Compassionate Legal Support for Spinal Cord Injury Victims
Suffering a spinal cord injury because of someone else’s negligence creates immense hardship. From adapting to new physical limitations to managing ongoing medical treatments, the burden can feel unmanageable. A New Jersey spinal cord injury lawyer can review your case at no cost and explain how to hold the at-fault party accountable and obtain the compensation you deserve.
The personal injury attorneys at Stark & Stark understand the challenges you’re facing, and we’re here to help. With decades of experience representing injury victims, we provide the compassionate guidance and tenacious advocacy you need to increase your chances for success. Contact us today to request a free consultation to learn how we can assist you.
Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating physical traumas a person can endure. They disrupt the body’s ability to transmit signals from the brain, often leading to significant and permanent changes in mobility, sensation, and overall bodily function. The effects of these injuries extend far beyond the physical, influencing every aspect of an individual’s life, including their career, relationships, and future plans. Understanding the nature of these injuries, their causes, and their long-term implications can be essential for pursuing the compensation needed to rebuild your life.
Overview of Spinal Cord Injuries and Their Impact
The spinal cord serves as the central communication pathway between the brain and the rest of the body. Any damage to this vital structure can result in partial or total loss of function below the site of the injury. The degree and nature of impairment depend on the severity and location of the injury, which is why immediate and comprehensive medical evaluation is critical.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries: Complete vs. Incomplete
Spinal cord injuries are generally categorized into two types:
- Complete Injuries: These injuries result in total loss of sensation and motor function below the injury site. For example, a complete injury at the cervical level may lead to quadriplegia (paralysis of all four limbs).
- Incomplete Injuries: In these cases, some sensory or motor function remains below the injury level. The extent of retained function varies widely, depending on the specific injury and individual circumstances.
Each type of injury presents unique challenges and recovery pathways, requiring a customized approach to treatment and rehabilitation.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries often result from accidents or incidents that could have been avoided with proper care, attention, or adherence to safety protocols. These injuries frequently occur due to negligence, and understanding their causes is an important step in holding responsible parties accountable.
Auto Accidents
Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries. High-impact crashes involving cars, trucks, motorcycles, or bicycles can result in severe trauma to the spine. Negligent drivers, defective vehicle parts, or poor road maintenance may contribute to these accidents.
Falls
Falls account for a significant percentage of spinal cord injuries, particularly among older adults and workers in hazardous environments. When property owners or employers fail to address safety hazards, they may be held liable for injuries.
Workplace Accidents
Certain industries, like construction, manufacturing, and transportation, pose an elevated risk of spinal cord injuries. Workplace accidents may result from:
- Heavy machinery malfunctions or improper use
- Falls from heights, such as scaffolding or rooftops
- Falling objects striking the back or neck
Employers are responsible for providing safe working conditions, proper training, and protective equipment to minimize these risks.
Medical Malpractice
Errors in medical treatment can also lead to spinal cord injuries. Examples include:
- Surgical mistakes that damage the spinal cord or surrounding nerves
- Delayed diagnosis or improper treatment of spinal conditions
- Administration of incorrect medications or procedures that exacerbate pre-existing spinal issues
Medical professionals who fail to meet the standard of care may be held accountable for resulting injuries.
Spinal cord injuries can result from many other scenarios as well. If you or a close family member suffered a spinal cord injury that someone else caused, you need to take swift legal action to secure compensation for both immediate and long-term recovery.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Your Spinal Cord Injury?
Spinal cord injury cases are rarely straightforward. In many situations, more than one party shares responsibility for the accident that caused your injury. Identifying every liable party is critical to recovering the full compensation you deserve.
Depending on the circumstances, potentially responsible parties may include:
- Negligent Drivers and Vehicle Owners: When a car, truck, or motorcycle accident causes your injury, the at-fault driver is the obvious starting point. But the vehicle’s owner, a trucking company, or even a fleet employer may also bear responsibility if they contributed to unsafe conditions on the road.
- Property Owners: If your injury occurred on someone else’s property, the owner may be liable under premises liability law for failing to maintain safe conditions.
- Employers and Contractors: Workplace spinal cord injuries often involve multiple parties. A general contractor, subcontractor, or equipment operator may each carry some degree of responsibility alongside your direct employer.
- Product Manufacturers: Defective safety equipment, faulty vehicle components, or malfunctioning machinery can contribute to a spinal cord injury. In these cases, the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of the product may face liability under product liability law.
- Medical Professionals and Hospitals: If negligent medical treatment caused or worsened your spinal cord injury, the treating physician, surgical team, or the hospital itself may be accountable.
Our attorneys conduct a thorough investigation into every possible source of liability in your case. Identifying all responsible parties strengthens your claim and ensures you are not left covering costs that someone else should bear.
Long-Term Consequences of Spinal Cord Injuries
The aftermath of a spinal cord injury is not confined to medical treatment. Many individuals face significant long-term challenges, including:
- Physical Adjustments: Mobility impairments may require wheelchairs, assistive devices, or home modifications.
- Ongoing Medical Needs: Many victims require lifelong medical care, including physical therapy, medications, and periodic surgeries.
