Spine damage is among the most devastating outcomes that a traumatic accident can have, not just because of the harm it can do immediately after that accident but also because of the life-altering damage it can cause in the long term. When someone else’s negligence causes you to get hurt in this way, recovering fairly for both types of losses can be far from a simple process—especially if you try to do it alone.
Fortunately, you have help available from a seasoned Trinity spinal cord injury lawyer with experience handling cases much like yours successfully in the past. No one deserves to suffer permanent harm due to another person’s misconduct. With a skilled catastrophic injury attorney by your side, you could more easily pursue the compensation you need to maximize your quality of life despite your losses.
What Makes Spinal Cord Injuries So Severe?
The spinal cord is the pathway that all nervous system signals to and from the brain travel along, making it effectively the center of the central nervous system. Unfortunately, this means that suffering serious trauma to the spinal cord cuts the brain off from certain parts of the central nervous system. Even worse, the spinal cord often cannot heal from damage like this on its own or even with help from cutting-edge medical treatment, which means the damage done is very often permanent.
The two main factors that determine how severe and debilitating a spinal cord injury will be is its “completeness” and its location, as a knowledgeable Trinity spinal cord injury attorney could explain. “Complete” spinal cord injuries involve the spinal cord being totally severed at the injury site and virtually always cause permanent paralysis below the injury site. “Incomplete” spinal cord injuries involve the spinal cord being only partially damaged and sometimes even offer prospects of long-term recovery.
As for location, injuries closer to the tailbone are more likely to cause some degree of paraplegia or paralysis in the lower limbs and sometimes the lower torso and groin. Injuries near the neck, on the other hand, often result in quadriplegia of all four limbs and the whole torso.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Trauma
While virtually any type of accident can potentially lead to someone sustaining life-changing trauma to their spinal cord, high-speed automobile accidents—particularly those involving one car crashing front-first into the doors or side paneling of another, also known as “T-bone” crashes—are a particularly common source of this type of injury. Slipping and tripping accidents also represent a significant portion of spinal cord injuries that occur in Trinity and around the state of Florida, especially if they involve someone falling off of a high surface and landing directly on their back or head.
Even awkward collisions during athletic competitions can lead to someone suffering severe spinal cord damage. Sadly, that damage can be made much worse if coaches and officials overseeing the event do not recognize that a serious injury may have occurred and act accordingly to prevent further harm. No matter the specific mechanism of the injury, though, any spinal cord trauma stemming directly from another person’s reckless or careless conduct could be the basis for a civil lawsuit or settlement demand.
Holding Someone Else Liable for Spinal Cord Injury Damages
No matter how severe a spinal cord injury is, anyone who causes one to happen by acting recklessly or carelessly in violation of a duty they had to act responsibly can be held legally accountable for that injury based on their “negligence.” Someone found liable in this way can be compelled to pay for the full value of economic and non-economic losses that the injured person will experience, including both past and future forms of harm like:
- Personal property damage
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Mental and emotional anguish
- Lost working capacity or income
- Lost enjoyment/quality of life, including lost consortium
- Emergency medical expenses and expected future care costs
- Costs of assistive medical equipment, home/vehicle modifications, and other things made necessary by long-term disability
Working closely with a qualified lawyer can make a big difference when it comes to identifying and accurately valuating every type of loss that a spinal cord injury in Trinity will lead to.
First Steps to Take After Experiencing a Spinal Cord Injury
While this perhaps goes without saying, it is worth emphasizing that seeking emergency medical attention should be the top priority of anyone who even slightly suspects they may have suffered a head, neck, or spine injury in a traumatic accident. Depending on the nature of the damage done, a delay of even a few hours between when spinal cord damage first occurs and when the person first gets treatment for it can be the difference between a serious injury—which may still heal more or less completely with patience and proper care—and an irreversible loss of bodily function—which completely alters the course of the injured person’s life.
That said, if it is at all possible, it can be helpful in the wake of an accident resulting in spinal cord damage to take note of:
- The people involved in the incident
- People who may have witnessed it happen
- Nearby surveillance or dashboard cameras which may have captured the accident on film
Once an injured person’s condition is stable, their diligent spinal cord injury lawyer in Trinity can help track down people, information, and evidence, which may help establish who was to blame for the accident and incorporate it into a comprehensive civil claim.
Along the same lines, it is vital to keep copies of all medical bills and reports on the severity of the injury as well as plans for future treatment. This is so that all injury-related costs and losses a person experiences are included in a civil lawsuit or insurance claim. On that note, spinal cord injury victims should be careful when speaking to insurance adjusters without their attorney present. As nice as those adjusters may seem, they are working for a company that will use any excuse possible to minimize their own financial liability at the expense of a severely injured accident victim.
Consider Working With a Trinity Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
The spinal cord is extremely susceptible to suffering permanent damage from external trauma, more so than most other body parts. When you suffer an injury like this because of another person’s irresponsible actions, they should be the one who pays for all your injury-related losses.
Guidance from a Trinity spinal cord injury lawyer could massively boost your chances of getting a favorable case outcome and obtaining the compensation you need. Call Perenich Law Injury Attorneys today to learn more. We are a team of 3 brothers helping others.
(727) 669-2828
