Spinal cord injury?Talk to a lawyer for free.

With an incomplete injury, the cord still carries some messages, so some feeling and movement remain below it; with a complete injury, no nerve signals get through. The level matters too: high on the cord, all four limbs can be affected (tetraplegia, or quadriplegia); lower down, the legs (paraplegia). Losses still present after about six months are more likely to be permanent. As for causes, motor vehicle accidents and serious falls are the most common in the U.S.; others include acts of violence (mostly gunshot wounds and assaults), sports and workplace accidents.

Usually not. A herniated disc is a problem with a cushion between two vertebrae: part of it pushes out and can press on nearby nerves, or sometimes the spinal cord, causing pain, numbness or weakness. A spinal cord injury is damage to the cord itself. Both can be part of a claim, and an MRI and your doctors' findings show which you have.

When the injury happens at 25, NSCISC estimates about $6.4 million for a high, neck-level injury, $3.1 million for paraplegia and $2.1 million when the person keeps useful movement (2025 dollars), not counting lost wages, benefits and productivity, which NSCISC puts at about $97,800 a year. About 29% of people are back in the hospital in any given year.

A lawsuit generally has to be filed within two years of the injury (Code of Civil Procedure §335.1). A claim against a city, county or state agency comes first, usually within six months. A child's two years usually start at 18, but the six-month claim doesn't wait. A lifetime claim takes time to build, so an early call helps.

No. We take spinal cord injury cases anywhere in California. We have offices from Stockton to Palm Desert, and if you can't travel, we'll come to your home or the hospital.

Workers' compensation is usually the only claim against your own employer, and it doesn't pay for pain and suffering. If someone else caused the injury, such as a driver, a property owner, another contractor or an equipment maker, a separate claim against them may be possible. See our workers' compensation overview, or call us about both.

Partial blame usually doesn't end a claim: California's pure comparative fault rule lowers an award by your percentage of fault and no more. When several parties share the fault, each generally pays only its own share of the pain-and-suffering damages, so finding every responsible party, and every policy, matters in a lifelong case.

Nothing upfront. Your consultation is free, and no attorney's fees are owed unless we recover compensation for you. You may be responsible for case-related costs and expenses; we'll explain them before you sign.