When defining incapacitation in Chattanooga catastrophic injury cases, it is important to take into account the fact that incapacitation can mean different things in different contexts. In the context of a power of attorney, it may mean that an injured individual is simply not able to get out of the hospital and handle regular business affairs. In the context of being declared incompetent by a court, there has to be a severe disease or injury that prevents an individual from communicating with others or understanding what is happening around them.
This can greatly affect one’s ability to hire an attorney after an accident and may require a family member to step in and act on their behalf. If you have questions about this regarding your unique situation, do not hesitate to reach out to a compassionate injury attorney educated in defining incapacitation in Chattanooga catastrophic injury cases today.
Incapacitation as a Spectrum
When defining incapacitation in Chattanooga catastrophic injury cases, it can be helpful to think of the condition as a spectrum depending on one’s individual situation. It could include an individual who is confined to a hospital bed but is able to understand what is happening and can speak on the phone to those who are on a ventilator or in a coma and unable to communicate at all. Incapacitation could also involve those who have lost part of their mental facilities due to a traumatic brain injury. Even if they are able to move around and live at home, if they cannot understand what happened to them and the events going on around them in the present, they would be considered incapacitated by the court.
How Family Members Can Help
Those who suffer catastrophic injuries are often unconscious or unable to move right after the injury happens. Sometimes, they spend days or even weeks in a hospital recovering and even longer in a rehab program. This may leave an individual unable to conduct normal business affairs. In situations like these, family members can reach out to attorneys on the injured patient’s behalf. If a family member contacts a law firm, an attorney can become the patient’s legal representative through that family member and can visit them at the hospital. If they are not able to meet the injured individual, the family member can hire them to begin acting on their behalf.
Contacting an Experienced Injury Attorney
Family members need to understand that their ability to act on behalf of an incapacitated loved one is limited. If they have a power of attorney, then they have significant authority to act on their behalf. Without a power of attorney, then they may not have the ability to act on the patient’s behalf at all. These situations are ultimately controlled by whether or not the injured party is a minor child or if they have a spouse and/or next of kin who can offer their assistance. If you need help defining incapacitation in Chattanooga catastrophic injury cases and want to know how it could affect your situation, reach out to a skilled injury attorney today for your initial consultation.
