When someone gets in a terrible accident, one that leaves their brain or spinal cord badly damaged, their whole life and the lives of everyone who cares about them get turned upside down. We’ve been helping people and families through the aftermath of these terrible injuries for years and we know firsthand just how much they can throw everything into chaos. The physical effects are really bad and can last for a long time, but the emotional stress, the cognitive problems, the financial ruin, the loss of independence, and the fear of what’s going to happen next can make you wonder how on earth you’re going to cope. Bicycle accident claims involve injuries caused by negligent drivers or unsafe road conditions. Cyclists often suffer serious harm in collisions. A claim can help recover medical expenses, repair costs, and lost wages.

Brain injuries can happen in all sorts of ways on a daily basis. They can happen in major car crashes, on motorcycles, to pedestrians, from workplace falls or building site accidents, in slip and falls, bicycle crashes, sports injuries or in violent attacks. And because the brain controls just about everything we do, damage to it is particularly scary. The effects all depend on where in the body the damage was done and how bad it was, but usually you get a whole mix of physical, mental and emotional changes. And then there’s the possibility of chronic headaches, dizziness, trouble with balance, visual or hearing impairments, lack of coordination, weakness or paralysis, seizures, or being constantly exhausted, to name just a few physical symptoms. And then there’s the cognitive stuff, memory, attention, processing speed, language skills, judgment, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities all take a hit. These are all talents that are crucial for your job and everyday life. And on top of all that, you get mood swings, depression, anxiety, irritability, loss of emotional control or even a fundamental shift in your personality, the kind of thing that can make relationships with loved ones pretty tough going. Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care. This can result in serious injury or worsening health conditions. Legal action may help patients obtain compensation for additional treatment and losses.

Spinal cord injuries are one of the worst things that can happen to anyone because they can cause permanent paralysis and a huge loss of freedom. The spinal cord carries important messages between the brain and the rest of the body. It’s what controls voluntary movement, sensation and all those important autonomic functions like breathing, heart rate, blood pressure and digestion. A break, dislocation, bruising or compression on the vertebrae that protect this vital channel can do serious damage. And this can cause communication problems that lead to a partial or complete loss of function below the injury site. Of course, complete spinal cord injuries take away all motor and sensory abilities below the injury, but incomplete injuries might leave some abilities intact. Where the injury is located decides which parts of the body are affected, so for instance a high-up cervical injury could cause quadriplegia, which takes away all four limbs and means you need to be on a ventilator to breathe. A thoracic or lumbar injury, on the other hand, could cause paraplegia, which affects the trunk, legs and lower body. And on top of paralysis you’ve then got chronic pain, muscle spasms, loss of control over your bladder and bowels, sexual dysfunction, pressure ulcers, respiratory problems, cardiovascular problems, autonomic dysreflexia, blood clots and a much higher risk of infections and other serious secondary health problems.

Families that aren’t prepared for a disaster like this will struggle financially after a brain or spinal cord injury. The cost of emergency medical care, think ambulance rides, trauma care, all that fancy diagnostic work, surgery, and intensive care, can run hundreds of thousands of dollars in just the first few weeks. And then there’s inpatient rehab clinics, where your loved one is going to be put through a gruelling round of therapy from a team of pros, the goal being to get them back on their feet as much as possible. Trouble is, these clinics can cost a small fortune, thousands a day, and they’re usually only for a few weeks or months. But then there’s all the other costs, like outpatient therapy, doctor visits, prescription medications, and medical supplies, these are going to be an ongoing thing for a long time. And on top of that, you’re going to need some serious equipment, all the specialized gear for wheelchairs, communication devices, environmental control systems, hospital beds, patient lifts, and adaptive tech, all of this is going to cost a pretty penny and needs to be replaced from time to time. Plus, you might need to modify your home, think ramps, easier-to-access restrooms, wider doors, and livable space. If you can’t swing it, you’ll be forced to move into houses that are already equipped for accessibility. If your loved one can’t even do basic daily tasks on their own, then you’ll need to hire a personal care attendant, the cost of which can be staggering and run for decades. And if you lose income, that just makes the financial disaster even worse, most people with catastrophic injuries are never going to be able to go back to their old job, let alone get a new one.

