Atlanta Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers

Spinal cord injuries are possibly the most catastrophic a person can suffer. The spinal cord is involved in most bodily movement, and any injury can impair your mobility or balance, as well as the ability to feel. Call Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys if you were injured in a major accident and suspect you have suffered spinal cord damage. We have negotiated settlements for thousands of clients over the years, and we have built a reputation for fearless advocacy on behalf of injured men and women. Contact us to schedule a free consultation with an Atlanta spinal cord injury attorney.

Hire the Right Kind of Lawyer for Your Case

Spinal cord injuries are incredibly disruptive. Often, any bruise or compression on the spinal cord interferes with how neurological signals are passed up and down the body. These injuries can completely change a person’s life, often leaving them bedridden or possibly paralyzed.

In the typical personal injury case, an accident victim recovers in a few months and seeks financial compensation to cover all the expenses in the past. However, spinal cord injuries are different in many ways. These injuries are more disruptive and do not heal quickly or sometimes at all. Because a victim is continuing to receive treatment, it’s complicated to arrive at a dollar value for the claim.

Accident victims should seek out a lawyer with specific experience in spinal cord injuries. These are some of the most expensive injuries to treat, and a lawyer should properly seek compensation for all reasonably expected future losses, as well.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

Injuries vary in severity as well as the symptoms they cause. Doctors classify spinal cord injuries as:

• Complete injuries. With a complete injury, the cord is so damaged that no signals can travel past the site of injury. A victim will suffer a loss of movement and sensation from the point of impact.
• Incomplete injuries. With this tape of injury, compression or damage to the cord impairs the ability of signals to travel beyond the site of injury. Consequently, incomplete injuries lead to different degrees of impairment. Some victims will suffer only mild physical disability, while others cannot move their legs.

There are various incomplete injuries, including:

• Anterior cord syndrome. The front of the cord is injured, which can impair a person’s movement.
• Brown-Sequard syndrome. One side of the cord is damaged, resulting in a more pronounced impairment on one side of the body. For example, a person might lose sensation and mobility in their left arm and leg.

Your medical team will provide a prognosis about possible recovery and treatment, but the primary focus initially is on stabilizing the spinal column and reducing any pressure on the cord.

Accidents Which Cause Spinal Cord Injuries

The vertebrae surrounding the spinal cord offer considerable protection. But even the strongest bones can break under sufficient trauma or force. And when they do, tiny bits of bone fragment can shred or nick the spinal cord. In other accidents, a vertebra is dislodged or pushed out of alignment and presses against the spine.

Some of the major causes of spinal cord injuries include:

• Motor vehicle collisions. High-speed collisions cause severe trauma to the human body. Even someone belted in and with an air bag properly deployed can suffer a spinal cord injury.
• Pedestrian accidents. Nothing absorbs any of the force in a pedestrian accident. Instead, pedestrians can suffer horrifying back injuries when struck by a fast-moving car or when they are thrown in the air and land on their backs.
• Falls. A fall can severely injure the back, especially if you fall down a flight of stairs or from a different level, such as from the roof.
• Defective products. A defective product might malfunction and cause a traumatic accident. For example, a bicycle’s brakes might fail, sending your child flying down a hill uncontrollably, or a kitchen appliance blows up. The product manufacturer or designer could be at fault.
• Violent assaults. Some spinal cord injuries stem from assault and battery. These intentional acts are also criminal. Our firm can hold the assailant accountable, and we might also sue a property owner for failing to employ sufficient security to prevent the attack.

These are some of the most common reasons someone suffers a major injury. Reach out to us to discuss the circumstances surrounding your injuries.

