A spinal cord injury can change everything in your life, from how you move to how you provide for the people who count on you. At Christensen Law, our Detroit spinal cord injury lawyers understand the fear and uncertainty you are facing right now, and we are here to listen.
When a serious crash leaves you or someone you love with paralysis or lasting nerve damage, you deserve trial attorneys who treat you like family. Since 1991, we have stood beside injured people across Michigan, securing results that include a $17.8 million motor vehicle accident verdict and a $9.5 million wrongful death recovery.
You focus on healing, and we will focus on protecting your rights and your future. Call us 24/7 at (313) 546-1091 for a free, no-risk consultation.
CHRISTENSEN LAW HAS A 24 HOUR RAPID RESPONSE SERVICE
How Can Our Detroit Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Help You?
We handle every part of your claim so you can focus on recovery, from investigating the crash to standing up to the insurance company and, when needed, taking your case to trial. Our goal is straightforward: full and fair compensation for the harm done to you.
After a spinal cord injury, the medical bills, lost income, and long-term care needs can pile up fast. Our team builds your case from the ground up, gathering evidence, working closely with your doctors, and calculating the true lifetime cost of your injury.
Christensen Law does not run on high volume. We focus on life-altering, catastrophic injuries, so your case gets the time, attention, and resources it truly needs. You pay nothing unless we win.
From your first call, we keep the lines of communication open, so you always know where your case stands. You will never be treated like a file number, because people facing the hardest moments of their lives deserve real answers and steady support.
Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries and Their Lasting Impact
A spinal cord injury is damage to the bundle of nerves that carries signals between your brain and the rest of your body, and it often brings permanent changes to movement, sensation, and independence. The effects reach far beyond the hospital, touching your work, your home, and your sense of who you are.
The level of the injury along the spine usually decides how much of the body is affected. An injury higher up, in the neck, can affect all four limbs, while a lower injury may affect the legs and lower body.
Doctors also describe an injury as complete or incomplete, depending on whether any feeling or movement remains below the injured area. Even an incomplete injury can require years of treatment and a lifetime of adjustment.
Common forms and effects of a spinal cord injury include:
- Tetraplegia, sometimes called quadriplegia, which affects the arms, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs after an injury to the neck.
- Paraplegia, which affects the lower body and legs after an injury lower on the spine.
- Loss of bladder, bowel, or sexual function, along with chronic pain and a risk of pressure sores.
- A lifetime of care, including surgery, rehabilitation, attendant care, and home or vehicle modifications.
No two spinal cord injuries are exactly alike, and our job is to make sure your claim reflects the full and lasting reality of what you are living through.
What Causes Catastrophic Spinal Cord Injuries?
Most of the spinal cord injuries we see come from sudden, high-force crashes, especially those involving commercial trucks, cars, and motorcycles. These are exactly the kinds of catastrophic cases our firm focuses on every day.
A loaded semi-truck can weigh many times more than a passenger car, so a truck crash often causes devastating spinal damage. Motorcycle riders and pedestrians are even more exposed, because there is little between them and the road.
Whatever caused your injury, the at-fault party and their insurer should be held accountable. We investigate quickly to preserve key evidence, such as black box data, driver logbooks, and maintenance records, before it can disappear.
We have seen how quickly a routine drive on I-75 or the Lodge Freeway can turn into a life-changing event. Acting fast gives us the chance to lock down the proof your case depends on.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Spinal Cord Injury?
In many cases, you may recover money for medical care, lost wages, future care needs, and the pain and suffering caused by your injury, though the exact amount always depends on the facts of your case. We take time to understand your full picture before we put a number on your losses.
A catastrophic injury is not only about today’s hospital bill. It is about the care you will need for years to come, which is why we account for both the present and the future.
Compensation in a spinal cord injury case may include:
- Medical expenses, including hospital stays, surgery, and ongoing rehabilitation.
- Lost wages and reduced earning ability if you cannot return to the same work.
- Long-term and future care, such as attendant care and home or vehicle modifications.
- Pain, suffering, and the loss of the life you knew before the crash.
We pursue every source of recovery available under Michigan law, so nothing you are owed gets left behind. Where needed, we work with medical and financial professionals to project the cost of your future care, so your claim is built on real numbers rather than guesswork.
How Does Michigan’s No-Fault System Affect Your Claim?
Under Michigan’s No-Fault system, your own auto insurance pays for your medical care and lost wages through Personal Injury Protection, known as PIP, no matter who caused the crash. This first layer of coverage is meant to get help to you quickly, without a fight over fault.
These PIP benefits, also called first-party benefits, can cover hospital bills, rehabilitation, and even attendant care provided by family members. For a catastrophic injury like spinal cord damage, that coverage matters enormously, because the costs can last a lifetime.
