New York Car Accident

Car accidents often leave victims with serious injuries such as spinal cord injuries. Annually car accidents cause over 40% of new spinal cord injuries in the United States. Victims often slam into the windshield or dashboard. Some are thrown from the car, landing on the hard pavement. The resulting trauma to be body can be a devastating injury to the spinal cord. When the injury is to the spinal cord, the victim's life and the lives of the victim's family members are forever changed. Spinal cord injuries can cause the victim to lose independence and leave him or her with significant lifetime medical costs. If you or a family member suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident, truck accident, or SUV accident due to the negligence of another person, the law allows you to seek compensation for your injuries through a personal injury claim. Contact an experienced New York Car Accidents Lawyer who will explain to you your legal rights and who will work hard to ensure that you receive the compensation to which you are entitled under the law.

A spinal cord injury is caused when trauma to the spinal cord crushes, fractures, or dislocates one or more of the spine’s vertebrae. When drivers operate their vehicles in a negligent manner by speeding, driving recklessly, or driving while intoxicated, for example, accidents occur.

There are many types of spinal cord injuries including paraplegia, quadriplegia, anterior cord syndrome, posterior cord syndrome, central cord syndrome, and herniated disks. While some spinal cord injuries cause paralysis, paralysis is not the only symptom of an injury to the spinal cord. Other symptoms include:

• Pressure or pain in the back, head or neck
• Poor coordination
• Difficulty walking
• Tingling or numbness in the hands, fingers, feet or toes
• Bladder or bowel problems
• Difficulty in breathing
• Muscle spasticity

A severe spinal injury requires a long, painful course of treatment and period of recovery. Victims face significant medical expenses including fees associated with emergency room treatment, the hospital stay, treatment by doctors, physical therapy, assistive equipment, and medication. To make matters worse, while you are recovering you will not be able to work and earn an income to pay for your medical expenses and support your family.

Fortunately, if your spinal cord injury was due to the negligent acts of another person such as driving recklessly, speeding, or driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, under New York law you have the right to pursue compensation through a personal injury claim. You may be able to recover both past and future medical expenses including hospital bills, expenses for surgery, rehabilitation fees, and fees for prescription medication. You may also be able to recover the cost of assistive equipment such as a wheelchair as well as modifications to your home to make it accessible. Furthermore, you may be able to recover both lost wages, loss of future earning capacity and pain and suffering.

If the car accident that resulted in your spinal cord injury was work-related, you may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Compensation often comes in the form of medical expenses, lost income and benefits, loss of ability to earn, and more. However, it is important to know that worker’s compensation benefits are limited. Just because the accident occurred at work does not necessarily mean that you are limited to the benefits available through workers’ compensation.

Beware that New York law has a specific time limit for filing a claim in a spinal cord injury case. If you do not file your claim within the time period, you will be forever barred from collecting damages even if your case has merit. In addition, if the party responsible for your injury was a government entity then there are special procedures you must follow to file a claim.

If you or a loved one was injured in a car accident that resulted in a spinal cord injury, contact an experienced attorney who understands both the legal issues associated with personal injury cases as well as the medical issues associated with injuries to the spine. The staff at Stephen Bilkis & Associates, PLLC is experienced in handling personal injury and wrongful death cases stemming from car, truck, SUV and motorcycle accidents, including victims who have suffered from a spinal cord injury, brain injury, or other serious injury. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case.