Irvine Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

It’s possible for a spinal cord injury to result from many different incidents, and if another party caused such an incident and inflicted this type of injury, you have the right to hold them accountable for the associated damages. A few of the most common causes of spinal cord injuries that lead to personal injury suits include motor vehicle accidents, slip and fall accidents, workplace accidents, and violent crime.

Most personal injuries reported throughout California each year are the result of negligence, or failure to use reasonable care in a specific situation. For example, if you were injured by a distracted driver, they failed to uphold their duty of care to drive attentively. When spinal cord injuries result from intentional misconduct of any kind, the at-fault party will face criminal prosecution along with civil liability for the victim’s damages.

Your Irvine spinal cord injury lawyer will help gather the evidence that will form the foundation of your impending personal injury suit. You will need to identify the party or parties responsible for causing the injury, prove exactly how they caused it, and then prove the full extent of the resulting damages. Once you accomplish this, you can proceed with claiming compensation for your losses.

The goal of a personal injury claim is for the plaintiff to prove fault for their damages and hold the at-fault party accountable for those damages. The plaintiff has the right to seek the compensation they need to be as whole again as possible after their injury. When it comes to a spinal cord injury, the plaintiff’s claimable losses are likely to be substantial. California law allows the plaintiff to claim economic and non-economic damages from the defendant.

Economic damages are relatively straightforward and typically proven with the right documentation. These include the direct financial losses the plaintiff sustained because of the defendant’s negligence or misconduct. In a spinal cord injury claim, the plaintiff’s economic damages are likely to include:

• Medical expenses. The defendant is liable for all the medical care the victim requires for their spinal cord injury. This not only includes immediate medical treatment costs following the incident that caused the injury but also future medical care the victim will need. Most victims of spinal cord injuries suffer adverse effects for the rest of their lives and require varying degrees of ongoing care.
• Lost wages. If a spinal cord injury leaves a victim unable to work and earn income in the future, they have the right to seek compensation for the income they are no longer able to earn. Your Irvine spinal cord injury lawyer will help calculate the full scope of lost wages resulting from the defendant’s actions and add this amount to your claim.
• Property damage. When a defendant has damaged or destroyed a plaintiff’s property with their actions, they are liable for repair or replacement costs.

The total of your claimable economic damages may be substantial, but the bulk of your case award is likely to come from your non-economic damages. California law allows the victim of a personal injury to seek pain and suffering compensation from the defendant who injured them, and state law limits this aspect of a case award only in medical malpractice claims. For all other personal injury claims, there is no cap on pain and suffering compensation.

Your spinal cord injury lawyer in Irvine, CA, will help determine a suitable amount of pain and suffering compensation to seek with your claim. For most plaintiffs who have suffered permanent harm from spinal cord injuries, their pain and suffering compensation is usually several times the total of their economic damages. The attorney multiplies the total of their client’s economic damages and then multiplies this amount by a factor of one to five.

Other forms of compensation may also come into play, such as punitive damages if the defendant broke the law in causing the injury. Conversely, if a plaintiff is found to be partially at fault for causing their injury, they will lose a corresponding portion of their final case award. When you choose Easton & Easton to represent your case, our goal will be to help you obtain maximum compensation for your damages in the most efficient manner possible.

Q: Are Spinal Cord Injuries Permanent?

A: The spinal cord does not have the ability to repair itself, so any damage to the spinal cord is permanent. Partial injuries may result in loss of sensation, reduced mobility, and a host of other symptoms. Complete injuries that sever the cord will cause paralysis in the body below the injury site. The higher on the spine the injury occurs, the more expansive the resulting symptoms and disabilities.

Q: How Much Compensation Can I Claim for a Spinal Cord Injury?

A: The defendant who caused your spinal cord injury is liable for the full extent of all related economic damages. These are likely to include all your medical expenses related to the injury as well as income you are unable to earn because of the injury. If you were permanently disabled, the defendant could be liable for all future income you would have otherwise been able to earn, as well as substantial pain and suffering compensation.

Q: How Long Do I Have to File a Spinal Cord Injury Claim in Irvine?

A: California law enforces a two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims, and this time limit starts on the date an injury occurs. You must submit your complaint to the court within this time limit, or you lose your chance to recover compensation from the defendant who caused your injury. If two years sounds like more than enough time to file your case, remember that it may take longer than you expect to compile the materials necessary to build your claim.

Q: Will I Win More Compensation if I Hire an Irvine Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer?

A: Hiring experienced legal representation is one of the most effective means of enhancing your total recovery. The right attorney can know all the various channels of compensation you can include in your suit, and they will also know how to expedite your recovery process. You are not only more likely to win your personal injury case when you have legal representation but also more likely to maximize your case award with their help as well.

Q: What Are Attorneys’ Fees for an Irvine Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer?

A: It’s natural to worry about the potential cost of hiring legal representation for your impending case, but this is no cause for alarm if you have a contingency fee billing agreement with your attorney. Easton & Easton accepts personal injury clients on contingency, meaning we only collect a fee after we win our client’s case, and our fee is a percentage of the total compensation we secure on their behalf.

The attorneys at Easton & Easton have years of professional experience handling some of the most challenging personal injury cases on behalf of clients in Irvine and surrounding communities of California, and we are prepared to leverage this experience for you in your impending spinal cord injury case. Contact us today to schedule your consultation with an Irvine spinal cord injury lawyer to learn how we can assist with your recovery.