Every car accident has the potential to cause serious injuries. However, some accidents and injuries can be truly life changing. While a broken bone may eventually mend, spinal cord injuries often require intensive treatment. Even if your spinal cord injury can heal, your medical recovery may keep you away from work for months—maybe even years. You may face expensive hospital bills and/or need to participate in an expensive physical rehabilitation program. In a worst case scenario, your doctor may say that you will require assistance for the rest of your life.
When you suffer a spinal cord injury in a car accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation. This money can help you pay your bills, recover from your injuries, and regain your independence.
Spinal Cord Injuries in Car Crashes
When two or more vehicles collide, the consequence can be severe, with spinal cord injuries among the most serious types of injury sustained in a crash. While the spinal cord and its vertebrae can compress, break, or fracture, spinal cord injuries are especially catastrophic because the spinal cord serves as a critical communications hub for the entire body.
Since the spinal cord houses dozens of nerves that help your brain control bodily functions such as bowel control and muscle movement, any injury can lead to permanent disability.
Spinal cord injuries can cause:
- Pressure ulcers
- Respiratory trouble such as difficulty breathing
- Loss of bladder control
- Loss of bowel control
- Full or partial paralysis
Serious spinal cord injuries may leave a person confined to a wheelchair, unable to return to work, or unable to partake in the activities they enjoyed before the accident.
The Cost of a Spinal Cord Injury
Since the spinal cord is such an important part of the body, doctors and other health care providers often do everything they can to treat related injuries. However, spinal cord injuries do not always have predictable, regularized treatments. It can take years to recover from a spinal cord injury, even after your physician has stabilized the initial wound.
Additionally, spinal cord injuries that do not lead to paralysis but impair other bodily functions, such as motor control, can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to treat.
Depending on your injury, you may have to pay for:
- Prescription medication
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Assisted living facilities or an in-house aide
These costs can increase over time. It is not unusual for attorneys to see people with car crash-related spinal cord injuries who have six- or seven-figure medical bills.
How an Attorney Can Help
Some people who suffer spinal cord injuries in car crashes need months of treatment before returning to work, while others may require lifelong care. However, very few people have the money to pay for such intensive treatment out of pocket. Even if you file a personal injury claim, you may find the insurance company unwilling to provide sufficient funds to cover your initial hospital bills or the months or years of care you may need.
A Missouri car crash attorney knows how to negotiate with insurance companies for a fair settlement. We can help you pursue:
- Economic damages, which cover expenses such as hospital bills, physical rehabilitation, and the money you have lost from work or may lose from being unable to work.
- Non-economic damages, which can help address the personal trauma of sustaining a spinal cord injury, including emotional pain and suffering, disfigurement, and disability.
Missouri does not set any limit on the amount of damages you can claim in an automobile accident claim. Your lawyer can help you calculate not only the money you have already lost, but the money you will have to pay to continue treatment for as long as your health care provider believes necessary.
Why You Can Afford an Attorney
Many people who need money to treat a spinal cord injury mistakenly believe they cannot afford a lawyer, and they try to negotiate with an insurance company that is doing everything possible to keep the settlement offer low.
However, Beck & Beck Attorneys is different. We operate on a contingency basis, which means our clients do not pay for their legal representation out of pocket. Instead, we shoulder your legal costs while we advocate your case, whether directly with the insurance company or in court.
Since we work on a contingency basis, we only get paid if you do. If we win your case, we deduct a standard fee from your settlement amount. If we lose, you are not responsible for the costs of your representation.
Contact Us Today
A spinal cord injury can be catastrophic. If you or a loved one suffered a spinal cord injury in a Missouri car crash, you do not have to bear the burden of big hospital bills and expensive treatment by yourself.
Beck & Beck Attorneys is the only law firm in the state which specializes only in automobile accidents, which means we know the best ways to get you the money you need and the justice you deserve. To schedule your free consultation, send us a message online today.
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