An injury to the spinal cord can cause irreversible damage and paralysis. A spinal cord injury may be caused by direct traumatic injury to the spinal cord itself or to the tissue and bones (vertebrae) that surround the spinal cord.
Despite medical advances and increased societal acceptance of people with disabilities, a spinal cord injury is often a catastrophic, life-changing injury that is costly and results in premature death.
If you have suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident someone else caused – a car accident, motorcycle accident, slip and fall accident, etc. – the party at fault should compensate you for your medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. But you’ll need a spinal cord injury lawyer with Kentucky Courage to fight for you after suffering a spinal cord injury. Insurance companies work hard to avoid responsibility for these potentially expensive claims.
Contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer today to speak with one of our experienced and dedicated spinal cord injury attorneys about your injury and a potential legal claim. If you were injured because of someone else’s negligence or in a work-related accident, we will fight for you to recover all of the compensation you are rightfully owed.
What Happens After Suffering a Spinal Cord Injury?
The spinal cord connects the brain to the body’s central nervous system, enabling the brain to control bodily functions and feel sensations. It runs from the base of the skull to your pelvis and is protected by the vertebrae of the backbone, or spine.
A blow to the spine, sudden twisting or a penetrating injury can break vertebrae and tear the spinal cord. This can cause temporary or permanent changes in sensation, movement, strength, and body functions below the site of injury.
A spinal cord injury is known as “complete” if there is no nerve function (feelings) or motor function (ability to move) below the site where the trauma occurred. This is paralysis. In an “incomplete” spinal cord injury, the individual is capable of some sensation and/or mobility below the point of injury.
An injury higher on the spinal cord can cause paralysis in most of the body and affect all limbs (called tetraplegia or quadriplegia). An injury lower on the spinal cord may cause paralysis affecting the legs and lower body (called paraplegia).
Paralysis may happen immediately if the spinal cord is directly injured or develop over time as swelling and bleeding around the spine affects the spinal cord.
In addition to its impact on mobility, a spinal cord injury may also cause:
- Numbness, tingling, or a loss of or changes in sensation in the hands and feet.
- Chronic pain or pressure in head, neck, or back.
- Unnatural positions of the spine or head.
- Loss of bladder and bowel control.
- Difficulty breathing.
- Loss of sexual function.
- Depression.
The emergency medical response to a traumatic spinal cord injury consists of stabilizing the patient’s back and relieving pain. Surgery to repair the damage will follow. After recovering from surgery, the patient will start rehabilitation therapy designed to increase strength and any mobility possible, and to achieve the highest level of independence possible.
Paraplegics typically regain independence and mobility with lengthy rehabilitation and assistive devices, such as wheelchairs and modified motor vehicles.
Tetraplegia patients may require assistance with daily life activities and routine self-care, such as eating, dressing and bathing. They may need assistive devices to communicate or breathe. Patients with the highest cervical (neck) injuries require assistive devices and personal care 24/7 and often must live in nursing homes.
Data from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center show that the lifetime costs of a spinal cord injury will run into millions of dollars if the patient survives. However, the average number of remaining years of life for spinal cord injury patients has not improved since the 1980s and remains significantly below life expectancies of people without spinal cord injuries.
Recovering Compensation For Your Spinal Cord Injury in Lexington
If you have suffered a spinal cord injury in Kentucky through no fault of your own, the personal injury lawyers of Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer can help you recover compensation for your losses. As your attorneys, we will:
- Investigate to identify all parties responsible for your accident and injuries. We will also compile all necessary evidence to demonstrate their negligence, recklessness or intention and how it led to your accident and injury.
- Calculate all of your monetary costs and losses from the date of injury to now and into the future. For spinal cord injuries that cause paralysis, we consult with life care planners, who project lifetime needs and costs for patients with disabilities. We will also calculate your lost income caused by your injury.
- Present your demands for compensation to the responsible insurance companies and negotiate aggressively for full payment to you.
- File a formal personal injury lawsuit on your behalf asking the court to award you compensation for your losses, if necessary. Most spinal cord injury cases can be settled out of court, but if insurers will not act in good faith, we are prepared to present a persuasive case on your behalf to judge and jury.
Compensation we would seek on your behalf in a lawsuit would include payment for your:
- Medical expenses, from ambulance fees to hospitalization and surgery, prescription medication, physical and occupational therapy, mobility equipment, home alterations needed to accommodate your injuries, personal care and/or nursing home residence.
- Lost wages from work you miss as you recuperate from the accident.
- Lost earning capacity if you cannot return to your old job or another job or otherwise suffer a reduction in your wages as a result of your injuries. Our demands would include projected wages over years you could have worked, as well as the value of lost benefits, such as retirement account contributions, stock options, etc.
- Pain and suffering, including emotional anguish caused by your injuries.
- Lost quality of life due to your disability or disfigurement or inability to perform tasks of daily living or to participate in activities you enjoyed prior to your injury.
- Loss of consortium, payment in consideration of your spouse’s loss of intimacy with you.
Contact Our Lexington Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers
If you have suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident someone else caused, you should speak with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Working with an experienced Lexington spinal cord injury lawyer from the start of your medical treatment and the insurance claim process is the best way to ensure you obtain full compensation for all of your costs and losses. We’ll stay on top of it for you. We won’t back down.
Contact Morgan, Collins, Yeast & Salyer today to schedule a free consultation about your legal options. Our attorneys have the Kentucky Courage needed to stand up to big insurance companies and demand full compensation for you. Call us at (877) 809-5352 or fill a contact form online now.
