A spinal cord injury often results in significant physical, emotional, and financial hardships. If you or a loved one sustained a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, you need legal representation that understands your unique needs and fights for your rights.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, is a reputable name in advocacy for spinal cord injury victims. Our dedicated team of attorneys is deeply committed to helping victims of catastrophic injuries such as spinal cord damage.
With offices nationwide, we understand the intricacies of state-specific laws related to personal injuries and can effectively guide you through the complex legal process.
A spinal cord injury not only affects the victim but also impacts their family’s lives significantly. With our seasoned New York spinal cord injury lawyers by your side, you can focus on recovery while we seek justice on your behalf.
From dealing with insurance companies to litigation if necessary, Dolman Law Group works relentlessly to help secure maximum compensation for victims suffering from debilitating spinal cord injuries across New York.
Table of Contents
- Why Choose Dolman Law Group as Your New York Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers?
- Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
- Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
- The Lasting Impacts of a Spinal Cord Injury
- Legal Rights After a Spinal Cord Injury in New York
- The Role of a New York Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
- Choose Dolman Law Group to Represent Your Interests
Why Choose Dolman Law Group as Your New York Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers?
When you face the life-altering impact of a spinal cord injury, you need legal representation that goes above and beyond.
At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we pride ourselves on our unwavering commitment to fight for justice on behalf of our clients.
As seasoned personal injury attorneys in New York, we bring 140+ years of combined experience to handling complex spinal cord injury cases. Our team has won significant settlements and verdicts for our clients, totaling over $400 million during our firm’s history, which is a testament to our skillful litigation and negotiation strategies.
But more than just results, what sets us apart is our client-centric approach. We understand that each case is unique and deserves personalized attention. From the moment we take on your case, we’re dedicated to providing compassionate guidance paired with aggressive representation.
We also believe in transparency throughout the process. We will keep you informed at every stage while we handle the heavy lifting so you can focus on healing and recovery.
Financial constraints shouldn’t prevent you from seeking top-notch legal assistance. That’s why at Dolman Law Group, we operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning that unless we secure compensation for you, there are no attorney fees. For sound legal advice, robust advocacy, and unwavering support in your corner after a debilitating spinal cord injury, choose Dolman Law Group.
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Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
A spinal cord injury (SCI), once sustained, can drastically alter one’s way of living. Spinal cord injuries are unfortunately prevalent, affecting a significant number of individuals globally.
The National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) estimates that nearly 294,000 people live with a spinal cord injury in the United States alone. With approximately 17,730 new spinal cord injury cases each year (excluding those who die at the accident scene), the need for legal guidance for these individuals is greater than ever.
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs down the middle of your back. It carries signals back and forth between your body and your brain. A spinal cord injury disrupts these signals. Injuries can occur at any level of the spinal cord and can be classified as complete or incomplete.
Complete Spinal Cord Injuries
In a complete spinal cord injury, vital communication between the brain and parts of the body below the injured area is entirely disrupted. This results in total loss of muscle function and sensation in those areas, often leading to paralysis known as paraplegia or quadriplegia.
Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
On the other hand, an incomplete spinal cord injury refers to partial damage where some level of communication remains intact between the brain and parts below the affected area. Consequently, individuals with an incomplete SCI may retain some degree of motor control and sensation beneath their level of injury.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries, due to their severe and often irreversible nature, can significantly disrupt the lives of individuals and their families. Preventable incidents cause most spinal cord injuries, making them grounds for personal injury claims based on negligence.
Motor Vehicle Accidents
A leading cause of spinal cord injuries in New York and nationwide are New York motor vehicle accidents. These include car accidents, truck accidents, motorcycle collisions, bicycle crashes, or pedestrians being struck by a vehicle. Often, these incidents occur due to another driver’s negligence, such as speeding, distracted driving, or drunk driving.
Slip and Fall Incidents
Slip and fall accidents can happen anywhere: at work, in public spaces like malls or sidewalks, or even privately owned premises such as homes or apartments. If the property owner has been negligent in providing a safe environment (like failing to clear ice from a sidewalk), you may have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit.
Workplace Accidents
Jobs that involve manual labor or heavy machinery — like construction sites or warehouse facilities — pose a high risk for serious injuries such as those to the spinal cord. Employers who fail to adhere to safety guidelines may be held liable for any resulting injuries.
Violent Crime
Assaults and other forms of intentional harm can also lead to spinal cord injuries. A case involving criminal charges is not the same as a personal injury claim for damages. However, in some cases wherein a party’s negligence contributed to the perpetration of violent crime, you may file a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation from those responsible.
Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals owe their patients an obligation called duty of care. When this duty is breached either through negligence (such as surgical errors) or improper treatment leading to further harm like spinal cord injury, it constitutes medical malpractice.
If you suffered a spinal cord injury due to any of these situations, you might recover compensation. Seek legal advice from an experienced personal injury attorney who can guide you through the process and advocate for your rights.
The Lasting Impacts of a Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injuries leave life-altering immediate and long-term impacts on every aspect of the affected individual’s life. You need a lawyer who understands these implications when seeking compensation for the physical, emotional, and financial burdens that these injuries entail.
