Houston Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers

Everyone experiences accidents on occasion, and in some instances, these may even require medical treatment. Fortunately, even physical harm that requires a visit to the emergency room typically doesn’t create lasting damage. This isn’t the case, however, when an accident involves a spinal injury.

Such an injury can cause accident victims to suffer a high degree of pain along with other physical ailments like paralysis. High medical costs coupled with an inability to work typically lead to great financial difficulty for those affected and their families. If you or a loved one was injured in such an incident, reaching out to a spinal cord injury lawyer in Houston may be your best course of action.

Dealing with spine damage is difficult and costly, but if someone else caused your injury, you shouldn’t be left to deal with the burden on your own. That cost should be put where it belongs: on the negligent defendant. Even if you’re unsure of who might be responsible for your spinal cord injury (SCI), you might feel as if something is not quite right.

At the Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown, our personal injury attorneys are ready to investigate your case and hold liable parties accountable. Contact us today for a free consultation, and we’ll help you figure out whether you’re owed compensation and how to move forward from incomplete spinal cord injuries or complete spinal cord injuries.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

The most common causes of spinal cord injuries affect over 17,000 Americans every year. Such incidents often stem from a traumatic blow to the head, neck, or back. Unfortunately, many of these victim injuries are a direct result of someone else’s negligence.

Anything from distracted driving to failing to maintain a property can lead to the following accidents — and in some cases, they can’t even be classified as “accidents.” If you experience any of the following common causes of spinal cord injury, you may have a difficult road ahead:

Car Accidents: This is the leading cause of spinal cord injury cases every year. A car accident is involved in nearly one-third of all such injuries.
Fall accidents: The second leading cause of SCIs is accidents involving slips and falls. These account for about one-quarter of all spine injuries.
Gunshot wounds: Gunshot wounds — including accidental and criminal violence — cause about 1 out of every 10 injuries to the spinal column.
Motor vehicle accidents: Close to 7% of all spinal cord injury accidents involve motorcycles.
Diving incidents: Just under 5% of all yearly spinal cord injuries are caused by diving accidents.
Medical/surgery complications: Just over 4% of all spinal injury cases stem from medical and surgical complications. These may be the result of medical malpractice.

There are a variety of accident types that can lead to these injuries. For instance, injuries sustained in auto collisions or a slip and fall commonly stem from workplace accidents. There are also other incident types — such as deep knife wounds and other injuries — that can lead to spinal damages you might not expect. It’s an unfortunate fact, but SCIs are not uncommon — and the leading causes of such injuries are experienced by tens of millions of individuals every single year.

Fortunately, many of these accidents will not lead to permanent damage. Most spinal cord injuries that occur in these incidents — on the other hand — will cause at least some undue interruption to a victim’s life.

Types of Spinal Cord Damage

There are obviously many different accidents that can lead to a spinal cord injury. In all of these cases, though, the trauma could manifest in a variety of different ways. This could dictate the type and extent of the symptoms related to the injury that a victim experiences.

A law firm that handles spinal cord injuries will be adept at identifying what each of these damage types could mean for you — and what they mean for the type and amount of compensation you may be entitled to. If you’ve suffered an SCI, it likely falls into one of the following categories:

Tearing and full separation
Stretching and twisting
Electrical or chemical shock
Perforation and laceration
Lesions
Crushes
Herniated discs

Unfortunately, broken bones are often the least of a person’s worries after suffering a spinal cord injury. That’s because the spine is directly connected to the entire series of nerves throughout our bodies. Nervous system damage can do irreparable harm.

Even where recovery is possible, the road to getting there can be incredibly difficult and painful. A Houston personal injury lawyer can help deal with the insurance company and handle the legal process while you focus on getting better.

You shouldn’t have to fight to receive fair compensation when someone else’s negligence leads to spinal cord injuries. That’s why it’s ideal to let the Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown do the fighting for you.

How Spine Trauma Affects a Plaintiff’s Life

The spinal cord is an essential part of the body. It carries impulses and signals along nerves throughout the entirety of the body. Signals from the brain that control movement and countless other essential functions may be disrupted or terminated due to a severe spine injury. A major accident can damage the spinal column and the spinal cord itself.

With this trauma comes a change in lifestyle — and not for the better. Paralysis may result from such an injury, and a plaintiff might deal with severe pain for the rest of their lives or even be unable to care for themselves. In nearly all cases, medical expenses can be detrimental to the victim and their family. For instance, a 25-year-old who suffers an injury leading to High Tetraplegia will face nearly $5 million in lifetime medical costs.

Since the median lifetime earnings of American citizens is only $1.7 million, it’s clear that a spinal cord injury claim may be necessary to avoid financial ruin. This is especially true since many victims lose their ability to maintain gainful employment at all.