At Singer Katz, we’ve got a lot of experience helping people who’ve had brain and spinal cord injuries get the cash they need to cover both their immediate needs and their long-term care needs. We know that no matter what settlement or verdict we get, we’re not going to be able to undo the damage that’s been done or fix the injury. But what we can do is help out by making sure your loved one gets the medical care and rehab they need, by getting them the tools and modifications they need to live with their injury, by paying for professional caregiving, and by giving the family some financial security so they can worry about living with the injury, not about how they’re going to pay the bills.

Getting compensation in catastrophic injury cases requires a solid plan. We need to build a strong case with a ton of evidence and expert testimony, that means we work with doctors who can lay it all out for us, how the injury happened, what therapy the person got, how they’re doing now, and what the future looks like. We also get life care planners who specialise in this sort of thing to figure out what the future holds in terms of medical expenses, equipment, prescriptions, treatments and home upgrades, all the way down the line. Then there are the vocational rehabilitation specialists, who figure out what the injury has cost our client in lost earnings, and lastly we have economists who put all the numbers together to give us a total damages figure. What we’re talking about is a whole case that accounts for every single way this injury has changed your loved one’s life.

Insurance companies know that these cases can run into millions of dollars, that’s why they fight them so hard. They’ll try to get out of it by saying they weren’t responsible for the accident, or that the injuries aren’t as bad as you say they are, or that the injured person will recover faster than our team thinks they will, or that pre-existing problems made things worse. And they’ll try to get you to settle early, for a sum that might seem big but is nowhere near what you actually need to cover your costs for the rest of your life. That’s where an experienced lawyer comes in, to make sure you don’t end up accepting a bad deal.

Time is everything in a case of this sort. Evidence from accident scenes can disappear, memories can fade, and there are time limits on how long you have to file a case. If you miss these deadlines, you’ll be out of luck. That’s why it’s so important to get in touch with us as soon as possible after a brain or spinal cord injury. The sooner we get started, the better we can protect that evidence and make the best case for you.

We know it’s tough to deal with all this when you’re already struggling with your injury. We’ve got people who can take care of the legal side of things while you focus on getting better. We do all the talking to the insurance company, we go after the truth of what happened, we gather evidence, we talk to experts, we work out settlements, and if things get tough, we take it to court. You shouldn’t have to fight this alone.

People who are injured shouldn’t have to worry about getting good legal advice based on how much money they have in their bank account. We work on a contingency fee basis, that means no upfront costs and we only get paid if we win your case and you get the money you deserve. This setup is pretty simple, if we aren’t successful in winning your case, neither are we. It’s a system that makes sure everyone gets access to proper legal advice, regardless of their bank balance.

Here in Peterborough, we’ve built a reputation for taking care of people who have had their lives changed by a serious injury. We have specialist knowledge that comes from years of dealing with these kinds of cases and have developed a real knack for being advocates for our clients. We know how utterly devastating brain and spinal cord injuries can be for people and their families and so we treat every case with the extra care and attention it needs. We work hard to get the maximum amount of compensation for our clients and beyond that, we make sure we treat them the way they deserve to be treated, with patience, respect, and understanding, because this is often a really hard time for people.

Here at Singer Katz we genuinely believe that when people have been injured because of someone’s negligence they deserve top-notch legal help. And that means getting the support and resources they need to rebuild their lives as fully as possible. If you or someone close to you has had a brain or spinal cord injury in Peterborough, give us a call and we can have a chat. Right now, this is probably a pretty tough time and we can offer a listening ear, some answers to any questions you might have, help explain your legal rights and options and just a bit of guidance on what lies ahead.