Your Trusted Partners After a Spinal Cord Injury
A spinal cord injury can change nearly every aspect of a person’s life in an instant. Damage to the spinal cord can affect movement, sensation, strength, and bodily functions, sometimes resulting in permanent disability or paralysis. Even injuries that do not cause complete paralysis can require extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, and long-term care.
If you or a loved one suffered a spinal cord injury because of an accident or another party’s negligence, you may be entitled to pursue financial compensation for the losses you have experienced.
Based in East Texas, The Roach Law Firm represents individuals and families facing the consequences of catastrophic injuries. We understand that a spinal cord injury claim is about far more than paying today’s medical bills. It may involve protecting your ability to afford future treatment, replacing lost income, modifying your home, securing necessary assistance, and accounting for the ways the injury has changed your independence and quality of life.
Our attorneys have the experience and resources to handle complicated personal injury cases, and we provide each client with personal attention throughout the legal process.
There are no upfront attorney fees, and you pay no legal fee unless we win your case.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body. When trauma damages the spinal cord or surrounding structures, those signals can be interrupted.
Depending on the location and severity of the injury, a spinal cord injury may result in temporary or permanent changes in sensation, movement, strength, and bodily functions.
Spinal cord injuries are generally classified as either complete or incomplete.
Complete Spinal Cord Injuries
A complete spinal cord injury occurs when nerve communication below the injury is essentially lost. The individual may lose sensation and voluntary movement below the affected area.
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
An incomplete spinal cord injury means some nerve signals are still able to travel through the injured area. A person may retain varying degrees of sensation, movement, or muscle control below the injury.
Every spinal cord injury is different. Two people with injuries at a similar location may experience very different symptoms, limitations, and recovery outcomes.
Signs and Symptoms of a Spinal Cord Injury
Symptoms of a spinal cord injury can appear immediately after an accident or develop as swelling, bleeding, and other complications progress.
Possible symptoms include:
- Loss of movement or paralysis
- Numbness or tingling
- Loss of or altered sensation
- Weakness in the arms or legs
- Severe pain or pressure in the neck, back, or head
- Difficulty walking or maintaining balance
- Muscle spasms
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
- Difficulty breathing
- Changes in sexual function
- Abnormal positioning of the neck or spine
Anyone who may have suffered a spinal cord injury should receive immediate medical attention. Moving someone with a suspected spinal injury without proper stabilization can potentially worsen the injury.
Paralysis After a Spinal Cord Injury
Severe spinal cord injuries can result in partial or complete paralysis. The effects typically depend on where the spinal cord was damaged.
Paraplegia
Paraplegia generally affects the lower half of the body, including the legs and potentially portions of the torso.
Tetraplegia or Quadriplegia
Tetraplegia, also commonly called quadriplegia, affects both the upper and lower portions of the body. Depending on the location and severity of the injury, a person may experience impairment involving the arms, hands, torso, legs, and certain bodily functions.
Higher spinal cord injuries may also interfere with breathing and require significant ongoing medical support.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can occur in many different types of accidents. When another person, company, employer, property owner, or manufacturer is responsible, the injured person may have grounds for a personal injury claim.
Cases handled by spinal cord injury attorneys may involve:
Car Accidents
High-impact car crashes can subject the neck and back to tremendous forces, potentially damaging the vertebrae and spinal cord.
Truck Accidents
The size and weight of commercial trucks can make truck crashes particularly destructive. Victims may suffer spinal fractures, crushed vertebrae, nerve damage, paralysis, and other catastrophic injuries.
Motorcycle Accidents
Motorcyclists have little physical protection when they are thrown from a motorcycle or struck by another vehicle, putting them at significant risk of spinal trauma.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Falls from heights or onto hard surfaces can fracture or dislocate vertebrae and damage the spinal cord.
Workplace and Oilfield Accidents
East Texas workers may face serious risks involving heavy equipment, drilling operations, machinery, falling objects, vehicles, explosions, and elevated work areas.
