Spinal cord injuries can be profoundly devastating. Physically, psychologically, and financially, spinal cord injuries often come with crippling impacts. These injuries can also shorten lives, multiplying the risk of premature death by two to five times according to the World Health Organization.
Far too often, spinal cord injuries are caused by preventable negligence. Whenever that happens, victims and families may have various options for justice.
At Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers, our Ruston spinal cord injury lawyers are dedicated to helping people recover from injuries caused by negligence. For more than 20 years, we have been advocating tirelessly for justice and compensation when it matters most.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
SCI describes damage to the spinal cord caused by degeneration, illness, or trauma. This damage can be incomplete, meaning the spinal cord is compressed or torn but still intact, or complete, in which case the spinal cord is totally severed.
More than 90 percent of spinal cord injuries result from trauma. The most serious involve complete SCIs that cause permanent paralysis.
- Paraplegia: paralysis of the legs and lower body
- Triplegia: lower body and one arm
- Tetraplegia or quadriplegia: lower and upper body including arms and legs, possibly also the neck, shoulders, and head
Spinal Cord Injury Statistics and Lifetime Costs
The prevalence and impacts of SCIs are significant. High tetraplegia, low tetraplegia, and paraplegia each carry substantial first-year and lifetime medical costs and living expenses, not including costs associated with lost earnings.
What Causes Spinal Cord Injury?
Traffic Accidents and Spinal Cord Injury
Nearly 40 percent of spinal cord injuries result from car accidents, truck wrecks, bus crashes, and other traffic collisions. The force of impact is often enough to seriously damage the spinal cord. Reckless drivers are often to blame for these crashes, but commercial motorists, poor road conditions, and other factors may also be involved.
Falls and SCIs
Falling causes roughly one in three spinal cord injuries. These falls can happen from elevated areas, but they can also occur on the same level. Slip, trip, and fall incidents commonly cause SCIs. Depending on where the fall occurs, property owners, contractors, or equipment manufacturers can be liable.
Other Spinal Cord Injury Causes
Dangerous products, violent assaults, medical negligence, and sports-related accidents are also common causes of SCIs. These incidents can involve unique forms of negligence depending on the specific circumstances.
Do I Have a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?
There are a few key factors to consider: when the accident occurred, who is at fault, what you can prove, and what deadlines apply. A Ruston spinal cord injury attorney can explain your options and help you determine liability, the essential evidence, and the next steps in a potential claim.
When Should I Contact a Ruston Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer?
As soon as possible. The longer you put off talking to an attorney, the more you could be hurting your chances of recovering. Evidence becomes harder to preserve as time passes, and at-fault parties may already be building a defense.
How Do Spinal Cord Injury Cases Work?
The event that caused the injury can dictate how a subsequent claim proceeds. Claims involving on-the-job SCIs can involve a completely different process than claims involving crash-related spinal cord injuries. No matter what type of negligence caused an SCI, insurance companies will typically be involved, and most claims settle outside of court.
How Much Are Spinal Cord Injury Settlements and Compensation?
Every spinal cord injury is different, and each SCI claim is unique. Compensation hinges on details specific to a given accident, victim, and case. Successful SCI cases tend to include compensation for medical bills past and future, lost wages, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other damages.