NYC Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Our New York injury lawyers are ready to fight to make things right for you. Therefore, contact our law office in Manhattan to schedule a free case review.  The Platta Law Firm serves clients in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Westchester, and surrounding areas.

How The Platta Law Firm Can Help if You’ve Suffered a Spinal Cord Injury

A spinal cord injury can change your life forever. It can limit your mobility, force you to stop working, and even prevent you from engaging in activities you once loved. This doesn’t even factor in the high medical treatment costs and long-term care you may require. When someone else is responsible for causing your spinal cord injury, they have to be held accountable.

Our NYC personal injury lawyers are ready to make that a reality. With our top-rated trial attorneys on the case, other parties and insurance companies will know that you’re serious about getting the compensation you deserve. The Platta Law Firm is well-known in the New York legal community. Our reputation for going above and beyond for our clients – and getting top results in the process – is firmly established. Our team will:

• Counter efforts to blame you for your spine injury.
• Negotiate with insurance companies.
• Reject lowball offers and bring a case to court.
• Perform a thorough investigation.
• Gather medical records, accident reports, witness statements, photographs and video footage.
• Consult with medical professionals and rehabilitation and vocational specialists.

The Platta Law Firm knows that the costs of a spinal cord injury can be high. We work on contingency, so there’s no cost to you unless we win your lawsuit. If our New York City spinal cord injury lawyers don’t win, you don’t pay – it’s that simple.

What is a Spinal Cord Injury, and How Common Are They?

Every year, it’s estimated that there are 18,000 new reports of severe spinal cord injuries across the United States. Roughly 1,100 new spinal cord injuries are reported in the state of New York annually – accounting for about 6 percent of the nation’s total. Nationwide, the Reeve Foundation estimates there are 302,000 people who are already living with paralysis and other long-term consequences of an injury to the spine.

What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?

Broadly defined, a spinal cord injury refers to trauma that disrupts the normal function of the spinal column. The spinal column is a long, flexible column of bones that runs from the base of your neck to your tailbone. It comprises 24 small individual bones—or vertebrae—and has a bundle of nerves inside called the spinal cord.

The nerves relay information between the brain and the rest of the body. Damage to the nerves in the spinal cord can destroy the body’s ability to communicate and function properly. This can cause:

• Difficulty breathing
• Temperature dysregulation
• Limited mobility or paralysis
• Difficulty chewing, swallowing, or controlling the bladder and bowels
• Weakness, tingling, numbness, and loss of sensation in the extremities

It’s not just conscious movements and actions that can be affected. The spinal cord is integral to your autonomic nervous system, so everyday bodily functions you don’t even think about can also be affected.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries: Complete vs. Incomplete

Typically, there are two ways to classify a spinal cord injury: complete and incomplete.

• Complete spinal cord injuries occur when the affected nerves are completely and permanently damaged. It is impossible to repair a complete spinal cord injury. These tend to have the most serious consequences, including paraplegia (loss of function below the waist) and tetraplegia (loss of all function below the neck).
• Incomplete spinal cord injuries occur when the spinal column and cord are partially damaged. The prognosis for an incomplete spine injury depends on how badly the nerves and vertebrae were damaged and the location of the injury on the spine. An incomplete spinal cord injury can result in mild symptoms and effects or cause more serious adverse events, including paralysis.

Levels of Spinal Cord Injuries

The location of the trauma is critically important since it affects the entire part of the body below the level of injury. There are four major parts of the spine: the cervical spinal cord, thoracic spinal cord, lumbar spinal cord, and sacral spinal cord.

• Cervical Spinal Cord: This portion of the spinal cord is located below the neck and comprises seven vertebrae. Cervical spine injuries tend to be the most severe, as the area that’s compromised is closest to the brain and responsible for major bodily functions. Tetraplegia or quadriplegia are common consequences.
• Thoracic Spinal Cord: This spinal cord section is located in the upper back and comprises twelve vertebrae. Depending on the location, the thoracic spinal column is responsible for movement in the upper chest, mid-back, and trunk. The lower part of the thoracic spinal cord is responsible for movement and control of part of the back.
• Lumbar Spinal Cord: The lumbar portion of the spinal cord is in the mid-to-lower back and comprises five vertebrae. It is responsible for the movement of the hips and legs, as well as muscles and organs in the area.
• Sacral Spinal Cord: The sacral spinal cord is found at the base, just above the coccyx or tailbone. It consists of five fused bones. Injuries can impair bladder and bowel control and affect leg mobility.

