Spinal cord injuries often result in life-altering physical, emotional, and financial damages that devastate injury victims and their families.
Many people who suffer this type of injury can never return to work to support themselves or their families and some need long-term medical care and require daily assistance.
Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States suffer from spinal cord injuries. Whether caused by a fall, motor vehicle accident, violence, a workplace injury, or another form of negligence, you may be able to recover compensation for your spinal cord injury.
No amount of money can ever compensate for the tragedy of your injury, but a financial award can help ease some of the financial burdens caused by your damages.
If your spinal cord injury was caused by another party’s fault, you have the right to seek compensation for your damages. You need the help of an experienced San Jose spinal cord injury lawyer to protect your rights and help maximize your compensation.
At Jacoby & Meyers, our San Jose injury attorneys know how to investigate your accident to identify all possible causes and potentially liable parties, discover and collect essential evidence, and customize your strongest case.
Don’t face this challenge alone. Call us today at (408) 341-6883 or visit our contact page to schedule a consultation to discuss your case.
We compassionately listen to you, answer your questions, and explain your rights. If we represent you, we will fight tirelessly to get you the justice and compensation you deserve.
Severity of Spinal Cord Injuries
An injury to the spinal cord involves the compression or severing of spinal nerves. It can happen any time you injure a vertebra that puts pressure on the nerve bundle. A spinal cord injury can cause temporary or permanent disability.
The severity of your injury depends on the severity of the impact and the location of the damage to your spinal cord. Some types of spinal cord injuries include:
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
When there is partial damage to the spinal cord and some, but less than total, loss of motor or sensory function below the level of injury, it is categorized as incomplete. With incomplete paralysis an injury victim may be able to feel or move some parts, but have numbness, weakness, or other deficiencies in those parts. Incomplete injuries also vary in severity.
Surgery, medication, physical therapy, and other forms of rehabilitation may be involved to help the injury victim regain as much function as possible. Some incomplete spinal cord injuries will be significantly improved while others may result in permanent disability.
Complete Spinal Cord Injuries
When there is a total loss of sensory and motor function below the level of the injury, it is categorized as a complete spinal cord injury. This means the person is completely paralyzed below the injury level.
These injuries are most likely to occur in the cervical area of the spinal cord and can cause paralysis of all limbs, and loss of bladder and bowel control.
Paraplegia
Paraplegia is a paralysis that affects the lower half of the body. It causes a loss of motor and sensory function in the legs, hips, and lower torso and is usually the result of an injury in the lumbar, thoracic, or sacral areas of the spinal cord.
Spinal cord injury victims suffering from paraplegia have limited or no movement in their legs and need a wheelchair or other device to move from place to place. The severity of paraplegia can vary depending on the extent and location of the injury.
Quadriplegia
When the paralysis affects all four limbs and the entire torso, it is called quadriplegia or tetraplegia. It usually is caused by a spinal cord injury to the upper spinal cord area.
Most Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries have numerous causes. When they are caused by another party’s negligent, reckless, or intentional actions, you may be able to recover compensation for your damages.
Some of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries resulting in personal injury claims include:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Medical malpractice
- Slip and fall and other premises liability accidents
- Product liability for injuries caused by dangerous or defective products
- Violent attacks
- Construction site and other workplace accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Blasts and explosions
The San Jose spinal cord injury lawyers at Jacoby & Meyers investigate every client’s accident to identify all possible causes and potentially liable parties to help ensure maximum client compensation.
Compensation For Spinal Cord Injuries/Valuing a San Jose Spinal Cord Injury Claim
The type and amount of compensation you may be able to recover from a spinal cord injury depends largely on the severity of your injuries. In general, you may be able to recover economic, non-economic, and rarely, punitive damages.
Economic damages are those that can be objectively quantified. They include current and future medical expenses, current and future lost wages, and other expenses incurred because of your injuries.
Non-economic damages are subjective and more challenging to qualify, but can be just as devastating as economic damages. They include pain and suffering, mental and emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium.
Both economic and non-economic damages aim to compensate the injured victim for their losses. However, punitive damages are designed to punish the wrongdoer and deter such conduct in the future.
Punitive damages are rarely awarded in California. They are reserved for cases in which the plaintiff can prove by clear and convincing evidence that the defendant’s actions were taken with malice, oppression, or fraud.
Our attorneys work hard to ensure all possible types of damages are included and maximized.
Call Jacoby & Meyers Today
If you or a loved one have suffered a spinal cord injury because of another party’s fault, you deserve to be compensated for your damages.
We understand that no amount of money can wipe away your accident or compensate you for your damages. However, a monetary award or settlement can help ease some of the financial burdens caused by your injuries.
At Jacoby & Meyers, we have protected the rights of injury victims for over 50 years and have a proven record of recovering maximum compensation for our clients and we want to do the same for you.
Call us today at (408) 341-6883 or complete the short form on our contact page to schedule a free consultation. We will listen with compassion, answer your questions, and explain your options. If we represent you, we will work tirelessly to get the justice and compensation you deserve.