One of the most devastating injuries our law firm sees firsthand is a spinal cord injury. While pain may be centralized to the victim’s back, spinal cord injuries can contribute to long-lasting, life-altering, symptoms throughout the body, and even coma or death.
One of the most unnerving aspects of spinal cord injuries is that they can happen when you least expect it – at work, in a slip-and-fall incident, in a car accident, or during a recreational activity. A person may even only have a slight pain in their back when the injury occurs, but soon after, their symptoms could become more serious, requiring lifelong help from family members and constant medical care.
If you or a family member suffered a spinal cord injury due to the negligence of a third party, such as an employer or business owner, it’s crucial to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit as soon as possible. The statute of limitations for personal injury suits is brief, and failing to file as soon as possible may limit your ability to sue for medical expenses, emotional trauma, and other damages. If you’d like more information on what your legal options are, contact Constant Legal Group, LLP.
Do I Have a Valid Spinal Injury Lawsuit?
Whether or not you have a valid spinal injury lawsuit depends on a few important factors. Two of these are the effectiveness of your lawyer and whether there is sufficient evidence to prove either third-party negligence or medical malpractice. At Constant Legal Group, LLP, we have the first part covered, and if you have questions about what types of evidence are needed for your spinal injury lawsuit, we can answer them during a free consultation.
How Do I Prove Negligence After a Spinal Injury?
The law has specific guidelines when it comes to determining negligence in a personal injury suit. In Ohio, proving negligence after a spinal injury requires that the following factors were present when your accident occurred and that they contributed to your injury:
1. You were owed a “duty of care”: A duty of care is a legal obligation to provide reasonable care to prevent others from being harmed. This requirement creates a standard that all persons should act the way a reasonable person would under the same set of circumstances. An example would be an Uber driver’s duty of care to obey the rules of the road, drive sober and carefully, and use the appropriate signals on the road to prevent harm to others.
2. A breach occurred in the “duty of care” provided: A breach in the duty of care occurs when an organization or a person fails to provide a reasonable level of care, attention, or prudence towards another person or organization.
3. The breach of duty resulted in your accident: If the person or organization did not meet the standard of care expected under the given circumstances, and the resulting accident caused your spinal cord injury, the liable party’s negligence would be directly responsible for your injury and resulting damages.
4. The accident that occurred after the breach of duty is fully responsible for your injuries and damages: If the person or organization is found responsible for your injuries, they will be required to pay you or your family member for their suffering. If the accident resulted in you suffering a spinal cord injury, the liable party’s negligence would be directly responsible for your injury and resulting damages.
How Long Do I Have to File a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?
If, after reading the required elements listed above, you think you may have a case, we encourage you to contact us for a free consultation. Keep in mind that you will have a limited amount of time in which to file a claim for compensation for your injuries and the resulting damages. The amount of time that you have to file a claim depends on the type of accident that caused your injury.
Spinal Cord Injuries Due to Negligence
To prove a person or organization is negligent in a spinal cord injury case, your lawyer must prove they breached their duty of care and that this breach resulted in your spinal cord injury. If there is evidence to prove this, you have two years from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit.
Spinal Cord Injuries Caused By Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional, such as a doctor, nurse, or medical technician, fails to provide the standard of care that another competent healthcare professional would provide under similar circumstances, resulting in harm to the patient. This can include errors in diagnosis, treatment, aftercare, or health management. If your spinal cord injury was caused by medical malpractice, you have one year from the date of your injury to file a medical malpractice spinal cord injury lawsuit.
What Types of Compensation May Be Available for a Spinal Cord Injury?
If the court determines that you or your loved one’s injury was caused by a negligent third party, the next step would be to look at the damages caused by the injury, the severity of the damage, and how much would be owed to you in compensation.
There are two types of damages that the court will look at – economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages relate to the monetary suffering you have endured, such as medical care, medication, or the inability to earn a paycheck due to being out of work for your injury. Non-economic damages relate to the kinds of suffering that do not necessarily come with a price tag, such as emotional trauma, physical pain and suffering, or disfigurement.
Economic Damages
Economic damages can include:
- Lost earning capacity (if you are no longer able to work in the same capacity as you did before the accident)
- At-home medical care
- Prescription medication
- Rehabilitation services
- Lost wages (if you were temporarily out of work)
- Surgeries and medical procedures
- Physical therapy
- Diagnostic testing
- Housekeeping services
- Continued and ongoing medical treatment
- Home and/or vehicle modifications
- Occupational therapy
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages can include:
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Emotional pain and suffering
Should I Hire a Spinal Cord Injury Attorney?
