A spinal cord injury may cause tremendous physical suffering and leave you grappling with steep financial losses from the cost of medical care and missed income. When your spinal cord injury is severe enough, you may find yourself unable to live and work as you did prior to your accident.
You should speak with a York spinal cord injury lawyer when you believe your injuries were caused by someone’s negligence. A catastrophic injury attorney can determine who the negligent party or parties are and aggressively seek compensation for you. Our skilled legal team recovered $450,000 in an insurance settlement for a client who required spinal fusion surgery after a car accident.
Forms and Symptoms of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries occur when someone sustains severe damage to any portion of the spinal column. The location of the spinal injury is a significant factor in the long-term physical ramifications the person may be forced to deal with.
For example, an injury to the sacral portion of the spinal column can leave the individual facing a partial or total loss of use of their lower extremities, as well as the inability to control certain bodily functions. An injury to the cervical spine can lead to total paralysis, also known as quadriplegia. An injury to the lumbar spinal cord could leave a person paralyzed from the waist down, also called paraplegia.
In addition to the location of the spinal cord injury, another factor that can determine patient outcomes is whether the injury is categorized as complete or incomplete. A complete spinal cord injury occurs when the injured person loses all feeling and function below the area of the spinal column that sustains damage. With an incomplete spinal cord injury, the individual may still retain feeling and function below the point of injury.
Spinal cord injury symptoms can include respiratory difficulties, loss of mobility, loss of feeling, diminished sensations like touch, numbness, tingling, unsteadiness while standing or walking, and cardiovascular dysfunction. A York attorney can help when you have experienced a spinal cord injury that was caused by someone’s careless behavior or wrongdoing.
Key Elements of a Spinal Cord Injury Case
In order to collect monetary damages for the pain, suffering, medical bills, and other losses you have experienced from a spinal cord injury, your attorney must be able to demonstrate that someone is to blame for what happened to you. In legal terms, this means showing someone’s negligence was the direct cause of your spinal cord injury. To prove negligence, an incident must satisfy four distinct elements:
- A person or entity owed you a legal duty of care.
- That person or entity violated that legal duty of care.
- A direct, causal relationship exists between that violation and your spinal cord injury.
- You suffered damages because of your spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injuries can occur because of many types of incidents that could indicate negligence, including medical malpractice, car crashes, sports injuries, and fall accidents. A York attorney can investigate liability for your spinal cord injury and seek out any and all evidence to support your case.
You should not wait too long to contact an attorney about filing a spinal cord injury claim. Pennsylvania law affords a relatively short window to file most injury claims, which is two years from the date of the underlying incident.
Get Help from a York Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
When negotiating with an insurance adjuster for a full and fair settlement or bringing the case before a court, you should have an experienced attorney handling your legal matter from day one. A York spinal cord injury lawyer can provide the representation you deserve.
An attorney can overcome the hurdles and tactics the other side might deploy to deny or devalue your claim. Reach out to our office today to speak with an attorney about your spinal cord injury and what compensation may be available. You won’t owe us anything until we win the compensation you deserve.
