If an accident has left you with a broken vertebrae or any other spinal injury, you may be entitled to monetary compensation from the negligent party. This may be an individual, like a reckless driver or a property owner. Businesses and government agencies can also breach their duty of care and cause harm to others.
A broken vertebra, also known as a spinal or vertebral fracture, is an injury where you fracture one of your spinal bones. You can end up with a broken vertebra after a car accident, and this is probably the most common source for an injury to the spine. However, fractured vertebrae can also indicate medical disorders related to weak bones, like osteoporosis. In most cases, the patient experiences a compression fracture, or a collapsing of the bone, which can cause significant pain, sloped posture, and spinal cord damage.
It’s essential for accident victims to learn about their rights and file a claim for compensation as soon as possible. Whether you got hurt from a fall or have a work injury, our attorneys have the skills and experience to represent your interests. Contact us today and schedule a consultation, completely free of charge.
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Common Causes of Spinal Fractures
Hundreds of thousands of Americans are currently living with an injury to the spinal cord. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, roughly 20,000 new spinal cord injury (SCI) cases occur every year. Most of these incidents are associated with the following accidents:
- Motor vehicle accidents, which are responsible for over one-third of all SCI cases
- Slip and fall or trip and fall accidents
- Assault and battery (mostly incidents where firearms are involved)
- Workplace injury from an accident at work
- Sports-related injuries
- Medical malpractice (primarily surgical errors)
Aside from spinal fractures, injuries to the spine include, but are not limited to: dislocation, contusions, spinal instability, spondylolisthesis, and spondylolysis.
Signs That You May have Injured Your Spine
Some signs of a vertebral fracture may appear right away, but many patients do not experience symptoms for days or weeks. With that in mind, it’s important to keep an eye out for common symptoms of spinal cord damage, such as:
- Loss of feeling in the extremities
- Weakness and/or pain in the head, neck, or back
- Problems with motor functions and coordination
- Numbness or tingling in the fingers, toes, hands, and fees
- Partial or complete paralysis in the limbs or any other part of the body
Categories of Spinal Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are classified as complete or incomplete injuries. Essentially, an incomplete SCI is an injury where you have some level of feeling or movement at the injury site. A complete spinal cord injury, on the other hand, means there is a total loss of function below the area where you are injured.
Those with an incomplete SCI after an accident are likely to have the following complications:
- Anterior cord syndrome – impaired mobility due to damage to the front of the spinal cord, along with impaired pain, touch, and temperature sensitivity
- Posterior cord syndrome – injury is in the back of the spinal cord, which can cause poor circulation.
- Central cord syndrome – loss of function in the arms, typically associated with damage in the center of the spinal cord.
- Brown-sequard syndrome – only side of the spinal cord is damaged. As a result, one side of the body will have sensation but loss of movement, while this effect is reversed on the other side of the body (preserved movement but loss of sensation).
Through a physical examination, a doctor may be able to tell where the spinal injury is located. The sites of injury can be anywhere on the 5 sections of the spine:
- Neck (cervical)
- Chest (thoracic)
- Lower back (lumbar)
- Pelvis (sacrum)
- Coccygeal(tailbone)
Impact on Your Life from a Spinal Injury
A fracture to the spine can disrupt your life in many ways, like taking away your ability to work or engage in hobbies you enjoyed before the accident. Certainly, you will need to make changes in your daily routine, even with the little things like running errands or cooking. Overall, any injury to the spine can forever alter the quality of your life, and in some cases, even shorten your life expectancy.
In a study by the University of Alabama, it was revealed that the life expectancy of patients with a spinal cord injury was reduced by 5.2 years on average. The severity of injury is the primacy consideration in how many years you may lose from your life. Quadriplegics, for example, have lower life expectancies due to the following complications:
- Compromised breathing
- Difficulty digesting food
- Loss of sensation and motor control
- Depression and other mental health issues
With the right treatments, including mental health counseling, you can improve your chances of living beyond the average life span. However, on-going medical care for SCI victims can exceed $1,000,000, and this is why compensation is essential if you were harmed by someone else’s negligence.
Your Finances after a Spinal Cord Injury
A back injury, including fractured vertebrae, can be very costly in terms of the medical expenses alone. The additional costs are extremely draining for not just the victim, but their spouses and family members. For those with serious injuries that impair the motor functions, the required medical care over one’s lifetime can be well over $1,000,000.
