In Hawaii, a spinal cord injury can result from a variety of personal injury accidents, such as car accidents, slip and falls, and sports injuries. Spinal cord injuries are severe and often impact the victim’s quality of life. Thus, Hawaii law provides protections for victims of personal injury accidents to obtain compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages resulting from a spinal cord injury.
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Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is responsible for transmitting messages from the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore, an injury to the spinal cord can result in paralysis, loss of sensation, and other permanent disabilities. A spinal cord injury is categorized as either complete or incomplete. A complete spinal cord injury results in the loss of all sensory and motor function below the injury site. An incomplete spinal cord injury causes some loss of sensory and motor functions, but the injury victim retains some form of physical function.
Protections Under Hawaii Law
Hawaii law provides legal protections for individuals who have sustained a spinal cord injury as a result of another party’s negligence. To pursue a personal injury claim in Hawaii, the victim must prove that the responsible party owed the victim a duty of care to prevent harm and that they breached that duty. Additionally, the victim must show that the injury resulted directly from the breach of duty.
Hawaii is a comparative negligence state, which means that the victim can recover damages for an injury even if they were partially at fault. Hawaii law reduces the victim’s damages award by their percentage of fault for the injury. For example, if the victim was considered 20% at fault for the accident, their damages award would be reduced by 20%.
Damages for Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries result in several types of damages, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In Hawaii, the victim can recover both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are those that have a direct financial impact, such as medical bills, lost wages, and other quantifiable losses. Victims of spinal cord injuries can recover economic damages for:
- Medical expenses, including hospitalizations, surgeries, medication costs, and assistive devices such as wheelchairs or prosthetics.
- Loss of income, including wages lost during the period of recovery and loss of future earning potential resulting from the injury.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are those that don’t have a direct financial impact but rather impact the victim’s quality of life. Non-economic damages that spinal cord injury victims can recover include:
- Pain and suffering, including physical pain and emotional distress.
- Loss of enjoyment, including the inability to participate in hobbies or social activities as before the injury.
- Loss of consortium, which is a loss of companionship or support resulting from the injury.
Statute of Limitations
Hawaii has a statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including spinal cord injuries. The statute of limitations for personal injury claims in Hawaii is two years from the date of the injury. Therefore, it’s crucial to speak with a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible after a spinal cord injury to ensure that you don’t lose your right to compensation.
Conclusion
A spinal cord injury can lead to devastating consequences, such as paralysis and loss of sensation. Hawaii law provides protections for victims of personal injury accidents resulting in spinal cord injuries to obtain compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages resulting from a spinal cord injury. It’s essential to speak with a qualified personal injury lawyer immediately after a spinal cord injury to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.