Atlanta Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

Sadly, severe spinal cord injuries occur far more frequently than many people realize. Spinal cord damage can happen in a wide variety of situations, from automobile accidents to workplace falls. According to research conducted by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), approximately 17,000 Americans suffer devastating spinal cord injuries on an annual basis.

The NSCISC estimates that there are currently nearly 300,000 Americans who are living with a debilitating spinal cord injury. Researchers from the NSCISC have also determined that a spinal cord injury results in an average of 12 days worth of hospitalization, and many additional months of intensive recovery. Tragically, these types of injuries can be very difficult to recover from. Indeed, in many cases, the effects of a serious spinal cord injury can last for many years, and the damage could even be permanent.

Due to its central role in running the body, any damage to the spinal cord can significantly impair a person’s life. As with most injuries, spinal cord injuries can vary widely in their level of severity. Specifically, spinal cord damage can result in:

• Personality changes.
• Immense pain and suffering.
• Loss of muscle control.
• Cognitive difficulties.
• Loss of sexual function.
• Loss of bladder and bowel control.
• Partial or total paralysis.

Individuals affected by spinal cord injuries may find it difficult or impossible to return to work. In especially difficult cases, individuals with spine injuries may even require around-the-clock medical care and physical assistance. The stress, emotional turmoil, and financial strain stemming from the spinal cord injury can also take an immense toll on the physical and mental health of the victim’s family members.

In the most severe cases, spinal cord injuries can lead to the death of your loved one. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) currently estimates that the yearly cost of a spinal cord injury to be close to $30,000. This means that over a lifetime, a victim and their family may be forced to pay up to $3 million in medical expenses, therapy, and lost wages. Nationally, these costs average almost $10 billion annually.

The fact of your spinal cord injury alone is insufficient to secure compensation. To be successful in most Atlanta spinal cord injury cases, it will be necessary to establish negligence. This is a legal term that refers to the required exercise of a certain amount of reasonable care in order to minimize the risk of injury to others.

O.C.G.A. 51-1-2 spells out that “ordinary negligence” is the amount of care we would expect a discerning person to exercise in circumstances that are the same or similar. If a person does not use this degree of care when they have a legal responsibility to do so and the result is someone is hurt, it is considered negligence.

If you are suffering from a spinal cord injury, it is important to consult with a dedicated and experienced attorney proficient in such injury cases. At Apolinsky & Associates, LLC, our Atlanta spinal cord injury attorneys will work with you to fight for compensation for the full value of your losses.

For those suffering from a spinal cord injury, claims will often focus on the long-term effects as well as the individual’s ability to continue working and lead an independent life. Your Atlanta spinal cord injury attorney will work with you to fight for compensation for the full value of your losses, including financial recovery for:

• Current medical bills.
• Future medical costs.
• Any in-home care that may be required.
• Physical rehabilitation.
• Required medical equipment and devices.
• Long-term disability.
• Lost wages.
• Loss of future earning potential.
• Mental anguish.
• Loss of lifestyle enjoyment.

For your surviving spouse, there may be a viable claim for loss of consortium. This is a type of claim meant to provide compensation for the damage to a married couple’s quality of life due to the serious injury or death of a spouse. This falls into the general damages category of a case, and is based on the claimant’s right to the companionship, love, society, affection, services, and intimacy of the marital relationship. It is common to claim loss of consortium in Georgia spinal cord injury cases.

Victims need to work with an experienced Georgia personal injury lawyer who fully understands the special considerations that come along with spinal cord injury cases.

As with other types of catastrophic injury claims, spinal cord injury cases come with unique challenges. This is because your spinal cord is essentially the path that allows information to get from your brain to all other parts of your body. Even a small amount of damage to your spinal cord can result in severe damages. In the most minor cases, a spinal cord injury may only result in the victim feeling some temporary tingling or numbness in their extremities. However, it does not take much damage at all for a spinal cord injury to become catastrophic. This can lead to:

• Paraplegia (lower body paralysis).
• Quadriplegia (full body paralysis) throughout the four limbs.
• Loss of control over bodily functions.
• Severe brain damage.

All are extremely severe spinal cord injuries that can require lifelong treatment. Spinal cord injury victims must be fully compensated in a way that accounts for these future needs. Unfortunately, in far too many cases, spinal cord victims are offered far less compensation to which they are entitled.

If you sustained a serious spinal cord injury, you are entitled to financial compensation for the full value of your damages. Our legal team can help you secure compensation. As leading spinal cord injury Attorneys in Georgia, Apolinsky & Associates, LLC offers free and confidential consultations to those interested in more information about their legal rights after a spinal cord injury.

Essentially, the statute of limitations means the amount of time you have from when the act causing a spinal cord injury occurs until you must file a lawsuit.  Your case does not have to conclude by the end of the statute, it just has to be filed before.

In Georgia (under GA Code § 9-3-33), the statute of limitations holds that injured parties in Georgia have just two years to bring personal injury claims forward. After those two years, a court will dismiss your spinal cord injury claim. It is important to remember that when dealing with insurance in your injury claim, the insurance companies will often engage in stalling techniques in order to run out the clock and avoid paying you anything.

There are a number of factors that apply to the statute of limitations in any individual case, so if you want to pursue a civil claim for a catastrophic spinal cord injury, you are advised to contact a personal injury lawyer experienced in spinal cord injury cases to build your case.