Depending on the circumstances, an injured worker may have claims involving an employer, contractor, equipment manufacturer, property owner, or another responsible third party.
Defective Products
Defective vehicles, safety equipment, machinery, or other products can contribute to accidents resulting in spinal cord injuries. Manufacturers and other companies in the distribution chain may potentially be liable for injuries caused by dangerous defective products.
Fires and Explosions
Explosions and other violent incidents can throw victims against objects, cause structural collapses, or produce other forces capable of seriously damaging the spine.
The Long-Term Impact of a Spinal Cord Injury
The consequences of spinal cord damage may continue long after the initial hospital stay.
Some people require months or years of rehabilitation. Others may need lifelong assistance with mobility, personal care, transportation, or routine daily activities.
Long-term needs can include:
- Hospitalization and surgery
- Physical rehabilitation
- Occupational therapy
- Prescription medications
- Pain management
- Wheelchairs and mobility devices
- Prosthetic or assistive equipment
- Home modifications
- Accessible vehicles
- In-home nursing or attendant care
- Counseling or psychological treatment
- Ongoing specialist appointments
- Treatment for secondary medical complications
A serious spinal cord injury can also prevent someone from returning to their previous occupation or from working at all.
For these reasons, properly evaluating a spinal cord injury claim requires looking beyond bills that have already accumulated. A claim should also consider the medical care, lost earning capacity, assistance, and other losses the injured person may reasonably face in the future.
Compensation for a Spinal Cord Injury
If another party’s negligence caused your spinal cord injury, you may be able to seek compensation for your financial and personal losses.
Depending on the circumstances of the case, recoverable damages may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation expenses
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Mobility equipment and assistive technology
- Home and vehicle modifications
- In-home care
- Physical pain
- Mental anguish
- Physical impairment
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
When a spinal cord injury results in death, surviving family members may also have the right to pursue a wrongful death claim.
The amount recoverable depends on the specific facts of each case, including the severity of the injury, its long-term effects, available insurance coverage, and the parties responsible for causing the accident.
How The Roach Law Firm Can Help After a Spinal Cord Injury
When you are recovering from a catastrophic injury, dealing with insurance companies and investigating a complicated accident should not become another burden.
The Roach Law Firm can handle the legal process while you and your family focus on treatment and recovery.
Depending on your case, our attorneys may:
- Investigate how the accident happened
- Identify every potentially responsible party
- Preserve photographs, video, vehicle data, physical evidence, and other records
- Interview witnesses
- Obtain accident and investigative reports
- Review medical records
- Consult appropriate experts
- Evaluate past and future medical needs
- Calculate lost wages and reduced earning capacity
- Negotiate with insurance companies
- File a lawsuit when necessary
- Prepare the case for trial
Our objective is to build a claim that reflects not only what the injury has already cost you, but what you may need throughout the years ahead.
How Long Do I Have to File a Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit in Texas?
Texas generally provides a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits, beginning when the cause of action accrues.
However, exceptions and different deadlines can apply depending on factors such as the identity of the defendant and the circumstances surrounding the injury.
Waiting can also make an investigation more difficult. Evidence may disappear, witnesses may become harder to locate, and important records may be lost.
Speaking with an attorney promptly can help preserve evidence and determine the deadline that applies to your specific case.
No Fees Unless We Win
The Roach Law Firm handles personal injury claims on a contingency-fee basis.
That means you do not pay upfront attorney fees, and we do not collect a legal fee unless we obtain a recovery for you.
A catastrophic injury can already create significant financial pressure for a family. The cost of hiring an attorney should not prevent you from learning about your legal options.
Contact Our East Texas Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers for a Free Consultation
A spinal cord injury can affect your health, employment, independence, finances, and family for years to come.
If you or someone you love suffered a spinal cord injury because of another party’s negligence, The Roach Law Firm can help you understand your legal options and pursue accountability from those responsible.
From our East Texas office in Daingerfield, we represent individuals and families facing serious and catastrophic injuries.
Contact us today for a free consultation!
