Connecticut Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Most serious spinal cord injuries are caused by someone else's negligence or wrongful conduct. The most common causes the firm sees include the following.

Motor vehicle crashes

 Car, truck, and motorcycle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries in the United States. High-speed collisions, rollovers, and accidents involving large commercial vehicles produce a disproportionate share of catastrophic spinal injuries.

Falls

Falls from heights at construction sites, falls on poorly maintained premises, and falls in nursing homes and other care settings are a major cause of spinal cord injuries, particularly in older adults.

Pedestrian and bicycle accidents

Pedestrians struck by vehicles and cyclists thrown from their bikes can suffer severe spinal injuries from the impact or from striking the road.

Acts of violence

Gunshot wounds, stabbings, and physical assaults can damage the spinal cord directly or through associated trauma.

Sports and recreation incidents

Diving accidents in particular cause a substantial share of spinal cord injuries each year. Other contributors include football, gymnastics, and equestrian incidents.

Workplace incidents

Construction site falls, equipment failures, and other on-the-job accidents can cause spinal cord injuries. While workers' compensation often limits direct claims against an employer, third-party defendants such as contractors, equipment manufacturers, and property owners may still be liable.

Medical and surgical errors

Spinal cord injuries can result from anesthesia errors, surgical errors, delayed diagnosis of conditions affecting the spine, and other medical negligence.

Defective products

Defective vehicle components, defective safety equipment, and other product failures can cause or contribute to spinal cord injuries.

Spinal cord injuries are classified along two dimensions: completeness and level.

Complete vs. incomplete injuries. A complete spinal cord injury results in total loss of motor and sensory function below the level of the injury. An incomplete spinal cord injury preserves some function below the level of the injury. The distinction matters substantially for prognosis, treatment, and the long-term care needs that drive a case's value.

Level of injury. The location of the injury along the spine determines what functions are affected.

• Cervical injuries (C1 through C8) affect the neck and can result in tetraplegia (also called quadriplegia), affecting all four limbs and, at the highest levels, breathing.
• Thoracic injuries (T1 through T12) affect the chest and upper back, typically resulting in paraplegia with preserved arm and hand function.
• Lumbar injuries (L1 through L5) affect the lower back and typically result in paraplegia affecting the legs.
• Sacral injuries (S1 through S5) affect the hips and legs and bowel, bladder, and sexual function.

In general, the higher the injury, the more extensive the resulting impairment.

The long-term effects of a spinal cord injury reach into every part of life and rarely resolve completely.

Mobility. Most spinal cord injury survivors require some combination of wheelchairs, walkers, braces, and home and vehicle modifications. Many lose the ability to walk entirely.

Bowel, bladder, and sexual function. Spinal cord injuries commonly affect autonomic functions, requiring ongoing medical management.

Respiratory complications. High cervical injuries can require ventilator support. Even lower-level injuries can affect cough strength and increase pneumonia risk.

Pressure injuries. Spinal cord injury survivors are vulnerable to pressure ulcers, which can become serious infections if not carefully managed.

Spasticity, neuropathic pain, and autonomic dysreflexia. Each of these chronic conditions is common after spinal cord injury and requires ongoing treatment.

Mental health effects. Depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder are common after a serious spinal cord injury and can affect long-term outcomes.

Lifetime care costs. The lifetime cost of care for a person with a severe spinal cord injury commonly reaches several million dollars and can exceed that figure substantially for high-level injuries. Calculating these costs accurately is one of the most important parts of a spinal cord injury case.

Reduced life expectancy. Severe spinal cord injuries are associated with reduced life expectancy, particularly at higher injury levels.

For the survivor and family, the immediate weeks and months are dominated by medical care. As medical needs stabilize, a few steps protect both the survivor and any future claim.

Follow medical recommendations carefully. Adherence to the treatment plan affects both recovery and the strength of an eventual claim.

