If you or a loved one have suffered an SCI, you need legal help today. The spinal cord injury attorneys at Walton Telken will work hard for you to receive full financial compensation for your injuries.
Effects of Spinal Cord Injuries
An SCI can have a traumatic and debilitating effect on your life. The most common consequence of an SCI is a loss of sensation and movement in the affected area. Usually, the part of the body below where the SCI occurred will be impacted.
In addition, severe SCIs could lead to the following possible side effects:
- Loss of bowel control
- Difficulty breathing on one’s own
- Persistent pain
- Heart and lung problems
- Spasticity
SCIs may have different symptoms, depending on the affected area and the injury’s severity. Regardless, an SCI will take away from your quality of life.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
There are two primary types of SCIs:
- Complete spinal cord injuries are when there is permanent damage to the impacted area. There is no chance of recovery from this injury.
- Incomplete spinal cord injuries occur when there is partial damage. The accident victim can recover from an incomplete SCI, either partially or fully. However, the recovery will take time and a considerable amount of rehabilitation.
No matter what type of SCI you have sustained, it is always extremely serious and costly.
Treatments for Spinal Cord Injuries
In the short term, an SCI victim may need acute treatment to stabilize the area.
Short-term treatments can include:
- Surgery to remove anything that is pressuring the spinal cord and to remove bone fragments and foreign objects
- Traction to stabilize and align the spine
- Steroid injections to reduce inflammation and damage to nerve cells
In the longer term, the patient could require extensive rehabilitation and therapy. Patients with incomplete spinal cord injuries could see great progress after months or years of rehabilitation. Even accident victims with complete spinal cord injuries could see some improvement.
There have been many recent advances in SCI treatments that have given patients some hope. For example, the patient could have an epidural stimulator implanted in their body that sends a continuous electrical current to the nerves.
The common theme among all SCIs is that they are extremely expensive to treat. Depending on the age of the accident victim and the extent of their injuries, lifetime medical care costs could approach $6 million.
What Impacts Spinal Cord Injury Settlement Amounts?
Many factors could affect how much you can receive in a spinal cord injury settlement. The most obvious factor is the extent of your injuries. If you have suffered a complete SCI, whether it is paraplegia or quadriplegia, you would generally receive more money.
Beyond that, here are some considerations that could affect the size of your settlement:
- The amount of discomfort caused by your injury
- Whether you had a physical relationship with someone that you lost
- How much money you were earning before the accident
- The quality of life that you had before you were hurt
- The amount of insurance that the responsible party carried
One main factor differentiating claimants is how hard they fight for the money they are due. The insurance company is sure to try to underpay you. They do not care how much you are relying on the money; they do care about their financial situation and balance sheet. Thus, your spinal cord injury attorney must fight for you to get every dollar you are due.
Help With Filing a Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit
It is difficult to file any personal injury claim on your own. It is even harder to handle your own claim when you have been seriously injured. Given the financial stakes, you should not even try to deal with the insurance company on your own. You should always get legal help. Preparation is crucial to filing a successful spinal cord injury claim; this work is exactly what an attorney can do for you.
At Walton Telken Injury Attorneys, our lawyers can do the following for your spinal cord injury case:
- Gather the necessary evidence that proves that someone else was responsible for your injuries
- Review your specific situation to come up with the amount of damages that you need to seek
- File the claim or lawsuit on your behalf
- Negotiate a settlement with the insurance company or argue your case in court.
Contact a St. Louis Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Today
If you or a loved one injured your spine in an accident, Walton Telken Injury Attorneys are in your corner. We come out swinging when you need us, putting pressure on the insurance company to do the right thing. You can message us online or call us today at 844-307-7349 to schedule your free initial consultation. As always, you do not pay unless we win.
