A spinal injury creates life-altering conditions that could leave individuals and their families in a precarious financial state. When someone is hurt in an accident and sustains damage to their spinal cord, they will not only face steep medical bills but also a long recovery, with diminished earnings all along the way — sometimes for the rest of their life.
Injury victims can take solace in one fact, though: if their accident was caused by a negligent person or company, they have legal recourse available. A personal injury claim filed with the assistance of an Atlanta spinal injury lawyer can allow the victim to recover all of the damages they have suffered, and will suffer.
Ali Awad, the CEO Lawyer, and his Personal Injury Law Firm team have helped recover millions in damages for victims in metro Atlanta and throughout the southeast. His hard-hitting legal information, published on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, has earned him millions of followers and helped communities all throughout America assert their legal rights. Let us help you and your family during your most dire time of need, as you seek to recover and return to a normal life after a devastating spinal cord accident.
We provide 100% free, confidential case evaluations, with no obligation to work with us after. Book your free case review today when you use our simple online contact form.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Atlanta Spinal Injury Attorney?
How Much Does It Cost to Hire an Atlanta Spinal Injury Attorney?The losses endured after a spinal injury accident are always substantial, and families affected by such an injury are often already hard up for money. They may know that an attorney can increase their chances of recovering all of the money they’ve spent, and will spend, on damages, but they may be worried about the up-front cost of securing legal representation.
Here’s the good news: when you work with the Atlanta spinal injury lawyers at CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm, you don’t have to pay anything up-front for the hard work we’re going to put in your case. In fact, you won’t have to pay anything at all, unless we’re able to secure some form of damages for you and your family.
This type of relationship is referred to as a “contingency arrangement.” It means that we assume all of the financial risk when we take on your case. The last thing our attorneys would want to do is increase the hardship your household is experiencing. That’s why we always get to work on your case fast, using the most effective legal strategies we know of to maximize your chances of full financial recovery.
When you choose to work with our firm, our payment is contingent upon our ability to help you get the money you need. Once you receive a settlement — or, in some cases, a court award — we will only take an agreed-upon percentage of the final amount. At this point, you are guaranteed to receive your money, and we have proven that we have earned our paycheck.
So if you’re hesitant to get the help of a lawyer after suffering from a spinal cord injury, remember that we’re fighting for the same thing you are. Our only goal is to help our clients recover and hold those responsible for their damages accountable.
Talk to us during a free case review to learn more about your legal options and what type of compensation you are eligible to receive, based on past case outcomes.
Spinal Cord Injuries Have Sky-High Medical Costs and Income Losses
Any visit to the hospital after some sort of accident is going to be costly these days, but what about spinal cord injuries, in particular?
It turns out that spinal injuries have some of the highest treatment costs of any acute injury, even in situations where the victim is not at risk of death. Estimates published by the Christopher Reeve Foundation show that the lifetime costs of such an injury can be anywhere from $347,000 – $1+ million in the first year, at any level of reduction to motor function. Victims who do not regain motor function will require extra care, equating to $42,200 per year for low-level impairment to $100,000+ per year for high levels of tetraplegia.
One study analyzing 30 peer-reviewed articles listed the following average cost ranges, from low-grade injuries to severe ones, outlined by the type of care:
- Acute (immediate, short-term) care: $290 – $612,590
- Inpatient rehabilitation: $19,360 – $443,040
- First year of injury treatment, total: $32,240 – $1,156,400
- Yearly cost after first year: $4,490 – $251,450
Why Are Spinal Cord Injuries So Expensive to Treat?
There are several reasons for the heightened cost of medical care following a spinal cord injury (SCI). First, SCIs tend to be triaged at a higher level of severity, as any delays or lapses in care can mean compounding damage to sensitive and irreparable nerve conduits. Patients complaining of symptoms consistent with spinal cord damage — or who present possible damage in imaging and test results — will almost always receive an escalated level of treatment, corresponding to higher billing code rates.
Second, medical care facilities will want to monitor the patient and recommend an extended inpatient stay until all SCI markers of improvement have been met. A failure to retain the patient could lead to complications like inflammation, leading to further nerve damage, or infection. Patients also typically lack the equipment needed to properly support and immobilize the area of the spine that requires rest to heal. The average rehabilitative inpatient stay after an SCI is around 30 days, according to the State of Hawaii Department of Health.
Third, spinal cord injuries and nerve-damaging trauma in general requires specialized medicine to treat and rehabilitate. Patients with a suspected SCI are more likely candidates for surgery, as well, meaning that they are likely to receive substantial billing numbers from multiple care teams. Follow-up care is also pricey, with physical rehabilitation and even recurring checkups costing more, as a result of the need for specialized medical knowledge and a more aggressive plan to reduce the risk of long-term complications.
Put simply: medical providers make a fortune off of patients suffering from a spinal cord injury — but it’s mostly because these injuries cost them much more to treat in the first place compared to other forms of trauma. Medical providers also tend to err greatly on the side of caution, as failure to apply the proper standards of care in a SCI case can mean a likely malpractice lawsuit.
