Irvine Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

A spinal cord injury is one of the most debilitating and frightening injuries. It can be devastating on several levels. Besides the physical pain associated with a spinal cord injury, victims usually experience significant financial hardships due to the cost of medical care and loss of income.

If you or a loved one have suffered a spinal cord injury, the Irvine spinal cord injury lawyers at the Crockett Law Group provide skillful, client-focused representation for victims in California. Call us today at (888) 965-3827 for your free, no-obligation consultation to see how best to recover full compensation for your personal injury case.

How Much Are Spinal Cord Injuries Worth?

Spinal cord injuries usually lead to significant expenses. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, the first year of medical costs associated with spinal cord injuries can range anywhere from a few hundred thousand dollars to over a million dollars, depending on severity.

Spinal cord injury victims usually require lifelong care. It is estimated that spinal cord injury victims require anywhere from $40,000 to $190,000 annually for the remainder of their lives. These costs don’t consider the person’s lost income, home and vehicle accommodations, and other hidden accident-related costs.

If you or a loved one faced a severe spinal cord injury, contact us today for your free, no-obligation consultation and case review. Our spinal cord injury lawyers have experience handling such cases and are ready to help you determine exactly how much your spinal cord injuries are worth and help you recover the compensation you are rightfully entitled to for your injuries.

What Are the Most Common Types of Spinal Cord Injuries?

Spinal cord injuries have numerous symptoms. The most catastrophic injuries involve paralysis and the extent of paralysis is determined by where the injury is located/ The higher on the spinal cord the injury is located, the more of the body is impacted. Paraplegia and quadriplegia are the two forms of paralysis often caused by spinal cord injuries.

Paraplegia

Spinal cord injuries that result in paralysis of the legs but not of the arms is referred to as paraplegia. Paraplegics cannot walk, but they still have use of their arms and can utilize wheelchairs to get around.

Quadriplegia/Tetraplegia

Spinal cord injuries that result in paralysis from the neck down, including legs and arms is referred to as quadriplegia or tetraplegia. It is the severest form of paralysis associated with spinal cord injuries.

Other types of paralysis include:

• Monoplegia: It is a type of paralysis where just one limb is paralyzed.
• Hemiplegia: It is a type of paralysis where the arm and leg on one side of the body are paralyzed.
• Complete: It is paralysis that results in total loss of sensation and muscle function in the affected limbs.
• Partial: It is paralysis that results in some muscle functioning and sensation, such as when a person is able to move one leg but not the other, or feel sensations such as heat or cold.
• Spastic: With spastic paralysis, the muscles in affected limbs are either unusually stiff or display movements and spasms that aren’t under the individual’s control.
• Flaccid: It is a type of paralysis where the muscles in the affected limbs are weak and floppy; muscles in flaccid paralysis may shrivel.

Why Should You See a Doctor Right Away After a Back Injury?

Spinal cord injuries are sometimes not immediately apparent. You may have been involved in a minor car accident and discounted your injuries. You may assume that a few trips to a chiropractor or physical therapist are all you need to be back in business.

The reality is that you must never delay seeking treatment especially after suffering a back injury, no matter how minor it might appear to be. Not only are such injuries potentially life-threatening, but the insurance companies can easily use your delay in seeking treatment to justify offering you less compensation than you are entitled to.

It is always advisable to visit a healthcare professional after suffering any kind of potential damage to the brain or spinal cord too. Some injuries may cause paralysis immediately while others may develop into a paralyzing condition over time.

What Are Some of the Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries?

Spinal cord injuries are often the result of severe accidents that are caused by another party’s recklessness or negligence. Here are some of the causes of spinal cord injuries:

• Medical and surgical complications
• Falling objects
• Violent acts
• Sporting or recreational accident
• Slip and fall accidents
• Motor vehicle accidents
• Work accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents

What Can I Expect to Recover If I Have a Spinal Cord Injury?

Spinal cord injuries affect just about all aspects of a person’s life. Due to how permanent and catastrophic these injuries are, courts usually award significant compensation. Victims of spinal cord injuries deserve financial recovery for a wide variety of damages, which include:

Past and Future Medical Expenses

Included here are the spinal injury-related medical bills, surgical costs, as well as medical equipment such as wheelchairs and vehicle modification to accommodate a permanent disability.

Emotional Suffering and Distress

Emotional suffering is usually present in the face of a spinal cord injury. The victim has to learn to live with permanent motor function disabilities along with other lifestyle changes. Spinal cord injuries can cause severe emotional damage.

Lost Enjoyment and Quality of Life

It is a particularly distressing area of damages in spinal cord injury cases because victims suffer permanent paralysis. It is almost impossible to place a dollar amount on these losses, but the courts abide by certain calculations to come up with appropriate figures.

Wrongful Death

If a spinal cord injury results in the victim’s death, their family can sue the negligent party. In such cases, the family may be eligible for damages based on the victim’s pain and suffering along with money to ease the financial burden left by their loved one’s absence.

No amount of money can ever be sufficient to cure the pain and suffering associated with a spinal cord injury, but the compensation from a lawsuit gives the victim the best chance of obtaining the best medical care and easing the burden on their family.

If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury in Irvine, California, speak with the experienced spinal cord injury lawyers at Crockett Law Group today via phone at [phone] to discuss your legal options and how to obtain compensation to cover your damages.

How Are Spinal Cord Injury Cases Different from Other Personal Injury Cases?

In most other accidents, you are injured and recover, but spinal cord injury cases are different since these injuries have long-term health issues that require long-term care, which usually translates to a lifetime of costs.

Fortunately, it is still possible for victims of spinal cord injuries to go on to lead amazing lives. They can participate in basketball games and marathons. They can attend college, go back to work, and even start families. Furthermore, additional research is breaking ground on regenerative therapy, which will hopefully lead to a cure for these debilitating injuries.

Is There a Time Limit to File a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

You generally have 2 years from the date of the accident to file your spinal cord injury claim. This time period can occasionally be extended if you weren’t able to discover the injury or the negligent cause of the injury for some reason for some time period after the accident.

If your case is against a government entity, you will have to file a claim within 6 months of the date of the accident.

If the victim is a minor, they have until when they reach 19 years of age to file a claim unless medical malpractice led to the injury, in which case the minor would be required to bring the claim within one year at the latest.

What If a Spinal Cord Injury Happened at Work?

If the spinal cord injury happened at work, it will be handled as a workers’ compensation case. This means that you are protected as an employee to receive compensation for an injury that happens on the job. Workers’ compensation, however, doesn’t allow you to sue your employer.

If a work injury involves a third-party that can be at fault for the injury, you can sue any third-party that might have caused the injury through their negligence. If another employer on the job is responsible for the injury, for example, you can file a workers’ compensation claim and a personal injury claim.

Contact an Experienced Irvine Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Today!

A spinal cord injury can have drastic effects on an individual’s ability to work, complete daily tasks, and care for themselves. At the Crockett Law Group, we work with spinal cord injury victims in Irvine, CA to help them recover compensation from the parties responsible for their injuries.

If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you can always count on us to help you recover the financial compensation you are rightfully entitled to. Contact our Irvine spinal cord injury lawyers at (888) 965-3827 today to set up your free, no-obligation consultation.