Las Vegas Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
Every year, approximately 11,000 new spinal cord injury cases arise in the United States. Spine injuries can cause permanent loss of function and feeling in the affected parts of the body. If someone else’s negligence or recklessness caused you or a loved one this serious injury, contact Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP right away. Our Las Vegas spinal cord injury attorneys have experience handling complex and catastrophic cases. We can help you fight for full and fair financial compensation for the myriad losses relating to spine injuries.
Why Choose Your Las Vegas Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer From Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP?
If you or a loved one has sustained a spine injury, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP can work hard to fight for the financial stability of your future. A personal injury claim can’t regain what you’ve lost, but it can make the responsible party pay. It could also supply you and your family with the compensation you need to make up for lost wages, lifelong medical costs, physical therapy, pain, and emotional distress. A settlement or verdict could provide the means to live a long, comfortable life.
Call our law firm to schedule a free initial consultation. We represent injured victims throughout the Las Vegas area.
At Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, our spinal cord injury attorneys in Las Vegas have years of experience representing clients in many different types of cases and securing billions of dollars. We can help you and your family with a claim, no matter what type of accident inflicted your spinal cord injury.
What Exactly Is A Spinal Cord Injury?
A spinal cord injury (SCI) occurs when there is damage to the spinal cord or the nerves within the spinal canal. This can be caused by trauma such as a violent impact, fractures, or a severed spinal cord. Because the spinal cord acts as the communication pathway between the brain and the rest of the body, any damage can result in serious, often permanent, loss of function.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injury Include:
- Blunt force trauma (e.g., from car accidents or falls)
- Fractures or dislocations of spinal vertebrae
- Penetrating injuries (e.g., gunshot wounds)
- Compression due to tumors, infections, or inflammation
Possible Outcomes of Spinal Cord Injury:
- Paraplegia – paralysis affecting the legs and lower body
- Tetraplegia (quadriplegia) – paralysis affecting all four limbs and the torso
- Loss of sensation or inability to feel touch, heat, or pain below the injury site
- Respiratory problems, especially if the upper cervical spine is injured
- Loss of bladder or bowel control
Treatment For Spinal Cord Injuries
There is currently no cure for spinal cord injuries. However, treatment options can help improve quality of life, including:
- Physical therapy and rehabilitation
- Assistive devices and mobility aids
- Medications for pain and spasticity
- Experimental treatments and ongoing clinical research
Early medical intervention and a personalized rehabilitation plan are critical for maximizing recovery and long-term independence. Speak to a personal injury lawyer in Las Vegas today to discuss your spinal cord injury case.
How To Know If You Have A Spinal Cord Injury Case
One of the key benefits of hiring an attorney to represent you during a spinal cord injury case is having a professional identify who can be held liable for your injury. Determining and proving liability can be difficult as someone in the plaintiff’s position. It is your burden to prove that one or more defendants more likely than not caused your spinal cord injury. This requires a preponderance of four main elements:
- The defendant owed you a duty of care; an obligation to act in a reasonable manner.
- The defendant breached his or her duty of care through an act of negligence or carelessness.
- The defendant’s action or omission caused the spinal cord injury.
- The plaintiff suffered compensable losses as a result.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Your Spinal Cord Injury?
The person or party liable for your spinal cord injury will be the one who fits these four elements; in other words, the party most responsible for causing or failing to prevent the accident that gave you the injury. Your lawyer can investigate your case to accurately determine who is liable for your spinal cord injury. This party could be:
- A property owner
- An employer
- A motor vehicle driver
- A product manufacturer
- A physician or hospital
- A government agency
- Multiple parties
Correctly assigning liability is one of the first steps you will need to take for a spinal cord injury lawsuit. Only once your lawyer determines fault can you file a claim against the at-fault party or parties.
Damages You Can Recover With a Las Vegas Spinal Cord Injury Claim
In a spinal cord injury claim, damages refer to the financial compensation you may receive for your losses. Every case is different, so it’s important to have a Las Vegas spinal cord injury lawyer review your situation before accepting any settlement.
Types of Damages You May Be Eligible For:
Economic (Special) Damages:
These cover your direct financial losses, such as:
- Medical bills (past and future)
- Rehabilitation and treatments
- Disability accommodations and equipment
- Lost wages and future earning capacity
- Property damage
- Out-of-pocket expenses and legal fees
Non-Economic (General) Damages:
These compensate for personal and emotional suffering, including:
- Physical and chronic pain
- Emotional distress, PTSD, depression, anxiety
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship or support
- Inconvenience and mental anguish
Punitive Damages:
In rare cases involving gross negligence or intentional harm, the court may award extra compensation to punish the at-fault party.
