Spinal Cord Injury Accident
Spinal cord injuries often negatively impact other bodily functions below the initial point of impact. This severe, potentially life-altering trauma to the cervical spine, lumbar spine, or thoracic spine can cause paralysis of varying degrees. Almost 40% of Spinal Cord Injuries have been the result of car accidents, per the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center.
Car accident trauma to the spine, and the spinal cord, can be caused by the position of the victim’s head, seat position, height, weight, gender, and whether the injury victim had pre-existing conditions, like degenerative disc disease.
Please seek medical assistance immediately if you experience an accident that may have injured your spine. Then call an experienced personal injury lawyer to protect your claim or lawsuit. Delaying medical evaluation or treatment may compromise your rights.
Common Symptoms include, but are not limited to:
- Neck pain and stiffness
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Headache
- Muscle spasms
- Radiating or stabbing pain
- Loss or limited sensation, such as the ability to feel heat or cold
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Impaired breathing
- Intense pressure in the neck and back
- Difficulty walking or standing
- Numbness, tingling, or loss of sensation
- Weakness or paralysis
The neurological level of your injury is the lowest part of the spinal cord that remains undamaged. "The completeness” is the term used to describe the severity of the injury, as shown below:
- Complete describes the loss of feeling and function below the injury point of impact.
- Incomplete describes the partial loss of feeling and function below the injury point of impact.
Your doctors/medical specialists will diagnose the completeness of your injury.
Spinal cord injuries which result in paralysis are also described as follows:
- Tetraplegia and quadriplegia, which means that your arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs are all affected by your spinal cord injury.
- Paraplegia affects all or part of the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs.
Spinal cord injuries require lengthy and expensive treatment and rehabilitation processes. The impact of high medical expenses, loss of income, and other damages can negatively impact the injury victim and their family for years. William John DiPetrillo & Associates, P.A. have over 25 years of experience helping injury victims. We will fight to get what you need to recover fully.
Please keep the following factors in mind, if you are involved in a car accident
You should report the accident per the 2021 Florida Statutes listed shown below.
Seek medical assistance immediately after the car accident. If you experience any pain or discomfort, ask the 911 operators to send paramedics and the police.
Another driver may be assigned 100 percent of the blame for an accident in a rear-end collision where the victim waited for a red light to turn green. This accident might generate evidence such as a police accident report, traffic, dash-cam, surveillance camera footage of the crash, passengers, eyewitness statements, and photos of the vehicles involved.
Is your injury permanent? Nearly all strains or sprains involving muscles, tendons, and ligaments will heal in six to eight weeks. These damages are not as compensable as permanent injuries, such as severe traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, traumatic amputations, burns, and Fractures.
Expect the opposing insurer to look at these in exacting detail. Please do seek medical assistance immediately after the crash. If you experience any pain or discomfort, ask the 911 operators to send paramedics and the police. The paramedics will treat you at the scene and transport you to the emergency room of a local hospital.
It might be alleged that you are partially to blame for the car accident. Whether or not that's proved, you'll still recover compensation for your injuries, but any settlement or verdict would account for the percentage of fault assigned to you.
An opposing insurer will do everything possible to devalue your injury claim. Until you retain a quality and experienced personal injury lawyer, protect your claim or lawsuit by keeping these five factors that could impact your car accident settlement in mind at all times. William John DiPetrillo & Associates, P.A. will advise you further. We have over 24 years of experience in car accident settlements and is a member in good standing of the Florida Bar Association.
Other car accident resources:
Other car accident resources:
- Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles: Florida Insurance Requirements. Involved in a Crash?
- https://www.nscisc.uab.edu/public_pages/reportsstats
- Florida Bar Association: What’s an example of negligence in a car accident?
Car Accident Settlement Process Explained
We will try to settle your claim, but we will take your case to trial to get what you need to recover fully.
First, we will need to gather the necessary evidence to support your claims, such as medical records, medical bills, witness statements, photos, video, expert witness reports, and testimony. This evidence is then used to create a demand package and lays the foundation for negotiations with the insurance company.
The insurance provider may make an initial settlement offer, which marks the beginning of negotiations. At this point, both parties will negotiate an acceptable resolution. If the company denies your claim or doesn’t make a fair offer, we will file a lawsuit.