Filing a spinal cord injury lawsuit involves hours and hours of research, data collection, paperwork, and court appearances. It also requires a thorough background in Ohio law and experience in dealing with personal injury lawsuits.
Though you may be considering representing yourself in such a case, successfully doing so can be quite a task, especially if you’re recovering from a spinal cord injury. Remember, you will need to build your case and file all the necessary paperwork within between one to two years, or you will miss the cut-off for Ohio’s personal injury statute of limitations.
In almost all situations, an Ohio personal injury law firm will be your best chance at winning a spinal cord injury lawsuit and securing the compensation you deserve. Our personal injury law firm has over 20 years of experience compassionately and effectively representing spinal cord injury victims and their families to help access the settlements that they are rightfully owed.
Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Near Me
If you’re looking for an experienced spinal cord injury lawyer to take your case in Cleveland, OH, consider Constant Legal Group, LLP. Our firm is located in Downtown Cleveland on Bolivar Road across the street from Progressive Field and a short distance away from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Great Lakes Science Center, the Greater Cleveland Aquarium, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Common Consequences of Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is comprised of a long, cylindrical structure of nervous tissue that extends from the brainstem down through the vertebral column to the lower back. It is a vital part of the central nervous system, functioning as the main pathway for transmitting information between the brain and the rest of the body. As a result, any injury sustained to your spinal cord will result in a variety of symptoms.
You may only feel a slight pain in your back at first, but over time your symptoms may become more serious and can involve one or more of the following:
- Chronic pain
- Loss of balance
- Paraplegia
- Quadriplegia
- Tetraplegia
- Loss or decline of sexual function
- Unable to breathe or swallow independently
- Unable to sweat below the injury
- Loss of manual dexterity
- Loss of bowels and bladder function
- Loss of motor skills like walking
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Our clients have often expressed that they never thought that a minor accident could result in such a serious medical issue. Our firm has seen spinal cord injuries result from:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Defective products
- Workplace injuries
- Industrial injuries
- Physical assault
- Medical malpractice
- Police brutality
- Gunshot wounds
- Falls
- Sports accidents
Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit FAQ
1. How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer?
It depends on the lawyer and the fees they charge. Our firm works on a contingency fee basis which means that we don’t charge you a fee unless we win your case. We believe in full transparency when it comes to our fees and costs.
2. Is It Easier to Just Take What the Insurance Company Offers?
Possibly, if the insurance company offers fair coverage. Sadly this is rarely the case. If your health insurance provider even covers spinal cord injuries (over half of private health insurance companies do not), they may not cover all of it – and they certainly would not cover non-economic damages like emotional trauma or lost wages either.
If your spinal cord injury resulted from a car accident after another driver hit you, you may find that the negligent party’s driver’s insurance will delay talking to you until the statute of limitations has run out. And if you do get them on the line, you may find they will do just about anything to deny your claim. They may even try to place the negligence on you.
In these situations, it’s always best to have an attorney communicate with the negligent party and insurance companies on your behalf.
3. How Long Does the Lawsuit Process Typically Take?
The duration of a personal injury lawsuit process can vary significantly, depending on a variety of factors, but it typically ranges from a few months to what could potentially become years. Initially, there is the pre-litigation phase, which involves investigating the claim, gathering evidence, and attempting to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company. This phase alone can take several months, which is why hiring a spinal cord injury lawyer early in the process can be a deciding factor when it comes to winning or losing your case.
If a settlement cannot be reached, then the formal lawsuit process begins with the filing of a complaint, which leads to the discovery phase where both parties exchange information and gather further evidence. Discovery can be a lengthy process, often lasting six months to a year or more, as it includes depositions, interrogatories, and document requests.
Following discovery, the case may involve pre-trial motions and settlement negotiations, which can extend the timeline if the parties are still far from agreement. If the case proceeds to trial, it may take additional months or even years, depending on the court’s schedule and the complexity of the case. After a trial, there may be further delays if either party decides to appeal the verdict, which is why hiring an attorney is crucial in potentially speeding up your timeline.
Talk to an Experienced Ohio Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
There is a lot that goes into filing a personal injury lawsuit, but our legal team has successfully handled spinal cord injury cases for over two decades. We know what to expect and we have the legal background to tactfully craft an air-tight case through painstaking research and skillful negotiation. You can get the justice you deserve while we handle the heavy lifting.
If you have additional questions, or if you’re ready to get started, contact us through our contact form or call us directly. Remember, you only have one to two years to file a personal injury suit in Ohio, depending on the circumstances of your case, so it’s important to act right away. We offer 100% free consultations and work within a contingency fee system, which means you don’t pay unless we win.