Austin Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Injuries to the spinal cord cause permanent, life-altering harm that requires victims and their families to make permanent changes to their daily lives. If you or a loved one sustained a spinal cord injury in an accident, you may feel overwhelmed by numerous questions and concerns about your future. An experienced and knowledgeable Austin spinal cord injury lawyer at Loewy Law Firm can help you more clearly understand your rights and options. Contact us today to arrange a free consultation and begin charting your path forward.

How to Choose the Right Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Your choice of an attorney to manage your spinal cord injury claim has the potential to be one of the most consequential decisions you make after a catastrophic injury accident. Spinal cord injury cases require significant experience in both medicine and the law because of their complexity, the large amounts of money involved, and the cascading effects injuries to the spine have on victims and their loved ones.

When searching for an Austin spinal cord injury attorney, look for the following indicators of strong representation:

• Proven results
• Established relationships with medical experts
• Resources to take your case to trial

Loewy Law Firm focuses on serious and catastrophic injury litigation on behalf of clients in Austin and the surrounding communities. We’ve recovered tens of millions in compensation for our clients and have a 20-year track record of success.

Do I Have a Case?

Spinal cord injury claims usually center on the legal concept of negligence.

A person or party may be negligent if:

1. They had a duty to avoid causing harm to others. 
2. They failed to uphold that duty
3. The failure caused an accident
4. The accident resulted in someone else’s actual harm and losses.

For example, a speeding or distracted driver who runs a red light and strikes another vehicle or a pedestrian may be found negligent and liable for the injuries and financial losses their actions cause.

Whether you have a strong case depends on whether the evidence supports your claim that the other party caused your injury through negligence. Your spinal cord injury attorney in Austin will review many different types of evidence when evaluating and preparing your claim, including:

• Your medical records
• Evaluations by outside medical experts
• Eyewitness statements
• Police or incident reports
• Accident reconstruction reports
• Your employment and income records

If you’re unsure whether you have a valid spinal cord injury case, reach out to Loewy Law Firm for a free case evaluation. We’ll listen to your story and offer our informed opinion as to whether we believe you have a viable case.

How Do Spinal Cord Injuries Happen?

Most spinal cord injuries are the result of sudden trauma. Motor vehicle accidents, falls from heights, slip-and-fall accidents, sports injuries, workplace accidents, medical malpractice, and violent attacks are some of the accidents most likely to cause spinal cord injuries.

When the spine sustains a sudden blow, the spinal vertebrae may be fractured or dislocated. This may be extremely painful on its own, but in some cases, damage to the vertebrae can lead to the stretching or severing of the nerve fibers that carry information between the brain and the rest of the body. When this happens, they lose their ability to transmit signals. As a result, a spinal cord injury victim may experience a loss of mobility, control, feeling, or some combination of effects.

Diagnosing Spinal Cord Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are some of the first types of harm medical professionals will look for when treating a person after an accident. They pay special attention to potential signs of spinal cord injuries because of their severity and because damage to the spinal cord requires extreme care to avoid causing further harm. Some signs to watch for include:

• Inability to move
• Loss of sensation in the limbs and extremities
• Difficulty breathing
• Numbness or tingling sensation
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Severe back pain
• Unusual positioning of the back

Victims of suspected spinal cord injuries require immediate emergency treatment and should be immobilized and not moved until medical professionals are on the scene to treat them.

Our lawyers use the diagnosis to connect symptoms and imaging to the crash and to build the medical foundation of your case.

Medical Treatment and Long-Term Recovery

After a suspected spinal cord injury victim reaches the emergency room, medical professionals may use X-ray, MRI, and CT scans to identify and determine the nature and extent of any damage to the spinal cord. Before proceeding with treatment, doctors will take steps to be sure the victim’s vital signs are stable and reduce the risk of further damage. For example:

• Surgical intervention to stabilize the spine, remove bone fragments, and repair damaged vertebrae
• Immobilization to prevent further injury
• Medication to reduce pain and prevent complications
• Rehabilitation to improve range of motion, muscle strength, fine motor skills, and balance

Treating a spinal cord injury is usually an extensive, ongoing process. Most people with spinal cord injuries face long-term challenges and complications that require further treatment to manage pain and maintain functionality. The difficulty and duration of spinal cord injury treatment is a significant struggle for victims and their families, who have to keep up with regular medical and rehab appointments. They usually have little hope of restoring the lives they had prior to the accident, which can cause substantial psychological and financial burdens.

