October 7, 2024
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Reading Time: 7 min
Spinal cord injuries are devastating, life-changing events, and navigating the aftermath can be a complex and overwhelming experience without an experienced spine injury attorney.
Having a spinal cord injury lawyer on your side is invaluable during your recovery. Spine injury attorneys help you hold the person or party responsible for your injury accountable. They guide you through the legal process, protect your rights and fight for you to have a comfortable, financially secure life after your accident.
What is a Spine Injury Attorney?
A spine injury attorney is a legal professional, specializing in representing clients who have sustained injuries to their spine from an accident, such as an auto accident, fall, bicycle accident, sports injury or violent act.
Spinal cord injury lawyers understand the financial hardship victims and their families can experience after a spinal injury. Their primary role is to advocate for your rights and ensure you receive appropriate compensation for your injuries.
How a Spine Injury Attorney Can Help You
Spinal cord injuries can have lasting physical, emotional and financial effects on victims and their families. A spine injury attorney can support you and your family on your road to recovery and positively impact your long-term well-being.
Providing Legal Support
Spinal cord injury lawyers want what is best for you. They’ll investigate your case and determine fault, help you file claims and a personal injury lawsuit, provide trustworthy legal advice, gather evidence and help you negotiate with insurance companies and the defendant(s).
Maximizing Compensation
Spinal injuries often result in significant medical expenses, ongoing rehabilitation and loss of income. A spine injury attorney can ensure you receive the financial compensation you need to help cover immediate costs and long-term care.
Representing You
If your case goes to trial, a personal spinal cord injury lawyer increases your odds of receiving a favorable outcome. They’ll work with you to prove the extent of your injuries, pain and suffering and help win your case.
The Legal Process for Spinal Injury Claims
There are many steps to filing a personal injury lawsuit. Your spinal cord injury lawyer will guide you through the process, but here is a brief overview so you know what to expect.
- Speak With an Attorney: The first step after your accident is to speak with an attorney. Your spine injury attorney will listen to your story and explain your options. If another person or party can be held accountable for your accident, your attorney will help you proceed.
- Identify the Responsible Parties: Before you can file a claim for compensation, you must know who to file it with. Your spine injury attorney will investigate your case and determine who caused your accident. It’s possible the responsible party was absent from the scene of the accident. Additionally, someone other than the negligent party might be liable for compensating you, such as an insurance company.
- Gather Evidence: Collecting comprehensive evidence is a major building block in your case. This includes medical records, accident reports, witness statements and other relevant documentation. Proper evidence collection will help substantiate your claim and demonstrate the extent of your injury and its impact on your life.
- File a Claim: After determining the responsible party and gathering evidence, it’s time to file a claim. Insurance policies cover most non-auto accident injuries; for instance, homeowner’s insurance, business liability insurance or medical malpractice insurance.
If the injury occurred in New York due to a public entity’s negligence, such as a city or state agency, you must file a notice of claim with the Comptroller’s Office.
Work-related injuries might require you to file a workers’ compensation claim. This involves notifying your employer and filing a claim with the New York State Workers Compensation Board.
Auto-accident-related spinal cord injuries in New York may require additional steps since New York is a no-fault state. No-fault states require personal injury protection (PIP) auto insurance coverage, which means your insurance company will pay up to $50,000 of your injury-related expenses, regardless of who caused the accident. You can only pursue a legal claim against an at-fault driver if you suffer a serious injury or your losses exceed $50,000. Serious injuries include:
- Dismemberment
- Death
- Fractures
- Severe disfigurement
- Fetus loss
- Injuries that cause disablement for 90 days or more
- Permanent loss or limited use of a body part, function, system or organ
- File a Lawsuit
If a settlement isn’t reached, or if you’re pursuing a claim outside of workers’ compensation, you may need to file a lawsuit. This involves submitting a complaint to the appropriate court and detailing your allegations and the compensation you’re seeking.
- Court Hearing
Once your lawyer files a lawsuit, your case goes to trial. You and the defendant will present your evidence and arguments in court, and a judge or jury will determine the liability and damages of both sides.
- Submitting an Appeal
If you’re not satisfied with the trial outcome, you may have the option to appeal the decision. The appeals process involves reviewing the trial record and arguing that legal errors affected the outcome.
What You Can Do to Support Your Case
When pursuing a spinal injury claim, your role as a client goes beyond hiring an attorney. There are several things you can do to help ensure your case is a success, including:
- Providing complete and accurate information to your lawyer: If your lawyer has inaccurate or false information, it can cause major problems, such as delayed proceedings or a weaker case.
- Completing your treatment plan: Following your doctor’s instructions, taking your prescribed medication and going to all your appointments shows the court and insurance companies you’re taking your injury seriously. If you don’t complete your treatment, insurance companies can use it against you.
- Keeping detailed records: Keep records pertaining to injury-related expenses and lost wages, and a daily log of pain levels, limitations and any impact on daily activities to support your case.
- Communicate with your attorney: If you experience any change in your condition or other unexpected developments in the case, tell your lawyer as soon as possible.
Let Cellino Law Help You With Your Spinal Injury Claim
When you suffer an injury due to someone else’s negligence or wrongfulness, you shouldn’t bear the financial responsibility. Luckily, the knowledgeable spinal cord injury lawyers at Cellino Law can help you fight for the compensation you deserve.
Cellino Law has helped accident victims receive fair compensation for their injuries and damages for over 65 years. Our firm has attained billions of dollars in settlements and millions of dollars in recoveries for clients.
Our experienced team of personal injury attorneys won’t hesitate to take your case to trial. Any lawyer can take a case to trial, but few do. The insurance companies know this and try to settle for less than what a case is worth. At Cellino Law we have our clients’ best interests in mind and take cases to trial when it can result in fairer compensation.
Don’t face this challenging time alone – contact us at Cellino Law today for a free consultation. Our team can also make arrangements to travel and meet with you, if you’re suffering from a serious injury.
Content checked by the personal injury attorney Ross Cellino. As a family man and a trial attorney, I pride myself on winning cases and serving the community. With over 35 years of experience, I understand the function of a jury, how juries arrive at conclusions, and the role that the jury plays in administering justice. I know how to win cases. You can find us in Manhattan, Buffalo, Melville, Rochester, Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and other locations throughout New York.