If you have suffered a spinal injury due to the negligence of another, that party must be held accountable. Spinal cord injuries are difficult to treat, with no cure yet developed for paralysis, whether paraplegia or quadriplegia. If you have sustained a spinal injury, you may be unable to earn a living, continue your profession, and face many challenges, personally, emotionally, and financially, in all the years ahead.
At Sorey & Gilliland, LLP, we advocate for the maximum amount of compensation on behalf of our clients to ensure that all their medical, financial, and emotional needs are taken care of after a catastrophic spinal cord injury. Our Longview personal injury attorneys have extensive legal knowledge that is necessary to advise our clients through the complexities of a personal injury claim and trial, if it comes to that. Contact us at (903) 230-5600 to schedule a free consultation.
What Are the Different Types of Spinal Cord Injury?
Spinal cord injuries can be complete or incomplete. With a complete spinal cord injury, all sensory perception and motor function are lost below the level of the damage (the lowest normal part of the spinal cord). With incomplete spinal cord injuries, there is some sensation and ability to control movement below the level of the injury. Degrees of incomplete spinal cord injury vary widely.
Depending on the location of the injury along the spinal cord, the damage may lead to:
- Paraplegia: Paralysis affects the legs, pelvic organs, and part or all of the trunk.
- Tetraplegia (also known as quadriplegia): The legs, pelvic organs, trunk, hands, and arms are paralyzed.
What Are The Consequences of Spinal Injuries?
An injury to the spinal cord can have life-altering consequences for accident victims. You may need surgeries and extensive treatment for the spinal cord injury itself, plus outpatient rehabilitation, physical therapy, and ongoing medical treatment for related health complications. You may need assistive devices, such as a wheelchair, to get around, along with modifications to your home and vehicles.
Spinal injuries range from minor to severe, but typically result in long-term disability including:
- Paraplegia
- Quadriplegia
- Localized paralysis
- Chronic back pain
- Headaches
- Limb weakness
- Loss of bowel and bladder control
- Nerve damage
- Uncontrollable muscle spasms
- Reduced motor control
- Depression
- Chronic dizziness
- Changes in sexual function
- Respiratory problems
Spinal injuries require long term medical care and treatment, rehabilitation, retraining, and extended convalescence. In many cases, the victim may be unable to function without skilled nursing care throughout the remaining years of life.
Depending on the type of work you do, you may not be able to return to your former occupation after a spinal cord injury. In a more severe case, you may not be able to work at all. Spinal cord injury victims often need help with housekeeping, yard work, and other routine tasks, and may require assistance with daily living. Spinal cord injuries can also have severe emotional and psychological consequences. Change, especially forced change, can be difficult to cope with.
What Are Common Causes of Spinal Injuries?
Spinal injuries are most commonly associated with several types of accidents and catastrophes that include:
- Car and truck accidents: Automobile accidents are the number one cause of spinal injuries and account for almost 50% of traumatic spinal injuries in the U.S. For Texans in particular, anyone who drives through the Permian Basin understand the risks of a trucking accident along Death Highway. Victims of such car accidents have the right to file a claim or lawsuit to recover compensation proportionate to their injuries.
- Construction accidents: The heavy machinery and incomplete structures on a construction site are dangerous. Falls from heights, crush injuries, and faulty equipment are just a few of the construction site accidents that may lead to a spinal injury with a lifetime of consequences.
- Slips and falls: Falling on a hard surface can lead to a serious spinal injury, especially for older individuals. Property owners, whether private, commercial, or public, are legally responsible for providing safe walking surfaces.
If a spinal cord injury is the result of an act of negligence, a claim or lawsuit can be filed to seek compensation for all damages. These are typically very high-value cases, as the injured person will require long term medical care and, in many cases, can no longer earn a living, or practice his or her profession.
Who Is Liable?
Identifying the liable parties is the first step in the process of filing a claim for compensation. Our legal team will perform a comprehensive analysis of the facts in your case to identify the cause of your injuries, and the party or parties responsible. The process involves establishing three critical points:
- Duty: Another party owed you a “duty of care,” or the duty to act with reasonable care for the safety and health of others.
- Breach: The duty of care was breached when the responsible party acted in a negligent manner.
- Causation: The act of negligence caused the spinal injury.
- Damages: The injuries led to losses, including financial, emotional, and personal.
Why You Need a Lawyer
Because the consequences of a spinal cord injury are significant, it is essential to recover full and fair compensation if your injuries were caused by an act of negligence. Your best chance of securing a full recovery is to have an experienced attorney representing you. Our Longview personal injury attorneys at Sorey & Gilliland, LLP can:
- Thoroughly investigate your accident to determine fault and liability
- Obtain and preserve evidence to support your case
- Build a strong claim for compensation based on the evidence
- Assess the full extent of your damages, past, present, and future
- Negotiate skillfully with insurance companies on your behalf
- Fight aggressively for the compensation you deserve in court, if necessary
What Is Your Case Worth?
No amount of money can make up for a life-altering disability, and we know that in our hearts. What it can do, however, is ease the burden of the tragic consequences to your life, family, and future. The damages pursued in a spinal injury case will include:
- Economic damages: All financial losses associated with the spinal injury must be calculated, including medical costs, current and future, loss of income from work, lost earning capacity, and all other hard costs.
- Non-economic damages: These damages include pain and suffering, emotional anguish, loss of quality of life, loss of consortium, and is often the highest amount awarded by a jury or paid in an insurance settlement in a spinal injury case.
- Punitive damages: In some cases of gross negligence, punitive damages can be pursued.
Let Us Fight for You
When you hire our team at Sorey & Gilliland, LLP, you are getting decades of success and experience from a team that has recovered millions of dollars in compensation for the injured. We pursue the maximum compensation for clients who have had their lives changed forever due to a spinal injury so that they are properly taken care of following an accident.
We provide legal services on a contingency fee basis, with no legal fees due unless we win your case, whether through a settlement or in civil court. We are here to answer your questions (even if we don’t take your case) and we offer a free consultation. Contact us today at (903) 230-5600.