Factors That Affect Your Compensation:
- Whether you have a permanent disability
- The length of your recovery
- Total medical expenses
- Your pain and suffering
- Your age, health, and income level
An attorney can help determine the full value of your case and make sure you’re not settling for less than you deserve.
Are There Limitations on How Much Compensation I Can Receive For My Las Vegas Spinal Cord Injury?
Nevada, like many states, has damage cap laws that limit how much money you can recover in certain injury cases. These caps can reduce the amount you receive for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, even if your case is worth more.
Key Examples:
- In medical malpractice cases, Nevada law limits non-economic damages to $350,000 (Nevada Revised Statutes 41A.035).
- This cap does not affect your ability to recover economic damages like medical bills and lost income.
- There are also caps on claims made against the State of Nevada, counties, cities, or government agencies.
What You Should Know:
- Damage caps depend on when your injury occurred, and laws may change.
- Some exceptions to the caps exist, but only a skilled attorney can determine if they apply to your case.
- If a cap applies, your lawyer will work to recover the maximum amount allowed.
- If no cap applies, your attorney will pursue full compensation for all your losses—past, present, and future.
A knowledgeable Las Vegas spinal cord injury lawyer will ensure that insurance companies don’t take advantage of you and will fight to get the compensation you deserve.
I Was Partially Responsible for My Accident, Do I Still Have a Case?
Yes—Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule under NRS 41.141. This means you can still recover compensation for a spinal cord injury as long as you were 50% or less at fault for the accident.
Key Points:
- You cannot recover compensation if you are more than 50% at fault.
- If you are partially at fault (50% or less), your compensation will be reduced by your percentage of fault.
- Example: If you’re 20% at fault and awarded $100,000, you would receive $80,000.
Even if you think you were partly to blame, don’t assume you’re ineligible for compensation. An experienced Las Vegas personal injury attorney can help reduce your assigned fault and fight for the maximum recovery possible.
What are the Major Causes of Spinal Injuries?
All spinal cord injuries are devastating, but not all will give the survivor the right to file a personal injury claim. Only incidents that stem from someone else’s negligence have a place in Nevada’s civil justice system. Identifying negligence often takes attention from a team of attorneys. In general, if a reasonable and prudent party could have prevented the injury from occurring, the defendant will be guilty of negligence. Common causes of spine injuries that could give the patient grounds to file a claim are as follows:
Our lawyers can answer your most pressing legal questions, respond to your concerns and guide your family through the complicated legal process. Begin your case with a free consultation.
Spinal Cord Injury Statistics
Living with or knowing someone who lives with a spinal cord injury can be overwhelming. You may not know what to expect from one day to the next. The more you learn about spinal cord injuries and how they impact victims, the more peace of mind you may have. Learn more about spinal cord injuries, such as their most common causes and how they impact victims, from data collected by the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center for 2020:
- The most common causes are vehicle crashes, falls, acts of violence and sports/recreation.
- The annual rate of spinal cord injuries is about 54 cases per 1 million people in the US.
- The estimated number of people living with spine injuries in the US is about 294,000.
- The average age for victims at the time of injury is 29 years old.
- The majority of victims (78%) are men.
- The majority of victims (58.9%) are non-Hispanic white people.
- The average hospital stay for a spinal cord injury victim is 11 days.
- Incomplete tetraplegia is the most common related neurological injury (47.2%).
- About 18% of victims are employed one year post-injury.
- About 30% of patients are re-hospitalized one or more times following their injuries.
- The average lifetime medical costs of a spine injury vary from $1.2 million to $5.1 million.
At Panish | Shea | Ravipudi LLP, we never treat our clients like statistics. We see the real person behind the personal injury claim and tailor our legal strategies according to each client’s unique needs. Our attorneys keep up with the latest spinal cord injury facts, information and statistics to better help their clients recover.
Schedule a Consultation With a Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
If one of these incidents describes how your spine injury occurred, contact an attorney for legal representation as soon as possible. Someone could be legally responsible for your injury and related damages. Our Las Vegas spinal cord injury lawyers can help you file a personal injury claim with the correct court, go up against major insurance companies in pursuit of fair settlement offers, and even take your case to trial if necessary. We recognize the lifelong damages a spine injury can inflict on a victim and will stop at nothing to secure maximum financial compensation.
Contact our Las Vegas attorneys today for a free and confidential spinal injury case evaluation.
