Spinal cord injuries are among the most severe injuries and life-changing events for victims and their loved ones. Typically, most spinal cord injury effects are long-lasting, while others can result in permanent damage like losing sensation, paralysis, or movement extremities.
In Florida, the Florida Department of Health administers the Brain and Spinal Code Injury Program (BSCIP), which provides the cost of care for brain or spinal cord injuries. Besides, Florida law requires those who sustain brain or spinal cord injuries to get compensated for their losses. This helps cover costly medical care, surgery, rehabilitation, and other sustained damage.
At The Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm, we understand how challenging, costly, and time-consuming it can be to pursue a settlement from a party that led to your injuries. But with our New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer, we can help you navigate the legal process and access comprehensive legal representation in your spinal cord injury claim. Contact us for a free case evaluation today.
How Our New Port Richey Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Can Help You
If you reside in New Port Richey and have sustained a spinal cord injury due to another party’s negligent conduct, intentional act, or other wrongdoing, consult with our New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer right away.
Here is how we can help you:
- Determine negligence in your spinal cord injury claim
- Investigate your accident or event leading to your injuries
- Gather necessary evidence to prove the defendant’s neglect or wrongdoing led to your injuries
- Determine the full scope of your losses and damages
- Calculate a suitable settlement amount
- Counsel on legal options available for your claim
- Negotiate with the insurance company
- Obtain fair compensation on your behalf
- Take your case to trial if negotiations are unsuccessful
- Protect your rights and represent your best interests in and out of court
It is difficult and nearly impossible to prepare, initiate and negotiate for compensation without legal representation from a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer. It worsens if you suffer mobility issues, including pain and suffering from your injury. For this reason, you can benefit from being represented by a qualified lawyer at the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
According to the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), about 8,000 people are diagnosed with spinal cord injuries annually, with 80 percent being men. Many accidents can cause those spinal cord injuries, ranging from car accidents to medical malpractice. Most victims suffer spinal cord injuries in New Port Richey and surrounding areas due to another party’s negligence or wrongdoing. Since spinal cord injuries are life-changing, these damages can affect most aspects of the victim’s life.
Some common causes of spinal cord injuries include:
- Car accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
- Truck accidents
- Bicycle collisions
- Motorcycle accidents
- Assault and violence
- Product liability
- Sports accidents
- Construction site accidents
If you have sustained a spinal cord injury, it can impair your life drastically. Thus, it is essential to seek legal counsel from a competent New Port Richey spinal cord lawyer at the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm to help pursue a claim and receive the fair and reasonable compensation you deserve.
Symptoms of Spinal Cord Injuries
About 18,000 people in the U.S. suffer spinal cord injuries every year, with damage being whether complete spinal cord injury, incomplete spinal cord injuries, or spinal contusion. These types of injuries can be catastrophic and lead to life-changing events.
Some of the most common symptoms related to spinal cord injuries include:
- Numbness or loss of feeling in the chest, legs, or arms
- Muscle pain or weakness
- Breathing problems or difficulty breathing
- Partial or complete loss of function
- Partial or complete loss of movement
- Problem with general body balance and coordination
- Loss of bladder or bladder control
- Shock or disorientation
If you are involved in a traumatic accident or event and notice any of these signs, seek medical care as soon as possible. These symptoms may indicate other serious problems that will show after several days or weeks. Do not delay in consulting your doctor to determine the extent of your injuries and pursue compensation that covers all your losses.
Compensation Recoverable for A New Port Richey Spinal Cord Injury Claim
Florida law would entitle you to compensation if you suffered a New Port Richey spinal cord injury due to another party’s recklessness, carelessness, or negligence.
At the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm, our New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer can help you recover various damages, including:
- Medical expenses: You could pursue compensation for medical bills for your spinal cord injury, including hospital bills, doctor visits, medical treatment, hospitalization, physical therapy costs, medical equipment like wheelchair, medication, and more.
- Loss of income: When diagnosed with a spinal cord injury, you may never return to work. You would need some time to recover or find it hard to work if you sustain serious injuries. You could pursue compensation for any time spent away from work to recover losses from diminished earning capacity, including lost wages and other employment benefits.
- Pain and suffering: Besides economic challenges, people with spinal cord injuries suffer non-economic damage like emotional distress, loss of life enjoyment, pain and suffering, and more. A dedicated New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer can prove non-economic losses associated with your injury and pursue an appropriate settlement amount.
- Wrongful death: If someone you loved suffered a spinal cord injury due to another party’s fault and succumbed to their injuries, you and surviving family members can pursue a wrongful death suit to recover damages.
Working with a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer will help determine all damages and calculate the value of your spinal cord injury claim. This enables you to cover all your damages and losses from the negligent party.
