It’s impossible to calculate an “average” for spinal cord injury settlements. Too many variables can affect compensation, such as your age, the severity of your injury, and the type of medical care you require. Another significant factor is your estimated future medical and living expenses.
Untangling Texas’ personal injury laws while you are recovering or caring for an injured loved one can be a heavy load. Working with a Waxahachie spinal cord injury lawyer experienced in fighting for the rights of those suffering from such devastating injuries can help you get the compensation settlement or judgment you deserve.
What Factors Might Affect the Amount of Compensation You Can Recover for Your Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury (SCI) can cause overwhelming physical, mental, and financial damage. Before you can plan your future, you must know if you can recover damages for your losses and whether the amount will meet your needs. The road ahead is full of challenges best met from a solid financial base.
Factors that affect how much you recover in damages may include:
- The severity of your injuries. For example, a permanent, complete SCI above the first thoracic vertebra will likely require significantly more and longer-term care (and therefore cost more to treat) than an incomplete injury in the sacral region.
- Age, income, and earning capacity. The higher your income at the time of your accident, the more you may receive for income lost during your recovery. If you cannot return to work, you may receive compensation for the loss of your remaining working years. Therefore, your age at the time of the accident affects the amount of lost earnings you recoup.
- Strong evidence of negligence. Evidence proving an individual or entity’s negligent act or failure to act caused the accident and your SCI is key to a strong personal injury case.
- Insurance coverage. The at-fault party’s insurance company may cover the legal minimum for an accident, or their payout limit may be significantly higher. Their coverage limits can have a big impact on your compensation settlement.
Recoverable Damages in a Spinal Cord Injury Case
Your accident, injury, and associated losses are unique. Taking time to recognize all the losses you’ve suffered is important. If you leave anything out of your compensation claim, you can’t go back and ask for more money after agreeing to a settlement.
A Waxahachie personal injury lawyer with a successful history representing spinal cord injury victims can help you construct and file an inclusive insurance claim or lawsuit. The following are common recoverable economic and non-economic damages:
- Current and future medical expenses
- Physical therapy, rehab, and long-term care
- Modification of living spaces and vehicles
- Loss of income and future earnings
- Property repair or replacement
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
- Permanent disability
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How Can an Attorney Help With Your Spinal Cord Injury Claim?
An immediate benefit to working with a personal injury lawyer is the relief of having the legal burdens lifted from your shoulders. Your spinal injury attorney will handle communications with all parties, help you complete and file your compensation claim, negotiate for a full and fair settlement, and, if necessary, represent you in pursuit of a fair compensation verdict or judgment.
Proving Your Case
Your spinal cord injury attorney will search through multiple sources for evidence of negligence and liability to support your case, such as:
- Medical records
- Police reports
- Eyewitness accounts
- Testimony from expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction professionals or medical experts
- CCTV footage
Elements of Negligence
After a severe injury, a successful personal injury claim must prove the following elements of negligence:
- Duty of care. The defendant had a duty to act with reasonable care to prevent harm.
- Breach of duty. The defendant breached their duty of care by failing to act with reasonable care.
- Causation. The defendant’s negligent act or failure to act caused the accident and your injury. Had the breach of duty not occurred, you would not have suffered your SCI.
- Damages. You suffered a spinal cord injury and sustained losses due to the negligent act.
Your catastrophic injury attorney will work to gather evidence of each element to prove the at-fault party’s negligence.
The Statute of Limitations to File a Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit in Texas
If someone else’s negligence caused your SCI, you have the right to obtain legal representation and pursue maximum compensation for your losses.
Your lawyer may first negotiate with the liable party’s insurance company, but if they cannot reach a settlement agreement, you generally have two years from the accident date to file a personal injury lawsuit, per Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003.
Some situations could toll (pause or delay) the statute of limitations. Your attorney can help you determine the deadline for your case.
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How Texas’ Proportionate Responsibility Law May Affect Your Spinal Injury Claim
Some states say that if you’re even 1% at fault for an accident, you can’t recover compensation for your losses. Other states let you recover some losses even if you were 99% at fault. Texas splits the difference with its proportionate responsibility law.
Per Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001, if you are more than 50% responsible for the accident that caused your spinal cord damage, you may not recover compensation for your losses.
If a judge finds that you were, say, 25% responsible for the accident, the defendant is responsible for 75% of your losses, rather than a full 100%.
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Call the Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers at Clay Jenkins & Associates Today
Our experienced attorneys at Clay Jenkins & Associates have fought for clients’ rights since 1948. We assign two lawyers, a paralegal, and a support staff to each case. When we take on a case, we won’t back down.
Contact our personal injury law firm today for a free initial consultation. Recovering a fair settlement or judgment will give you and your family a chance at a hopeful future.
Call or text (972) 938-1234 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form