Seeking Compensation After Florida Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries in Florida can be life-changing events. They sometimes happen in slip-and-fall accidents, car accidents or watercraft accidents. An injury can lead to a lifelong disability that changes the course of a person’s entire life.
If you find yourself in this position, you may want to seek financial compensation because someone else’s negligence caused the injury, and that’s when it’s time to call Ferrer Law PA. I am attorney Christian A. Ferrer, and I tirelessly fight for my clients’ rights and help them seek the full compensation they deserve.
The goal at my firm has always been to help those who need it, and I have recovered millions of dollars for my clients in the past. I offer free initial consultations to begin discussing your case with an experienced lawyer.
What Affects Spinal Cord Injury Severity?
The seriousness of the injury depends on a variety of factors, one of the most important being the level at which the injury occurs. These could be cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral.
Often, sensation and range of motion are lost below the injury site. For instance, an injury between the C1 and C4 vertebrae is often known as high tetraplegia, which could leave someone with almost no motion at all. Meanwhile, an injury lower down the spinal column may result in paraplegia, meaning that someone loses the ability to walk but still has functionality in their core, trunk, arms, neck and head.
The Importance Of Early Medical Intervention
If you have suffered such a serious spinal cord injury, early medical attention is a must. Delayed treatment can just cause the injury to be more severe or allow complications like infection to arise. Additionally, much healing happens at the beginning of the process through proper surgery, physical rehabilitation and other medical options. It’s important not to delay so you can get care.
Potential Causes Of Spinal Cord Injuries
No matter how a spinal cord injury happens, it can have a severe impact on a person‘s life, and some of the following are the most common causes:
- Car accidents
- Bike accidents
- Motorcycle accidents
- Truck accidents
- Workplace accidents
- Slip-and-fall accidents
- Sports injuries
- Falls from heights
- Medical malpractice and medical errors
- Violent crimes
Medical attention after these types of incidents is necessary but can be expensive, which is why it’s important to seek financial compensation.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have been injured, you may have some serious questions, so here are a few of the questions my firm sees most often:
How do you know if you have a valid claim?
The key to your claim may depend on establishing negligence and fault. Documentation is important, such as witness statements, police reports and medical records.
What if you were partially at fault for the injury?
Florida does use comparative negligence laws. This means that you can only seek compensation if you were less than 50% responsible for the injury. The amount of compensation you receive may be reduced based on the percentage of fault that the court finds lies with you. For instance, if you were 10% responsible, you can still seek financial compensation, but it may be 10% less than the award you otherwise would’ve received.
Is there a statute of limitations?
Yes, a statute of limitations is an important deadline to meet because that is the limit for how long you have to file your case. In Florida, personal injury lawsuits have a statute of limitations of two years.
What are the general stages of a spinal cord injury lawsuit?
The first step is to begin working with an attorney as you gather the appropriate evidence. You can then determine where you need to file your personal injury lawsuit claim, alerting the other party to your intention to sue. Once they have responded, the court will set up an initial hearing, and you will begin to move through the process as both sides demonstrate evidence and tell their story to the court.
Call For A Free Consultation
If you have been injured and you want to begin looking into your legal options, I offer completely free initial consultations. Just dial 844-220-5612 or use the online contact form to get started today.