Phoenix Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Spinal cord injuries are one of the most serious consequences that one can suffer from a personal injury. Most of these injuries are permanent, and the accident victim will lose some or all of their quality of life. Beyond that, the costs of treating and caring for the victim are astronomical. This does not even account for the emotional cost imposed on the victim and their families.

Those who have suffered injuries in an accident that is someone else’s fault may seek financial compensation for their past and future losses. At Zanes Law Injury Lawyers, our Phoenix spinal cord injury attorneys take on tough cases on behalf of clients with life-altering injuries. Reach out now for more information about how we can help.

Spinal Cord Injuries Can Impact an Accident Victim Permanently

While spinal cord injuries are rare, they are extremely significant in the life of the person who sustains one. Often, spinal cord injuries will lead to partial or complete paralysis. Even though there have been advances in treating these injuries, this is often permanent, requiring a lifetime of care and prohibitive costs on treatment and medical equipment. Even when someone recovers to an extent, years of grueling rehabilitation may consume their life.

For a free legal consultation with a spinal cord injury lawyer serving Phoenix, call 866-499-8989

Accidents That Can Lead to Spinal Cord Injuries

Victims can suffer spinal cord injuries in many different types of accidents, including:

• Phoenix car accidents
• Slip and falls
• Pedestrian accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Workplace injuries
• Sports accidents

According to the Mayo Clinic, auto and motorcycle accidents account for half of the total of spinal cord injuries each year. Men are much more likely to suffer spinal cord injuries, and victims are predominantly younger males. Falls are the second-leading cause of spinal cord injuries. Nearly 18,000 people sustain these injuries every year, and there are over a quarter of a million people in the United States who are living with spinal cord injuries.

Phoenix Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Near Me 866-499-8989

How Spinal Cord Injuries Occur

Spinal cord injuries occur when any part of the spinal cord or the connected nerves are damaged. The body can lose function or feeling below the site of the injury because the spinal cord transmits messages from the brain to the rest of the body that control movement.

Spinal cords can suffer damage from a sudden and traumatic impact. Often, broken vertebrae will puncture or otherwise injure the spinal cord. The vertebrae can become fractured or crushed by the injury, and it will compress or traumatize the spinal cord. There is both the damage from the initial impact and the weeks of swelling and inflammation from the original injury.

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Signs and Symptoms of a Spinal Cord Injury

Many accident victims are aware right off the bat that they have suffered a spinal cord injury. They lose feeling and sensation at the time of the accident. However, other accident victims may notice signs of the injury in the days following the accident.

Some of the signs of a spinal cord injury include:

• Loss of movement in parts of the body
• Weakness in limbs
• Inability to feel heat or cold
• Loss of bowel or bladder control
• Pain or stinging sensation
• Difficulty breathing

If you feel any of these symptoms in the days after your accident, it is essential to get medical care immediately. Time is of the essence when treating spinal cord injuries. There have been advances in treatments that have given patients some more hope of a partial or full recovery. However, time lost in treating the injury can lessen the chances of recovery. If your head or neck has suffered any sort of trauma in an accident, it is a good idea to get checked out by a doctor regardless of whether you feel any symptoms.

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Diagnosing Spinal Cord Injuries

Doctors will use a variety of tests to diagnose a spinal cord injury. These include:

• Checking motor function and the ability to move certain parts of the body
• Checking sensory function and the ability to feel a touch
• CT scans
• MRIs
• X-rays for broken bones and vertebrae

Chances are that the doctor will perform some combination of the tests listed above to confirm that you or a loved one have suffered a spinal cord injury and to determine the severity. Often, the long-term prognosis is not always known right away. You need an exact understanding of the severity of the injury before you file a claim or lawsuit.

The Different Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries vary in severity. Here are the different types of spinal cord injuries:

• Complete spinal cord injury – This is the most severe type of spinal cord injury. The patient will lose all function below the site of the injury, usually on both sides of the body. They may suffer the loss of the use of all of their limbs.
• Incomplete spinal cord injury – While this is less serious than a complete spinal cord injury, it is still a difficult medical condition. The patient will lose some function, although some may remain. These injuries are more conducive to treatment and rehabilitation.

Within these two categories of spinal cord injuries, there are additional subcategories. They are:

• Tetraplegia – This is the inability to move the lower and upper parts of the body. The patient may suffer complete paralysis. The higher the injury on the spinal cord, the more severe the injury
• Paraplegia – This is the inability to move the lower half of the body, and it will primarily affect the legs and feet.

