Gainesville Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers

Spinal cord injuries are classified into the following two categories: 

• Complete Spinal Cord Injuries: A complete spinal cord injury occurs when all communication is lost between the brain and the body below the point of injury.
• Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries: With an incomplete spinal cord injury, some communication is retained between the brain and the body below the point of injury.

In general, complete spinal cord injuries are considered more severe than incomplete spinal cord injuries. This is because complete spinal cord injuries typically result in complete paralysis, known as quadriplegia or tetraplegia. However, even an incomplete spinal cord injury can lead to numerous physical complications, which may seriously impact the victim’s life. 

Some examples of incomplete spinal cord injuries include:

• Paraplegia 
• Triplegia 
• Anterior cord syndrome 
• Central cord syndrome 
• Posterior cord syndrome 
• Brown-Sequard syndrome
• Cauda equina 

Spine injuries can also result in various secondary injuries, such as nerve damage. Some of the effects of these injuries include numbness, swelling, bleeding, immobility, loss of function, chronic pain, sexual dysfunction, incontinence, and more. 

What Are the Most Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries? 

Spinal cord injuries most frequently occur due to serious accidents and traumatic events. However, disease and alcohol are also some of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries in the U.S.

Common accidents and traumatic events that often lead to spinal cord injuries include: 

• Motor vehicle accidents, such as car, motorcycle, and truck accidents 
• Collisions between pedestrians or bicyclists and motor vehicles 
• Falls, including slips, trips, and falls, as well as falls from heights 
• Sports and recreation-related accidents, such as boating or ATV accidents
• Work-related accidents and injuries, including falls 
• Violence, including gunshot wounds and attempted suicide 

A common theme among the leading causes of spinal cord injuries is negligence. Far too often, people suffer severe, life-changing injuries because someone else acted carelessly, recklessly, or wrongfully. 

Although nothing can take away the trauma of such an incident, the good news is that victims of negligent and wrongful conduct are typically entitled to file personal injury claims or lawsuits against the liable parties. This allows them to seek fair financial compensation for their damages, such as medical expenses, future care costs, pain and suffering, lost wages, lost earning ability, and more. 

How Much Is a Spine Injury Case Worth? 

Many people understandably want to know how much their spinal cord injury claim might be worth. Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine the potential value of your claim without first reviewing the specific details involved. 

Many factors influence how much your claim is worth, including: 

• The type and severity of your injury 
• The cost of your medical expenses 
• Projected future medical expenses 
• Your overall recovery time 
• Whether your injury resulted in permanent disfigurement or impairment
• How much time you had to take off work due to your injury
• The amount of income you lost due to missed work
• Your degree of physical and mental pain and suffering 
• Whether you were at fault for the incident that caused your injury 
• Your degree of fault (if any) in causing the injury
• Available insurance coverage 

Additionally, many factors also influence how long it will take to resolve your case, including the amount of time it takes for you to recover or reach maximum medical improvement, the liable party’s cooperation and willingness to settle your claim, whether or not your case goes to trial, and more. 

At Schackow & Mercadante, we always strive to settle our clients’ claims as quickly and efficiently as possible. We work hard to build powerful, evidence-based cases and negotiate aggressively with insurance adjusters and other liable parties. However, in some cases, it is simply not possible to achieve a fair outcome by settling; when this occurs, our Gainesville spinal cord injury attorneys are fully prepared and willing to go to trial.