Phoenix Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

A spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most catastrophic injuries you can suffer in an accident. The odds are overwhelming that you will at least lose some use of your limbs on a long-term basis. Even if you can recover, it will only come after a long and grueling rehabilitation.

If someone else caused your spinal cord injury, you might hold them legally responsible. Otherwise, you may not get the necessary care, and your family will lack crucial support when you can no longer provide for them. To learn more, contact a Phoenix spinal cord injury attorney from Gallagher & Kennedy.

We handle high-value catastrophic injury cases and get the results our clients need, including obtaining $10 million for a child with life-changing injuries from a car crash. Reach out to our spinal cord injury lawyers today to discuss your case.

Why Choose Gallagher & Kennedy for Your Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

Gallagher & Kennedy has over 40 years of experience representing accident victims in Phoenix and across Arizona. Our experienced personal injury lawyers have handled some of the highest profile cases in Arizona and around the country, with many record-setting verdicts and settlements. We have the experience and resources to face off with major corporations to get our clients the compensation they need and deserve. Contact us today to discuss your case and your legal options.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Trauma Causes Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord carries messages from the brain to the rest of the body to control movement. The spine is a series of bones called vertebrae surrounding the spinal cord. Humans are born with 33 vertebrae, although they fuse over time to become 24 bones. The spinal cord runs down the middle of the spinal canal, and the vertebrae protect the spinal cord from injury.

However, acute trauma can cause the spinal cord to bruise or tear. The vertebrae can break or compress around the spinal cord.

The spinal cord is not like many other parts of the body. It does not heal on its own. If the spinal cord tears, it does not repair itself.

How Spinal Cord Injuries Happen

Here are some of the common causes of spinal cord injuries:

• Car accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Sports injuries
• Violence
• Infections
• Bicycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Motorcycle accidents

The Four Primary Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

Usually, the higher the injury is on the spinal cord, the more severe the damage. There are four primary kinds of spinal cord injuries:

• Cervical spinal cord injuries – The most severe spinal cord injuries affect the area around the head and neck. The accident victim will lose most or all use of their limbs and may have trouble breathing.
• Thoracic spinal cord injuries – These injuries impact the abdominal and upper back muscles, and the accident victim can usually still use their arms and hands.
• Lumbar spinal cord injuries – Injuries to this spinal cord region impact the hips and legs, and the patient will either be unable to walk or walk with difficulty.
• Sacral spinal cord injuries – As the least severe spinal cord injury, the patient may still have the ability to walk.

Common Spinal Cord Injury Symptoms

SCIs sometimes immediately appear at the accident scene when the victim loses feeling and the ability to use some or all of their limbs. In other cases, the victim will not know the extent of the damage right away.

An accident victim may notice some of these symptoms:

• Loss of movement in part or all of the body
• Weakness in a particular part of the body
• Spams or exaggerated reflexes
• Loss of bladder control
• An intense stinging sensation
• Difficulty breathing

These symptoms require immediate medical treatment. The doctor may need to perform surgery to stabilize the area or remove bone fragments that put pressure on the spinal cord.

If you or a loved one experiences any of these symptoms following an accident, seek immediate medical treatment. A medical professional can determine the extent of your injuries and recommend treatment, which may include surgery to stabilize the area or remove bone fragments that put pressure on the spinal cord. Seeking medical attention also establishes the accident injury on your medical records and shows you are taking your injuries seriously.

Keep in mind that a spinal cord injury patient’s prognosis is not always immediately known after the accident or the initial surgery. The patient may need intensive rehabilitation to see what function they can regain if they have lost it in the wake of the accident. Regardless, the days following a spinal cord injury are sure to be filled with angst, physical difficulties, and uncertainties.

At the same time, you may be dealing with the legal process because it is the only way that you can get financial compensation for your injuries. An experienced lawyer will handle all the details for you, so you can focus on what is essential because you have a long and challenging road ahead.

Should I Take the Insurance Company’s First Settlement Offer?

When you or a family member suffers a spinal cord injury, you face costly medical treatment. And if you’re unable to work due to the injuries, those bills can add up quickly. An offer from the insurance company my look like a godsend. But you should never accept an offer without first consulting with a personal injury attorney.

Insurance companies are notorious for short-changing accident victims to protect their own bottom line. If you accept their offer to settle your case without understanding your claim’s real value, you cannot demand more money if your injuries require more medical treatment than anticipated or if you cannot return to work in the same capacity.

How Much Is My Spinal Cord Injury Claim Worth?

Perhaps the most crucial function that your lawyer will perform is to calculate the value of your claim. This calculation takes time and diligence because it will include many considerations. While it seems unfair to hold you in the future to the estimation that your attorney makes now, that is exactly how personal injury cases work. You will get one opportunity to seek compensation for your injuries, and the money must last for the rest of your life.

