A spinal cord injury can change your life. If you’ve suffered a spinal cord injury from a motorcycle accident, you may require lifelong medical treatment and care. Here’s what you need to know about filing a claim after suffering a spinal cord injury in a motorcycle accident.
A motorcyclist has very little to protect the body from colliding violently with the road or another vehicle in the event of an accident. When the part of the body that is traumatized is the spine, a spinal cord injury may occur. A spinal cord injury from a motorcycle accident is likely to result in either permanent or partial paralysis; both types of paralysis are permanent in a spinal cord injury, as there is no cure.
A spinal cord injury occurs when the spine suffers a severe blow that causes damage to the spinal column. If one of the vertebrae in the spinal column is damaged, it can penetrate the spinal cord.
The first step in filing a claim is notifying your insurance company of the incident as soon as possible. Who will pay for the accident and injuries will depend on the type of insurance coverage that you carry, as well as who was at fault for the crash. In Texas, at-fault drivers handle paying for the accidents they cause. If you have medical benefits coverage or uninsured motorist coverage, though, your insurance may kick in even if you weren’t at fault.
After your claim has been filed, an insurance adjuster will contact you. The insurance adjuster handles determining your claim amount. If you’ve suffered a spinal cord injury that will likely cause you lifelong impairment, it’s likely that your claim amount will be much greater than the insurance policy number. If this is the case, you should consider filing personal injury lawsuit for damages instead.
When a car insurance settlement is not enough to cover the full extent of your injuries, filing a personal injury suit instead may be more advantageous. All claims in Texas must be filed within two years’ time following the accident. An attorney can guide you through everything you need to know about proving damages and fault.
Regardless of the route that you decide to take to pursue compensation, there’s a lot at stake. As such, it’s incredibly important that you have an attorney on your side that can help you navigate the insurance and the legal system. At the Law Office of Julie Johnson PLLC, we want to help you. Contact us today to learn more at 214-290-8001.