Incapacitation Laws in Carrollton Catastrophic Injury Cases

A catastrophic injury is defined as any loss of limb or permanent injury suffered to the body. Those who have suffered catastrophic injuries know that they are life-altering. An incapacitated injury is an injury that prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or normally continuing the activities the person was capable of performing before the accident happened.  If one of your loved ones suffered an incapacitated injury, contact a compassionate lawyer today to see how legal counsel could help your situation. A seasoned attorney is going to be knowledgeable about incapacitation laws in Carrollton catastrophic injury cases.

Maintaining Gainful Employment

To someone whose job is to work on a factory assembly line utilizing their hands all day, an accident that causes permanent nerve damage to their hands affects their ability to do their job and earn a living for the rest of their life is a catastrophic injury. This includes the loss of a leg or foot or another body part that hampers them for life and keeps them from being able to do things that they were previously able to do.

Catastrophic injuries could also include back, neck, or head injuries. Any injury to the brain, no matter how minor, is considered to be catastrophic. Concussion issues involving football players who sustained head injuries by seemingly minor collisions on a football field have led to some catastrophic injuries to players who can now no longer remember simple things like how to tie their shoes.

Information Family Members Should Know When Seeking Help

First and foremost, family members of the injured person should make sure that person is getting the best medical care possible. It is always recommended that the family seeks the legal counsel of an experienced lawyer who is well-versed in taking care of the needs of incapacitated people. They know ins-and-outs of incapacitation laws in Carrollton catastrophic injury cases and how to help the family going forward.

There is so much going on when someone suffers a catastrophic injury, the family members should know a dedicated lawyer will take care of all the legal aspects so that the family can concentrate on making sure their loved one is receiving the best medical treatment available.

Determining Incapacitation

In most states, the line deciding incapacitation is unclear. A medical doctor is required to make a determination as to whether a person is lucid. People with dementia may have little knowledge of what is going on around them most of the time, but they do have intervals of normalcy or near normalcy. During those lucid intervals, they are not legally incapacitated. There are certain tests that neurologists and psychiatrists can perform to see how brainwaves are operating in an incapacitated person. Individuals are advised to find the neurologist and psychiatrist that they trust to make an independent determination based on a reasonable degree of medical certainty that their loved one is incapacitated.

Spectrum of Incapacitation

The spectrum of incapacitation is a difficult concept, but an example would be someone incapacitated by a severe brain injury. The person suffering a severe brain injury may be able to walk and talk, however, their ability to make certain decisions is nonexistent. There have been many brain injury cases where perfectly functioning adults suffer a brain injury and revert to a two-year-old state where they can walk, talk, and make sounds but cannot use the toilet.

The extreme of incapacitation is a vegetative state where the person is kept alive via machines but there are no brain waves. There are many different ways for one to be incapacitated.

If you have any questions regarding incapacitation laws in Carrollton catastrophic injury cases, contact a lawyer today.