Spinal Cord Injury Symptoms

Look for the following:

• Loss of movement. You can’t move your foot, leg, or hand.
• Difficulty breathing. This may be a sign that your spinal cord is injured and requires immediate medical treatment.
• Muscle weakness. You might be able to move a limb but have no strength, e.g., you can’t grasp a bottle or jar.
• Incontinence. Loss of bowel or bladder control is common with these injuries.
• Muscle spasms. A limb might spasm out of control following injury to the spinal cord.
• Impotency. Loss of sexual function is a sign of spinal cord injury, although there could be other causes, too.

Financial Compensation for a Spinal Cord Injury in Atlanta

At Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys, we seek financial compensation for clients hurt in major accidents. This compensation should pay damages—losses you have suffered after the accident. We fully analyze your bills and finances to ensure we are seeking the maximum compensation.

Medical Care

Emergency medical treatment is necessary to preserve as much spinal cord functioning as possible while also minimizing complications, such as difficulty breathing.

Once you are stabilized, however, you can continue to have ongoing expenses to deal with the injury. These expenses include:

• Future surgeries;
• Physical therapy to relearn how to walk, grasp items, or sit up;
• Occupational therapy to learn new ways to perform familiar tasks;
• Wheelchairs and other assistive devices;
• Prescription medication for pain, depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues;
• At-home help if needed;
• Nursing home or other long-term care stays.

These expenses depend on the severity of the injury; however, many spinal cord victims have extreme medical expenses.

Lost Income/Wages

Spinal cord injuries keep people out of work. There is no way someone can perform a job, even a desk job, with a major spinal cord injury. Many clients are out of work for at least a year as they rehab.

In the case of a complete injury, a person might be consigned to a nursing home for life and never work again. They will lose out on decades of income.

Pain and Suffering

Our clients deserve compensation for non-economic or general damages. These are harder to calculate, although they might make up a large fraction of any settlement.

Many spinal cord injury victims are struggling with:

• Pain
• Immobility
• Depression
• Irritability

They lose enjoyment of life and suffer strain on their marriages. Obviously, money cannot really “make up” or compensate someone for how their life has been thrown upside down after a spinal cord injury. Nonetheless, Georgia law allows victims to seek these damages, and our firm will include them in settlement negotiations.

Calculating Future Losses

One unique issue with spinal cord cases is that our clients are rarely healed by the time we negotiate a settlement. Quite the opposite—they are often staring at years or decades of ongoing medical care.

We can seek compensation for future losses in a personal injury case. We work with experts to understand how much money you could have earned if you never suffered injury in an accident, as well as expected medical care in the coming years. This information informs how we analyze whether a settlement offer is fair.

What Limits Your Ability to Receive Compensation?

Not everyone who suffers a major injury will receive what they deserve. Why?

1.       Defendant’s lack of funds. We cannot force a defendant to pay money they don’t have. In a car accident, the driver might only have the state’s minimum insurance, which does not nearly cover your medical expenses, to say nothing of pain and suffering. Let us review what insurance policies we can submit claims to maximize your financial recovery.

2.       Contributory negligence. Georgia law prohibits a victim from obtaining any compensation if they are 50% or more to blame for an accident. (See O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33.) Any share of blame below 50% will reduce compensation by a similar amount.

3.       Waiting too long. The statute of limitations applies to spinal cord injuries. Typically, a victim gets only two years to file a lawsuit against the defendant for their accident. We can prevent your case from going past this deadline and being dismissed.

Schedule your free consultation with our Atlanta spinal cord injury attorney. We have years of relevant experience with catastrophic injury cases.

Why Us?

Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys has obtained billions of dollars for our personal injury clients over the years. We credit our full knowledge of personal injury law, including details about the physical injuries our clients suffer. From this knowledge base, we confidently negotiate settlements with the state’s largest insurance companies.

Our lawyers are also unafraid to head into court and file a personal injury lawsuit against a defendant if necessary. When settlement talks stall, we get to work finding other ways to obtain fair compensation.

Reach Out to an Atlanta Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

We can meet anywhere convenient to discuss your accident and what steps to take next to preserve your rights. Call us today at (404) 529-3476.