Serious Injuries Need Serious Lawyers
Spinal Cord
Many spinal cord injuries inflict permanent, irreparable damage on the victim, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia. Even minor spinal injuries can cause chronic pain, temporary disabilities, and lost wages. Our personal injury lawyers have over 35 years of experience handling serious injury cases.
Our team understands the complexity of serious personal injury cases and has helped countless victims across South Carolina to obtain the settlements and justice they deserve.
If you have suffered from spinal cord injuries as the result of a motor vehicle accident where another driver was at fault, you are entitled to compensation. The mounting medical bills and other costs around a serious accident can be overwhelming, coupled with the fact that you are unable to work and support your family means that you need help fast to seek injury compensation.
How a Specialized Injury Lawyer Can Help
The nature of a spinal cord injury has serious implications and depends on whether the injury is temporary or permanent. It is hoped that you will make a full recovery. The fact is, if you remain in a wheelchair for the rest of your life, every aspect of your life, work, home, and relationship will need to change to meet your future needs. This is going to be costly and requires an expert in the area of spinal cord injury to sift through the paperwork and get the best possible payout for you and your family at this terrible time.
What The Injury Lawyer Will Do
- Build your case by examining the evidence and guiding you in making the right decisions for your future.
- Bring in a spinal cord injury occupational therapist to assess required modifications to your home and cost them. Costs will include your ongoing care in the home and will depend on the extent of the injuries.
- Handle critical conversations with other parties and their insurance providers.
- Retain an Attorney to argue your case if necessary.
In many cases, the ongoing cost of caring for a moderate spinal cord injury in the home can be around $100,000 USD per year, and this does not include the initial setup to make the home accessible for the patient to live and work at home. So when a spinal cord injury happens to someone who is in their 20s, the cost will be high both emotionally and financially, depending on the degree of injury incurred. One of the first things that need to be done is to evaluate the type of injury sustained.
Types of Spinal Cord Injury
The most severe type of spinal injury can result in complete quadriplegia or paralysis from the neck down.
- In cases of complete quadriplegia, paralysis occurs from the neck down, often involving the inability to breathe without a respirator. Often these people are unable to return home.
- Incomplete quadriplegia may retain some movement including the ability to breathe unaided, requiring 24-hour care at home.
- Paraplegia, paralyzed from the waist down, requires a wheelchair to move around. • Hemiplegia is paralyzed down one side of the body and requires a lot of care at home. • Disc damage to the back often requires surgery.
- Other fractures involve the spine.
Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
- Car and Motorbike accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Sporting accidents
- Falls from heights and ladders at home, like falling off the roof
- Being run over or thrown from a vehicle
- Workplace or home slips, trips, and falls
- Epidural anesthesia during labor Boating accidents
- Quad bike accidents in the country
- Farm equipment accidents Falling out of bed (commonly for people in nursing homes)
Common Examples of Damages Claimed
- lost wages
- medical bills
- rehabilitation and physical therapy
- long-term care, often for life
- modifications to the home
- vehicle modifications
- medical aids like a wheelchair
- daily nursing care at home
Claiming for non-economic damages includes the following:
- anxiety and depression
- mental anguish
- pain and suffering
- loss of independence
- loss of enjoyment
One of the sad realities following spinal cord injuries is that often after the accident, the person’s marriage breaks down due to stress and other factors like loss of income and lifestyle. The changes are so major following a life-changing event of this nature that some people just can’t handle them, and it is not unusual for the partner to move away because the demands of such an event are overwhelming. If the accident victim is unmarried at the time of the event, it makes it much harder to form a relationship when you are in a wheelchair and to meet other people who understand the changes that have taken place and the sacrifices that are required to live life as a paraplegic. Your spinal cord injury lawyer is one person who understands all this, as sadly he/she has seen it all before and realizes the enormity of the situation and how important the right payout will be in helping you to move forward in the future
Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries
When your spinal cord is damaged, the symptoms occur all over your body, often with difficult consequences from the nerve damage depending on where the injury occurred. If you are well enough to continue working, you are often better off working from home, mainly due to the demands of your body and the need to avoid pressure areas developing. Continuing to work is good therapy, and you can leave your court case in the hands of your injury lawyer as he/she will be able to make the important decisions in your case. Sometimes other experts need to be called in to examine you and consult on your case to get the best possible outcome once the trial starts.
Conclusion
If you have suffered a spinal injury and haven’t contacted a personal injury lawyer, you need to do so immediately, as you are losing valuable time. A delay like this is not in your best interests, especially if your condition worsens.
The legal protection that you require in spinal injury cases is essential, as spinal injuries that are someone else’s fault must be paid for and are unfortunately amongst the most expensive medical conditions to treat. You deserve the best. Call the law office today.
