Taser and Baton Injuries: Documenting Neuromuscular and Orthopedic Harm for Damages

You can get justice and accountability when you have been injured by police brutality. The experienced Riverside police misconduct attorneys at the Skapik Law Group passionately believe in standing up for the rights of victims.

When you are suing law enforcement for the use of excessive force, you have several things that you must prove to qualify for full compensation. Not only must you prove that the use of force was excessive, but you must also demonstrate your damages. Documenting neuromuscular and orthopedic harm from the unlawful use of tasers and batons is crucial for you to get all of the money that you deserve for wrongful police conduct.

Take the first step in righting the wrong that was done to you by scheduling a free initial consultation with a Riverside police misconduct lawyer at Skapik Law Group at (909) 398-4404. Although we cannot undo the harm that was done to you, we can work to ensure that you are compensated and that others may not have to go through what you did.

Tasers and Batons Can Cause Serious and Lasting Injuries

Police often use instruments like tasers and batons that can cause serious physical injuries and even deaths when the circumstances do not call for their usage. When that happens, victims of police misconduct can sustain muscular damage and bone fractures. For example, the use of a taser can lead to forceful muscle contractions. Not only can this lead to muscle and ligament tears, but it can also cause long-term damage. The use of police batons can result in serious fractures and even permanent loss of use of a limb.

Your police misconduct lawsuit will consist of a number of types of evidence. Beyond proof that law enforcement used excessive force improperly, you also include testimony and documentation about your personal situation. Once you have persuaded a jury that you should receive compensation, they will need to calculate the exact amount. Your verdict or settlement will pay you for all of the effects of your injuries, whether they are financial losses or intangible impacts.

You Must Have Extensive Documentation of Your Injuries

It is up to you to take the necessary steps to document any injuries that you have suffered from police misconduct. Everything begins with seeking medical care as soon as possible after your injury. If your initial care was received in a prison hospital or under the auspices of the authorities, you should seek your own treating physician as soon as you can. Not only may institutionalized medical care not be adequate to treat your injuries and give you the best chance of a full recovery, but you can also not count on those physicians to give you objective medical records. The government may know that they have serious potential liability, and there is every incentive to not fully document your injuries.  You can only trust the documentation of your injuries that you obtain on your own through independent providers.

Once you have seen your own doctor, they will give you their own diagnosis of your injuries and the prognosis that you may face in the future. It is important that you fully disclose all of your symptoms to this physician, so they can reach the correct diagnosis. These medical records will be used as the basis of your damages if and when your case goes to trial. However, you cannot wait too long to have your injuries fully diagnosed. The longer you wait after your initial injury, the more a defendant may claim that you either did not do enough to help your own medical condition, or your injuries resulted from something else.

Since non-economic damages like pain and suffering are also a large part of your financial recovery, you should also document the experience that you have been forced to endure since you were hurt. Pain and suffering damages are subjective by nature, but your story will be considered by a jury when they are determining damages. They may not employ a multiplier method like insurance companies do when they are making personal injury settlement offers. As such, you should memorialize on a regular basis what your life has been like since your physical injuries. When you have contemporaneous documentation that is consistent with the story that you are telling at a trial, it can strengthen your case.

Contact a Riverside County Police Misconduct Law Firm

When the police have violated your civil rights, you have remedies under the law. The experienced Riverside police misconduct lawyers at the Skapik Law Group can help you pursue these remedies through a lawsuit against the police department. Schedule a free initial consultation with one of our lawyers by visiting our website or by calling us today at (909) 398-4404.