Dallas Spinal Injury Lawyers

Spinal injuries can have life-changing consequences. If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury in Dallas, you may be entitled to compensation. In fact, depending on what happened and what caused your injury, you might also be in a position to receive punitive damages.

Hundreds of new spinal cord injuries (SCIs) impact the lives of Texans in Dallas every year. Sadly, most SCIs are caused by preventable accidents.

At Crain Brogdon, LLP, our Dallas spinal cord injury attorney will use the firm’s resources, creative minds, and legal skills to pursue your claim and maximize the compensation you receive.

Get help today from our experienced spinal cord injury attorney. Call us at 214-522-9404.

HOW A DALLAS SPINAL INJURY LAWYER CAN HELP YOU

A spinal cord injury lawyer helps clients in many ways, depending on the requirements and circumstances of the case in question. Our work includes:

• Case evaluation: When you come to us for a free initial consultation, we’ll assess the facts of your case to see whether you’re likely to have viable legal action on your hands.
• Gathering evidence: Once we decide to proceed with a lawsuit, we’ll start the case-building process right away. This involves gathering relevant police reports, medical records, and other documents, allowing us to build a strong legal argument and come up with a likely value for your claim.
• Enlisting expert witnesses: We’ll collaborate with expert witnesses, from medical specialists to accident reconstruction consultants, using their testimony to build an effective case.
• Negotiation: Before a case goes to trial, we’ll negotiate with the defense team to attempt to settle your case.
• Litigation: If we can’t reach an acceptable settlement, we’ll take your case in front of a judge and jury.
• Providing emotional support: Beyond legal guidance, we’ll also offer emotional and moral support during this exceptionally challenging time for you.

WHY CHOOSE A DALLAS SPINAL CORD INJURY LAWYER FROM CRAIN BROGDON

Each spinal injury attorney at Crain Brogdon specializes in personal injury cases like yours. We have the experience, resilience, and knowledge to attain great results in highly complex legal actions. Additionally, we’ll provide you with emotional support every step of the way, as we know how difficult spinal injury cases can be on a personal level.

Of course, you don’t have to take our word for it. If you check out our results and testimonials pages, you’ll see exactly how effective we’ve been in our work for clients.

A SPINE INJURY LAWYER WHO WILL GET THE RESULTS YOU NEED

Spinal injuries affect the bundle of nerves in the backbone, which carry messages to the brain. When those nerves are impaired, you may lose partial or full muscle control and sensation. Even the most minor spinal injuries can impact your quality of life.

Spinal cord injuries are expensive to treat, carry high mortality rates, and keep many individuals out of work permanently. According to statistics from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCSC):

• Average yearly expenses (healthcare costs and living expenses) directly related to spinal injuries range from $52,000 to $1.3 million, depending on the severity of the injury. This average excludes costs in the year an injury is sustained.
• Average lifetime costs of this nature range from $1.3 million to $5.8 million, depending on the severity of the injury and the age of the injured party.
• Occupational status declines dramatically following a bad back injury. One study showed that 64.6% of traumatic spinal injury victims in a given year were employed; a year later, this had dropped to 17.5%.

WHAT ROLE CAN EXPERT WITNESSES PLAY IN SPINAL INJURY CASES?

Expert witnesses often play important roles in spinal injury cases, particularly in complex, high-value lawsuits. Their testimony can help establish the cause and extent of your injury, project future medical needs, determine the impact of the injury on your ability to work, and estimate associated costs.

Types of expert witnesses that your spine injury attorney may decide to involve in your case include:

• Medical experts, particularly those who specialize in orthopedics, neurology, physical therapy, and vocational rehabilitation.
• Economic experts, who can provide insights into lost wages, future earning potential, and other financial impacts of your injury.
• Accident reconstruction consultants.
• Engineering experts, who can give evidence about design or manufacturing issues in product liability cases.

WHAT COMPENSATION CAN OUR SPINAL INJURY LAWYERS OBTAIN?

In any personal injury or wrongful death claim, you have the right to seek economic and non-economic damages. In rare cases, you may also be entitled to punitive damages, but, pursuant to Tex. C.P.R. § 41.008, this is only possible in a limited set of circumstances. It’s important to bear in mind that, regardless of what you seek in terms of compensation or punitive damages, the defendant (which will usually be an insurance company in these types of cases) will do whatever they can to reduce or avoid a payout.

