No family that has concerns about the care given to an elderly or injured loved one should assume that any given caregiver will always be there. Caregivers can get sick, or get injured in an accident. Depending on the circumstances surrounding that accident, an injured caregiver might enter a tort claim against the family of the cared-for patient.
What damages could that claimant/caregiver sight, as evidence of the right to request compensation?
Did the caregiver sacrifice time that could have been spent earning money, while recovering from the injury? If so, then loss of wages should get included in a listing of the damages suffered by the caregiver. Had the claimant/caregiver been traveling to the patient’s bedside? If so, how much money had been spent on travel expenses? Those expenses, too, should get included in a listing of the caregiver’s losses/damages.
What was the caregiver’s hourly rate, before getting injured? Was the injured person a relative, someone that had volunteered their time? If that was the case, then it would help to consult an economist, so that the value of the freely-given services could be estimated.
Who replaced the injured volunteer? Has that replacement paid out any money? If so, how much money did he or she receive?Those are the sorts of questions that should be raised by any personal injury lawyer in Red Deer that has agreed to help the injured volunteer/caregiver obtain a fair compensation.
What might be the challenges to the caregiver’s claim?
The defense lawyer for the defendant might insist that the plaintiff/caregiver had recognized the risks linked to specific caregiving tasks, and had accepted those risks.
Caregivers normally organize their surroundings, so that the patient stays as safe and comfortable as possible. The defense lawyer might suggest that the plaintiff could have created a safer setting. That argument might be used to charge the plaintiff/caregiver with contributory negligence.
Caregivers need to work with their patients, in order to set-up a sensible schedule. Ideally, a period of exercise might be included in that schedule. When patients take the time to do simple exercises, their muscles stay stronger. Patients with stronger muscles are easier to care for, and seldom force the caregiver to make a risky move.
Obviously, caregivers need to contact one of the local lawyers, anytime that they have become injured while caring for a given patient. A lawyer’s experience should prove of value, as the judge and jury listen to the details, regarding the caregiver’s personal injury case. That experience might aid creation of strategies for dealing with any of the challenges raised by the defendant’s legal team. In short, a caregiver/plaintiff needs to hire legal representation, in order to win a personal injury case.