- Loss of Income: Reduced earning capacity or inability to work can create financial strain.
- Lifestyle Changes: Individuals often experience shifts in their daily routines, recreational activities, and social interactions.
The impact of a spinal cord injury can ripple through every part of a person’s life, making it essential to seek adequate compensation to cover both current and future needs.
How Our New Jersey Law Firm Can Help
Advocacy Rooted in Experience
Stark & Stark has decades of experience advocating for spinal cord injury victims. Our approach combines thorough investigation, skilled negotiation, and a commitment to achieving the best outcome for our clients.
Comprehensive Case Investigation
Our legal team conducts in-depth evaluations to uncover all contributing factors in your case. From gathering medical records to consulting accident reconstruction experts, we leave no detail unexplored.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies
Insurance companies often aim to minimize payouts. We counter this by presenting compelling evidence and negotiating aggressively to ensure fair compensation for our clients.
Proven Record of Success
Our history of securing favorable settlements and verdicts demonstrates our ability to deliver results. We handle every aspect of your case so you can focus on recovery.
Accessible Legal Services
Stark & Stark offers a free initial consultation and works on a contingency fee basis. You won’t owe us legal fees until your case is resolved and compensation is secured.
Compensation Available for Spinal Cord Injury Victims
Spinal cord injuries bring substantial costs that extend far beyond initial medical expenses. Compensation typically includes:
- Medical Bills: Covering immediate and future healthcare costs.
- Rehabilitation: Funding physical therapy and other recovery services.
- Lost Wages: Addressing income lost due to inability to work.
- Home Modifications: Adapting living spaces for accessibility.
- Pain and Suffering: Compensating for the physical and emotional impact of the injury.
- Loss of Enjoyment: Reflecting the diminished ability to participate in activities.
- Caregiver Costs: Covering professional or familial caregiving needs.
By pursuing compensation, you ensure financial stability for yourself and your loved ones.
How Comparative Negligence Affects Your Spinal Cord Injury Claim
New Jersey follows a modified comparative negligence rule. Under this standard, your compensation is reduced by your percentage of fault. However, as long as you are found to be 50% or less responsible for the accident, you can still recover damages. If you are found more than 50% at fault, you are barred from recovering anything.
Insurance companies and defense attorneys understand this rule well. They frequently use it as leverage. They may exaggerate your share of fault to drive down your settlement offer or discourage you from pursuing your claim at all.
Our experienced spinal cord injury attorneys can counter these tactics by building a strong evidentiary record that accurately reflects what happened and minimizes any unfair attribution of fault to you.
The Spinal Cord Injury Claims Process
Initial Consultation and Case Evaluation
The process begins with a detailed review of your case. We identify liable parties and evaluate potential compensation.
Investigation and Evidence Gathering
Strong evidence strengthens your claim. We collect accident reports, medical records, and expert opinions to build your case.
Medical Documentation and Expert Testimony
Medical professionals may testify about the extent of your injuries, helping to establish the full impact on your life.
Settlement Negotiations
When dealing with insurance companies, we present a well-documented case to push for fair compensation. If they refuse to settle reasonably, we are fully prepared to proceed to trial.
Trial Preparation and Representation
If the case moves to court, we’ll advocate on your behalf to secure the best possible outcome. Our thorough preparation and courtroom experience ensure your case is presented effectively.
Why Time Is Critical
Legal Deadlines in New Jersey
New Jersey’s statute of limitations on personal injury claims allows you two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit in court. However, claims against government entities may have far shorter deadlines. Acting promptly ensures your attorney can file your case within the prescribed deadline.
Preservation of Evidence
Key evidence, such as accident scenes or surveillance footage, can degrade or disappear over time. You must consult an attorney promptly so they can preserve evidence to strengthen your claim.
Witness Testimonies
Witness memories can fade. Obtaining statements early ensures accurate and reliable accounts of events.
Medical Documentation
Thorough documentation of your injuries from the beginning reinforces your case and illustrates how the injury has affected your life.
Resources for Spinal Cord Injury Victims
Recovering from a spinal cord injury requires support from various resources:
- Specialized hospitals and rehabilitation centers in New Jersey, such as the Kessler Institute, offer outstanding spinal cord injury treatment.
- Support groups in New Jersey like Wheel Connections connect survivors to others who understand their experiences.
- Organizations such as the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation offer financial assistance to help ease the economic burden of treatment.
If you qualify for disability benefits, an attorney can help you navigate the process to secure aid. A lawyer may also have excellent recommendations for local companies that handle home modifications to make living spaces accessible.
Contact Our NJ Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys Now
At Stark & Stark, we understand the impact of a spinal cord injury on your life. Let our New Jersey spinal cord injury lawyers fight for the compensation you need to move forward. Contact us today at (800) 535-3425 for your free consultation.
Here are some questions and answers to help you better understand what’s involved in spinal cord injury matters and important steps to follow to safeguard your safety and rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Should I Do If a Person I Know or Love Has a Spinal Cord Injury?
