Attorney Jeffrey Killino Helps Victims of Paralysis Injuries

Paralysis can affect any part of the body and may be temporary or permanent. Damage to the spinal cord above the first thoracic vertebra may result in quadriplegia, or paralysis of all four limbs, while damage below the first thoracic nerve may result in paraplegia (leg paralysis). Paralysis in any form can be devastating, frightening, and even life-altering.

Who may be held liable for a paralysis injury?

Paralysis can result from many types of injuries, including vehicle accidents, sports, falls, and other traumas that injure the spinal cord. Defendants may be medical personnel, if the paralysis resulted from medical malpractice. They may be drivers, construction-site owners and managers, athletic coaches or their employers, and anyone else whose negligence was a cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. Product-liability claims may be brought against manufacturers of defective vehicles or equipment, if the defect was a cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

What sort of proof is required in a negligence paralysis case?

• Burden of proof

Personal-injury paralysis cases may be brought as actions in negligence against those whose negligence allegedly caused a plaintiff’s injuries. The burden of proof in such actions is on the plaintiff, requiring the injured person to prove all of the elements of a negligence action. The plaintiff must establish each of these elements by a preponderance of the evidence, by showing that the defendant’s negligence was more likely than not a cause of the plaintiff’s injuries.

• Elements of a negligence paralysis action

Generally, in any negligence case, the plaintiff must prove 1) that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, 2) that the defendant breached or failed to live up to that duty of care, 3) that the defendant’s failure to fulfill the duty of care caused the plaintiff injury, 4) that the injury would not have occurred if the defendant had exercised reasonable care, and 5) that the injury caused legal damages.

• Proof of causation and damages

The elements of proof in a catastrophic injury case are exceptionally complex. Expert testimony is generally required to both prove that the defendant’s negligence was a cause of the plaintiff’s paralysis and to establish the level of injury and resulting damages suffered by the plaintiff.

What damages may be recovered for a paralysis injury?

The level of care required for a paralyzed plaintiff may be ongoing and permanent. Even when paralysis is temporary, medical expenses and costs of rehabilitation may be staggering. Plaintiffs may be able to recover damages for past and future medical expenses, adaptive devices and therapy related thereto, other physical and occupational therapy, loss of quality of life, loss of earnings and earning potential, pain-management care, infection-prevention, surgeries, in-home or institutional assistance, the cost of vehicle and home modifications, pain and suffering, and counseling for the emotional effects of the plaintiff’s condition.

Obtain the assistance of an attorney experienced in catastrophic injuries

The Killino Firm has extensive experience with paralysis and other catastrophic-injury actions and will work diligently to obtain the compensation to which you are entitled.