UNDERSTANDING ECONOMIC AND NON-ECONOMIC DAMAGES IN SPINAL INJURY CASES

Economic damages are compensatory damages for actual costs. (Tex. C.P.R. § 41.001), including:

• Present and future medical bills. These can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime.
• Loss of income or wages.
• Loss of earning capacity.
• Transportation to and from medical appointments related to your injury.
• In-home assistance and renovations.

Noneconomic damages compensate for intangible losses that are not easily quantified. According to Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 41.001, non-economic damages include:

• Physical pain and suffering.
• Mental anguish.
• Loss of consortium.
• Disfigurement.
• Physical impairment.
• Inconvenience.
• Loss of enjoyment of life.
• All other nonpecuniary losses.

There is no precise test or calculation to determine the value of noneconomic damages. Factors that help to determine a value include:

• The severity or extent of the spinal cord or back injury (e.g., complete versus incomplete spinal cord injury).
• The current and anticipated costs of medical bills.
• Your prognosis.
• The emotional impact you’ve suffered.
• Your age and overall health.
• Your current and anticipated employment status.

FIGHTING INSURANCE COMPANIES WHO WANT TO MINIMIZE OR AVOID COMPENSATION

Insurance companies are well-equipped with high-powered attorneys who have the company’s profit margins as their priority. They use Texas’ modified comparative negligence law to blame victims like you for your injury.

Texas allows victims to demand compensation for injuries even when they are partially at fault. Specifically, you can be 50% at fault or less and still recover damages, but anything over 50% bars you from receiving any settlement.

They also try to find procedural mistakes, like the expiration of the statute of limitations, jurisdiction or venue issues, or insufficient pleadings. If any of the latter three issues exist, a court can dismiss your claim.

WHAT TYPES OF ACCIDENTS COMMONLY CAUSE SPINAL CORD OR BACK INJURIES?

Almost any kind of serious accident can cause severe spinal damage, some with more frequency than others. Some of the most common accidents that result in spine injuries include:

• Motor vehicle wrecks
• Truck accidents
• Motorcycle accidents
• Defective products
• Slip-and-fall accidents
• Hydrofracking accidents
• Work injuries
• Recreational sports activities
• Acts of violence.

Injuries of this nature can be so catastrophic that you may require around-the-clock care for the rest of your life. You might be unable to walk, eat, breathe, or use the bathroom without assistance. For this reason, it is critical that whoever is culpable for your injuries should be compelled to repay you for the harm they have caused.

WHAT DO I HAVE TO PROVE TO WIN A SPINAL CORD INJURY CASE?

The requirements here depend on the legal theory your case is based on; this can be either negligence or strict liability.

Personal injury claims based on negligence must identify fault; this requires each of the following:

• Duty of care. The standard for the duty of care differs depending on who the person or the entity is. For example, a surgeon’s duty of care is to provide treatment that is of reasonable quality based on the standards of their profession.
• Breach of duty. The same person or entity must breach that duty of care.
• Causation. You must show a correlation between the negligent action (or inaction) and the injury, which means that the injury would not have happened but for the breach and the injury was a foreseeable consequence of the breach.
• Damages. The injury is monetarily quantifiable. This means you must have medical bills or lost time at work, among other expenses, due to the injury.

The theory of strict liability is used when a defective product is the reason for your injury. Strict liability means you do not necessarily need to prove fault. However, you do need to show that the product was defective and that you were harmed in some way because of the defect. There are three ways to demonstrate a defect:

• Design defect: The design is flawed, and a better design may have been possible.
• Manufacturing defect: The product was not made according to its design.
• Instruction or marketing defect. Instructions or warnings were inadequate or nonexistent.

In some cases, SCIs result from acts of violence. In these instances (which are known as intentional tort cases), our spinal cord injury attorney must be able to prove the mental state of the wrongdoer: that they intended to cause harm, acted with malice, or were so reckless and dangerous that they should have known an injury could result.

HOW DO YOU PROVE A SPINAL CORD INJURY CASE?

