Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers.

Your spinal cord is the organ of the central nervous system that sends signals from the brain to the rest of the body while also helping to control internal body organs like your stomach and liver. When your spinal cord is injured, it is very possible that you will be paralyzed from the point of injury downward. Therefore, it is extremely important that you hire an experienced paralysis attorney in San Diego (sometimes referred to as a personal injury lawyer) to handle your personal injury claim if you’ve suffered a broken neck or injured your spinal cord.

Over two million people are paralyzed in the U.S. alone, and many of those people live here in San Diego and throughout California. Since paralysis often prevents you from moving your arms or legs (or both), people with severe spinal cord injuries experience a greatly diminished quality of life. Paralyzed people often can’t find work as easily nor can they enjoy life the same as they did before their spinal cord injury.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

At our San Diego law firm, we like to think of the spinal cord as a giant telephone operator switchboard. When you want to move your arm, the brain sends a signal through the spinal cord to the nerves in your arm. In essence, that’s how movement happens. Therefore, any spinal cord injury could be a life-changing event.

When your spinal cord is injured, vertebrae might be fractured or dislocated, possibly causing your spinal cord to swell. This swelling is what often causes paralysis. When the swelling begins to go down, some people may regain the use of their limbs and extremities. Others are not as fortunate. That is why spinal cord injuries are looked at on a case-by-case basis.

Some people with spinal cord injuries end up paralyzed for life.
Other people regain feeling and movement in their extremities.
A lucky few walk away from an accident with a spinal cord injury.
Tragically, many people suffer wrongful death from a severe spinal cord injury.

There are two main forms of paralysis. Paraplegia is a form of paralysis in which someone cannot move or feel anything in the lower part of the body — usually refered to as a paraplegic. Quadriplegia is a form of paralysis that occurs when a person cannot move their arms or legs, and a person with this type of paralysis is generally referred to as a quadriplegic.

Physical therapy and rehabilitation are important in getting better from spinal cord injuries, but unfortunately, some people may never fully recover from their paralysis. As with many injuries, especially incomplete paralysis injuries, the injured person may be in recovery for 18 months after the spinal cord was initially injured or never recover. The luckiest regain full movement and sensation after suffering paralysis.

The first thing you should do is make sure you see a doctor about your spinal cord injury. Automobile accidents can result in serious and life-threatening injuries to your spinal cord. Getting medical attention is extremely necessary because only a doctor can properly diagnose a spinal cord injury and give you the right advice and/or treatments. Once you have gotten yourself back to the best possible health, you should look to get legal representation from an experienced paralysis lawyer in San Diego.

Why Hire Our Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys in San Diego?

Our firm’s founder, Michael Pines, was once an insurance company lawyer, so he knows how insurance companies work. If you don’t want the insurance companies to take advantage of you with a low settlement offer, then you should consult with one of our experienced paralysis lawyers in San Diego.

Since 1992, our paralysis lawyers at the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC in San Diego have fought for the rights of injured people. We will work to make sure your needs and best interests are given a voice. If you have questions about your spinal cord injury, our spinal cord injury lawyers will be more than happy to answer them and put your mind at ease. There is no cost for your initial consultation, and there are no fees until we recover a fair personal injury settlement.

Remember, you only get one settlement in personal injury. With only one chance for justice, you must get it right the first time or you could be left with a lifetime of high medical bills after your spinal cord injury.

If you or a loved one have suffered a spinal cord injury, we urge you to contact our bilingual offices as soon as possible following the accident at 1-800-655-6585 or please click here for a free consultation with an experienced paralysis lawyer in San Diego. We handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that you do not pay anything until we recover money on your behalf.

Most Recent Blog Post

[caption id="attachment_21715" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Photo Credit: The San Diego Union Tribune"][/caption] Last week, we reported on a car accident in San Diego that resulted out of alleged teen street racing. In new developments, the 18-year-old driver charged with the death of the two teenagers involved in the street racing has pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter among four other charges according to reports at the San Diego Union Tribune. The news follows the earlier arrest of another 16-year-old driver that was taken into custody on similar charges. Just shortly after his arraignment, Michael Johnson, the 18-year-old driver of a Volvo S40, said, according to his attorney, that he is not the responsible party in the tragic San Diego accident fatalities that occurred April 4. Accident reports indicate that Johnson was returning from a spring break beach party in La Jolla when he was allegedly involved in a street racing contest with another teen driver – the unidentified 16-year-old driver of a Volkswagen Passat whose name has not been released since he is a minor. According to Deputy District Attorney Kristen Spieler, the two vehicles were zigzagging across lanes at speeds reaching up to a staggering 100 m.p.h. The 16-year-old driver in the Passat lost control over the vehicle, causing the car to flip over several times across multiple lanes of the road. Two passengers, Anthony Foreman, 18, and Jayli Campbell, 16, were thrown from the Passat and died at the scene of the accident. Two passengers survived the crash. Charlotte McQuillen, survived the accident although she suffered serious injury as a result of the collision including reports that say the teen will have to recover from traumatic brain injury. Anthoney Taylor, 16, also survived the crash although his injuries are unclear at this time. Johnson did not flee the scene of the accident according to police reports and cooperated with authorities once officers assessed the scene of the collision. The teen has no prior criminal record, although authorities say his vehicle was found containing a small amount of marijuana. Johnson is being charged with intoxicated driving, although his lawyer says there were no field sobriety tests to confirm the teen’s alleged intoxication. Teen driving: reminders for concerned parents Last week, we blogged on actions parents can take to prevent teen car accidents. Tips include:

Sign a parent-teen contract. Download your free contract now.
Enforcing the rules. Every teen driver needs to know that rules are there for a purpose, and when they are broken, consequences will follow.
Have a DUI backup plan. As most parents can attest, there are many instances when teen drivers run into problems that supersede their know-how and maturity. Drinking is one of those problems. In cases of emergency, your teen should have an open-door policy where they feel safe to call you when they need help – such in the case of drunk driving or driving while intoxicated.

About the Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC The Law Offices of Michael Pines, APC are specialists in car accident injury. Every personal injury attorney in our San Diego office works hard to seek maximum recovery for every injured client. Your case is handled without any out-of-pocket costs, so do not hesitate to speak to a San Diego personal injury lawyer today for a free legal evaluation. Call us at 1-800-655-6585.