A spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most devastating and life-altering events a person can endure. Caused by trauma from events like car accidents, falls, or acts of violence, an SCI can result in permanent paralysis, loss of sensation, and a host of complex medical challenges.
The physical, emotional, and financial consequences are immense, affecting not only the injured individual but their entire family. Coping with paralysis (paraplegia or quadriplegia) and the need for lifelong medical care and support is overwhelming.
Our dedicated Hall & Collins Athens spinal cord injury lawyers focus specifically on helping victims of SCI and their families navigate the complex legal process and secure the substantial compensation needed for a lifetime of care.
We understand the unique medical and financial needs associated with paralysis and are committed to fighting for the resources necessary to maximize your quality of life and ensure your future stability. Contact us today to fight for your rights.
Why Trust Hall & Collins for Spinal Cord Injury Cases
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury due to the mistake of others, you need a law firm with the experience, resources, and proximity to fight for your rights.
Here’s the reason you can trust us with your Athens spinal cord injury:
SCI experience
Our spinal cord injury attorneys possess in-depth knowledge of spinal cord injury mechanics, complications (autonomic dysreflexia, respiratory issues, pressure sores), and long-term prognosis for different injury levels. This understanding allows us to accurately represent the full impact of your injury in settlement negotiations and at trial.
Experience-Driven Case Development
We collaborate with top neurologists, rehabilitation specialists, and life care planners to document current and future medical needs. Our team builds comprehensive life care plans that capture the true lifetime costs of SCIs, from specialized equipment to home modifications and ongoing therapies. This approach has secured substantial compensation for clients injured in vehicle collisions, falls, and other incidents.
Focus on Lifetime Needs
Unlike general practice firms, we understand that SCIs require consideration of decades of care. Our litigation strategy addresses not just immediate medical bills but long-term requirements for adaptive technology, home care, specialized transportation, and potential complications that may develop years after injury.
Proven Results Against Formidable Opponents
Spinal cord cases often involve insurance companies and corporations with significant resources. Our firm has successfully overcome aggressive defense tactics to secure the substantial compensation SCI survivors need. We prepare every case as if for trial, strengthening our negotiating position.
Available When You Need Us
We recognize the overwhelming nature of SCI cases and remain accessible to answer questions, provide updates, and offer support throughout the legal process. Our commitment extends beyond the courtroom to ensure you understand each step of your case.
Accessible Northeast Georgia Representation
From our Athens office at 594 Oconee St, Suite 111, we provide convenient representation to clients throughout Northeast Georgia. Our proximity to major medical centers enhances our ability to work effectively with your healthcare team.
Contact Hall & Collins Injury Lawyers at (706) 995-2835 for a free consultation about your spinal cord injury case.
Compensation Tailored to Spinal Cord Injury Needs
Securing adequate compensation after a spinal cord injury is about ensuring you have the financial resources to cover a lifetime of specialized care, support, and adaptations.
Unlike less severe injuries, the costs associated with SCI are extraordinary and continue for decades. Our Athens spinal cord attorneys focus on identifying and quantifying every single aspect of damage to pursue a settlement or verdict that reflects the true, long-term impact and how accident settlements work in these complex cases.
Compensation in SCI cases must address the following:
- Lifelong Medical Care: This includes initial hospitalization, surgeries (like spinal fusion), extensive inpatient rehabilitation, ongoing outpatient therapies, medications (for pain, spasticity, bladder/bowel management), regular physician follow-ups, and treatment for common secondary complications.
- Specialized Equipment: Individuals with SCI often require expensive, durable medical equipment, such as customized manual or power wheelchairs, hospital beds, patient lifts, specialized cushions to prevent pressure sores, adaptive driving equipment, communication devices, and environmental control units. Compensation should cover the initial purchase, ongoing maintenance, repair, and replacement of this vital equipment over a lifetime.
