Understanding the Cost of Hiring a Spinal Injury Lawyer

A spinal cord injury is when harm comes to the spinal cord or nerves at the end of the spinal canal, and you experience loss of function like motor control of arms, legs, and body and feeling below the injury. The trauma doesn’t have to be severe enough to have severed the spinal cord. In fact, many people who suffer from spinal cord injuries only have the cord damaged, which results in a loss of function or feeling.

It is critical to see a doctor as soon as possible after any significant accident since spinal injuries aren’t always immediately apparent. Delaying could cause even more damage as paralysis and numbness can creep up as bleeding or swelling occurs.

Spinal cord injuries are conceivably the most unfortunate of catastrophic injuries as it impacts the ability of the spinal cord to send messages from the brain to other parts of the body. Furthermore, these types of injuries can be permanent, which means the victim and their loved ones will have to deal with the damage for the rest of their life. Although the law does not define a catastrophic injury, the victim will likely have after-effects like a decreased quality of life, shorter life expectancy, and a disability that will not allow them to return to work.

According to the World Health Organization, every year, between 250,000 and 500,00 people experience a spinal cord injury. Most of these accidents are preventable because they result from car crashes, falls, or violence. But a spinal injury can also result from gunshot wounds, motorcycle accidents, and even medical or surgical complications. If you’ve suffered a spinal cord injury due to the negligence or actions of another, you should consider hiring a personal injury lawyer to recover damages.

While not as common as other types of injuries, the physical and emotional impact of a spinal cord injury is devastating. The lifetime costs of managing this type of injury can put incredible burdens on the injured and their family.

People are most likely to get a spinal cord injury from driving accidents up until the age of 45. After that, it’s more likely to come from a fall. Injuries from falls have been increasing over time, as have injuries from violence. Sports and recreational injuries have been in decline but still represent about 8% of incidents in recent years. The most common age of injury is between 16 and 30 years of age.

Every year in the United States, there are about 17,800 new spinal cord injury cases, so it’s crucial to understand the financial burdens associated with therapies. The cost of therapy will differ from person to person depending on the severity of the injury and how quickly they received medical help.

Since every injury and person is unique, there’s no easy way to calculate what the lifetime costs could be. However, two factors come into play. 1.) The location of the injury. 2.) The severity of the injury. 

The location matters because injuries that occur higher affect more parts of the body. Because of this, people with high cervical injuries can expect more costs than those that were impacted by lower injuries. People with high cervical injuries may have expenses that average $1,149,629 in just the first year, while others that are hurt lower may be looking at $560,287 in their first year. It really comes down to functional impairment.

Immediately after your accident, you probably needed surgery to remove damaged structures or perhaps had vertebrae fused together to stabilize your spine. The cost of surgery is almost always high, but post-surgery rehabilitation can add up quickly. You may need physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychotherapy to deal with the emotional impact of your life-altering event. Unfortunately, insurance companies often only pay for therapy for a limited amount of time, leaving you to pay out of pocket or suffer possible consequences from long-term complications.

Even if you have great insurance, if someone caused your injuries, you should be able to sue for damages because there is a long road ahead to your recovery.

Long-term management costs can arise from complications that are associated with spinal injuries, including pressure ulcers, spasticity, and of course, pain. You may need orthotics to provide structural support, which may not be fully covered under your insurance plan. Medications like opioids for pain and antidepressants for your mental health can add up over time. If you need a caregiver to help with bathing, using the toilet, and household chores, that can average about $4,000 per month. Additionally, you need to consider if you’ll require home modifications or special tools to perform daily activities on your own.

A spinal injury claim is not a simple claim, so if you’re thinking of managing your own claim, that would not be wise, and here is why. The stakes are high, so if you mishandle your case, imagine having to deal with all the expenses mentioned above on your own. You may not understand that even if you live in a no-fault state, you’re not bound to limit the recovered damages to your own personal injury protection coverage. If your injuries are severe enough, a spinal injury lawyer can guide you on how to get around this.

If the wrongdoer’s insurance company has already offered the maximum amount available, you don’t have to settle for just that. The person who caused your injury may also have assets or money that can be collected on top of the insurance settlement. A lawyer can research and find out if you can get more compensation. 

Even if you feel confident that you can negotiate with the insurance companies on your own, are you feeling up to the task after your injury? Much of the value a personal injury lawyer brings to the table is that you won’t have to deal with all the phone calls, emails, documents, and evidence gathering required to handle your claim. Your main priority right now should be recovering.

Furthermore, researching the law and the settlement process is not as easy as reading a few blogs. You need to understand fault and legal liabilities, state laws, and the compensation available for your damages. 

If you’re still concerned about questions like, how much does a spinal injury lawyer costs, you might be surprised that most personal injury lawyers work on a contingency fee. A contingency fee is the form of payment a lawyer gets for their services. Your lawyer will work diligently for you but only gets paid if you win your case. Upon successfully recovering money for you, your lawyer will take a percentage of the awarded damages. 

After suffering from a spinal injury, it’s important to file your lawsuit within the statute of limitations which varies from state to state. In some states, it can be as short as two years from the time of your injury. Failing to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations can result in the dismissal of your claim, and insurance companies will have no incentive to settle out of court.

For these reasons, it’s vital to hire a spinal injury lawyer within a very specific timeframe because your right to sue expires even if the person that caused your injury was at fault. Furthermore, hiring an attorney in a timely fashion increases the chances that vital evidence can be recovered and witness testimony can be documented.

Because of the drastic nature of spinal cord injuries and the long-term costs associated, spinal cord injury cases are some of the highest-grossing claims from personal injury cases each year. On average, you could expect to recover over $1,000,000.

Many cases that go to judge and jury reclaim far higher compensation than out-of-court settlements. You may expect to recover medical bills and payment for loss of normal life, emotional trauma, pain, and suffering. Your partner may even be awarded compensation for “los consortium,” which is when a partner in a marriage or relationship suffers noneconomic damage like loss of sexual and social relationships, recreational activities, companionship, and family obligations like child-rearing and household chores due to their loved one’s injuries.

So your answer to how much does a spinal injury lawyer cost you is nothing unless you win. However, the potential benefits of hiring a personal injury lawyer are vast. 

We boast more than 30 years of fighting for the people and holding insurance companies and wrongdoers accountable. Our verdicts average 20 times more than what was offered pre-trial. For example, just this year, we had a case where the pre-trial offer for a car accident injury was just $200,000, so we took it to trial and recovered $3,014,669 for our client.

Another client was offered a paltry $42,000 for their injuries, but our dedicated team of personal injury lawyers recovered $4,348,336 for this client. We see over and over again at trial, the difference that is made by allowing your peers to decide how much your injuries should be worth, not the insurance companies. 

If you’re ready to see how we make a positive change in your financial future, please get in touch with us, and we’ll review your case in a free, no-risk case evaluation. Let us help you and your family attain some stability moving forward during this tough time.