Statute of Limitations
In Florida, spinal cord injuries are categorized as personal injury cases and share a similar statute of limitations. A statute of limitations is a directive that enacts the maximum amount of time a victim has to initiate legal proceedings after an accident or event leading to an injury due to someone else’s fault. In Florida, a spinal cord injury plaintiff has four years to file a lawsuit seeking compensation from the date of the accident.
Failure to file a spinal cord injury claim or missing the statute of limitations deadline means the plaintiff is prohibited from pursuing damages. Even when there exist no queries about the defendant’s liability, the case becomes ineligible for compensation. Although four years may seem long, planning and initiating a claim can take time. Hence, accident victims need to work with a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer immediately after the injury.
The Claim Process When Seeking Settlement for A Spinal Cord Injury
Since every spinal cord injury claim is different, the steps involved when seeking a settlement may also vary.
However, you can expect the following process:
- Meet with a qualified spinal cord injury lawyer: Contact a skilled lawyer at the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm to learn your legal options when diagnosed with a spinal cord injury. You will meet with a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer to discuss your case.
- Preparation of a notification letter: When seeking compensation, the first step is to draft and send a notification letter to your insurance company. A New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer at the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm will prepare the notification letter on your behalf and initiate the process of pursuing a settlement.
- Investigation of your case and collection of necessary evidence: A thorough investigation of your spinal cord injury claim is necessary to ascertain the party-at-fault. The lawyer will also collect critical evidence that proves the full extent of damages to recover amounts that cover all your losses.
- Drafting a demand letter: After reaching a Maximum Medical Improvement (MMI), Florida law allows you to ask for compensation. Generally, MMI is when a physician determines that your injuries have stabilized. Our spinal cord injury lawyer will determine reasonable compensation for damages and losses and prepare a demand letter.
- Negotiate a settlement: Negotiating a settlement with the insurance company is critical in the spinal cord injury claim process. This is the step where you demand payment to cover losses and damages caused by someone else’s negligence or carelessness. However, insurance companies will often refuse to pay, offer the lowest amount, or delay compensation for the affected victims. Working with a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer with negotiation skills can help arrive at a fair settlement.
If your claim is impossible to settle through mutual negotiation, your lawyer can proceed to trial. Filing for a spinal cord injury lawsuit means waiting for the judge’s verdict that determines whether you will receive a specific compensation amount or not. But with an experienced New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer at the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm, we can fight to win your case and receive your reward.
FAQs
What is a spinal cord injury?
Spinal cord injury entails damage to the spinal cord due to trauma like degeneration, car accident, or disease. Most injuries result in momentary or lasting and complete or incomplete loss of function, movement, and sensation. Generally, the severity of spinal cord injury often determines the loss of function.
How much will I recover following a spinal cord injury?
Whether you will recover physically after a spinal cord injury depends on the severity of the damage and the recovery progress. Most people who have a higher chance of recovering from a spinal cord injury entirely often start to see improvements several weeks or months after the accident.
In most cases, the effectiveness of your physical therapy, rehabilitation, and medical treatment can determine whether you recover physically or not.
A legal recovery, however, is a different issue. Obtaining compensation for your medical expenses and losses can help you access effective treatments and increase your chances of improvement. We will base your claim on your total past and anticipated medical expenses and your pain and suffering, then our spinal cord injury lawyers can pursue that sum for you.
Do spinal cord injuries affect other body parts?
Injuries to the spinal cord can affect other parts of the body and body functions.
Some effects of a spinal cord injury on other body parts include:
- Physical pain
- Cardiovascular problems
- Pressure sores
- High blood pressure
- Bladder and bowel movement problems
- Anxiety
- Obesity
- Depression
- Bone loss
- Obesity
- Muscle atrophy
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Sustaining a New Port Richey injury can take a toll on anyone’s life, and it is why victims should sue an at-fault party or entity whose intentional conduct or other forms of wrongdoing resulted in their injuries.
What proof do I need to establish a New Port Richey spinal cord injury?
Determining the scope and nature of your spinal cord injury and the impact it has on your lifestyle is difficult. Therefore, it is advisable to collect critical pieces of evidence to prove your case.
The evidence that should prove your spinal cord injury includes:
- Security surveillance footage
- Witness statements
- Medical records documenting your injury diagnosis and treatment
- Police and accident report copies
- Photos from the scene
Working with a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer can help gather the necessary evidence to build a strong case against the party at fault. A lawyer will also fight on your behalf for the settlement you deserve.
Contact Our New Port Richey Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Today
The effects of a spinal cord injury can be devastating since it can lead to losing the ability to drive a car, walk, feed yourself, or do other routines you used to do. If you or someone you love has suffered a spinal cord injury caused by another party, you deserve to get compensated for the damages and struggles you went through.
Contact a New Port Richey spinal cord injury lawyer at the Lucas, Macyszyn, & Dyer Injury Firm today at (727) 849-5353 for your free case evaluation.