This world is full of uncertainties. You may be well one minute and the next minute be involved in an encounter that may have a life-changing impact. For instance, you may get involved in a car accident, get shot at, fall badly, or have surgical complications. These incidents could cause you a spine injury.
A spine injury can be overwhelming as you’ll have to deal with medical bills, insurance companies, paperwork, and much more. Moreover, a spine injury may result in health conditions such as arms or legs, paralysis, sexual dysfunction, lung problems, persistent pain, heart issues, and many more. Further, your family may have to undergo costs such as home modifications for you to move around with less difficulty.
Dealing with all this may seem unfair, especially if it was another party’s mistake. If this is the case, you deserve to be compensated. But being compensated involves various processes you may be unfamiliar with, hence requiring the help of an expert like those from Sadaka spine injury attorneys. This post outlines the various situations you need to hire a spine injury attorney. Keep reading to learn more.
The Various Times You Need A Spine Injury Attorney
Here are some situations in that you may need a spine injury attorney’s help:
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Understanding Your Statutes Of Limitation
After a spine injury, there’s a time limit on which you’re allowed to claim your compensation. If you exceed this statute of limitation, you may not have the chance to recover the damages you incurred. To avoid losses without recovering them, you should hire a spine injury lawyer as soon as possible. They’ll advise you on the best time to claim your compensation.
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Understanding The Process Of Filing A Claim
When filing a spine injury claim, there are processes that need to be followed, which include:
- Filling in paperwork;
- Diagnosis and treatment of your injuries;
- Inspection of damages caused; and many more.
Doing these processes may be challenging if you don’t know how to go about them. Hiring an attorney would be helpful as you’ll get the guidance needed. Additionally, you may not have time to deal with these procedures. Therefore, your attorney can take charge and do them on your behalf.
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Dealing With A Settlement Agreement
It’s not a must for every accident case to be solved in a courtroom.
At times, you may prefer negotiations with the defending party to come to an agreement. But this doesn’t mean the agreement arrived at will be fair. The defending party may not have your best interest at heart. Instead, they may agree to terms that favor them more than you despite being the victim. To avoid this, you’ll need an attorney.
Hiring a lawyer to represent you in such negotiations will ensure you get the best settlement deal possible.
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When You Need A Professional To Review Your Case
Not every negotiation ends with a settlement. If this happens, you may proceed to file a lawsuit that’ll be handled in court. Like any other case, you need to have witnesses and evidence that will back up your claim. As someone who may not have dealt with a case before, you may be unsure how to proceed. At this point, you need an expert’s help.
A spine injury attorney will help in your case by doing the following things:
- Prove you have a spine-related injury;
- Prove that your injury isn’t a pre-existing condition;
- Prove your spine injury wasn’t your fault; and others.
These pieces of proof will show that your claims are valid and that, hopefully, justice will be served and compensated in the end. Justice is considered served if the following things take place at the end of the case hearing:
- The party responsible for your spine injury is held accountable;
- Your ongoing treatment and medical expenses are taken care of;
- You’re compensated for the emotional distress you’ve had to deal with;
- You’re also compensated if you lose your source of income as a result of the injury; and the like.
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When You Don’t Want To Use Your Money On Your Case
After a spine injury, you may spend a lot of money on your treatment and other damages. This will leave you with less money to spend on your case. In such a situation, you may hire a lawyer to work with you on a contingency fee basis.
Working on a contingency fee means you don’t have to pay your attorney if you lose your case. On the other hand, if you win your case, you’ll use your settlement to pay your attorney. As a result, you’ll end up not using a penny from your pocket.
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Trying To Stay Objective
Getting a spine injury is something you hadn’t anticipated and comes with a number of challenges, such as losing your ability to move. As a result, you may be traumatized, frustrated, hurt, and angry. These feelings may make you emotional and interfere with your judgment, making irrational decisions. This may make you not get what you deserve. Hence, it’d be best to get a spine attorney who’ll guide you in rational decision-making or even make some decisions on your behalf.
How To Treat A Spine Injury
As much as you may be trying to get compensated for an injury that wasn’t your fault, it’s also good if you also learned how to treat a spine injury. The most common treatment option is surgery. The type of surgery you undergo depends on the spine injury you have. Various spine injuries include:
- Thoracic spine injury;
- Cervical spine injury;
- Lumbar spine injury; and
- Sacral spine injury.
Apart from surgery, you can attend therapy sessions. They can either be physical, occupational, or rehabilitation sessions. These sessions will help you regain your strength as well as mobility.
Apart from physical health, it’d help if you also were concerned about your mental health. You can go through counseling and psychotherapy. These two will help you deal with the mental and emotional trauma you may undergo as a result of the injury.
What’s more, you can reach out to friends and family that can offer the emotional support you need. Emotional support will help you recover faster.
Summing It Up
Untoward incidents can cause spinal injuries. A spine injury can have adverse effects, such as the inability to move, nerve pains, lung problems, and other debilitating health conditions. Unforeseen incidents may not be your fault, meaning you deserve to be compensated for all of the damage caused. Filing a compensation claim or pursuing legal action may not be easy and you may need a legal expert’s help. You can use the post above to understand the situations that a spine injury attorney may be of help.