Spinal Cord Injuries Lawyer
Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating and life-altering injuries a person can experience. They can impact nearly every aspect of an individual's life, often resulting in permanent disability or significant limitations in mobility and independence.
Because damaged nerves in the spinal cord are unable to regenerate, full recovery is not always possible, and even with medical advancements, many individuals face lifelong challenges.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury due to someone else's negligence, California law entitles you to pursue compensation. This process involves filing a lawsuit, gathering evidence, and negotiating with insurance companies. Financial recovery cannot undo the harm, but it can help alleviate the burdens of medical expenses, lost income, and ongoing care needs.
At the Injury Justice Law Firm, our California catastrophic injury attorneys, with our extensive experience and successful track record in representing victims of spinal cord injuries, are here to help you receive the compensation you both need and deserve. You can trust in our expertise to guide you through this challenging time.
In other words, our spinal cord injury attorneys are here to empower you to get your life back on track if you have suffered a spinal cord injury. Our lawyers, who are committed to your case, work tirelessly to help you recover the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Spinal cord injuries can result from various accidents, including construction accidents, slip and fall accidents, and car accidents. Further, a spinal cord injury is often a type of catastrophic injury associated with paraplegia and quadriplegia.
Our skilled personal injury attorneys can file a lawsuit on your behalf to pursue compensation for a back injury. These claims often involve negligence, product liability, premises liability, medical malpractice, wrongful death, and governmental liability.
Our spine injury attorneys provide comprehensive support, managing your ongoing medical care, gathering evidence to support your case, filing a personal injury claim with an insurance company, and filing a workers' compensation claim on your behalf. We ensure you can focus on your recovery while we handle the legal aspects.
Accidents Causing Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can result from a wide variety of accidents, often caused by preventable actions or negligence. Here are some of the most common scenarios that lead to these life-changing injuries, including motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall incidents, workplace accidents, and accidents involving sports or recreational activities.
Understanding these risks can help you stay vigilant and safe, empowering you with knowledge:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries in the United States. High-speed collisions, rollovers, and rear-end crashes can place immense force on the body, damaging the neck and back.
- Slip and Fall Accidents: Falls, especially from elevated surfaces or slippery floors, can cause significant spinal trauma. Elderly individuals and workers in hazardous environments are particularly vulnerable to these types of injuries.
- Workplace Accidents: Certain professions involve higher risks of spinal cord injuries, such as construction workers, warehouse employees, and those handling heavy machinery. Falls from heights, equipment malfunctions, or unsafe working conditions can result in these injuries.
- Sports or Recreational Activities: Contact sports like football or rugby, as well as recreation like skiing or horseback riding, often pose a risk of spinal cord injuries due to direct impact or falls. Athletes sometimes experience these injuries even with proper safety precautions.
Notably, an injury can be a complete spinal cord injury, which causes permanent damage to the area of the spinal cord that is affected, and paraplegia or tetraplegia are often the results. The other type of injury is an incomplete spinal cord injury, which refers to partial damage to the spinal column.
Long-Term Implications
Spinal cord injuries affect much more than just the ability to walk or move. Depending on the location and severity of the injury, complications can be widespread and profoundly life-changing.
Victims may experience any/all of the following in the months and years following such an injury, including paralysis, chronic pain, loss of sensory function, bladder and bowel dysfunction, respiratory issues, and mental and emotional impact. Let's review these below:
- Paralysis: Partial or complete loss of movement is perhaps the most recognized outcome of these injuries. Quadriplegia (affecting all four limbs) occurs when the injury is higher on the spine, while paraplegia (affecting the lower body) results from injuries lower on the spinal column.
- Chronic Pain: Many individuals with spinal cord injuries deal with persistent nerve pain, muscle spasms, or other forms of discomfort that can interfere with daily activities and mental health.
- Loss of Sensory Function: Injuries to the spinal cord can disrupt the body's ability to feel temperature, pressure, or pain, exposing individuals to unsafe conditions without realizing it.
- Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction: Damage to the spine often affects the nerves that control urination and bowel movements, leading to incontinence or an inability to manage these functions independently.
- Respiratory Issues: Spinal cord injuries that occur in the upper neck or upper back may impair the respiratory system, requiring assistance with breathing or increasing the risk of lung infections.
- Mental and Emotional Impact: Beyond the physical symptoms, living with a spinal cord injury often involves significant emotional challenges. Anxiety, depression, and struggles with self-esteem are common as individuals and their families adapt to a new reality.
These complications illustrate the reason why spinal cord injuries are considered catastrophic and why obtaining fair compensation can be essential. The financial and non-economic damages involved often extend far beyond the initial treatment phase.
Levels of Spinal Cord Injuries
There are four different levels associated with spinal cord injuries, including the following:
- Cervical spinal cord injuries, which affect the head and neck region above the shoulders.
- Thoracic spinal cord injuries, which affect the upper chest, mid-back, and abdominal muscles.
- Lumbar spinal cord injuries, which affect the hips and legs.
- Sacral spinal cord injuries, which affect the hips, back of the thighs, buttocks, and pelvic organs.
A spinal cord injury is a serious injury frequently associated with difficulty breathing, loss of sensation, nerve damage, spasms, wheelchairs, paralysis, nerve damage, herniated discs, and loss of sexual function.
Who Can You File a Claim Against?
Our personal injury lawyers can file a spinal cord injury case against various people and entities, including the following:
- Negligent motorists,
- Negligent doctors,
- Product manufacturers,
- Building and property owners,
- Government entities,
- Amusement parks,
- Grocery stores,
- Employers,
- Hotels.
Types of Available Compensation
Suppose we are successful in your spinal cord injury civil lawsuit. In that case, you can typically recover compensation for the following:
- Medical bills and medical expenses,
- Home health medical care,
- Physical therapy and occupational therapy,
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity,
- Non-economic damages such as pain and suffering and loss of quality of life.
Proving Liability for Injuries
When pursuing compensation for a spinal cord injury, establishing liability is essential. This means demonstrating that another party's negligence or wrongful actions directly caused the injury. Here is how liability is typically proven in such cases:
- Duty of Care: The first step involves showing that the responsible party owed you a duty of care. For instance, drivers must operate their vehicles safely, and property owners are responsible for maintaining reasonably safe premises.
- Breach of Duty: Next, it must be shown that the other party breached this duty through careless or reckless actions. Examples include speeding, ignoring safety regulations, or failing to fix hazardous conditions.
- Causation: A key aspect of proving liability is showing that the breach of duty directly caused your spinal cord injury. Medical records, expert testimony, and accident reconstruction reports can help establish this connection.
- Damages: Finally, you must demonstrate the extent of the harm caused by the injury. This includes both tangible losses, such as medical bills and lost wages, as well as intangible damages, including pain and suffering.
Why You Need an Injury Lawyer
Our catastrophic injury lawyers specialize in spinal cord cases and can help you in several different important ways. We can help you secure initial medical treatment and manage your ongoing medical care.
We can also review the facts of your case and advise you on your legal rights and options. Our injury lawyers can also assist in gathering evidence to prove that somebody was responsible for your accident. If necessary, we can engage medical experts to assist in explaining this evidence to a judge or jury.
We can file a spinal cord injury claim on your behalf with the insurance company of the person or entity that caused your accident, and file a workers' compensation claim with your employer (if applicable).
We can also file personal injury lawsuits in these cases and work to receive favorable verdicts. One of the primary benefits of having a lawyer is that we can maximize the compensation for your injuries, because they will know the value of your case.
For more information, please contact our catastrophic Injury lawyers at Injury Justice Law Firm, located in Los Angeles, California.
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