Austin Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Catastrophic Injury

“¡Es cierto lo que dice su cartelera que definitivamente es El Abogado que Trabaja!”

- Eduardo G.

Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Austin, TX

Protecting Our Client’s Rights to Compensation

After you have suffered a spinal cord injury or another type of severe back injury, you should be given the best opportunity to rest and recover. But don’t be shocked if the party that caused your spine injury and the insurance company that represents them has different plans. Rather than making sure you get the financial compensation you need to get top-tier medical care and rehabilitation programs, they will exert themselves to make sure that you don’t. It isn’t personal, it is just how insurance companies handle catastrophic injury claims.

To give your claim a fair chance against such intense opposition, you should team up with Chris Morrow Law, PLLC and our spinal cord injury attorneys in Austin. Just as you would expect from a law firm in Texas, we go big when it comes to fighting for our clients and pursuing every last penny of compensation owed to them, especially when dealing with a high-stakes case like yours. We are committed to doing everything we can for you because we know your future comfort might depend on it.

Trial-tested and ready to fight, Attorney Chris Morrow can help you. Call (512) 520-8100.

Severe Health Complications of Spine Injuries

The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that is instrumental in the control and management of practically all body parts and other organs. Even a slight amount of damage to this sensitive organ can be devastating. Spinal cord injuries can cause a variety of side effects and lifelong complications for the people who suffer them.

Mild spinal cord damage can still result in:

Limited range of motion: It is not unusual for spinal cord injury victims to experience a dramatic reduction in the range of motion in affected body parts. Damage to the connecting nerves can make it difficult to maintain muscular and dexterous control over extremities.
Chronic pain: Long after a spinal cord injury has healed as much as it has – or the patient has reached their maximum medical improvement (MMI) – the injury can still cause random spells of debilitating pain. Sudden bursts of pain can even happen when resting and not moving because they are caused by permanent damage or irritation to the affected nerves, not an actual worsening of the injury.
Bodily weakness: Just as how a spinal cord injury can limit your range of motion, it can also cause bodily weakness throughout your limbs and muscles. The inability to fully control those affected body parts can gradually cause them to atrophy unless deliberate and targeted rehabilitative therapy is completed regularly.

Paralysis from a Spinal Cord Injury

In severe spinal cord injury cases, the damage to the spine can cause immediate paralysis or the loss of control of a body part. Paralysis can be partial, total, temporary, or permanent. Temporary partial paralysis of a body part or internal organ is a severe health condition that requires specialized medical care. Of course, total permanent paralysis is even more catastrophic and will change the person’s life forever.

Paralysis will usually take one of two forms:

Paraplegia: If the spinal cord injury happens to the lower spine – such as below the ribcage or near the hips – it can cause paraplegia or the loss of control over both legs. Paraplegia can also cause a loss of bowel and bladder control, depending on the exact location of the spinal cord injury. Paraplegics can usually reclaim some mobility through wheelchairs and uniquely equipped automobiles, but the toll of the injury will still be steep.
Tetraplegia: Also called quadriplegia, tetraplegia occurs when all four limbs and most of the body beneath the neck become paralyzed. Injuries toward the top of the spine or near the base of the neck can cause tetraplegia. People with tetraplegia often require around-the-clock care or at least daily assistance in their homes.

Are Spinal Cord Injuries Treatable?

Because the spinal cord is comprised of nerves, the chances of a spinal cord injury healing are low. Nerve tissues regenerate very slowly throughout the body if they can naturally heal at all. For this reason, most spinal cord injuries are permanent.

However, a permanent injury is not necessarily an untreatable one. Your spinal cord injury might be treatable to some extent. For example, you might be able to alleviate some of the discomfort or random pains you feel. Some patients can even regain mobility to affected body parts after months or years of care. You will need to have a conversation with your medical provider to understand your options, risks of treatments, and likely outcomes.

Three treatments that can help alleviate spinal cord injury symptoms:

Surgery: In rare cases, a doctor may suggest spinal cord surgery to reconstruct the damaged tissues. If successful, surgery can restore mobility with ample rest and time to recuperate. All surgeries carry risks, though, so this option is usually considered only as a last resort or if the patient’s spinal cord injury is causing potentially life-threatening side effects.
Rehabilitative therapy: For moderate spinal cord injuries that did not cause full paralysis, the typical method of treatment is rehabilitative therapy like physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Months or years of such therapy might be required before the patient feels “normal” again.
Prescription medications: Mild spinal cord injuries that only cause pain, numbness, or discomfort might be remedied, at least temporarily, with prescription medications like painkillers. Because some painkillers carry a high risk of addiction or can cause more negative side effects than positive, your doctor might not prescribe a medication until further diagnoses are completed.

Are Spinal Cord Injury Claims Expensive?

When considering all the treatment methods for a spinal cord injury and the many ways such an injury can impact your day-to-day life, it is no surprise that most spine injury claims have high values. As an injured claimant who is not responsible for your injury, you can demand compensation that helps pay for your medical bills, lost wages, reduced capacity to earn income, permanent disability complications, pain, and suffering. When calculating these damages, our Austin spine injury attorneys will consider your past and future damages, even those that won’t be incurred until years later.

Insurance companies know that spinal cord injury claims are costly. If they accept that they should pay your full damages, then they might be agreeing to pay six or seven figures in compensation. To avoid such a large “loss” – as they see it, anyway – you can be sure that the insurance company representing the liable party will fight your case, top-to-bottom. Even the matter by teaming up with us.

You Can Rest While Our Austin Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Gets to Work

Ever since 1994, Chris Morrow Law, PLLC has been dedicated to defending the rights of wrongfully injured Texans. We take each case to heart because Texans fight for the people they care about and their communities all the same. If you suffered a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, then please reach out to our Austin spinal cord injury lawyer right away, so we can see how we can help.

Contact our spinal cord injury lawyer in Austin by dialing (512) 520-8100 .