After a spinal cord injury, individuals may experience considerable pain, loss or alteration of sensation, and potential paralysis below the level of injury. Short-term medical treatment might involve surgery to stabilize the spine or reduce pressure on the spinal cord. Individuals may also need to stay in intensive care units to monitor vital signs and neurological status, manage respiratory stability, and prevent complications.
Additionally, they may need extensive rehabilitation therapy involving physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and psychological counseling to regain as much function as possible and learn new strategies for carrying out day-to-day activities.
The Long-Term Consequences of SCI
The long-term consequences of a spinal cord injury can extend far beyond physical health. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may experience permanent changes in bodily functions such as bowel control, breathing ability, or sexual function.
Individuals often require assistive devices like wheelchairs or braces for mobility, which can lead to home modifications for accessibility. Many may require lifelong medical care, including periodic check-ups and treatments related to secondary conditions like urinary infections or pressure sores; some might even need full-time personal assistance for daily activities.
Financially, SCIs have a substantial impact considering continued healthcare costs, potential loss of income due to inability to return to work, or decreased earning capacity even if you can work in some capacity.
Many SCI victims grapple with emotional distress from their changed lives, impacting their social relationships and mental health. Some individuals struggle with feelings of anxiety and depression adapting to their new reality.
A spinal cord injury can permanently change the course of one’s life. Experienced legal assistance in these instances ensures that you or your loved ones can secure the compensation needed to manage these far-reaching impacts.
Legal Rights After a Spinal Cord Injury in New York
If you have suffered from a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, you have legal rights in New York State. These rights allow you to seek compensation to help you prepare for the future and ease the financial burden on you and your family.
Under the law of negligence, any person or entity (such as a business or government agency) that causes harm to another due to careless behavior may be held liable for the resulting damages.
This principle applies across various scenarios, whether it’s a driver texting behind the wheel and causing an accident, a property owner failing to address hazardous conditions leading to a fall, or a healthcare provider whose medical malpractice led to further harm, like an SCI.
To successfully establish negligence, you must prove four key elements: duty of care (the defendant had an obligation not to cause harm), breach of duty (the defendant failed in this obligation), causation (this failure directly resulted in your injury), and damages (you suffered losses as a result).
Compensation for SCI Victims
Once proven, you might be entitled to recover several types of damages. Economic damages include all financial costs related to the injury, such as medical bills, rehabilitation expenses, lost wages and income, and future loss of earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover intangible losses like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment in life.
Although rare, in certain cases involving a defendant’s especially egregious conduct, punitive damages may punish the wrongdoer and deter others from similar conduct.
New York follows comparative negligence laws, so that even if you were partly at fault for the incident leading up to your spinal cord injury, you could still pursue compensation. However, your recoverable damages would decrease by your percentage of fault.
An experienced spinal cord injury attorney can make all the difference when seeking justice and rightful compensation following such traumatic injuries.
The Role of a New York Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
The complex spinal cord injury legal process can overwhelm you.
That’s where a New York spinal cord injury lawyer comes in.
- Representing You: Your attorney operates as your advocate, working diligently to protect your rights and represent your best interests. This includes handling all communication with insurance companies who often minimize their payout or deny claims unjustly.
- Investigating and Gathering Evidence: A thorough investigation forms the backbone of any successful personal injury claim. Your lawyer will gather crucial evidence to support your case, which may involve obtaining medical records, accident reports, surveillance footage, witness statements, and more.
- Proving Negligence: You must establish negligence in personal injury lawsuits. Your lawyer will use the collected evidence to demonstrate how the other party’s careless actions led to your injuries.
- Quantifying Damages: Your attorney will estimate a fair value for your claim by calculating both tangible and intangible losses resulting from your spinal cord injury. These can range from medical bills and lost wages to pain and suffering or loss of enjoyment.
- Negotiation and Litigation: A significant part of a lawyer’s role involves negotiating with at-fault parties or their insurers for a fair settlement. Should negotiations fail, your attorney can take the case to court, advocating for you every step along the way until justice is served.
From start to end, having an experienced New York spinal cord injury lawyer managing your case allows you peace of mind during an extremely challenging period of life while maximizing chances for rightful compensation.
Choose Dolman Law Group to Represent Your Interests
A spinal cord injury can stretch across physical, emotional, and financial dimensions. At Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, we understand these challenges intimately.
Our experienced team of New York spinal cord injury lawyers is dedicated to standing with you every step of the way. We provide compassionate guidance paired with aggressive representation – all aimed towards helping you secure the compensation that reflects the true impacts of your injury.
With decades of experience in navigating New York’s personal injury laws and acclaimed for our client-centric approach, we are strategically equipped to handle even the most complicated cases.
Whether you’re dealing with insurance companies or facing negotiations or court proceedings, Dolman Law Group will be your steadfast advocate, working tirelessly towards delivering the justice you rightfully deserve.
If you or a loved one have suffered from a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, don’t hesitate to reach out to us using our online contact form or by calling (718) 550-3471.