be financial. Medical treatment is very expensive. Some long-term life plans can be in the millions. Not only does a person have the medical treatment, the therapy, the psychological treatment, surgery, or multiple surgeries, but costs can include wheelchairs, converted vans, etc. It can be anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It really just depends on the individual.

The life changes impact everyone around the person with a spinal cord injury. For a serious spinal cord injury in which somebody has paralysis or other severe problems, they cannot care for themselves and often need family members to help them perform their daily tasks. Some people need help with things ranging from brushing their teeth to getting a bath, to applying daily hygiene, eating, etc.

While family members may want to support an individual as much as possible, they may still get caregiver fatigue. A lot of times in these cases, if someone needs that much day to day help from their family, the lawyers will try to recover enough to have somebody come in and help them, whether it is a nurse, a sitter on occasion, or someone that can help to take the pressure off the family member. Usually, the person with the spinal cord injury does not want to be a burden on their family, so it is almost necessary to go outside the family for everyone’s emotional well-being.

In Tennessee there exists a lawsuit consortium claim, which means that a spouse can obtain damages based on how this injury impacted the marriage. The law recognizes that not only is this hard on the person who is injured, but it is hard on their spouse and family, and so they are also entitled to compensation to help cover for that.

Insurance companies try to avoid working with long-term spinal cord injury victims. That is a high cost. A spinal cord injury could help individuals deal with insurance companies. What lawyers have to do sometimes is assume that the insurance plan may not be available and if it is not, the lawyers attempt to get enough money to cover the needs of the victim. If the person needs to have a handicap-accessible home and vehicle, then lawyers are going to have their experts put those numbers together. The attorney might place more emphasis on damages because they cannot count on an insurance company to cover those things. If someone has sustained a spinal cord injury, they should consult a skilled lawyer that could answer any questions an individual may have about the impact of a Nashville spinal cord injury.