Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuits: What Compensation Covers

Spinal cord injuries can change every part of daily life. When someone else's negligence caused the injury, a lawsuit is how the injured person pays for care that may be needed for decades.

Common causes

Car, truck and motorcycle crashes
Falls, including falls from unsafe stairs, scaffolds or balconies
Diving accidents in poorly marked pools
Sports and recreation accidents
Medical errors during surgery or delayed diagnosis of spinal compression
Defective vehicles or equipment

Who can be liable

Liability follows the cause: a negligent driver, a property owner who ignored a hazard, a contractor that violated safety rules, a manufacturer of a defective product (Cornell LII), or a medical provider who breached the standard of care. There may be more than one defendant, which can matter when one has limited insurance.

What compensation covers

Compensatory damages aim to put the injured person, as far as money can, in the position they would have been in without the injury (Cornell LII):

Category	Examples
Medical care	Emergency care, surgery, rehabilitation, medication, future surgeries
Equipment	Wheelchairs, lifts, adapted vehicles, assistive technology
Home	Ramps, accessible bathrooms, widened doorways, or a new home
Care	Home health aides, attendant care, nursing care
Income	Lost wages and lost future earning capacity
Non-economic	Pain, emotional distress, loss of independence and enjoyment of life
Family	Loss of consortium claims by a spouse in many states

How future costs are proven

Lawyers typically work with:

Life-care planners, who list the care and equipment needed over the person's lifetime and their cost.
Economists, who calculate the present value of future costs and lost earnings.
Treating doctors and medical experts, who explain the prognosis.

Practical limits

The defendant's insurance limits often cap what can be collected. Health insurers, Medicare or Medicaid may have liens on part of the recovery. Settlements are sometimes paid partly as a structured settlement of periodic payments, and people receiving needs-based benefits may use a special needs trust to protect eligibility.

Deadlines

Your state's personal injury statute of limitations applies, and claims against government entities usually need early notice. Find your state's deadline under state laws.

Because damages are large and complex, these cases call for an experienced personal injury lawyer. See also how much a personal injury claim is worth.

Sources

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws differ by state and change over time; talk to a licensed attorney in your state about your situation.