The Financial Impact of a Spinal Cord Injury

Immediate and Long-Term Medical Costs

Spinal cord injuries are among the most costly injuries to treat because victims typically require a lifetime of care. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), a 25-year-old who sustains a spinal cord injury faces first-year treatment costs of between $440,000 and $1.37 million, with annual costs thereafter running between $54,000 and nearly $240,000, depending on the severity of the injury. Lifetime medical costs can exceed $6 million.

Expenses Beyond Medical Care

The costs of a spinal cord injury go beyond those associated with treatment, though. In addition to a lifetime of medical expenses, victims and their families may have to pay for home and vehicle modifications to accommodate the injury. A person with a spinal cord injury may also face severe limitations in employment or be unable to work at all.

All of these costs have a direct influence on the value of a spinal injury claim. A spinal cord injuries lawyer with experience handling similar cases will understand how to document ongoing and future financial losses in order to pursue maximum compensation.

Determining Fault and Shared Responsibility

Because they involve such substantial amounts of money, spinal cord injury claims often come with intense debate over fault and shared responsibility. Under Texas’s modified comparative negligence rule, an injured person who is found to share partial fault for their injury accident faces a proportional reduction in their compensation. For example, if they’re found to be 30 percent responsible, the court will reduce their compensation by 30 percent. Some situations in which a spinal cord injury victim might share partial fault include:

• They were speeding when the crash occurred
• They weren’t wearing their seatbelt
• They were attempting an unsafe lane change

Additionally, an injured person found to be more than 50 percent at fault is barred from recovering compensation under Texas law.

Insurance companies do not benefit from making the high-value payouts associated with a spinal injury claim. With this in mind, insurance adjusters look for evidence that points to a victim sharing responsibility for the accident. They may argue that the victim’s share exceeds the threshold for compensation – and unless the victim has strong representation from an experienced spinal cord injury attorney in Austin, they may not be equipped to successfully advocate for themselves.

Deadlines to File a Spinal Cord Injury Case in Texas

Texas law establishes a two-year statutory deadline for most personal injury claims, including those arising from spinal cord injury accidents. In relatively rare cases, this deadline may be extended, such as in claims involving injuries to minors or delayed discovery of the injury. Claims against government entities have even tighter deadlines. Failure to file on time risks jeopardizing your right to recover compensation.

Because spinal cord injury cases are complex, evidence and expert evaluations take time to develop. Acting as soon as possible after an accident gives our spinal cord injury attorney the chance to gather records, coordinate with medical specialists, and build the case before the deadline closes.

How Loewy Law Firm Proves Fault and Maximize Recovery

Loewy Law Firm has two decades of experience preparing high-value spinal cord injury cases. While every case is unique, taking some specific steps can make it easier to prove another party’s fault and maximize the compensation we recover for our clients. To support your spinal injury claim, we will:

• Coordinate with neurosurgeons and life-care planners to help you get the medical and rehabilitative treatment you need
• Work with economists and medical experts to calculate the full value of your long-term medical costs, lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, and other injury-related losses
• Manage communications and negotiations with insurers to protect you against attempts to undervalue your case or blame you for the spinal cord injury.

At Loewy Law Firm, we’re here to advocate for you at every stage of your spinal cord injury case. We’re committed to fighting for the maximum compensation and accountability you deserve.

What to Expect When You Contact Loewy Law Firm

A Clear, Supportive Process

The period following a spinal cord injury accident can be confusing and overwhelming. Dealing with the emotional and financial burden on top of the physical injury can leave you stressed and unsure what to do next.

Loewy Law Firm understands what you’re going through and we’re committed to making the process of seeking justice and recovery as straightforward and stress-free as possible. This starts with what most families are especially worried about – the cost of hiring an attorney.

No Upfront Costs or Financial Risk

We believe those injured and their families deserve access to a spinal cord injury attorney without having to assume financial risk. Initial consultations are always free, and we work on contingency, meaning you pay no fees unless and until we recover compensation for you. We’re happy to discuss how our contingency fee arrangement works during your free consultation, as well as answer any questions you may have about what to expect from the case process.

You shouldn’t have to try to manage the deadlines and procedures associated with your case. Let Loewy Law Firm remove this burden from your shoulders while you focus on the care you need to move forward.

Contact an Austin Spinal Cord Injury Attorney Today

The Austin spinal cord injury lawyers at Loewy Law Firm are ready to provide the advocacy and support you need after an accident. Contact us today at (512) 280-0800 to arrange your free consultation and learn more about what our team can do to help you pursue compensation and justice.