Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injuries involve damage to any part of the spinal cord or the nerves on the end of the cord. These injuries may be serious, resulting in permanent alterations to sensation or strength below a portion of the spine that was injured. If you sustained a spinal cord injury in an accident caused by someone else, you should talk to our attorneys. You might feel like your entire life has changed as a result of this injury. There may be physical, emotional, and mental consequences. An experienced Atlanta spinal cord injury lawyer at Van Sant Law can present your story in the most persuasive way to a jury or insurance adjuster. We can sign up your case electronically if you are concerned about your safety, or we can visit you at your home or another location if you wish.

The location of an injury along your spine and the severity of that injury will determine your capacity for limb control after a spinal cord injury. In a complete spinal cord injury, you lose all feeling and all ability to control your motor functions below the site of the injury. An incomplete spinal cord injury leaves an accident victim with some sensory or motor capacity below the affected location of the spine. Spinal cord injuries may cause quadriplegia or paraplegia. With the former injury, your pelvis, legs, trunk, and arms are all affected by the injury. Paraplegia occurs when paralysis affects the pelvic organs, legs, and trunk. Symptoms of spinal cord injuries can include lost movement by sensation, loss of bladder or bowel control, or changes to fertility.

If your spinal cord injury was the fault of another party, a spinal cord injury attorney in Atlanta may be able to hold them liable in a personal injury lawsuit. What we will need to prove depends on the circumstances. Spinal cord injuries may result from car accidents, trip and falls, motorcycle accidents, truck collisions, or defective products.

Many personal injury lawsuits are brought under a theory of negligence. It would be appropriate to pursue damages for spinal cord injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident under a theory of negligence, for example. You would need to show that the defendant owed you a duty of care, departed from that duty, and thereby caused your damages. For instance, if you were riding your motorcycle on the highway, and a driver failed to check his blind spot and changed lanes, striking you and causing you to wipe out, you may have a claim for negligence.

Trip and falls are a little different. To recover damages for spinal cord injuries caused by a dangerous condition on someone else's property, you would need to show, among other things, that the defendant property owner knew or should have known about the dangerous property condition and failed to either warn you or repair it. For instance, if you are in a store and trip over a package that was left in the aisle, sustaining a spinal cord injury, your Atlanta spinal cord injury attorney would need to show that the store owner had actual or constructive notice of the package. Actual notice may be shown through surveillance footage. Constructive notice may be shown by proving that the package was in that location for so long that a reasonable store owner would have moved it or provided warnings.

Spinal cord injuries may also result from a defective product. When you buy a product, you may assume that it is safe to use. Unfortunately, many kinds of products have design, manufacturing, or marketing defects. In Georgia, you may pursue damages for injuries caused by a defective product under a theory of negligence or strict liability. To establish strict liability, you need to prove that the defendant manufactured the product, the product was defective when the manufacturer released it into the market, and the defect in the product caused your injuries.

If we can establish liability for your spinal cord injury, we may be able to recover compensatory damages. These damages may include emergency medical care, doctors’ visits, surgeries, rehabilitation, therapy, lost earning capacity, lost wages, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, and pain and suffering. Damages will vary depending on the severity of the injury.

If you sustained a spinal cord injury in an accident caused by someone else, you may have grounds for a lawsuit to recover your losses. You should consult the seasoned personal injury attorneys at Van Sant Law. We represent people throughout Georgia from offices in Atlanta, Alpharetta, Athens, Cumming, Duluth, Lawrenceville, and Gainesville. Call us at 855-GA-INJURY or complete our online form.