- Home and Vehicle Modifications: Significant modifications are often necessary to make homes accessible (ramps, widened doorways, roll-in showers, stair lifts) and vehicles adaptable for transport or independent driving. These modifications represent substantial costs.
- Personal Care Assistance: Depending on the level of injury, many individuals with SCI require daily assistance with personal care, hygiene, transfers, and household tasks. Compensation should account for the cost of in-home caregivers or residence in an assisted living facility if needed.
- Lost Earning Capacity: Most individuals with significant SCIs are unable to return to their previous employment, and many cannot work at all. We seek compensation for all lost past income and the full value of future earnings lost due to the injury, often requiring expert economic analysis.
- Pain, Suffering, and Loss of Quality of Life: This acknowledges the profound physical pain, emotional distress, loss of independence, loss of bodily function (bladder, bowel, sexual), and the dramatic reduction in quality of life resulting from paralysis and related complications—factors that all weigh heavily when determining how much will I get for pain and suffering in a spinal cord injury case.
Insurance companies often try to drastically underestimate these lifetime costs. Our Hall & Collins Athens spinal cord injury lawyers utilize detailed life care plans developed by experts to rigorously document every anticipated need and expense.
Where and How Do Spinal Cord Injuries Occur in Athens?
Spinal cord injuries result from traumatic force to the spine that damages the delicate spinal cord tissue. In the Athens area, like elsewhere, certain types of accidents are more frequently associated with these devastating injuries.
Vehicle crashes are a leading cause, particularly high-speed collisions on highways like the Athens Perimeter (Loop 10) or state routes, motorcycle accidents, and incidents involving commercial trucks. The forces involved in these crashes can easily cause fractures or dislocations of the vertebrae, leading to cord compression or severing.
Falls are another major cause of SCI, especially falls from significant heights (ladders, roofs, scaffolding on construction sites) or falls affecting older adults with pre-existing spinal conditions. Premises liability issues, such as poorly maintained stairs or walkways, can contribute to falls causing SCI.
Acts of violence, including gunshot wounds or stabbings that penetrate the spinal canal, are a tragic cause. Sports and recreational activities, particularly contact sports like football or activities like diving into shallow water, can also result in traumatic spinal cord damage.
Medical or surgical errors, though less common, can sometimes lead to iatrogenic spinal cord injuries. Understanding the specific cause of the injury is crucial for determining liability.
Hall & Collins Injury Lawyers thoroughly investigates the circumstances surrounding your injury, whether it happened on a busy Athens road, a local worksite, or elsewhere, to build a strong case against the negligent party.
Understanding the Various Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that runs from the base of the brain down the back, transmitting signals that control movement, sensation, and bodily functions. An injury interrupts these signals.
Key aspects of SCI include:
Level of Injury
This refers to the lowest point on the spinal cord below, where normal feeling and movement are lost. Injuries are generally classified as:
- Cervical SCI, which affects the neck region. Higher cervical injuries (C1-C4) often result in quadriplegia/tetraplegia (paralysis of arms, hands, trunk, and legs) and may impact breathing, requiring ventilator support. Lower cervical injuries (C5-C8) typically result in quadriplegia but may allow for some arm and hand function.
- Thoracic SCI, which affects the upper/mid-back, usually results in paraplegia (paralysis of the trunk and legs), with normal arm and hand function. Lumbar SCI, on the other hand, affects the lower back. Results in paraplegia, often with some control over hip flexors and legs.
- Sacral SCI affects the base of the spine. Often results in some loss of function in the hips and legs, and likely impacts bladder, bowel, and sexual function.
Completeness of Injury
Completeness can refer to:
- Complete SCI results in a total loss of sensory and motor function below the level of injury.
- Incomplete SCI leaves a victim with some degree of feeling or motor function remaining below the injury level. There are various patterns of incomplete SCI, each with different functional outcomes.
