Damage to the spinal cord can lead to catastrophic injuries resulting in loss of function, loss of sensation, and chronic pain that can last a lifetime.
If you’ve sustained spinal cord injuries due to the actions or negligence of another party, you may be able to bring a personal injury claim for compensation. However, getting maximum compensation after a spinal cord injury can be challenging. Here’s what to know.
(Note: If you suffered a spinal cord injury while at work and you’re covered under workers’ comp in South Carolina, you will likely make a workers’ compensation claim instead. Read more about that here on our blog.)
What Spinal Cord Injury Compensation Covers
In South Carolina, compensation for a personal injury may include economic damages (such as medical bills and lost wages), noneconomic damages (such as pain and suffering), and, less commonly, punitive damages (intended to punish the at-fault party for wrongdoing).
In a spinal cord injury case, economic damages commonly cover ongoing rehabilitation and therapy expenses, assistive devices such as wheelchairs, and home modifications such as wheelchair ramps and handles.
How to Get Maximum Compensation: Build a Strong Case
Building a strong case after a spinal cord injury means proving liability of the at-fault party and showing how the injury will affect the victim’s life now and in the future.
This is one major difference between spinal cord injury cases and most other personal injury cases. Care for catastrophic injuries resulting from spinal cord injuries can go on for years – even decades – after the initial injury. Ongoing care may include additional surgeries, hospitalizations, rehabilitation and therapy, prescriptions, mobility aids, and more.
Accurately predicting what will be required and what they will cost for the rest of the victim’s life is challenging, but it’s vital in order to build a strong case. One way is to develop a life care plan, which includes anticipated injury-related expenses to show the true lifetime costs of the spinal cord injury. A life care plan is created by a team of experts including health care professionals, psychologists, financial planners and economists, and others.
A comprehensive life care plan is not only a practical document for the individual with the spinal cord injury, it’s part of a strong case and helps when negotiating a full and fair settlement to cover costs now and for a lifetime.
How to Get Maximum Compensation: Work with an Attorney Who Fights For You
The other way to get maximum compensation after a spinal cord injury is to work with a personal injury attorney with experience in handling spinal cord injury cases who will fight for you. Since spinal cord injuries are different from acute personal injuries (such as a broken leg from a car accident), it’s vital to work with lawyers who understand the difference, who have a network of experts to call on, and who know how to build the strongest case possible for you.
At The Carolina Law Group, our spinal injury attorneys are ready to fight for you and work tirelessly to ensure you receive the compensation you need and deserve. We will fight to negotiate a full and fair settlement, and if that’s not possible, we will take the matter to trial and put it before a jury.
If you or a loved one has suffered from a spinal cord injury due to an accident that wasn’t your fault, call us at one of the numbers below to schedule your free, no-obligation consultation today. Tell us your story, and let us tell you how we can help. Call today.
The Carolina Law Group has four offices in South Carolina for your convenience: Greenville (principal office; call 864.312.4444), Greer (principal office; call 864.757.5555), Spartanburg (principal office; call 864.312.4444) & West Columbia (principal office; call 803.881.1110).
Call us at one of our four offices or contact us online to schedule your free consultation with one of our attorneys. Our business hours are Monday – Thursday 8:30am – 5:30pm & Friday 8:30 am – 5 pm. Weekend and evening hours by appointment only. Our Greenville, SC law firm offers Spanish, Hindi, and Gujarati language translation services for your convenience.