Spinal cord injuries are life-altering and often result in permanent disability, loss of independence, and overwhelming medical expenses. If you or a loved one has experienced a spinal cord injury in New Orleans, it’s crucial to understand your legal rights and options for compensation. At Dudley DeBosier, our experienced New Orleans spinal cord injury lawyers are here to help guide you through the legal process and fight for the compensation you need for medical care, rehabilitation, and long-term support.
Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are categorized by the extent of damage to the spine. These injuries can be either complete or incomplete, depending on whether any motor or sensory function remains below the point of injury.
Complete Injuries: Total loss of sensation and motor function below the site of injury
Incomplete Injuries: Partial preservation of sensory or motor function
Common injuries include paraplegia, which affects the lower body, and quadriplegia, which affects both the arms and legs. These injuries can result in varying degrees of paralysis and often lead to a major loss of independence.
Beyond the immediate injury and associated medical treatment, victims also face ongoing challenges such as physical pain, the need for assistive devices, and the prospect of long-term care.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
There are many different reasons someone might suffer a spinal cord injury. Unfortunately, these injuries are often caused by another party’s negligence or reckless behavior.
Some of the most common causes we see include:
- Motor Vehicle Accidents: This is the leading cause of spinal cord injuries, as high-impact collisions can easily damage the spine.
- Slip-and-Fall Accidents: These are common in both residential and public settings—particularly among the elderly.
- Workplace Accidents: Construction sites and factories present significant risks as falls and machinery-related injuries are common in these settings.
- Acts of Violence: Gunshot wounds or physical assaults can cause devastating spinal cord damage.
- Sports and Recreational Injuries: Contact sports like football and high-risk activities like diving contribute to many spinal injuries.
Each of these accidents may involve multiple parties who failed to uphold safety standards. It’s our job to hold them accountable so that we can help victims recover much-needed compensation.
Long-Term Impact of Spinal Cord Injuries
The effects of a spinal cord injury go far beyond the immediate injury, often requiring lifelong medical and personal care. Victims and their families face a variety of long-term challenges, including:
- Medical Costs: Spinal cord injury treatment often involves surgeries, rehabilitation, assistive devices like wheelchairs, and home modifications. The costs can be staggering and extend over a lifetime.
- Physical and Emotional Toll: Victims frequently experience chronic pain, loss of independence, and mental health struggles such as depression and anxiety from losing their ability to live and move as they did before.
- Impact on Family Members: Family members often become caregivers. The sadness for their injured loved one, the emotional strain, and financial burdens are devastating.
Compensation Available for Spinal Cord Injury Victims
Victims of spinal cord injuries may be entitled to various forms of compensation, which can cover:
- Medical Expenses: Immediate and ongoing costs, including surgeries, hospital stays, rehabilitation, and assistive devices
- Lost Wages and Earning Capacity: Compensation for income lost because of the injury and the victim’s inability to work in the future
- Pain and Suffering: Damages for physical pain, emotional trauma, and loss of enjoyment of life
- Long-Term Care: Funds to cover in-home care, nursing facilities, or special living arrangements
- Home Modifications: Necessary changes to a victim’s home to accommodate mobility needs, such as wheelchair ramps, widened doorways, and safety adjustments to bathrooms
Compensation for these losses aims to ease the financial burden caused by the injury and to help victims live as fully as possible.
Proving Liability in Spinal Cord Injury Cases
Establishing liability in a spinal cord injury case requires demonstrating that another party’s negligence caused the injury. This involves:
- Determining Fault: Identifying responsible parties, such as reckless drivers, negligent property owners, or employers failing to maintain a safe work environment
- Collecting Evidence: Gathering medical records, accident reports, witness testimony, and expert testimony to support the case
- Dealing With Insurance Companies: Negotiating with insurance adjusters to establish liability and ensure fair compensation for long-term needs
The Role of Expert Testimony in Spinal Cord Injury Cases
Expert testimony is often crucial in spinal cord injury cases. These specialists can help clarify the severity and long-term impact of the injury:
- Medical Experts: Can explain the extent of the injury and how it affects mobility, quality of life, and the need for ongoing care
- Economic Experts: Can calculate future medical costs, loss of earning capacity, and expenses for home modifications
- Life Care Planners: Can provide a detailed assessment of long-term needs, ensuring that compensation covers both present and future care
These experts strengthen your case and ensure that all future costs are factored into the compensation claim.
Why You Need a New Orleans Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
Spinal cord injury cases are complex, requiring an experienced lawyer who understands the lifelong impact of such injuries. After a spinal cord injury, you need a lawyer who can do the following:
- Navigate Complex Injury Claims: Deeply understand how spinal injury cases differ from typical personal injury claims due to their lifelong impact
- Negotiate With Insurance Adjusters: Protect your rights and ensure that insurance companies don’t minimize your injuries or compensation
- Build a Strong Case: Gather evidence, secure expert witnesses, and prepare your case for trial if necessary
- Fight for Maximum Compensation: Whether through negotiation or in court, ensure that you receive the full compensation you deserve
Why Choose Our Firm for Your Spinal Cord Injury Case
Our firm is dedicated to helping spinal cord injury victims in New Orleans recover the compensation for what they’ve lost and will need going forward. Here’s what every client can expect.
- A Proven Track Record: We have decades of experience handling complex injury claims.
- No Upfront Fees: We work on a contingency basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case.
- Dedication to Maximizing Compensation: We fight to secure the best possible outcome for our clients.
- Client Testimonials: Check out our client testimonials or ask around to learn how we’ve recovered significant compensation for spinal cord accident victims across Louisiana.
Contact Our New Orleans Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Today
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, contact our experienced New Orleans spinal cord injury lawyers today. We offer free consultations and are ready to help you seek the compensation you deserve.
