Cross-border personal injury: Living with spinal cord damage

Spinal cord injuries could be catastrophic, and navigating insurance and legal proceedings if another party’s negligence caused it could exacerbate the trauma. Suppose the victim is a Vancouver resident who travelled to Seattle, where a negligent driver caused a crash. Under such circumstances, any subsequent efforts to seek financial relief for cross-border personal injury would involve the laws of British Columbia and the United States.

Spinal cord injuries could result from a severe blow suffered in a car accident. Depending on the location of the injury and the severity of spinal cord damage, paralysis might follow. That means that the body cannot send messages from the area below the injury to the brain. As a result, movement and sensation below the location of the damage could be lost.

Once the victim is medically stable, rehabilitation will start. Again, the severity and location will determine the type and period of rehabilitation. The victim will have a lot to learn, and it could become overwhelming. Certain aspects of his or her life will change forever. Some spinal cord injury victims are able to return to work after some period of rehabilitation; however, they may never be able to do the same job as before the accident.

Adapting to the new limitations could cause victims to feel angry and sad, and lost abilities may lead to depression. Although the spinal cord injury might not be curable, the civil justice system of British Columbia allows injured victims to seek financial relief. With the help of a lawyer who frequently deals with cross-border personal injury claims, the financial burden brought about by the spinal cord injuries might be eased.