What Legal Theories can be Used to Pursue Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuits?

If you have suffered a spinal cord injury in Charlotte, you might be wondering whether or not you have a right to file a personal injury lawsuit. Every day, accidents cause spinal cord injuries. Under North Carolina law, a person injured by another person's negligence has a right to file a personal injury lawsuit. In order to succeed in a personal injury lawsuit, you must prove that someone else's intentional, negligent, or reckless actions caused your spinal cord injuries.

If you are considering filing a personal injury lawsuit for your spinal cord injury, our law firm can help. We have extensive experience representing Charlotte-area clients in personal injury lawsuits. After evaluating the facts in your case, we can help you determine the most persuasive legal theory to use to bring your personal injury lawsuit. Contact our Charlotte spinal cord injury law firm today to schedule your initial consultation.

The most commonly used theory for personal injury lawsuits is one of negligence. The plaintiff must prove the following four elements to win a personal injury claim based on the legal theory of negligence:

• The defendant owed a legal duty of care to the plaintiff. Under North Carolina's common law, we all owe each other a legal duty to use reasonable care under the circumstances. For example, all drivers owe other drivers and pedestrians a general duty not to crash into them in a car accident and cause spinal cord injuries. In the case of car accidents, determining the legal duty is relatively straightforward. However, in other cases, such as medical malpractice lawsuits, the nature of the duty and the standard of care can be more difficult to establish.
• The defendant breached his or her legal duty of care. The more straightforward it is to establish the defendant's duty of care, the easier it is to prove that the defendant breached his or her duty. A breach of the duty of care means that the defendant did not use the level of care that a reasonable person would use under the circumstances. For example, texting while driving would constitute a breach of a driver's duty. A reasonable person would not text while driving. Speeding would also constitute a breach of a driver's legal duty of care.
• The defendant's breach caused your injuries. You must be able to prove that the defendant's negligence was the cause in fact of your injuries as well as the proximate cause of your injuries. This means that but for the defendant's negligence, you would not have received your spinal cord injury. In other words, the defendant's negligence directly caused your injuries.
• Your spinal cord injuries resulted in damages. Finally, you must prove that your spinal cord injury caused you specific monetary damages. Be sure to include all of the financial losses you have suffered from your spinal cord injury when providing a claim for damages. Our attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC have great experience with itemizing damage claims.

Product liability is another legal theory plaintiffs can use to recover damages for their spinal cord injuries. You will need to prove that you were reasonably using a product that was defective. You will also need to prove that you were injured while you were using it and that the defects of the product caused your injuries. For example, if a car had a defective seatbelt and the malfunctioning seat belt damaged your spine in a car accident, you might have a valid products liability claim.

Medical malpractice lawsuits are a specific type of negligence cause of action. Plaintiffs in a medical malpractice lawsuit will need to prove the following elements:

• They were in a doctor-patient relationship with the defendant
• The defendant owed them a duty of providing reasonable medical care
• The defendant failed to provide the patient with reasonable medical care
• You became injured because of that breach of the duty of care
• You suffered tangible financial damages because of the defendant's breach of their duty of care

Finally, if someone died as a result of another person's negligence or intentional acts or omissions, the surviving family may eb eligible to bring a Charlotte wrongful death lawsuit. For example, if a drunk driver caused an accident that resulted in the victim's death, the victim's family may be able to recover damages. Contact our Charlotte spinal cord injury law firm today to schedule your initial consultation.