The evidence required to prove a back injury claim may include:

• Medical bills
• Medical records
• Pay stubs
• Employment letters
• Video
• Photographs
• Lay witness testimony
• Expert testimony
• Police reports
• Safety inspection reports
• Accident reconstruction reports.

We also consider all paths to recovery by working with experts. We want to make sure the compensation we seek aligns with the full extent of the harm you suffer.

WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR A SPINAL CORD INJURY LAWSUIT IN DALLAS?

Bearing in mind that the process for each spinal cord injury lawsuit varies, given the facts and circumstances, five main phases exist.

• Retain a spinal cord injury lawyer in Dallas. If you want to maximize recovery, you cannot fight a spinal cord injury case on your own.
• Investigate and conduct research. Collecting the evidence and researching the law is a critical part of the process.
• Initiate communication with insurance companies. Typically, insurers cover the costs of personal injury claims. It could be insurance for homeowners, renters, businesses, professional organizations, healthcare facilities, employers, and/or motorists. Letters of representation or demand letters may start the process, and then the parties will communicate and exchange documents and other relevant materials. If there are other solvent defendants (such as an employer), we will initiate communication with them as well.
• Determine whether to settle or go to trial. At this point, once all the evidence is revealed and put together, we will decide to settle with the insurance company if it agrees to a reasonable settlement or go to trial and fight for full and fair compensation.
• Disburse the settlement or award monies. Once a settlement is reached or a trial is won, the check is provided to us and deposited into an escrow account. First, we will pay off any outstanding liens, costs, and fees. Then, we will issue a check for the remaining balance to you.

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO FILE A SPINAL INJURY LAWSUIT IN DALLAS?

The statute of limitations dictates the amount of time you have to file your claim within the Texas court system. For accidents that cause spinal damage, you will have two years from the date that the accident happened to file your claim.

Keep in mind that insurance companies strategically use the statute of limitations to avoid a payout. They prolong settlement negotiations in an attempt to allow the statute of limitations to run its course. When that happens, you lose your chance to maximize recovery.

So, you must file your claim before the statute of limitations expires. If time runs out, but you still file a claim, Texas courts will almost always dismiss your case. This is why it’s so important to contact our Dallas spinal injury lawyer as quickly as possible so we can get started on your case immediately.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)

What happens if my injury occurred at work?

If your spinal injury came about while you were on the job, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. However, accepting workers’ comp generally means you lose the right to file a lawsuit against your employer. You may be able to collect workers’ comp and file a claim against a third party if they bear some of the blame for your accident.

Can I pursue a lawsuit if I was partially at fault for my injury?

Yes, you can still pursue a lawsuit even if you were partially at fault for the incident that caused your accident. Texas follows a “modified comparative negligence” rule, which means you can pursue compensation as long as you are not more than 50% at fault. However, any compensation you receive will be reduced by the percentage of your fault.

What role do vocational experts play in spinal cord injury litigation?

Vocational experts assess the impact of an injury on your ability to work. They provide expert testimony on lost earning potential, suitable job prospects, and necessary retraining or accommodations.

How do structured settlements work in spine injury cases?

Structured settlements provide compensation through periodic payments over time instead of a lump sum. This approach can help you to manage your medical care and ongoing living expenses more efficiently over time.

What’s the difference between complete and incomplete spinal cord injury?

A complete spinal cord injury results in a total loss of function below the injury site, while an incomplete injury means there’s some level of function or sensation remaining below the point of injury.

CONTACT OUR RESOURCEFUL SPINAL CORD INJURY LAWYER TODAY

When you’re ready to seek justice and compensation following a spinal injury, you need a qualified Dallas back injury lawyer by your side.

Our case results at Crain Brogdon, LLP. speak volumes. We are committed to providing world-class legal representation to spinal injury survivors across the state.

If you’re interested in claiming your complimentary case review today, you can do so by filling out the contact form below or by calling our office directly at 214-522-9404.

Attorney Quentin Brogdon

Quentin Brogdon has over thirty years of experience and expertise in the field of personal injury trial law. He is board certified in both personal injury trial law and civil trial advocacy. Quentin has received an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest possible rating. This rating reflects an attorney’s ethics and abilities according to reviews from fellow attorneys. [ Attorney Bio ]