Many people do not realize that PIP can reimburse family members who provide care at home, or that benefits may be coordinated with other coverage. We review every available policy, because a serious injury often calls for more support than a single insurer wants to admit.
You may also be able to file a third-party lawsuit against the at-fault driver for pain and suffering. Michigan generally allows this when an injury meets the serious impairment of body function threshold, which a spinal cord injury often does.
What If You Were Partly at Fault?
You can still recover compensation in Michigan even if you were partly to blame, as long as you were not more than 50% at fault.
Under Michigan’s modified comparative fault rule, your recovery is reduced by your share of fault, and it is cut off for pain and suffering only when you are found more than 50% responsible. Insurance companies know this rule well, so they may try to pin extra blame on you to lower what they pay. We push back with evidence to protect what you are owed.
How Insurance Companies Approach Serious Injury Claims
Insurance companies treat catastrophic injury claims as a business decision, and that often means looking for reasons to pay you less than your case is worth. Understanding this early is one of the most important ways to protect yourself.
After a spinal cord injury, an adjuster may sound friendly while quietly building a case to reduce your claim. Common tactics include asking for a recorded statement, requesting an independent medical exam, or pushing a quick settlement before anyone knows the full extent of your injuries.
A fast check can feel tempting when bills are arriving, yet an early offer rarely reflects a lifetime of care. We step in to handle these conversations, so you are protected from the very first day.
Treating clients like family means we never let anyone pressure you into accepting less than you deserve. We prepare every case as if it is going to trial, because that readiness is what moves insurance companies to take a claim seriously.
The Listen, Protect, Win Difference
Our work is guided by three core principles: we listen, we protect, and we win. They are far more than a slogan, because they shape how we treat every client and every case we accept.
We listen to your story with genuine care, because we cannot fight for you until we understand what you have lost. We protect you from the pressure tactics that insurance companies use against injured people.
And we win by preparing every case for trial and refusing to accept a lowball offer. That trial readiness, built over more than 35 years, is what sets our firm apart from high-volume settlement mills.
Choosing Detroit Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Who Treat You Like Family
When your future is on the line, you deserve trial lawyers with a proven record in high-value, catastrophic injury cases, and that is exactly what we bring. We have advocated for injured people across Michigan since 1991, more than 35 years of standing up to insurance companies and winning record-setting results.
Firm founder David Christensen is a Michigan Hall of Fame attorney, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, or ABOTA, and holds AV Preeminent status from Martindale-Hubbell. Managing partner Sarah Stempky-Kime is a recognized Leader in the Law and also an ABOTA member.
Our results include a $17.8 million motor vehicle accident verdict and a $9.5 million wrongful death recovery, and we maintain a review rating between 4.9 and 5.0 across our locations. From our Detroit office on Griswold Street downtown to our Southfield headquarters, our trial attorneys live by a single promise: Listen, Protect, Win.
Call Christensen Law today at (313) 546-1091 for a free consultation, and let us start protecting your future.
FAQs Answered by a Detroit Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
Here are answers to some of the questions we hear most often from people coping with a spinal cord injury in Detroit.
In many Michigan injury cases, you generally have three years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit, but some No-Fault PIP deadlines are much shorter. Because a missed deadline can end your claim before it begins, the safest step is to talk with us as soon as you can.
At Christensen Law, your first consultation is always free, and we work on a contingency fee, which means you pay nothing up front. We only get paid if we recover compensation for you, so there is no financial risk in calling us.
When a loved one dies because of someone else’s negligence, surviving family members may be able to bring a wrongful death claim for their loss. We handle these cases with compassion, and we fight to hold the responsible parties accountable.
Many cases settle without a trial, yet we prepare every case as if it will be decided by a jury. That preparation often leads to stronger settlement offers, and it means we are ready for court if an insurance company refuses to be fair.
Every case moves at its own pace, depending on the severity of the injury, the amount of care involved, and how the insurance company responds. We keep you informed at every step, so you are never left wondering where your claim stands.
From our offices in Detroit, Southfield, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Troy, we represent injured people throughout the state, whether you were driving, riding a motorcycle, or hit by a vehicle as a pedestrian. No matter where you are in Michigan, our team is ready to help.
If your injury makes travel difficult, we will come to you, whether that means a hospital room, a rehabilitation center, or your home. Reaching injured people where they are is part of treating clients like family.
Contact Our Detroit Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Today
A spinal cord injury affects every part of your life, but you do not have to face the road ahead alone. Our Detroit spinal cord injury lawyers are ready to listen to your story, protect your rights, and pursue the justice your family deserves. We have helped people rebuild after the most serious injuries, and we are ready to do the same for you.
Serving all of Michigan, from the D to the UP, Christensen Law stands with people who have suffered the most serious injuries. Call us 24/7 at (313) 546-1091, or reach our main line at (248) 213-4900, for a free, no-risk consultation. Listen, Protect, Win, it’s what we do.