Our Athens spinal cord injury lawyers work closely with medical experts to fully understand the specific type, level, and consequences of your SCI, ensuring these complexities are accurately presented when pursuing compensation.
Fighting the Insurance Company for Lifelong SCI Needs
Given the extraordinarily high lifetime costs associated with spinal cord injuries, insurance companies fight these claims with extreme intensity. Their goal is to minimize the payout drastically, and they employ numerous tactics to achieve this.
Expect challenges at every turn.
Insurers will often dispute the necessity and cost of the components of your life care plan. They may argue that cheaper alternatives exist for medical equipment, that fewer hours of attendant care are needed, or that projected therapy needs are exaggerated. They might hire their own “independent” medical examiners and life care planners to produce reports that significantly downplay your future requirements and costs compared to the plan developed by your treating physicians and experts. They may also try to argue that some of your complications or needs are due to pre-existing conditions or aging rather than the SCI itself.
Furthermore, if there's any ambiguity about how the accident happened, they will aggressively try to shift blame onto you, the injured party, to reduce their liability percentage.
They know that even a small percentage of shared fault can save them millions in an SCI case. Settlement offers, especially early ones, are likely to be profoundly inadequate, failing to account for the decades of care and expense that lie ahead.
This is precisely why you need experienced legal representation from Hall & Collins Injury Lawyers. We anticipate these insurance tactics and build your case proactively with robust evidence and credible expert testimony.
Our Athens spinal cord injury attorneys are prepared to negotiate firmly and, if necessary, litigate aggressively to secure the full financial resources you need to live with dignity and security after an SCI.
What You Can Still Do to Maximize Your Spinal Cord Injury Claim
While Hall & Collins Injury Lawyers handle the legal fight, there are critical things you and your family can do to strengthen your spinal cord injury claim and ensure all needs are documented. Your participation is invaluable.
- Strictly follow the prescribed medical and rehabilitation plan. Attend all therapy sessions, medical appointments, and follow all instructions regarding medication, skin care, bladder/bowel management, and other aspects of your care. This demonstrates the necessity of the treatment and your commitment to maximizing your potential. Keep a log of all appointments and therapies.
- Maintain meticulous financial records. Keep every bill, invoice, receipt, and explanation of benefits related to your injury. This includes hospital stays, doctor visits, therapy, medications, medical supplies, equipment purchases or rentals, home modification costs, accessible transportation expenses, and paid caregiver services. Organize these records carefully.
- Document daily life and challenges. Keep a detailed journal describing daily pain levels, functional limitations (what you can and cannot do), challenges with personal care, emotional struggles, medication side effects, any complications, and how the SCI impacts your relationships and overall quality of life. Include specific examples and dates. Photos or videos illustrating challenges or home modifications can also be helpful.
- Track lost income and benefits. Keep records of past employment (pay stubs), time missed from work, and applications or denials for disability benefits (Social Security, private disability insurance).
- Preserve all communication. Keep copies of any letters, emails, or notes regarding communications with doctors, therapists, insurance companies, and equipment suppliers.
- Share everything with Hall & Collins Injury Lawyers. Provide us with complete, updated medical records, all financial documentation, journal entries, employment records, and any other relevant information.
Open communication ensures we have the most accurate picture of your situation to build the strongest case. Avoid discussing details of your injury, prognosis, or legal case on social media. Do not provide statements or sign documents for insurance companies without our guidance. Your diligence in documentation provides the crucial evidence we need to fight effectively for you—and if you're wondering how much does it cost to hire a lawyer, know that we work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case.
Contact Our Athens Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Today
A spinal cord injury creates lifelong challenges, but you do not have to face them without support and resources. Our Athens spinal cord injury attorneys are dedicated to helping SCI survivors and their families secure the comprehensive compensation needed for medical care, accessibility, and long-term financial security.
Because evidence and legal deadlines are critical, please don't wait. Call Hall & Collins Injury Lawyers today at (706) 381-6055 to schedule your consultation.