Spinal cord injuries can inflict painful and long-lasting consequences that affect nearly every aspect of your life. If you’ve recently suffered a spinal cord injury in an accident in Minneapolis, Minnesota, because someone else was negligent, call Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, for a free consultation. You have rights as a victim, and our Minneapolis spinal cord injury lawyers can help you make the most of your fight for compensation.
At Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, we’re nationally acclaimed civil litigators who don’t rest until we’ve righted wrongs and changed our clients’ lives for the better. As award-winning Minneapolis injury attorneys with decades of combined legal experience, we stand up to corporations, employers, and negligent parties and demand the financial justice our clients deserve.
The result: more than $200 million obtained in private settlement agreements and jury verdicts at trial.
Discover how we can help you maximize your recovery for a spinal cord injury by calling our Minneapolis law office at (612) 333-4662. There’s no charge for your initial case evaluation with a Minneapolis spinal cord injury lawyer from our firm.]
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Why Choose Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC for your spinal cord injury claim
You’ll only have one chance to pursue compensation for your spinal cord injury. Make it count. When injury victims across Minneapolis find themselves facing life-altering consequences, they turn to our Minneapolis personal injury attorneys for help.
Our spinal cord injury lawyers are trusted to handle high-stakes cases in Minnesota because:
- Our law firm has the resources and experience needed to successfully litigate complex, catastrophic spinal cord injury cases
- We have a proven multi-million-dollar track record of success — including more than $200 million recovered in settlements and verdicts — in cases that other firms won’t take on
- Clients are always our top priority and receive the respect, compassion, and personalized attention they deserve
- Our award-winning Minneapolis trial attorneys are recognized leaders in some of the country’s most significant civil tort actions
When you reach out for help, your case won’t be handed off to a case manager or lost in a pile of files. You’ll work directly with one of our firm’s partners — someone who brings years of experience, proven legal strategies, and a genuine commitment to your outcome.
If the at-fault party or their insurance company refuses to offer fair compensation, our attorneys won’t hesitate to take your case to trial. We’ve built our reputation in the courtroom, and we’re not afraid to use it.
We represent spinal cord injury victims on a contingency fee basis, so there’s nothing to pay unless we win. Contact our Minneapolis law office today to schedule your free consultation.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury describes damage to the spine, or the column of vertebrae and nerves in the back. Since the spine is responsible for delivering messages to and from the body and brain, a spinal injury can alter this process and cause a permanent disruption in communication.
The area of the spine injured can determine where the victim experiences a loss of feeling and/or sensation in the body (known as paralysis):
- Cervical spine: the uppermost seven vertebrae (C1 to C7), located in the neck
- Thoracic spine: the 12 vertebrae spanning the middle of the back (T1 to T12)
- Lumbar spine: the five vertebrae in the lower back (L1 to L5)
- Sacrum: the pelvic region, where there are five fused vertebrae (S1 to S5)
- Coccyx: the lowermost portion of the spine, with four fused vertebrae (the tailbone)
The higher the level of your spinal cord injury, the more of an impact it’s going to have on your life. Everything below that level of injury will likely be affected. However, any spinal cord injury at any level can have significant and catastrophic consequences on your life.
What Causes Spinal Cord Injuries in Minneapolis?
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves and fibers that runs down your back from the base of your skull to your tailbone. Encased in your spinal column, it’s responsible for relaying messages between your brain and the rest of the body. When the spinal cord is damaged, the body’s ability to communicate – and therefore function properly – is impaired. Many times, a spinal cord injury can result in paralysis or limited mobility.
Any trauma to the back or spine or unnatural movement can potentially cause a spinal cord injury, including:
- Car accidents
- Truck accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Bicycle accidents
- Pedestrian accidents
- Boating accidents
- Aviation accidents
- Accidents involving defective products
- Medical malpractice
- Nursing home abuse
- Birth injuries
- Construction accidents
- Industrial accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Assault
- Sexual assault
- Slip and fall accidents
- Dog bites
Spinal cord injuries must be taken seriously. If any accident occurs where a victim has reason to believe their spine has been damaged, it is imperative that they seek medical treatment. Immobilizing the spine immediately can help reduce the damage caused.
At Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, we have decades of experience fighting for victims of spinal cord injuries after all types of accidents and acts of violence. Don’t hesitate to contact our Minneapolis spinal cord injury lawyers to discuss your case and learn about how we might be able to help you get money to cover your medical expenses, offset lost income, and compensate for your considerable suffering and life changes.
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are categorized in a few different ways based on the level, area, type and severity of the injury. Understanding a spine injury diagnosis is important for a victim. A doctor will diagnose the injury, explain the patient’s prognosis and review treatment options.
