Proving Fault in a Spinal Cord Injury Claim

To prove fault in a spinal cord injury case, the injured party, or plaintiff, must prove that:

• Their spinal cord was injured.
• Their spinal cord was injured as a result of another person’s negligent or deliberately wrongful behavior and that his or her actions showed a disregard for the plaintiff’s safety.
• The spinal cord injury was not due to a pre-existing condition.

Any party whose negligence contributes to the spinal cord injury could be held responsible for damages, including a driver who drove under the influence and caused a car accident, the manufacturer of a dangerous product, or the owner of a hazardous property where the plaintiff slipped and fell.

To recover financial damages for a spinal cord injury, an experienced personal injury lawyer must build a strong case against the plaintiff based on one of the following legal doctrines:

Negligence

Negligence occurs when an individual fails to take reasonable precautions to protect another individual from foreseeable risk of harm. To prove negligence, an attorney must show that the defendant had a “duty to act” in a certain way toward the plaintiff. For example, a driver has a duty to drive safely and obey the rules of the road.

Contributory negligence

Contributory negligence means that the plaintiff contributed to the injury by acting in a way that exposed him or herself to risk. The plaintiff neglected his or her duty to act in a reasonable and prudent manner, thus contributing to his or her own accident or injury. In such cases, the plaintiff is generally entitled to a portion of the overall damages relative to his or her degree of fault.

Strict Liability

The doctrine of strict liability is generally applicable in cases involving defective products, in which the evidence of negligence is inherent in a flaw in the design, manufacture, or marketing of the product. The plaintiff must show that his or her injury occurred while they were using the product in the manner it was intended to be used and that he or she was not aware of any dangerous defect when using the product.

Intentional Wrong

A personal injury lawyer can also establish fault in a spinal cord injury case by demonstrating that the defendant committed an intentional wrong. In such cases, an attorney will present evidence that the defendant acted in a way that he or she knew would cause harm, but continued anyway.

Consult a Personal Injury Attorney

If you or a member of your family has suffered a spinal cord injury that was someone else's fault, it is important that you contact a qualified personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Visit LawyerShop.com to browse their directory of personal injury lawyers near you.