Some of the most terrible things that can befall a person and their family are catastrophic injuries that leave a nasty mark on the brain or spinal cord. We’ve all no doubt seen at first hand just how a really bad accident can turn your entire world upside down in a heartbeat, leaving people staring down the barrel of endless medical procedures, struggling to come to terms with new physical limitations, and of course the ripple effects of deep emotional trauma. One minute the person is out the front door, and the next they come back a whole different person, the family struggling to come to terms with this new harsh reality, all while juggling massive medical bills, a dwindling income, and the constant anxiety of what’s around the corner. Motor vehicle accidents can lead to serious injuries, lost income, and ongoing medical care. If you were injured in a car, truck, or motorcycle crash, you may be entitled to compensation. Legal guidance can help you understand your rights and pursue a fair settlement.
Brain injuries come in all shapes and sizes, with some of the most common places being in car and motorbike accidents, falls at work, sports mishaps, and pedestrian incidents. Some people get off relatively lightly with minor concussions that clear up with time, while poor others are left with traumatic brain injuries that leave them with lasting cognitive issues, behavioral problems, seizures, or serious physical problems. Let’s face it, the brain is the boss, in charge of just about everything we do and who we are. And when it gets damaged, all sorts of skills start to fall apart, memory, judgment, emotional control, speech, movement, you name it. It’s only when it stops working that we start to appreciate just how important it is. A slip and fall lawyer helps individuals injured due to unsafe property conditions. Falls can result in broken bones, head injuries, or long-term pain. An experienced lawyer can assess liability and seek compensation for your losses.
Spinal cord injuries can be just as life-changing as just about any other type of accident. When the spinal cord gets damaged, you can end up with paralysis below the injury site. And depending on where that injury is, different bits of the body get affected. High-up cervical injuries can leave you paralyzed from the neck down, needing a ventilator just to breathe. Lower down and you might end up with paraplegia, just losing the use of your legs. And then there’s the long-term pain, loss of bladder and bowel control, the increased risk of infections, and a whole host of other health problems that just need constant medical care.
It costs a lot more to take care of someone with brain or spinal cord damage than just the initial emergency care and hospital bill. It’s not just the months or years of rehabilitation that you have to factor in, that’s going to involve physical treatment, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and because of the mental health effects of the injury, counselling as well. Some people need specific tools to get around, wheelchairs, communication aids, that kind of thing. And then there are the changes you need to make to the home, ramps, wider doorways, accessible loos, customized beds, the list goes on. And for a lot of people, everyday tasks like getting dressed or washing their face become a real challenge. As you can imagine, these costs quickly start to mount up and it’s not hard to see how easily they can add up to a few million dollars over the course of a person’s lifetime.
At Singer Katz we know how complicated it can be to navigate the legal and medical side of things when someone has suffered a brain or spinal cord injury. We work with all sorts of medical experts, people who can explain the nature and extent of the injury, life care planners who can tell us what the future care costs are going to be, vocational experts who can put a figure on what that person has lost out on, and other specialists who can help us piece together the full impact that the injury has had on their life. This kind of thorough approach is really important because once you’ve settled a lawsuit, you can’t just go back and ask for more money if the costs end up being more than you anticipated.
Proving liability in cases where someone has been left with a catastrophic injury is always a real challenge. We have to do a lot of digging, and we need a lot of solid proof to persuade the court that the person responsible for the accident was careless. So we go over the accident scene, read the police report, talk to witnesses, try to get our hands on some surveillance footage if we can, we often bring in accident reconstruction experts to help us make sense of what happened, and we collect all the relevant paperwork to show who was at fault and how their carelessness led to the injury. The thing is, insurance companies are always fighting these types of cases tooth and nail, which is why it’s so crucial to have a lawyer who knows their stuff.
There are strict time limits on personal injury claims like this, such as claims for brain and spinal cord injuries. You’ve got a certain amount of time, known as a statute of limitations, in which to initiate a lawsuit. If you wait too long, you’re likely to find that you’ve blown it and you won’t be able to get compensation at all. And even if you do get round to making a claim, time can be on your side or against you, witnesses may forget what happened, evidence may get lost, and it can be harder to get your hands on the documents you need. Getting advice as soon as possible after an accident is really important, not just because it preserves your rights, but also because it gives us the best chance of putting together the strongest possible case for you.
For a lot of people who’ve suffered a brain or spinal cord injury, the idea of going to court is just too much to handle on top of everything else they’re dealing with. When you’re trying to get better and just stay alive, the thought of going through the whole legal process can be hard to even think about. But the good news is that you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll take care of all the legal side of things while you focus on getting your life back on track. We’ll deal with the insurance companies, fill out all the forms, keep an eye on the deadlines and do our best to get you the compensation you need.
Another thing that puts a lot of people off getting the legal help they need is the cost, but with us, you don’t have to worry about that. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you don’t have to pay us a cent to start with. We only get paid if we win your case and get you the money you need. That way, our success is tied to yours, and you don’t have to worry about breaking the bank to get good advice.
We started our practice in Newmarket on the principle that we want to help people who’ve been hurt badly. We know that brain and spinal cord injuries don’t just affect the person who was hurt, the whole family gets caught up in it as well. That’s why we treat every case with the care and attention it deserves. We fight hard to get you the compensation you need, but we also make sure you get the respect and compassion you deserve at a time when you need it most.
If you or someone you care about has been hurt in a brain or spinal cord injury in Newmarket because of someone else’s carelessness, we’d like to encourage you to get in touch with us for a consultation. We can go over what happened, talk about your options, and give you a sense of what to expect if you decide to make a claim. The thing is, you don’t have to go through this on your own. You deserve someone to fight for the money and justice you need to move on with your life.