There are complete and incomplete spinal cord injuries. A complete spine injury means there is a total loss of motor function and sensation below the point of injury on the spine. An incomplete injury means the patient has retained some functionality or sensation in the affected area.
If a spinal cord injury causes paralysis, there are different types. Paraplegia is paralysis from the waist down, while quadriplegia (or tetraplegia) affects all four limbs and the trunk. There is also monoplegia, hemiplegia, diplegia and Brown-Séquard Syndrome.
Other types of spinal cord injuries due to trauma include herniated or ruptured disks, spinal concussions, vertebral fractures, soft-tissue injuries, compression, pinched nerves, whiplash, and spinal shock.
What Is a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?
When you suffer a spinal cord injury in Minneapolis because someone else was careless, you have the right to bring a civil tort action to hold them accountable. This type of claim seeks damages, or financial compensation, to make the victim “whole again.”
Spinal cord injury cases may be filed when there is evidence of negligence, or a lack of proper care, in connection with the injury. Negligence can be proven with four key elements:
- Duty of care: a responsibility to act in a certain way to prevent harm to others, or to act in a manner that a reasonable and prudent person would in the same circumstances.
- Breach of duty: a violation of the duty of care in the form of a careless, reckless, wanton or intentional act or omission.
- Causation: a provable connection between the defendant’s breach of duty and the victim’s spinal cord injury or harm.
- Damages: specific losses sustained by the victim due to the defendant’s negligence or wrongdoing, such as bodily injuries and related expenses.
When a victim can prove negligence or fault as “more likely to be true than not” (a preponderance of the evidence) in a spinal cord injury case, he or she can recover compensation from the liable parties.
A successful claim can enable the victim (and victim’s family) to pay for a permanent or long-term disability associated with a spine injury. A claim can also hold an individual, entity or institution in Minneapolis accountable for negligence that seriously injured one or more people.
What Compensation Can I Get For My Spinal Cord Injury After an Accident in Minneapolis?
A spinal cord injury can become extremely expensive for a victim, with the average lifetime costs of a spine injury exceeding $6.4 million for some patients. In addition to financial losses, spinal cord damage can inflict immense physical and emotional pain, distress, and anguish.
In Minneapolis, the civil justice system allows for the recovery of damages by a spinal cord injury victim who was hurt due to negligence. A spinal cord injury claim can help you win economic damages and non-economic damages for things like:
- Emergency room care, hospitalization, medical devices, medication, surgery, and other medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy
- Lost wages and job benefits
- Short-term disability
- Long-term disability
- Out-of-pocket expenditures
- Nursing assistance
- Chronic physical pain
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Inconvenience
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
An attorney from Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, can accurately calculate your damages, gather evidence that proves your losses, estimate your future or long-term costs with help from experts, and seek maximum compensation through all available outlets on your behalf. We work hard to make sure our clients are fully compensated for life-changing injuries.
Why Legal Representation Matters in Minnesota Spinal Injury Claims
While having a personal injury lawyer in your corner can always be a good thing during an accident claim in Minnesota, it is especially vital to hire an attorney for a spinal injury case. These legal cases often involve catastrophic damage, long-term costs, high-value settlements and complicated medical evidence.
The right attorney can deliver real results by aggressively pursuing the financial compensation you deserve with high-quality legal representation – even if this means taking on defendants in a Minneapolis courtroom. A lawyer can act as an intermediary between you and an insurance provider to seek a fair and just settlement.
You can trust the value your attorney places on your spine injury case; unlike an insurer, a lawyer will aim to maximize your payout, not minimize it. In addition, you can count on your lawyer to handle tasks such as accident investigation, evidence collection, claims filing, legal paperwork and connecting you to the right doctors. Hiring a talented spine injury attorney can make all the difference to your claim.
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim?
In Minnesota, you have a limited amount of time to file a spinal cord injury claim under state law. The statute of limitations on a personal injury case is six years from the date of the incident, in most cases (under Minnesota Statutes §541.05). However, there are exceptions:
- For cases involving intentional torts, such as assault, the statute of limitations is two years.
- If a spinal cord injury was caused by medical malpractice, the time limit is four years from the date of the medical negligence.
- If the defendant is a government agency, the time limit is 180 days from the date of the accident to file a notice.
- If a spinal cord injury is fatal for a victim in Minneapolis, surviving family members have three years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim.
It’s important to act quickly to seek help and file a legal claim for a spinal cord injury in Minneapolis to avoid missing your deadline. If you wait too long, the courts can bar you from seeking financial compensation at all.
Contact Our Minneapolis Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Today
Working with an experienced Minneapolis spinal cord injury attorney at Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC, can help you win your case and maximize your recovery. When you ask for our help, we’ll handle your civil lawsuit from start to finish, working hard to make sure you’re fully compensated for your catastrophic trauma.
You have a limited time to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit, so contact our Minneapolis law office to learn more today.