With that in mind, your attorney may work with experts to understand your current and future situation. Everything begins with your medical diagnosis and prognosis. You will file your claim or lawsuit once you have reached the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI).

MMI is when further medical care will not improve your condition. Essentially, it is a plateau in your healing. Before then, you will not know your damages with certainty. Once you understand what you face, you can begin to seek financial compensation.

How Your Lawyer Will Value Your Claim

Once your lawyer understands your prognosis, your lawyer may work with these experts to understand your present and future condition:

• Medical experts to understand the full extent of your condition and any prognosis for your future.
• Mental health experts help quantify the damage that your long-term physical injuries can do to your mental condition.
• Vocational experts to understand whether you can work again and what duties you can perform.
• Life care planning experts to understand what activities of daily life you will need assistance with and what you can do on your own.
• Economic experts to factor in how inflation may impact the value of your settlement dollars tomorrow (in today’s inflationary environment, we cannot overstate this).

Spinal Cord Injuries Are Expensive

Statistics show the financial struggles families of spinal cord injury patients will encounter.

• Paraplegia will have medical expenses exceeding $500,000 in the first year and $75,000 annually afterward. A 25-year-old who suffers from paraplegic injury will incur medical costs of over $2.5 million over the rest of their life.
• Low tetraplegia will have medical expenses that exceed $840,000 in the first year and $123,000 per year for each year after that. Lifetime medical costs for a 25-year-old who suffers this injury will approach $4 million.
• High tetraplegia will have medical expenses exceeding $1.1 million in the first year and over $200,000 annually afterward. Lifetime medical costs will exceed $5 million.

These figures are just for medical expenses. The patient may need multiple surgeries to stabilize the injured area and possibly help them regain some function. In addition, they will require extensive medical equipment and retrofitting of their home to accommodate their injury.

Other Spinal Cord Injury Damages that You Must Receive

These figures do not include any of the indirect costs associated with spinal cord injuries. Patients will need to live with other costs, both financial and physical. Personal injury lawyers can recover compensation for all of these injuries.

The other compensation you may receive for an SCI includes:

• Lost income while recovering from your injuries
• Future loss of income, if you cannot return to your job in the same capacity
• The costs of home and life care for your daily activities
• Pain and suffering from the physical and emotional impacts of living with this severe injury
• Loss of enjoyment of life from the life that you lived before the accident
• Embarrassment and humiliation

Spinal Cord injury cases result in some of the highest compensation of all personal injury claims. You need an experienced spinal cord injury attorney who knows how to negotiate the best settlement for you and your family. If the insurance company does not offer you the compensation you deserve, your lawyer can take your case to court and persuade the jury to award it to you.

What is the Legal Process for a Spinal Cord Injury Claim or Lawsuit?

The legal process after an SCI can also be tricky. The stakes cannot be higher because you’re facing mounting medical expenses at the same time when you most likely cannot work due to your injuries, and thus, cannot bring any money in on your own. You must deal with the difficult insurance company and their policyholder who have self-protection as their primary interest.

Like every other personal injury case, you must prove that someone else’s negligence caused your injuries before you can get a settlement offer or a jury award. Negligence is the legal term for when someone does something that the average person will not do that causes injury.

For example, if you have suffered an injury in a car accident, it will be negligence when the other driver ran a red light and T-boned your car at an intersection. Failing to stop when a pedestrian is in a crosswalk and hitting them will also be negligence.

How Can a Phoenix Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Can Help Me?

Negligence requires some proof, so you can explain precisely how the other party is to blame for your accident and why they need to pay for your injuries in a claim or lawsuit. You cannot take care of this on your own when your health and long-term physical future hang in the balance.

That is why you need to turn your case over to a diligent and trusted lawyer to handle the legal process while you adjust to your new reality after your accident. Your spinal cord injury attorney will investigate the accident, gather evidence, hire expert witnesses (if needed), consider all liable parties, and value your claim. They will negotiate for full compensation from the insurance company. If the insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation, we will file a spinal cord injury lawsuit in civil court on your behalf.

To learn more about what we can do for you, see our results and client testimonials.

Contact the Phoenix Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys at Gallagher & Kennedy Today

An injury to the spinal cord is a grave matter that can affect victims for the rest of their lives.

When you or a loved one suffers an injury in an accident, the personal injury lawyers at Gallagher & Kennedy are here to fight the legal battle necessary to obtain your just compensation. We offer realistic and objective advice as we advocate for you.

Our lawyers get satisfaction from helping accident victims get the justice and the money they deserve.

To begin the legal process, call our office at (602) 530-8400 for your free initial consultation or send us a message online. You owe us nothing unless you win your case.

Schedule A Free Consultation

Gallagher Kennedy – Phoenix Office

2575 E Camelback Rd, Suite 1100
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Tel: (602) 530-8400