Spinal Injury Lawyer Stockton

Written by: Steven L. Brown

Serious injuries, what we all personal injuries, can include one of the most impacting injuries, an injury or trauma to your spinal cord.  This type of injury can change your life drastically.  The damages caused by a spinal cord injury can amount to millions of dollars of harms and losses.  For example, low tetraplegia or quadriplegia (paralysis affecting all of your limbs) can result in significant medical expenses for the first year alone. Subsequent years can still result in substantial expenses, preventing the victim from being financially stable. When you have a spinal cord injury due to the negligent actions of another, you should seek help from personal injury attorneys in Stockton, CA at Brown & Gessell.. They can provide reliable advice on how to proceed with a spinal cord injury settlement case. If you are eligible for compensation, your attorney will do their best to help you get maximum compensation.

What Are Different Types of Spinal Cord Injuries?

Your spinal cord injury can fall into several categories, first divided into complete or incomplete spinal cord injury. If it results in paralysis, this can include tetraplegia or paraplegia. 

Complete Spinal Cord Injury

This is when you have permanent and complete damage to your spinal cord, which results in paralysis. You will most likely have tetraplegia or paraplegia after a complete spinal cord injury. 

Incomplete

An incomplete spinal cord injury means that you have partial paralysis or spinal cord damage. You may have limited ability to move and may lose some sensation or feeling based on the severity of the injury to the spinal cord. . 

Cervical Injury 

This is when the spinal cord is injured or damaged in the neck region just above your shoulders. Known to be the most severe of spinal cord injuries because the effects are downstream from the damage.  This can often impact your arms and legs.

Thoracic Injury

This type of spinal cord injury happens to the upper chest, mid-back, and abdominal region. If your injury isn’t severe, you may still have normal arm and hand function.  

Lumbar Injury 

When you get injuries to your lumbar region, it can impact the movement of your legs and hips. If your spinal cord injury is bad, you may be relegated to a wheelchair. 

Sacral Injury 

When you get a spinal cord injury in the sacral region, it will affect the pelvic organs, buttocks, and thighs. Injuries here can make it difficult for you to walk and may impact sexual function.  . 

Tetraplegia

This is when the spinal cord injury causes paralysis in the hands, arms, feet, legs, pelvic organs, and trunk. Also called quadriplegia, this type of spinal cord injury can cause you not to be able to move or feel any of the region below your neck. 

Paraplegia

When you get this type of spinal cord injury, you’ll have paralysis of all parts of your legs, lower trunk, and pelvic organs. Instead of both arms and feet being paralyzed, usually, only the two legs are affected.

What Are the Symptoms Caused By a Spinal Cord Injury? 

After you experience a spinal cord injury, you may see many different effects caused by how deeply you were injured. 

Spasms

Your body might exhibit exaggerated reflexes that are abnormal, called spasms.  This is common and usually is associated with involuntary muscle spasms.  

Loss of Control

Hugely impacting is that you may lose bladder or bowel control because of your injuries, which can vastly change your lifestyle.  This can result in the need to wear diapers or even undergo surgery.  

Problems with Breathing 

Spinal cord injuries can result in difficulty breathing. It may be hard for you to cough up phlegm or perform strenuous or even normal exercises.  We take breathing for granted.  Impacting breathing can alter your life drastically. 

Inability to Move

You may be unable to perform everyday tasks because of your arm or leg paralysis. This can include the inability to hold or lift objects or an inability to walk, run or stand. 

Altered Sensation

The way you feel will evolve or change as time goes by from the onset of your original injuries.  For example, you may not feel heat or cold the same way. You may also not be unable to taste, smell, hear or see the same way.  Emotioinally you will adjust but feel the impact of your impaired abilities and lifestyle.   

Sexual Changes

Your intimacy or sex drive may be ipmacted by your spinal cord injuries. This can be tragic and cause significant emotional distress.

Nerve Damage

Severe nerve damage is the underlying cause of your paralysis.  You may also feel numbness, stinging, intense pain, and tingling after you have been wounded. 

How Can Personal Injury Attorneys in Stockton, CA Help Me?

Working with personal injury lawyers will vastly increase your chances of receiving fair compensation after you’ve been hurt. They will investigate your case to see if you are eligible for a settlement based upon how your spinal cord injury occurred. 

Negotiation With the At-Fault Party

Once all the evidence has been collected, your attorney will contact the other party to initiate settlement negotiations, usually by way of a formal demand. This negotiation can last months or even years, and your attorney will volley back and forth between you and the other party to reach a reasonable settlement. When the other party does not want to settle, you have the option to file a lawsuit to get compensation for your damages. 

Calculation of Damages

Personal injury lawyers can accurately calculate your damages so that you can be compensated for your injuries. This will include both economic and non-economic damages that can cover all aspects of the difficulties you have experienced.  No attorney is prophetic and can tell you exactly what a jury may do following a trial, but an experienced attorney at Brown & Gessell can provide you with great insight.  For example, you will need to receive payment for your medical bills, income loss, future wage loss, as well as pain and suffering. If your loved one experienced a fatal spinal cord injury and you are a surviving family member, you may be entitled to wrongful death damages. 

Representation in Court

Personal injury lawyers at Brown & Gessell are very professional and can represent you against insurance companies, including presenting the case before a jury.  Often the case will not settle and it will need to be tried in court.  The attorneys at Brown & Gessell will give you direction from preparing you as a witness and how you should dress, to recommendations on how to respond to settlement demands.  They will also contact any witnesses who may have been present at the scene and have them testify. Your attorney will prepare the best presentation for trial to enable the jury to make the right decision and aware of damages commensurate with the impact of your spinal cord injuries.  

How Long Will My Settlement Case Take?

The timing of your case is completely dependent on the facts of your case and its unique circumstances. Settlement of cases can take months and even years.  

Get the Help You Need from Personal Injury Attorneys 

When you work with a knowledgeable personal injury attorney, you will get the support you need to help you through this trying time. Your attorney will guide you through the claims process and work hard to help you obtain maximum and appropriate compensation.  Contact Brown & Gessell for a free consultation.