The bills are much higher if the victim becomes a paraplegic or tetraplegic (aka quadriplegic), and the younger you are, the more you will pay throughout your life. Let take, for example, a situation where a 25-year old is diagnosed with a broken vertebra after a serious car crash. If they develop quadriplegia, meaning that both sets of arms and legs are paralyzed, the lifetime medical costs are likely to exceed $4,500,000.
A fractured vertebrae lawsuit will provide you with the necessary funds and keep you from falling into debt. Make sure to consult a spinal cord injury attorney, who can fight for the compensation you deserve.
Your Legal Rights as an Injury Victim
If you suffered a fracture to your vertebrae through no fault of your own, you deserve to be compensated by the responsible party. Alternatively, you can pursue a claim for workers’ compensation if you were injured within the course of your job duties. In some cases, those who are eligible for workers’ comp may have the option to file a third party lawsuit for additional payments.
Ultimately, you should not be experiencing financial hardship because of negligence or misconduct by a doctor, business, reckless driver, or property owner. We can help you go after the liable entities and file a claim for medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. A spinal fracture injury lawyer can help you navigate the legal system one step at a time, so don’t hesitate to give us a call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Compensation from a Lawsuit for a Broken Vertebra
Whether you are the injured party or a family member of someone with spinal cord damage, you probably have questions regarding the compensation you are entitled to. What is the average value of a spinal fracture injury claim? What kind of payments can I ask for if I have a broken bone in my spine?
Possible compensation that can be obtained for accident victims with a spine injury include:
- Current and future medical costs
- Lost wages and value of job benefits
- Lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Property damage
- Legal fees
- Punitive damages
Monetary Damages for Spinal Injury Victims Who are Paralyzed
When someone is left with paralysis that is partial or complete after an accident, the party at fault needs to make some form of restitution. At the end of the day, there are no words or actions that can truly make up for what you’ve lost when you are seriously injured and unable to control your own body. From doing everyday tasks to earning a living, there are so many areas of your life that are affected by a spinal cord injury resulting in paralysis.
If you or someone in your family was paralyzed by negligent or reckless conduct, you can seek monetary damages through the civil court system. Money, in itself, doesn’t make up for the physical and emotional devastation to the victim. However, it’s clear that compensation will alleviate the burdens you are left with and ensure that you can live a decent qualify of life after a diagnosis of paraplegia or quadriplegia.
To maximize the amount of compensation from an accident claim, make sure to retain a lawyer with many years of experience in catastrophic injuries and permanent complications. With the right legal advisor by your side, you can receive some of all of these payments:
- Medical costs, including on-going physical and occupational therapy, psychological counseling, and more
- Lost wages and future lost income based on the level of lost earning capacity
- Compensation for on-going medical services and equipment, like wheelchairs, modifications to your home and vehicle, hiring a nurse or home health aide
- Pain and suffering / emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Diminished quality of life
- Cost of hiring a personal injury attorney
- Punitive damages
Statute of Limitations to File a Lawsuit
The statute of limitations is the amount of time that you have to file a lawsuit for negligence that results in bodily harm and/or property damage. Most claimants have 2 years from the occurrence of the accident to sue for a vertebral fracture or any other injury. But the time limit is different in cases like medical malpractice, where you may have 1 or 3 years to file a damages claim. Alternatively, you may have only 6 months to seek justice if the accident was due to negligence by a government entity. This can involve accidents on government property or incidents with government employees (police officer, fire fighter, etc.). Accidents involving public school properties and employees also have a deadline of 6 months if you wish to file a compensation claim.
With these and other issues that can affect the statute of limitations, please reach out to us to ensure that you do not run out of time for a spinal cord damage lawsuit.
Representation from an Experienced Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
Victims must do all they can to protect their right to fair compensation, and legal advice from a trusted attorney is critical, right from the start. Remember that insurance adjusters are not on your side, and their goal is to close out your case for the lowest offer or find a way to invalidate your claim altogether. Normandie Law Firm is proud to stand with accident victims and their loved ones, and we believe in treating clients like family. We are prepared to take immediate action on your case and see it through till the very end, whether a settlement is reached or we need to try your case in court.
The California broken vertebrae lawsuit lawyers of Normandie take all cases on contingency. We also have a system known as the Zero Fee Guarantee, so you do not pay us a single cent. All costs associated with legal services are paid from your settlement or jury award, so we make nothing if we fail to win your case. This is to ensure that you and your family do not have to choose between paying your bills and finding a skilled lawyer to fight for your rights.
Our legal team looks forward to joining you on the journey to recovery. Contact our Los Angeles office to schedule a free case evaluation.
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