Treating Spinal Cord Injuries

The costs of treating spinal cord injuries depend on their severity – obviously, the more complete the injury, the greater the costs. In the interim, doctors have more treatment options as research and medicine have advanced.

One of the first things that a doctor may do to treat a spinal cord injury is to operate on the patient. These are expensive procedures, and a patient may require multiple surgeries.

There are a greater number of therapies and treatments that can help the patient either regain some function or learn to better live with their spinal cord injury. The costs of these treatments add up fast. Medicine has made significant advances in spinal cord injury care, both minimizing the severity of some of the injuries and giving patients new hope. Even if the health insurance covers these procedures for now, families may have significant out-of-pocket costs right after the injury.

The Costs of Caring for a Spinal Cord Injury Victim

There are some estimates that the lifetime cost of care for some spinal cord injuries can reach $6 million per patient, and this is only in today’s dollars. With health care cost inflation, it is possible to envision damages from a spinal cord injury reaching into the eight figures. This figure does not even include the other damages that an accident victim will suffer, and these can be extensive.

For a high tetraplegia injury, the costs can top $1 million in the first year alone. This is why families need to move quickly to start the legal process. Any type of paraplegia will have lifetime costs that reach seven figures, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in the first year, as the victim undergoes surgeries and purchases equipment meant to help them live with spinal cord injuries.

The younger the accident victim, the higher the costs. Families need to recover enough money for a lifetime of care. People are living far longer with spinal cord injuries due to the advances in care, and families need to consider that.

Damages in a Spinal Cord Injury Case

Besides the cost of medical procedures, the damages from a spinal cord injury are extensive.

These can include:

• Pain and suffering – when someone has sustained a severe injury that takes away their quality of life, this can be a significant part of the damages award.
• Rehabilitation costs.
• The cost to specially outfit homes and cars to accommodate someone with limited or no mobility.
• Lost wages for the money that the accident victim could have earned (and also that the family lost having to take care of the accident victim).
• Loss of enjoyment of life.
• The cost for a home health aide to care for the patient.
• Any specialty medical equipment that the patient needs.

As you can see, each of the individual elements of a spinal cord injury claim can add up quickly. You are likely dealing with an extensive claim or lawsuit. This is why you need an attorney with experience in handling large claims. These are not the same as other personal injury claims (although no personal injury case is just “routine” to us at Zanes Law Injury Lawyers).

Why You Need to Get Started on the Legal Process

It is critical to begin the legal process quickly since the medical bills will mount quickly. While this does not guarantee that you will receive any settlement sooner, waiting to file a claim will not help your legal or financial position. Your attorney will quickly get to work to gather the evidence necessary to prove that someone else was responsible for your accident injuries. This is what you need to show to be in a position to receive financial compensation.

The amount of damages that you would receive in a spinal cord injury case is critical. What you seek is not some back-of-the-envelope calculation designed to put money in your pocket. This is money that you will need to take care of yourself or a family member for a lifetime. This is why you must be deliberate and careful before accepting any settlement.

Dealing With the Insurance Company in Your Case

No matter how much an insurance company likes to tell you that you are in good hands, they do not really care about the particulars of your case or your situation. To them, your claim is nothing more than a matter of dollars and cents. The less they pay, the happier their shareholders are, so they will clearly not go out of their way to make sure that you get fair compensation. This is why you need a lawyer on your side to look out for your legal interests.

The Spinal Cord Injury Claims and Legal Process

The legal process after a spinal cord injury can be difficult.

It could include:

• Learning as much as we can about your case and asking you the right questions
• Gathering evidence that could document the cause of the accident that caused the injury
• Establishing how much your claim may be worth depending on the severity of the injury and the costs
• Presenting the claim to an insurance company
• Evaluating any settlement offer made by an insurance company and rejecting a settlement offer that does not pay you enough
• Filing a lawsuit in court if necessary to get your case in front of a jury

You do not have to accept a settlement offer just because the insurance company made it. You are not in a position where you have to take only what they offer. When you have suffered injuries in an accident, you have legal rights. One of these rights is to receive fair compensation when someone else caused your accident.

Hiring a lawyer is one way to protect your legal rights when the insurance company tries to offer an unfair settlement. You always can file a lawsuit, and a jury would decide your compensation if you cannot reach a settlement agreement.

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