A spinal cord injury can change a person’s life in an instant. Whether the cause was a car crash, a fall, a sports accident, or an act of negligence, the physical and emotional toll can last a lifetime.
Fortunately, victims who suffer a spinal cord injury because of someone else’s negligence have the right to pursue compensation. A personal injury claim can help cover medical expenses, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Understanding how these injuries are classified, and how compensation is calculated, is the first step toward building a strong claim.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury occurs when the bones, ligaments, or discs surrounding the spinal cord are damaged through dislocation, compression, fracture, or a direct blow. Common causes include vehicle collisions, falls, shallow diving accidents, and sports injuries.
The spinal cord does not need to be fully severed for someone to lose function. Stretching, bruising, or compression of the cord can be enough to cause lasting impairment.
Cervical Injuries
Injuries to the cervical (neck) region of the spine can affect the arms, shoulders, hands, diaphragm, and neck. Because this area controls so much of the body, a cervical spinal cord injury often results in paralysis of both the arms and legs, along with breathing difficulties, sexual dysfunction, and loss of sensation.
Thoracic Injuries
Damage to the thoracic spine typically leads to paraplegia, or paralysis of the legs. The arms and hands are usually not affected. Many patients also need a torso brace for added stability during recovery.
Lumbar Injuries
The lumbar spine controls function in the lower abdomen and legs. A lumbar spinal cord injury generally results in leg paralysis, and many patients require surgery or external stabilization devices to manage the injury.
Sacral Injuries
Sacral injuries most often affect bladder and bowel control. Some patients also experience sexual dysfunction, along with weakness or paralysis in the hips and legs.
Incomplete vs. Complete Injuries
Spinal cord injuries generally fall into one of two categories. An incomplete injury means the spinal cord retains some ability to send signals to and from the brain.
A complete injury means all motor and sensory function below the point of injury has been lost. This distinction matters because it directly affects prognosis, treatment, and the value of a compensation claim.
How Compensation Is Calculated
No two spinal cord injury cases are alike, so no two settlements look the same. Several factors go into determining fair compensation, including the severity of the injury, the circumstances that caused it, current and future medical costs, the impact on daily life, and expected recovery time.
Victims may also be entitled to compensation for lost future earning capacity if the injury results in permanent disability. Before discussing numbers with an attorney, it helps to understand the full scope of potential costs involved, such as:
- Emergency and initial treatment
- Long-term medical care
- Caregiving and in-home assistance
- Surgical procedures
- Ongoing medical consultations
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Prescription medications
Does Severity Affect the Settlement Amount?
Yes. The severity of a spinal cord injury has a direct impact on settlement value. More severe injuries typically come with higher medical bills, longer recovery timelines, and a greater need for ongoing care such as physical therapy.
As a general rule, victims who experience paralysis tend to receive higher settlements than those with less severe injuries, such as bulging discs. Whether a victim will require lifetime care is also a major factor in determining overall compensation.
Filing a Spinal Cord Injury Claim
Because of the high cost of treatment, most spinal cord injury victims need to file a personal injury lawsuit to recover the compensation they deserve. According to the National Library of Medicine, lifetime costs for a complete spinal cord injury can exceed $1,100,000, while incomplete injuries can cost more than $550,000.
Building a strong case typically requires proving three key elements. First, that the spinal cord injury resulted from the incident itself rather than a pre-existing condition. Second, the accident occurred because of another party’s negligence. Third, the injury could have been avoided if the at-fault party had acted differently.
Gathering this evidence often requires medical records, accident reconstruction, and testimony that can be difficult to compile without legal guidance from an experienced local law firm.
How an Experienced Attorney Can Help
Recovering from a spinal cord injury is challenging enough without also having to navigate a complex legal process. An experienced personal injury attorney can shoulder that burden, allowing victims to focus on recovery.
An experienced personal injury attorney can help gather and organize the medical evidence needed to prove both the extent of the injury and its connection to the accident. This includes working with medical experts who can speak to long-term prognosis and future care needs.
Insurance companies often try to minimize payouts, especially in high-value spinal cord injury claims. A skilled attorney knows how to negotiate against these tactics and, when necessary, take a case to trial to pursue full and fair compensation.
Because every spinal cord injury case involves unique medical, financial, and personal circumstances, working with an attorney who understands how to build a comprehensive claim can make a significant difference in the outcome. From calculating long-term costs to identifying all liable parties, experienced legal representation helps ensure that no aspect of a victim’s recovery is overlooked.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, speaking with a personal injury attorney as soon as possible can help protect your right to compensation.
