Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are severe and can cause permanent and disabling complications. If you or someone you love sustained an SCI in a preventable accident, you deserve compensation. Christensen Law’s spinal cord injury attorney in Kalamazoo, MI, can fight for damages to protect your health and future.
We are a voice for the unheard. When you work with us, you can rest assured that we will put our decades of legal experience and our firm’s full resources behind getting the results you need. Contact us online or call today for a free consultation.
We Have the Severe and Catastrophic Injury Experience You Need
Spinal cord injuries often result in permanent changes in strength, feeling, mobility, and bodily functions below the injury site. When a full physical recovery from a spinal injury is possible for some people, it is often a long, expensive, and challenging road. For others, they may be permanently disabled or never make a full recover. For these reasons, SCIs are generally considered catastrophic.
Our legal team focuses on personal injury law, and we have experience with complex injury cases. We know what it takes to get full and fair compensation, including damages for future and ongoing medical care. We will fight to ensure you do not pay out of pocket for someone else’s mistakes.
Our personal injury lawyers serving Kalamazoo can assist with SCI claims resulting from:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bus accidents
- Bicycle accident
- Pedestrian accidents
- Slip and fall accidents
Our Attorneys Will Pursue Maximum Compensation for Your SCI
Our primary goal is to get the maximum compensation possible for your spinal cord injury. We are interested in getting the financial resources you need, not in settling for less. Our trial-tested attorneys prepare every case for court and will represent you at trial when necessary.
In general, our SCI lawyers can seek compensation for the following:
- Medical expenses – including emergency services, hospital and doctor bills, mobility aids, medications, physical therapy, rehabilitation, extended nursing, and attendant care
- Lost income – including wages, benefits, and earnings from missed work and the loss of your future earning capacity
- Household services – including assistance with home maintenance, cleaning, cooking, and transportation
- Pain and suffering – including stress, depression, anxiety, and lost quality of life
Our wrongful death lawyers also assist with recovering compensation for the survivors of fatal spinal cord injury victims. To learn more about how Christensen Law can advocate for you or a deceased family member after an SCI, call our team to discuss your case.
We Will Prove Liability for Your Personal Injury
A party is liable for your injury if their negligent actions led to the accident that caused it. The following four elements define negligence:
- Duty of care – The duty of care is the legal obligation we all have to act reasonably and avoid harming others. The specific duty of care can change from situation to situation. For example, when behind the wheel, drivers have a duty to obey the speed limit and not engage in dangerous behaviors like drinking and driving.
- Breach of duty – A party breaches the duty of care when their actions are not what most others in their situation would judge reasonable or necessary. A breach can also be a failure to act when required or a violation of the law.
- Causation – Causation demonstrates how the at-fault party’s breach led to your injury. For example, if a driver was texting, ran a red light, and hit your vehicle, their distracted driving would be the causation.
- Damages – Damages prove that your injury caused you tangible and intangible losses and establish that you deserve compensation.
Our Kalamazoo attorneys can construct your SCI claim using evidence. Proof in a spinal cord injury case will vary depending on the type of accident that caused it, but may include:
- Physical evidence, photographs, and video from the accident scene
- Eyewitness statements
- Police reports or official other incident reports
- Medical records
- Testimony from case experts, including accident reconstructions, medical providers, economists, and life care planners
- Invoices, bills, receipts, wage records, and estimates of your expected future expenses
Our Kalamazoo Attorneys Can Answer Your Spinal Cord Injury FAQs
How Much Compensation Can I Get for a Spinal Cord Injury?
Because spinal cord injuries usually require extensive and ongoing medical treatment and often prevent sufferers from working for an extended time, claims of this type can be high. However, every case is different, and various factors will affect the amount of compensation you can recover, including:
- Your age
- Your current income
- How much work you have missed, and whether or not you can return to your job
- Your medical bills and future medical needs
- How your injury affects your daily life and overall well being
- The strength of your case
How Long Do You Have to File a Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit?
According to Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. § 600.5805, you generally have three years to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit in Michigan. If the statute of limitations on your case runs out, the court will likely refuse your suit. This deadline will also affect insurance claims because you lose your bargaining power if you cannot take legal action.
How Long Does a Spinal Cord Injury Case Take?
A spinal cord injury case could take several months to several years to resolve.
It is important not to rush a settlement in severe and catastrophic injury cases. You must understand the full scope and cost of your medical treatment before accepting a settlement offer. If you do not, and you discover your treatment will be more expensive than you thought, you cannot go back and seek more compensation from the same liable party.
What Does a Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Charge?
Our Kalamazoo spinal cord injury attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, so they do not charge upfront or out of pocket for their services. Our fee comes from your successful settlement or verdict, and we do not get paid until we win your case.