If you or someone you know has been injured through the fault of another person, your personal injury lawyer will ask you to immediately obtain all records, witness statements and photographic evidence so that the issue of fault is immediately laid to rest. Your attorney must act promptly since memories fade, conditions change, and witnesses move. Without proof of fault you cannot support a claim for your injuries.
In an automobile accident, in order to prove who was at fault for the accident, your attorney should also obtain all investigative records from the highway state patrol and any other police agency involved, including witness and investigating officer interviews. In more complicated cases, your lawyer may hire licensed engineers to reconstruct the collision, or civil engineers to evaluate the effect of the highway design, or mechanical engineers to evaluate any equipment malfunction.
What Are the Typical Money Damage Injuries That Are Covered?
Most people are entitled to be compensated for their losses if they were injured because of another party’s negligence or careless actions. While the justice system recognizes that money cannot undo the accident that caused your injury, it works hard to provide fair financial damages to compensate for the injury. There are six main categories of damages you may be entitled to:
- Property Damages – You are entitled to repair or replacement of any property damaged in an accident – for example, damage to your car, your clothes, your eyeglasses, or other personal property.
- Medical Expenses – You are entitled to costs incurred for health care, including ambulance bills, hospital bills and charges for surgical, medical or chiropractic care. Depending upon the type of insurance coverage you or the other party purchased, you may be entitled to payment of these bills regardless of who caused the accident.
- Future Medical Expenses – You are entitled to a sum of money that will enable you to pay for future medical care of injuries or disabilities caused by the accident. For example, you may be entitled to future surgical care or future in-home nursing care if you are disabled.
- Lost Income – Even if you are self-employed or work on commission, you are entitled to be paid for the income lost because of your injury. These damages are meant to cover lost wages from your job while in the hospital, lost income while recuperating and visiting the doctor, and for continued therapy visits after your return to work.
- Lost Future Earning Capacity – If you are partially or completely disabled from employment because of your spinal cord injury, you are entitled to a sum of money that will compensate you for the lost capacity to earn income in the future.
- General Damages for Pain and Suffering – You are entitled to be compensated in dollars for the pain, suffering, disfigurement, and disability you have experienced as a result of the injury.
How Do Attorneys Decide How Much an Injury Claim Is Worth?
To find a total claim value, an attorney will add up the amounts you are entitled to for property damage, medical expenses to date, future medical expenses, lost earnings to date, future lost earnings, and general damages for pain and suffering, and then compare it to similar claims. Since damages for pain and suffering are difficult to evaluate, a second method of assigning a monetary settlement value is used. Your attorney will then review state, regional, and national publications and computerized databases to find similar claims with similar injuries and similar liability patterns to develop a statistical analysis of your claim’s value. If you have been seriously injured through someone else’s fault, you should not attempt to estimate the value of your claim without professional assistance.
How Does the Insurance Company Figure out What Is a Fair Claim?
Like all businesses, insurance companies are in business to make a profit. Generally, the insurance company’s profit is the difference between what it collects in premiums and what it pays out in claims. Therefore, the insurance adjuster’s job is to settle your claim for as little as possible to maximize the company’s profit. Your lawyer’s job is to settle your claim for its maximum value.
There are basically five steps an insurance adjuster must take in handling a personal injury claim:
- Collecting Information – Since the adjuster must collect information needed to understand your claim, your lawyer should provide all the required information to validate the claim to the adjuster and their company. Sometimes insurance adjusters are so busy looking for damaging information about you or your claim that they miss favorable information. Your attorney should collect and highlight that favorable information, such as witness statements, photographs of the collision and your injury, opinion letters from experts in medicine, and accident reconstruction or economic loss. When your attorney presents the claim to the adjuster, he is more likely to understand the significance of your claim.
- Setting Reserves – When a claim comes in, the company must set reserves, an accounting entry, to assure government regulators that the company has adequate money to pay the claim. If initial reserves are set too low, when the time comes to settle the claim, the adjuster will sometimes be too limited in the amount of money he can offer in settlement. Your attorney must get the appropriate information to the adjuster as soon as possible to assist the company in setting high enough reserves that the ultimate settlement can be for the full claim value.
- Evaluating Damages – Since the adjusters must evaluate the claim value, your attorney should provide them with all relevant information, including comparable cases from state, regional and national publications and computerized databases, and our own evaluation of the claim’s value to assist the adjuster in coming to a full and fair evaluation.
- Negotiating Settlement – Negotiating a settlement can be tricky. Often times a personal injury victim who attempts to negotiate a settlement with a professional insurance adjuster is likely to recover far less than the claim’s true value. We recommend the professional advice of a qualified attorney.
- Defending in Trial if Necessary – If a settlement cannot be negotiated, the insurance company must defend its position in court. To improve your chances for compensation at trial, your attorney must have a quality reputation, proven credentials, a fair but firm settlement posture that refuses to settle for less than a full claim value, and the ability and resources to prepare for an aggressive litigation of your claim.
How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Claim?
The statute of limitations requires that a claim be filed within a certain period of time after the accident or you will forever lose the right to do so. Do not delay in contacting an attorney.