You’ve got a tough road ahead of you following a spinal cord injury, so don’t hesitate to contact a personal injury attorney. That decision may well have a lasting effect on the rest of your life.

Symptoms Following a Nervous System Injury

Trauma that affects the spine can lead to debilitating symptoms. These symptoms may affect only certain areas or the entire body. They may be temporary or they could last for the rest of your life. Even if you don’t experience full paraplegia or similar catastrophic injuries, the potential symptoms you might deal with can still cause significant disruption to your life. These include:

Chronic pain
Difficulty breathing
Loss of bowel function
Digestive control issues
Loss of sexual function

A Houston spinal cord injury attorney understands that these symptoms can be burdensome even for those who don’t lose any motor function. Anyone injured in a car accident or other incident would deserve compensation if the negligence of another led to their injury.

For those who suffer life-changing damage that lasts a lifetime, though, failing to hold responsible parties accountable can destroy everything an individual has worked for in their life.

Don’t wait to reach out for help. Contact a spinal cord injury attorney today.

Statute of Limitations for Spinal Cord Injuries

Texas law allows injury victims to seek compensation when another individual or entity’s negligence, recklessness, or willful acts lead to harm. There are time limits on when you can file a case. However, they are meant to minimize frivolous lawsuits. Spinal cord injuries are typically subject to a two-year statute of limitations under state law.

If a case is not filed on time, the claim will be dismissed. This could happen even if the injury should otherwise result in substantial compensation. There are some possible exceptions, but these are few and far between.

This is why victims of spinal cord injuries should reach out to a personal injury law firm as soon as possible. Even if the clock doesn’t run out for filing spinal cord injury claims, procrastination can prove detrimental to your case.

Evidence tends to disappear over time. Witnesses move and change their numbers; police evidence can get lost; memories fade as we get older. Any of these issues can make proving your case much more difficult, and this equates to a smaller likelihood of receiving fair financial compensation.

Although time may be your best friend when recovering from serious physical damage, it is your enemy in the legal world as it pertains to spine injuries. Find an attorney that offers a free case review and works on a contingency fee basis.

This will help you better understand your rights and increase the odds of recovering fair damages — all while avoiding any out-of-pocket expenses. The legal team at the Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown is on standby waiting for your call.

Do Spinal Cord Injury Victims Need an Attorney?

When a liable party’s negligence leads to spinal cord injuries, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone that believes they shouldn’t have to pay compensation. Even if your case seems “open and shut,” though, you would still benefit from speaking to a team of spinal cord injury lawyers.

That’s because it will often be contingent on an insurance company to cover your losses. However, these losses can include living expenses, medical bills, ongoing medical care, lost wages, and many other damages. This can become quite costly for insurers, so they’re very likely to not offer a fair settlement at the start.

With an experienced attorney on the case, it’s much more difficult for insurers to take advantage of spinal cord injury victims. These lawyers also frequently have experience dealing with similar cases, so they’ll have a good idea of what constitutes a fair settlement.

If such an agreement cannot be reached, though, it may be necessary to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit. This process will typically also go more smoothly since attorneys are experienced in arguing such cases.

You’ll also garner many other benefits by working with legal professionals. That’s because they have:

Access to private investigators and investigative teams
Relationships with medical professionals and other experts
Research teams that can pinpoint specific laws that apply
Access to police reports, accident scene images, and other evidence

The law doesn’t require accident victims with spinal cord injuries to hire an attorney. You have every right to seek recovery for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages on your own.

Statistics consistently show, however, that legal representation improves your odds of fair compensation. Additionally, you have bigger things to worry about than dealing with insurance companies and filing legal paperwork.

You’ve got a tremendously difficult road ahead of you, but you don’t have to do all the heavy lifting. Let an attorney with experience dealing with spinal cord injuries help shoulder the weight and overcome the financial burden that’s ahead.

Consult a Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Houston Today

Any spinal cord injury can lead to disastrous consequences for accident victims. In addition to pain and suffering — and the potential for lifelong damage — spinal cord injury victims often face high medical bills and lost wages due to time away from work. In a best-case scenario, medical treatment will eventually allow the injured person to go back to their normal lives.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for a serious spinal cord injury to result in permanent damage. Regardless of your specific situation, speaking with spinal cord injury attorneys is likely the best court of action.

If you or a loved one suffered a spinal cord injury, the time to reach out for help is now. Texas law requires injury victims to file a claim within two years of their accident, but the truth is that any procrastination can negatively impact personal injury claims.

At the Law Office of Denise Adkison-Brown, you’ll find a Houston spinal cord injury lawyer who’s ready to fight for you. Contact us today by calling (713) 714-6206 for a free consultation. We can help you better understand your rights and how to move forward after a severe injury.