Paralysis is a life-changing injury that will significantly impact an individual’s quality of life. Paralysis can also lead to large hospital bills and require ongoing medical care for an indefinite period of time.
If you were paralyzed due to another party’s negligence, a Bakersfield paralysis injury lawyer could help you recover compensation. Reach out to Colvin Accident Lawyers today to begin working with a compassionate catastrophic injury attorney.
Paralysis refers to injuries when an individual loses their ability to fully or partially move their body. These injuries can include conditions such as quadriplegia, which refers to the loss of the ability to move all four limbs, or paraplegia, the inability to move the body from the waist down.
Depending on how the paralysis injury occurred, a person could potentially have a claim for negligence. Paralysis is commonly caused by spinal cord damage from incidents such as car, motorcycle, and truck accidents, sports injuries, pedestrian accidents, or medical malpractice.
If an injured person plans to pursue a negligence claim, they must first establish that the at-fault party breached their duty of care. They must also show that this breach was, in fact, the cause of their injuries and that they sustained actual damages.
A Bakersfield paralysis attorney could advise a client on the best evidence to prove each element of their negligence claim. For example, evidence that a driver violated state traffic laws can help show that they breached their duty of care in cases where a car accident caused a victim’s paralysis.
Cal. Civ. Pro. Code § 340.5 provides that this kind of case must be brought within one year after an injured person should have discovered, their injury through reasonable diligence or within three years of the date of the injury, whichever comes first. This means once a person becomes aware they sustained harm due to healthcare negligence, they have to file a lawsuit within a year of that knowledge. If they do not become aware of their situation until after more than three years have passed, they lose their right to pursue compensation.
The same three-year time limit applies to medical malpractice claims involving a child, except in cases where the child is under six years old. A person must file a medical malpractice lawsuit before the child’s eighth birthday.
There are, of course, situations that could extend or otherwise alter the statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. For example, if a foreign object is left in a patient’s body after a medical procedure, the one-year discovery deadline still applies, but there would no longer be an overall time restriction. A person could file a lawsuit several years after the surgical error, as long as they bring it forward within a year of discovering the object was left behind.
Additionally, prior to filing any medical malpractice claim, the plaintiff must also provide 90 days notice of their intention to sue the healthcare practitioner, under Cal. Civ. Pro. Code § 364. If the plaintiff provides that notice within 90 days before the statute of limitations runs out, the deadline will be extended for 90 days from when the notice was served on the defendant.
When paralysis results from negligence by a healthcare practitioner, the injured person could have a potential medical malpractice claim. A Bakersfield paralysis injury lawyer could advise a client on specific state laws impacting medical malpractice claims.
A Bakersfield lawyer could also advise people bringing claims for paralysis injuries about how their own actions could limit recovery under the state’s doctrine of pure comparative negligence.
This doctrine provides that an individual’s ability to recover damages is limited if their own negligence contributed to the injury. However, the doctrine does not cap the ability to recover damages even if the injured person bears most of the responsibility for the incident. For example, a person who is 99 percent at fault can still recover up to one percent of the damages sought in their lawsuit.
You should speak with a Bakersfield paralysis injury lawyer as soon as possible if you were injured in an accident involving suspected negligence. Delays in filing your claim could potentially result in a court dismissing the action if not brought within the applicable statute of limitations.
We care about you and your case. Let us give you the personal attention you deserve. Call Colvin Accident Lawyers today.
Free Case Evaluation