When someone suffers a brain or spinal cord injury that completely turns their life upside down, it affects every last part of their life. Over the years we’ve represented loads of people and families who’ve been hurt in these worst-case scenarios, and every single day we see firsthand how these life-changing incidents can totally upend everything. Physical effects can be just plain awful and last a lifetime. Emotional anguish, cognitive problems, financial ruin, lost independence, and the crippling fear of what the future might hold, all of this can start to feel like too much to bear, unless of course you’ve got the right kind of support and strong legal backing. Wrongful dismissal claims occur when an employee is terminated without proper notice or valid cause. Employees may be entitled to compensation or severance pay. Legal advice can help determine whether your rights were violated.
Brain injuries happen all the time in a wide variety of ways. They can be the result of a major car or motorcycle wreck, a fall on the construction site, a nasty pedestrian accident, a bicycle crash, a sports injury, or even a violent attack. The brain controls every single thing we do, which is why damage to this vital organ can be so utterly devastating. The bad news is that the real extent of the damage can vary wildly, depending on which parts of the body were hurt, and just how bad the trauma really was, but all too often it results in a mix of physical, cognitive and emotional changes that can basically turn a person’s whole world upside down. So you might experience chronic headaches, dizziness, trouble keeping your balance, or even just feeling perpetually tired and sluggish, even stuff that used to be easy can become a real challenge. Cognitive impairments can mess with your memory, your attention span, how fast you can process stuff, your language skills, your judgment, your problem-solving abilities, it’s not a pretty sight when these important life skills start to slip away. And then of course there are the emotional and behavioral changes that can come with a brain injury, things like depression, anxiety, mood swings, or even just an impulsive attitude that can make it really tough on both the person who’s been hurt and those who care about them. Dog bites and attacks can cause serious physical and emotional trauma. Victims may require medical treatment, including stitches or surgery. Legal action can help recover compensation for injuries and related expenses.
When the spinal cord gets injured, the consequences can be truly horrific, because it can lead to permanent paralysis and the complete loss of independence. The spinal cord is basically the main way the brain talks to the rest of the body, sending the signals that make everything work, from voluntary movement and sensation, to essential autonomic activities like breathing and heart rate. When the vertebrae get damaged, through a fracture, a dislocation, a bruise, or some kind of compression, communication can be disrupted, and you end up losing function in various parts of your body, sometimes even completely. In a worst-case scenario, a complete spinal cord injury can mean losing all your motor and sensory functions below the injury site, although an incomplete injury might still allow some functions to carry on. The severity of the damage will determine which bits of the body get affected. For example, a high cervical injury can leave you with quadriplegia, complete paralysis in all four limbs, which means you’ll need mechanical ventilation just to breathe, whereas a thoracic or lumbar injury can cause paraplegia, affecting your trunk, legs, and lower body. And on top of all that you’re also likely to experience chronic pain, muscle spasms, loss of bladder and bowel control, even heart problems. It’s a real minefield of possible complications, with a much greater risk of infections, blood clots, and other serious health problems.
Families who are caught off guard by a disaster like this just can’t handle the financial toll of brain and spinal cord injuries. Just in the first few weeks, before there’s even been time to figure things out, you’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, ambulance rides, emergency room bills, hospital stays, surgeries, and all the rest. The bills just keep piling up from inpatient rehab, a few thousand dollars a day for weeks, or even months, at a time. And then there are the costs that never seem to end, outpatient therapy, doctor’s visits, prescription medications, medical equipment, the list goes on and on. Specialized wheelchairs, communication devices, hospital beds, these all cost a small fortune, and they need to be replaced regularly too. A lot of times, homes need to be modified to make them accessible, ramps, wider doors, easier-to-use bathrooms, that kind of thing. If that can’t be done, people often have to move into specially-equipped housing. And if a person needs help with even the most basic daily tasks, that can be a 24/7 expense, which can be just brutal, more than what most families make in a year, often for decades on end. On top of that, people who’ve been hurt this badly can’t go back to work or find a job that pays a living wage, which just adds to the financial crush. Not to mention the stress of not knowing what tomorrow will bring, or how to make ends meet.
At Singer Katz, we’re all about helping people who’ve suffered brain or spinal cord injuries get the money they need to cover both short-term and long-term care. We know that no amount of money can undo the damage that’s been done or bring someone back to the way they were before, but having some financial security can make a huge difference in people’s lives. It means getting the medical care they need, getting the support and tools they need, paying for professional care when they need it, and just having some peace of mind, rather than being up to their eyeballs in medical bills and stress.
To get compensation for these kinds of injuries, you need to build a strong case with a lot of evidence and expert testimony. That’s where we come in, we work with doctors who can explain in clear terms how the injury happened, what kind of therapy was needed, and what the long-term outlook is. Life care planners help us figure out just how much all of the future medical care, equipment, prescriptions, home modifications, and care will cost over the course of the person’s lifetime. We also have experts in vocational rehabilitation who help figure out just how much money the injury has cost the person in lost wages and opportunities. Economists help put all of this together to get a total picture of what the damages are. It’s a pretty detailed and multi-faceted approach, but it helps us build a clear picture of what our clients need, and fight for the compensation they deserve.
Insurance companies know that these kinds of cases can end up with big settlements or verdicts, sometimes even in the millions, so they fight them tooth and nail. They might try to say that they had nothing to do with the accident, or that the injuries aren’t as bad as we say, or that the person will get better faster than we think. They might even make an early settlement offer that sounds good but doesn’t come close to covering the person’s true long-term costs. Having an attorney on your side helps prevent that, and makes sure that you’re not getting taken advantage of.
Time is of the essence when it comes to these kinds of cases. Physical evidence at an accident site can get lost, witnesses can disappear, memories can fade, and there are legal time limits on how long you can wait to file a claim. If you wait too long, you might lose your chance at getting compensation at all. That’s why it’s so important to get in touch with us as soon as possible after a brain or spinal cord injury.
We know that dealing with insurance companies, fighting for compensation, and dealing with all the fallout from a serious injury can be overwhelming, to say the least. We’re here to take that off your plate. We can handle all the paperwork, deal with the insurance companies, investigate what happened, gather evidence, talk to specialists, work out settlements, and even take cases to court if need be. You don’t have to fight this battle by yourself.
People who’ve been hurt should never have to stress about affording the good quality legal help they deserve. We work on a contingency fee basis which means you don’t have to part with a single penny upfront and we only get paid if we win your case, which gets you the money you need. This setup means that anyone can get advice from a lawyer who knows what they’re doing, regardless of how tight things are right now. And let’s be real, our success is tied to yours, so we’re motivated to get you the outcome you need.
In Toronto, we’ve built a name for ourselves by looking after people who’ve been left with life-altering injuries, by being experts in our field, and by fighting tooth and nail for the people we represent. We know just how awful brain and spinal cord injuries can be for people and their families, so we treat every single case with the care and focus it needs. We work flat out to get our clients as much cash as possible, and we treat them with the respect, patience and genuine understanding they need at a time that’s probably one of the toughest times of their lives.
At Singer Katz, we reckon that people who’ve been seriously hurt due to someone else’s carelessness deserve top-notch legal advice and a chance to get back on their feet with the resources they need to rebuild their lives as much as possible. If you or someone you care about has had a brain or spinal cord injury in Toronto, please get in touch with us for a chat. During a time that’s just about as tough as it gets for most people, we can sit down and listen to what happened, answer your questions, go over your rights and options and help you get a handle on what to expect from the whole process.
