New Mexico Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

Spinal cord injuries often result in devastating consequences for the injury victim. Whether the victim suffered from a tragic motorcycle accident or a slip and fall accident, the aftermath can include significant physical pain and suffering as well as lifelong disabilities. At Liles White, our team of attorneys are here to help if you need a New Mexico spinal cord injury attorney by your side. We have the resources and legal expertise necessary to fully investigate spinal cord injury claims and help victims secure the compensation they need. Our personal injury lawyers in New Mexico are not afraid to stand up to aggressive insurance carriers or at-fault parties to ensure our clients have the compensation necessary to handle all of their spinal cord injury expenses.

Why Choose Liles White PLLC

  • At Liles White, our New Mexico personal injury attorneys have an extensive network of subject matter experts and access to significant resources so we can fully assess the situation, determine liability, and properly calculate our clients’ total losses after a serious spinal injury.
  • As a team of trial lawyers, we are confident in our ability to handle complex injury cases and hold at-fault parties responsible for their behavior.
  • At our law firm, we take New Mexico spinal cord injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means that our clients will not have to pay any legal fees until after we obtain the compensation they need.

How Can A New Mexico Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Help?

It is crucial to work with a skilled attorney to help with a spine injury case in New Mexico. Unfortunately, spinal cord injury victims and their family members often face an uphill battle when working to secure full compensation, particularly coverage of long-term medical care and in-home needs. A spinal cord injury lawyer in New Mexico can use their resources to fully investigate the incident and obtain all of the evidence necessary to determine liability.

Importantly, a New Mexico spinal injury attorney at our law firm can turn to trusted spinal cord injury specialists and economic experts to adequately calculate the total expected losses the victim will sustain. After gathering all this information, an experienced New Mexico spine injury attorney will vigorously negotiate a fair out-of-court settlement and seek compensation while also preparing the case for trial, if necessary.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries Often Resulting From Accidents

The spinal cord works with the brain to facilitate muscle movement throughout the body. While spinal cord injuries vary in their effects, almost all of them are serious and result in long-lasting or lifelong impacts on physical health, mobility, and quality of life. Some examples of common serious spinal cord injuries include:

  • Lumbar spinal injuries affecting the hips and legs
  • Thoracic spinal injuries affecting the chest, mid-back and abdominal area
  • Cervical spinal injuries affecting the neck and head above the shoulders
  • Paraplegia affecting all or a portion of the trunk, hips, pelvis, and legs
  • Tetraplegia or quadriplegia affecting trunk, arms, hands, pelvis, and legs

In some accidents impacting the vertebrae of the spine, dislocation or fracture of the vertebrae results in tearing or other damage to the delicate nerves in the spinal cord. Damage to the spinal cord is never minor. Though research is promising for the future, at this point spinal cord damage is irreversible. Continued therapy and treatment can help maximize quality of life for spinal cord injury victims.

Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries

According to the NSCISC, spinal cord injuries occur in a variety of ways. Data taken nationally from 2015 to 2019 reveals that the top causes of spinal injury include the following:

  • Vehicle accidents (39.3%)
  • Falls (31.8%)
  • Violence (13.5%)
  • Sports and recreation incidents (8.0%)
  • Medical or surgical mistakes (4.3%)
  • Other causes (3.1%)

Our team of motorcycle accident lawyers in New Mexico have seen how often motorcyclists suffer from severe spinal injury after an accident, given the nature of the vehicle. From mild injury to severe catastrophic injury, vehicle crashes such as car accidents continue to be the leading cause of spinal cord injury.

What Compensation Can I Gain From a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

While an insurance payout, settlement, or court award can’t erase your injury, it can help ease the financial harm caused by the injury. A successful spinal cord injury claim in New Mexico can gain you or your loved one compensation for the following damages:

  • Medical expenses and future medical expenses for treatments, therapies, surgeries, and medications
  • Lost wages and future lost earnings for those with a diminished earning capability caused by the injury
  • Pain and suffering
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Punitive damages in cases where intentional wrongdoing caused the accident resulting in a spinal cord injury (Punitive damages are meant to punish particularly egregious behavior and discourage repeat behaviors)

get help from a new mexico spinal cord injury lawyer today

What is a Loss of Enjoyment of Life Claim?

New Mexico allows accident victims to claim loss of enjoyment of life as a damage that deserves compensation when another person was at fault in their accident. When harm changes a victim’s life for the worse, monetary compensation may be the only recourse. Loss of enjoyment of life is a common claim in spinal cord injuries when the injured person can no longer participate in many of the activities they once enjoyed.

What Are The Steps to Filing a Spinal Cord Injury Claim in New Mexico?

Spinal cord injuries can be life-altering. That’s why it’s important to recoup at least your financial damages. The process of making a spinal cord injury claim includes the following steps:

  • Seeking immediate medical evaluations and treatment
  • Collecting detailed doctor’s notes on the injury, treatment recommendations, and prognosis
  • Determining fault in the accident through collecting evidence such as surveillance videos, witness statements, police reports, and expert testimony
  • Strategizing to build the claim and issuing a demand letter to the relevant insurance agency
  • Negotiating an ample settlement to compensate for damages
  • Going to trial if unable to reach an agreeable settlement.

A skilled spinal injury attorney in New Mexico with years of experience handling spinal cord injury claims can help maximize the settlement or payout you receive. While spinal cord damage can’t be undone, financial compensation allows a victim the resources needed to maximize their recovery and quality of life.

What Are The Lifetime Costs of Spinal Cord Injury?

When we look at data provided by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC), we can see that spinal cord injuries can be incredibly costly. In just the first year of medical care alone, a victim could face expenses ranging from $368,000 to more than $1.1 million. The data also shows that every following year of treatment until the end of a person’s life could add additional costs ranging from $44,000 to more than $200,000.

However, these medical expenses do not factor in the overall expenses that a spinal cord injury victim and their family will face. Other costs related to spinal injuries may include the following:

  • The cost to modify a vehicle or home to aid with mobility
  • The cost to travel to and from medical care visits
  • Lost income if a victim cannot work
  • Lost income of a family member if they have to become a caregiver

Speak To Our New Mexico Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Today

If you or somebody you love has sustained a spinal cord injury caused by the negligent actions of someone else in New Mexico, let Liles White get to work on your behalf today. We understand how devastating a spinal cord injury can be, particularly when there are short- or long-term disabilities involved. Our spinal injury attorneys in New Mexico have the resources necessary to fully investigate these claims, work with trusted medical and economic experts, and help our clients secure full compensation for their losses. If you have been impacted by the death of a loved one after a spinal cord injury, our team of New Mexico wrongful death lawyers can help you with hold the negligent party responsible for causing the injury. When you need a New Mexico spinal cord injury attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation of your case or by calling (361) 826-0100.