The Villages Spinal Cord Injuries Lawyer
Spinal cord injuries can affect every aspect of your life. They can be incredibly expensive, bankrupting you in the first few years alone. They can take away your ability to work, hold your children or grandchildren, and even feed and care for yourself.
If another party caused your spinal cord injury, you can and should hold them liable. Our spinal cord injury lawyers in The Villages can help. Call Meldon Law for a free consultation.
How a Spinal Cord Injury Can Affect You
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, there are two types of spinal cord injuries (SCIs):
- Incomplete: With an incomplete SCI, the spinal cord can send and receive messages from the brain. SCI survivors may have feeling and function below their injury (e.g., survivors of a lumbar spinal injury may have feeling above the lower part of the abdomen).
- Complete: With a complete spinal cord injury, the spinal cord cannot send or receive messages from the brain. This means there is no function or feeling below the site of the injury.
An SCI can result in:
- Paralysis
- Pressure in the head, neck, and/or back
- Pain in the head, neck, and/or back
- Inability to control bladder or bowels
- Pins and needles sensation
- Nerve pain
- Changes in sexual function
- Trouble breathing
These can make it difficult to work or even care for yourself.
Recoverable Compensation in a Spinal Cord Injury Case
The treatment costs for a spinal cord injury can top $1.3 million (in 2022 dollars) in the first year alone, according to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center. Each year after can cost between $52,000 and $229,000. And the effects of a spinal injury go far beyond medical bills.
You may be unable to work during recovery (or you may need to retire completely). You may be unable to hold your grandchildren or tend to your garden. You may be unable to play tennis with your friends down the street. You may need to rely on your spouse or a home healthcare aide to bathe and feed you.
You didn’t deserve this injury but you do deserve justice. Our team wants to help you get it. Our spinal cord injury lawyers can help you fight for compensation for:
- Medical bills (current and future): We can work with a medical expert to determine the cost of your future medical care.
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity: Many of The Villages’ residents are retired, but not all. If you were still working when you suffered your spinal injury, our team will fight for your lost wages and lost earning capacity. A financial expert can help us prove what your injury will cost you in wages, benefits, and promotions.
- Miscellaneous expenses: A spinal cord injury is often disabling. You may need to renovate your home or vehicle to accommodate your injury. You may need to widen doorways for a wheelchair or install a handbrake in your vehicle. These expenses are compensable. We can also help you recover compensation if you needed to hire people to help out around the house as well as the costs of getting to and from your appointments.
This is where many people stop counting their damages. However, you are also entitled to compensation for your non-economic damages. They may include:
- Pain and suffering: Spinal cord injuries can leave survivors with intense, lifelong pain. You deserve compensation for this.
- Inconvenience: A spinal cord injury creates a lot of inconveniences. This is compensable.
- Mental anguish: Spinal cord injuries can also lead to anxiety, depression, and decreased quality of life. You can recover compensation for this as well.
Let our personal injury attorneys fight for every dollar you deserve. Call the Meldon Law team today to get started.
What Meldon Law Can Do for You
The Meldon Law injury team handles every aspect of your case. We:
- Gather evidence of the accident that caused your injury
- Work with experts to establish a fair value for your case
- Communicate with all involved parties on your behalf
- Negotiate for a fair settlement
- Prepare your case for trial and present it to a jury if necessary
We’ll also ensure that you understand the process so you know what to expect and how to protect yourself. Educating our clients and getting them the compensation they deserve is our calling.
How Spinal Cord Injuries Happen
Spinal cord injuries can happen if the back or neck experiences some sort of trauma.
Negligence can cause a spinal cord in any number of ways, including:
Car accidents: Any type of motor vehicle accident (motorcycle wreck, truck crash, bicycle accident, pedestrian accident, or golf cart crash) can cause the vertebrae to break or damage the tissue surrounding the spinal cord.
Slips and falls: Falls are very common in older people. A slip and fall can cause a partial or total tear of the spinal cord.
If a driver or other road user displayed any of the following negligent behaviors, they could be liable for your injuries:
- Texting while driving
- Driving under the influence
- Driving while fatigued
- Speeding
- Failing to yield the right-of-way
- Failing to share the road
A government entity in charge of road maintenance or traffic control signals could also be liable if its failure to maintain caused your accident.
A property manager or employee’s negligence could leave them liable for your injuries if they failed to:
- Clean up a spill
- Warn of a wet floor or spill
- Fix or replace torn carpeting
- Keep aisles clear of debris
- Fix a broken handrail or crumbling steps
- Warn of a known hazard
- Regularly check the property for potential hazards
A spinal cord injury can also result from nursing home abuse or neglect. Regardless of how another party caused your spinal cord injury, we want to help you recover fair compensation.
Spinal Cord Injury FAQs
We want you to know as much information as you need about spinal cord injury cases. Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions.
Can I Afford to Hire a Spinal Cord Injury Attorney?
Yes, you can. Our team does not take any upfront fees for our legal representation. You don’t pay for the initial consultation and only pay for our time if and when we recover compensation for you.
When you meet with our team, we will go over our contingency-fee agreement with you so you know exactly what to expect.
Can I Recover Compensation If I Contributed to My Accident or Injury?
Yes, but there is a threshold for fault. Florida’s modified comparative negligence laws allow injured parties to recover compensation even if they contributed to an accident or their injury. However, they must be 50% or less responsible for the accident.
For example: you slipped and fell in a local grocery store due to a spill that wasn’t cleaned up. The property owner is found vicariously liable because the employee failed to handle the spill. You were wearing shoes with very little traction so the investigation found you to be 15% responsible for your injury. You would be able to recover 85% of the final award.
What Should I Do After an Accident?
There are several things you can do after an accident to protect yourself and your claim:
- Call 911 if you are able.
- Check yourself for injuries.
- Exchange information with the other driver. If your injuries prevent you from doing so, have a passenger help you. The police officer can also help you when they get to the scene.
- Have a paramedic examine you at the scene.
- Do not admit fault or apologize for the accident.
- Be careful what you say to the insurance adjuster (discussed more in the next section).
- Do not accept the first offer without having our personal injury attorneys review it. This offer is typically much lower than you deserve.
- Avoid posting on social media while your case is ongoing.
- Continue your medical care.
Should I Give a Recorded Statement?
Soon after your accident, the other party’s insurance adjuster will likely call and ask you to explain what happened. Chances are, they’ll ask if you’re okay with it being recorded. Do not agree to a recorded statement. The insurance adjuster is hoping that you will say something that they can twist and use against you. Even something as simple as saying, “I’m okay” or “I’m sorry” can jeopardize your case.
Give them the basics of the accident, politely decline the recorded statement, and direct any further questions to your personal injury lawyer.
Get Help from Our Spinal Cord Injuries Attorney in The Villages Today
You deserve compensation for the changes to your life. Our team will help you fight for them. And insurance companies know that we’re a force to be reckoned with and won’t ever back down from a fight.
Call Meldon Law today for your free consultation. Remember, there’s no financial risk when you work with us.