Spinal Cord Injuries Mean Substantial Losses to Income Earning Potential
SCIs require lengthy inpatient stays after the initial spinal trauma treatment; the University of Utah Hospital estimates that a typical stay for an SCI at their facility is 27 days and as many as 60, per their own patient data. That’s up to two months of missed work!
Individuals without a paid leave program will end up with their yearly income cut by 17%. Those of us fortunate enough to have sick leave will inevitably drain all that leave time, and then some of their other forms of paid time off, most likely.
On top of medical debt — which is a primary reason behind two out of every three individual bankruptcies filed — SCI victims will have lost all of the income they desperately needed to stay on top of regular bills and other monthly household costs.
A Spinal Cord Injury Can Increase the Cost of Living Dramatically
Individuals who recover from their spinal cord injury and are discharged face a new host of costs and challenges. They will likely require various forms of medical equipment, long-term medication costs, and modifications made to their home in cases of significant impairment to mobility.
Transportation costs add up quickly, as well, especially since many centers capable of providing SCI care are located far away from the home of the injury victim.
Patients discharged with an SCI may also require monitoring and additional care, potentially requiring the spouse to take leave from their own job in order to help the injury victim day-to-day.
In sum: a spinal cord injury can create a mountain of debt for any family. Recovery of these losses may require the experience and specialized legal knowledge of an Atlanta spinal injury law team with a proven history of winning cases.
Recovering Damages You Have Suffered With the Help of an Atlanta Spinal Injury Lawyer
When you appoint a personal injury lawyer to assist with your case, you automatically secure a host of resources available to help you identify and pursue all potentially liable parties.
Common Liable Parties Named in a Spinal Cord Injury Lawsuit
The liable party in question is directly related to the location to the accident and the initial reason it occurred. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center at University of Alabama Birmingham, the following are the most-common causal events for a spinal cord injury in the U.S.:
- Motor vehicle accident: 37.6%
- Fall: 31.5%
- Act of violence: 15.4%
- Sports injury: 8.3%
- Medical errors: 3.6%
Based on these causal incidents, one can quickly identify a possible liable party to hold accountable for the resulting damages of the spinal cord injury they inflicted. Examples include:
- Negligent Drivers: Includes individuals making personal trips as well as drivers of commercial trucks and other vehicles.
- Negligent Nursing Home Care: Neglectful staff and dangerous conditions increase the risk of falls for individuals receiving care from a skilled nursing facility.
- Property Hazards: Faulty railings, weak flooring, and lack of adherence to safety codes can increase the risk of falls, collapses, and other mishaps that can inflict an SCI.
- Negligent Security: For apartment complexes, public buildings, and other locations, adequate security is considered required given the risk of a violent assault.
- Healthcare Providers: Malpractice is a leading cause of SCI, including cases where a failure to diagnose a condition led to nerve damage or when errors in surgery cause avoidable damage to vital nerve tissues.
How an Attorney Helps You Build — And Win — A Case
Once a liable party is identified, your attorney can help you file an injury claim with the appropriate liability insurance provider, if one is available. However, in cases of spinal cord injury, there may be excess costs beyond the maximum benefits available under a typical personal bodily injury liability policy. Because of this, we will put in research and investigate other potential sources of excess liability, with the goal of recovering as much as possible so that you can be compensated for all of the damages you have suffered.
In some cases, a lawsuit may be filed after a stall in insurance claim negotiations or even pre-emptive to any sort of claim, as the substantial damages may mean that extra legal powers are required to combat the likely defenses any party exposed to liability will try to use.
In other words, because we know that businesses and people get scared when it comes time to pay the tab for the injury they inflicted, we often have to work fast and use every legal power at our disposal in order to give your case the maximum chances of success. Discovery, court orders to preserve and turn over evidence, and defenses against summary dismissal are just some of the legal concerns we’ll prepare your case for within its first few weeks.
Once your claim or lawsuit has begun, your attorney will aggressively pursue the matter so that timelines aren’t needlessly drawn out. We’ll also put significant effort into calculating the full costs of damages you have suffered, including the projected costs of future care.
Your attorney will negotiate on your behalf throughout the entirety of your case, while keeping you informed of its progress and in control of the biggest strategic decisions. Our comprehensive approach to client care means that we are willing to go above and beyond to provide you with excellent service while answering all your questions and exploring every possibility you have at recovery.
Call Ali Awad and the CEO Lawyer Team for a Spinal Injury Attorney Who Fights Hard for You
Suffering from a spinal cord injury can mean permanent changes to your life and lifestyle, but even when debilitation is temporary and the prognosis seems good, the harm inflicted to your health and your enjoyment of life is too great.
The CEO Lawyer Personal Injury Law Firm team wants you to be compensated for your financial losses and other forms of suffering. Our team has produced millions of dollars in winnings for our past clients, and we want your case to be a success story, too.
Schedule your free, no-risk case review to speak with an Atlanta spinal cord injury attorney who cares and who is motivated to help you. Waiting only hurts your chances at full damages recovery, so don’t hesitate, and reach out today!