I’ve Suffered an Injury to My Spinal Cord After an Accident in NYC – What’s my Case Worth?

According to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the most telling factors in calculating the cost of living with a spinal cord injury will hinge on the victim’s age and the severity of the injury. In the first year of having a spinal cord injury, the average annual expense (medical bills and living expenses) can range from $379,698 for an injury that impairs function at any level to $1.1 Million for a high tetraplegia injury.

Over the course of a lifetime, a moderate spinal cord injury can cost a 25-year-old individual $1.7 million, while a high tetraplegia injury could set the same 20-something back more than $5.1 million. A 50-year-old victim may anticipate costs exceeding $2.3 million for a low tetraplegia injury. Ultimately, the answer is that “it depends.” The cost of a spinal cord injury will ultimately depend on a number of different factors, including:

• Your age
• Whether you are temporarily and/or permanently disabled
• Your ability to continue working and generating an income
• Whether you share responsibility for your spinal column injury
• The medical care and treatment you’ll require – now and in the future
• The type of spinal cord injury you’ve suffered (complete vs. incomplete)
• The level and location of your spinal cord injury (the specific vertebrae affected)
• How the trauma of your accident and resulting spine injury affect you emotionally and psychologically

Your choice of attorney can also affect how much money you can get if you’ve suffered a catastrophic spinal cord injury in New York City. Contact The Platta Law Firm to learn about how our respected NYC personal injury attorneys have helped victims like you win top results in their spine injury cases.

We Handle All Spinal Cord Injury Cases in New York City

Trauma is the leading cause of spinal cord injuries in New York City. At The Platta Law Firm, we represent clients who suffer spinal cord injuries as a result of:

• Car and truck accidents
• Train accidents
• Bicycle accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Pedestrian accidents
• Workplace accidents
• Slip and fall accidents
• Construction accidents
• Dog bites and animal attacks
• Boating incident
• Aviation crashes
• Nursing home abuse or neglect
• Burns
• Neck and traumatic brain injuries
• Workers’ compensation
• Wrongful death
• Social Security
• Catastrophic injuries

If you’ve had a family member die because of a spinal cord injury, our wrongful death attorneys can help you seek financial justice. Don’t hesitate to call our law office to learn more. We serve all five New York City boroughs and the surrounding tri-state area.

Damages Available in New York Spinal Cord
Injury Lawsuits

After a spinal cord injury in New York, you could be entitled to compensation for your financial losses and the pain and suffering you experience. Examples include:

• Hospital services: This includes the cost of the emergency room, transportation to the ER, nursing care, physician fees, X-rays and CT scans, medication, and other costs.
• Rehabilitation: The cost of needed medical devices, including wheelchairs and prosthetics, is recoverable.
• Aftercare: Home nursing services, construction used to help patients move about their homes and outpatient rehabilitation.
• Cost of future treatment: Additional medical care related to the accident is recoverable.
• Emotional loss and pain and suffering: This category includes mental anguish, disability, chronic physical pain, loss of quality and enjoyment of life and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Loss of wages: This includes salary or contract worker pay, work-related benefits, commissions, and life insurance.
• Job disparity: The difference between a job subsequent to the injury and employment prior to the accident in terms of wages is recoverable.

Our neck and back injury attorneys will also pursue punitive damages if there’s clear and convincing evidence that another party’s conduct was intentional, willful, or wanton. In other words, if you suffered a spinal cord injury because of conduct that’s simply inexcusable and unjustifiable, then you may recover punitive damages.

Can I Still Recover Compensation if I Am Partly at Fault?

Yes, you can receive compensation if you’re not entirely to blame. Because of this, New York has adopted a pure comparative negligence system to deal with this issue. If you are partly to blame, your percentage of fault can reduce your compensation.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After Suffering
a Spine Injury?

You have just three years from the date of your accident to file a personal injury lawsuit in New York City. However, if the claim involves a government agency, you have 90 days to file a claim. Once the statute of limitations expires, your opportunity to assert your legal rights and recover the compensation you deserve will also expire.

Trusted NYC Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Here to Fight for You

The costs of a spine injury are high – don’t let those responsible for your devastating spinal cord damage walk away without consequence. Contact The Platta Law Firm and discover how our nationally recognized NYC spinal cord injury lawyers can help you fight back and get the money you deserve. You can obtain a free consultation at our law office in Manhattan, NY, so call us today at (212) 514-5400.