Spinal Cord Injury

The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that relays signals between the body and the brain, and when it is injured, these signals are disrupted. The result may be paralysis below the injury site. Injuries may start with blows that dislocate or fracture the vertebrae, but then the vertebrae pieces may press on nerves or tear spinal cord tissue, resulting in paralysis or a vegetative state. If you have been hurt because of someone else's negligence or misconduct, you might be able to recover compensation with the assistance of a Middlesex County spinal cord injury lawyer. At Siegel & Siegel, we can represent people in Middlesex and Mercer Counties who need a car accident lawyer or guidance in many other personal injury claims.

Spinal cord injuries are medical emergencies for which care should be sought immediately. When care is provided immediately, it may reduce the need for long-term or lifelong treatment. Initial treatments may include medicine such as intravenous methylprednisone, braces, and surgery. Doctors in the ER will focus on preventing shock, maintaining your ability to breathe, immobilizing your neck, and providing sedation to stop you from moving and suffering more damage. In the longer term, you may need medicine and rehabilitation. Although there is no way to reverse damage, new treatments are constantly being developed to promote nerve cell regeneration and function.

After stabilization, doctors typically address secondary problems like pressure ulcers, bowel issues, blood clots, and respiratory infections. You may need to stay in the hospital for a period of time and then enter rehabilitation with a physical therapist, occupational therapist, rehabilitation nurse, social worker, psychologist, recreation therapist, or physiatrist. You will need to learn new skills and learn to use new equipment and technology. Needless to say, rehabilitation with all of these specialists and equipment may become quite expensive.

To deal with this problem, you can retain a spinal cord injury attorney at our Middlesex County firm to help you bring a claim against anyone responsible for your injuries. Whether you may recover compensation and under which theories depends on the circumstances surrounding the injury. For example, many car accidents result from negligence by one or more drivers. To establish a driver's negligence, you will need to prove that the driver failed to use reasonable care under the circumstances and that this failure caused your injuries.

If a driver violated a safety law, you may be able to establish negligence per se. You may be able to prove negligence per se if there has been a safety law violation by the defendant that caused your injuries, and your injuries are of the nature that the law was passed to prevent.

In some cases, such as those involving truck accidents, it is possible to hold an employer accountable under a theory of negligence, negligence per se, negligent hiring, negligent supervision, or negligent training. For example, if an interstate truck driver's employer failed to conduct a background check when hiring him or failed to examine his log book to make sure that the hours that he is logging are accurate, and then the driver gets into an accident as a result of drug abuse or fatigue, it may be possible to hold the employer directly liable.

Sometimes spinal cord injuries result from a dangerous property condition at a business, such as a hotel or store. You may be able to hold the property or business owner liable in a premises liability lawsuit. With some exceptions, you likely will need to establish actual or constructive notice of the dangerous property condition.

Spinal cord injuries may be devastating and may be the fault of multiple parties. Our Middlesex County spinal cord injury attorneys focus on helping victims pursue compensation. We represent people in Plainsboro, Cranbury, South Brunswick, North Brunswick, New Brunswick, Edison, Piscataway, Trenton, Princeton, Hamilton, West Windsor, and other areas of Middlesex, Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth, and Union Counties. Contact us online or call us at 609-799-6066 for a free appointment if you need a premises liability attorney or assistance with another personal injury case.