San Diego
Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Spinal Cord Injury Attorney in San Diego, CA

Many personal injury cases, such as trucking accidents, car accidents, bicycle accidents, slip and fall accidents, pedestrian accidents, and more, can result in spinal cord injuries. These serious injuries can be permanent or even life-threatening. If you suffered any type of spinal cord injury as a result of someone else’s negligence, you have the legal right to seek compensation for your losses.

Types of Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries cover several different types of injuries, all with differing degrees of severity. Some of the common types of spinal cord injuries seen following a serious personal injury accident can include the following:

• Whiplash
• Herniated discs
• Ruptured discs
• Spinal fractures
• Facet joint injuries
• Spinal stenosis
• Nerve damage surrounding the spinal cord
• Direct spinal cord injury

In many cases, a victim of an accident will suffer more than one of these types of spinal cord injuries, along with other injuries such as traumatic brain injury, broken or fractured bones, aortic dissection, internal organ damage, or internal bleeding. In some cases, spinal cord injuries are so severe that they will lead to permanent disfigurement, permanent paralysis, or even death.

Deadline to File a Personal Injury Claim

If you are a victim of someone else’s negligence that resulted in any type of spinal cord injury, call our office. You may be facing substantial medical bills, pain and suffering, and permanent paralysis or life-long medical challenges. In the State of California, you only have two years from the date of the accident that caused your spinal cord injuries to file a claim to receive compensation for your injuries and losses.

Should I Hire an Injury Attorney?

While your spinal injury claim may appear very straightforward at first, the reality is that any type of spinal injury has the potential to cause complicated medical complications and long-term disability. These damages and the economic problems they create can amount to astronomical damages. Medical debt is one of the leading causes of bankruptcy in America. While an attorney’s expense may cause some injured patients to hesitate to seek legal counsel, they risk losing far more than they would spend on legal representation.

An experienced San Diego spinal cord injury attorney can assist their client with legal affairs so the client can focus on recovery. Spinal injuries often cause long-term damage, sometimes even resulting in loss of motor function, loss of sensation, or even complete paralysis. When you or a loved one face these extreme circumstances, having the right attorney on your side is a tremendous asset. Your legal team can navigate your case so you and your loved ones can focus on recovery.

Even for simple civil claims, navigating the court’s rules and procedures can be extremely challenging. Without an attorney, you run the risk of making critical errors on court paperwork, missing filing deadlines, or making other mistakes that jeopardize your case. Simply put, a spinal injury is a serious matter. When another party has caused such an injury to you or a loved one, you cannot risk foregoing legal representation if you expect to secure any kind of recovery.

What Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Do for You?

Hiring a spinal cord injury attorney in San Diego to assist in your claim means you have a reliable legal advocate who can ensure your case meets all of the court’s procedural requirements. Your attorney’s primary function is to ensure your case can proceed as smoothly as possible, handling your filing obligations and making sure you provide all necessary case materials to the court on time.

Another vital function your San Diego spinal cord injury attorney will serve is to investigate the full scope of your claimable damages. It is essential to ensure the plaintiff has sufficient evidence to prove the full extent of their immediate and anticipated future damages to maximize the plaintiff’s recovery.

Experienced San Diego spinal injuries lawyers can also coordinate expert witness testimony to support a plaintiff’s case and to clearly demonstrate the full extent of their expected future losses. For example, if a defendant contests the scope of damages a plaintiff claims in a spinal cord injury lawsuit, expert witness testimony may be required to prove that the plaintiff’s claimed damages are reasonable given their medical situation.

There is no substitute for a reliable and experienced personal injury lawyer after you or a loved one have suffered a spinal injury. This type of injury is likely to cause long-term complications and very expensive economic problems for the victim and their family. Hire the right attorney to get your spinal injury case off to a productive start.

What Makes a Good Personal Injury Attorney?

A good personal injury attorney should provide a new client with an honest and detailed interpretation of their legal options. The attorney should then suggest the best available option for legal recourse. When you need legal representation from a San Diego spine injury attorney, it’s vital to choose one with solid experience handling cases similar to yours. Spinal cord injuries are some of the most devastating injuries a person can experience. A good personal injury attorney will do everything they can to ensure a plaintiff is not left to deal with the fallout from another party’s negligence.

You should expect good spinal cord injury attorneys to be responsive when you need updates about your case and to explain complex legal statutes in a way you can understand. When you decide to take legal action for a spinal cord injury, take time to develop a list of questions to ask a potential legal representative. These questions should help you gauge the attorney’s experience level, willingness to represent your case, and belief in your likelihood of winning. Ultimately, choose an attorney with a solid professional record who makes you feel confident about your legal options.

How Is Pain and Suffering Valued?

One of the most complex types of compensation that can come into play in a personal injury lawsuit is non-economic damages, often called “pain and suffering.” The California court allows an injured person to recover not only the direct economic losses incurred by a spinal cord injury but also compensation for the trauma and pain of their experience. The court may use a variety of methods to calculate an acceptable amount of pain and suffering compensation for a spinal cord injury victim.

Many plaintiffs wonder how a court can determine appropriate compensation for intangible losses like physical pain and emotional distress. Usually, the court will use the plaintiff’s economic damages as a starting point for calculating pain and suffering damages. The court will examine the treatments the plaintiff required, the side effects and symptoms of both their injury and the subsequent treatment, and the presence of any long-term or permanent complications resulting from the injury. Put simply, a spinal cord injury that results in total paralysis and inability to live independently will likely yield far more pain and suffering compensation than a spinal cord injury that only results in minimal long-term discomfort or slight loss of function.

Potential Long-Term Complications from Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord is responsible for transmitting messages from the brain to the rest of the body. When this critical structure is injured, it cannot repair itself like most of the rest of the human body. Damage to the spinal cord hinders the brain’s ability to control and communicate with other parts of the body. A spinal injury can potentially cause a loss of sensation, a loss of function, or both. The size of the affected area typically depends on the location of the spinal injury; an injury higher on the spine will affect more of the body, while a lower injury will impact less of the body.

It is not uncommon for people who sustain spinal cord injuries to face long-term or permanent medical complications. They may become paralyzed, significantly disabled, or completely unable to work. This, in turn, creates severe economic strain. When a spinal injury occurs due to the negligence of another party, you should not be left to pay for the consequences. The right San Diego spine injury attorney can help you recover the compensation you and your family need to get your life back together after a devastating injury.

Contact an Experienced Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Today

There are few practicing medical malpractice lawyers who are also medical doctors. Ken Sigelman, J.D., M.D., is a doctor who is licensed to practice law in California and Florida, and before the U.S. Supreme Court. For more than 20 years, Dr. Sigelman, an award-winning trial lawyer, has had an exceptional record of verdicts, settlements, and arbitration awards. If you suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of an accident, contact our experienced and compassionate attorneys at 866-971-8956 or online today for a free consultation.