Document the cause of the injury. Photographs of the scene, the vehicle or equipment involved, and any contributing conditions are valuable. Get the names and contact information of witnesses.

Preserve physical evidence. Do not allow the vehicle, the property, or any equipment involved to be repaired, demolished, or significantly altered until your lawyer has had a chance to inspect it.

Be careful what you say. Insurance adjusters often contact survivors or family members shortly after an incident, sometimes recording the conversation. Statements made before the full extent of the injury is understood can be used against a claim later. Speak with a lawyer before giving any recorded statement.

Track expenses. Keep records of every medical visit, every prescription, every modification to the home or vehicle, and every other cost associated with the injury. These records become central to the damages portion of the case.

Contact a lawyer early. Evidence disappears. Witnesses move. Memories fade. The earlier a lawyer is involved, the more effectively the case can be investigated.

Spinal cord injury cases fit exactly with the kind of work the firm has done for more than four decades. The firm only accepts cases where the fault is clear and the client has suffered serious injuries. When the firm accepts a case, it commits the full financial and legal resources of the firm to that case, and it brings to bear a set of tools most plaintiffs' firms do not have.

SGT maintains a national network of expert witnesses, including leading physicians, surgeons, and life-care planners who are deeply involved in the investigation of every case. In spinal cord cases, those medical experts’ perspective are particularly valuable for understanding mechanism of injury, evaluating prognosis, and identifying gaps between the survivor's current care and what is needed.

The firm uses sophisticated trial preparation techniques, including focus groups, to test how real Connecticut jurors react to the facts of a case before trial. Focus group work surfaces the strengths and weaknesses of a case in a way that nothing else can.

SGT retains accident reconstruction experts and other technical specialists to establish exactly how an injury occurred. In spinal cord cases, reconstruction work often makes the difference between a contested liability case and a clear one.

The firm works with leading life-care planners, economists, vocational experts, and treating physicians to develop a full picture of the survivor's lifetime care needs. The most important number in a serious spinal cord injury case is often the cost of a lifetime of care, and that number cannot be developed without specialized expertise.

Liability in a spinal cord injury case can extend across multiple parties. Identifying every responsible defendant is essential to a full recovery, particularly because the lifetime cost of care often substantially exceeds the insurance coverage of any single defendant.

• The at-fault driver in a motor vehicle case
• The employer of an at-fault driver, when the driver was acting within the scope of employment
• The owner of a vehicle involved in the crash, under Connecticut's family car doctrine and other theories
• A property owner whose negligence allowed a fall or unsafe condition
• A contractor or premises operator responsible for jobsite safety
• A product manufacturer, when a defect contributed to the crash or the severity of the injury
• A medical provider or hospital, when malpractice caused or worsened the injury
• A state or municipal entity, when dangerous road or facility conditions contributed to the incident, subject to special notice requirements with shorter deadlines

Connecticut law allows victims of spinal cord injuries to recover both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover quantifiable financial losses, including past and future medical expenses, the cost of lifetime care, lost wages, lost earning capacity, home and vehicle modifications, assistive technology, and the cost of family-member caregiving. Non-economic damages compensate for pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of consortium for spouses and family members. In wrongful-death cases, damages may include the value of the decedent's lost earnings and the financial and emotional losses to surviving family members.

The lifetime care component is often the single largest element of damages in a serious spinal cord injury case. Developing it accurately requires medical, life-care-planning, and economic expertise.

Connecticut's statute of limitations for personal injury claims, including spinal cord injury claims, is two years from the date of the injury, under Connecticut General Statutes § 52-584. Different rules apply to certain categories of claim, including wrongful death (which has its own two-year limitations period, with additional outer limits), medical malpractice claims (which apply the two-year discovery rule with a three-year outer limit), claims against government entities (which require notice within a much shorter window), and claims involving minors.

Because these deadlines are strict and because spinal cord injury cases require extensive expert development, survivors and their families should contact a Connecticut spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as possible.