Woodbury Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
Woodbury, Minnesota, residents know this city is a good place to live, but they still experience severe accidents in public places. Whether in the workplace, on the road, or while patronizing a business, an accident happens in an instant, leaving the life-changing possibility of a spinal cord injury.
Other than brain injuries, spinal cord injuries are the most devastating of any injury during an accident. Those who suffer spinal injuries are often paralyzed for life. Or, they face a life of difficulty, immobility, and unemployment.
This is what you possibly face now. What can you do to protect yourself legally? We are here to help at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers. We can fight to secure the money you need to live as fully and independently as possible. Call us today.
Injured in Woodbury? Get Nicolet.
What Kind of Spinal Cord Injury Do You Have?
Doctors classify spinal cord injuries as complete and incomplete.
Complete spinal cord injuries paralyze the body below the injury. Quadriplegia paralyzes all four limbs, while paraplegia paralyzes the lower body.
The second type is incomplete spinal injuries. These still give some mobility to the body, including brain function. However, it still has some elements of impairment, making it difficult for you to walk.
No matter what type of spinal injury you have, numerous accident scenarios usually cause it. You do not deserve to go on for the rest of your life dealing with these injuries without some level of legal compensation.
What accident scenarios are the most common in causing spinal injuries? We have seen every conceivable case through our clients.
What Accidents Cause the Most Spinal Damage?
We could represent you in virtually any type of accident scenario causing any degree of spinal problems.
What accidents do we see the most to cause these injuries?
Car Accidents
Car accidents are the leading cause of paralysis. In many cases, this usually means head-on collisions or other high-impact crashes.
When this happens, drivers are often thrown around in their vehicles, and sometimes even tossed outside. Airbags can also malfunction, leading to a completely severed spinal cord.
These crashes are also often fatal, but surviving it and facing body paralysis is going to change your life as you knew it.
Any car accident like this needs immediate medical attention to see how much spinal damage you have.
Truck Accidents
Considering trucks weigh much more than a car, the chances of severe injury are all the greater. Also, the person suffering from the spinal cord injury is not always the driver. It could be a pedestrian who happened to be struck by a large truck at high impact, creating complete paralysis of the limbs.
However, truck drivers also suffer similar injuries if hit by other vehicles. In many of these cases, the driver is negligent due to distractions or even fatigue.
We will help you fight back against any trucking company for allowing a negligent driver on the road.
Boating Accidents
Do not forget about the dangers of being on the water and the potential of boats careening out of control. Anyone who does water sports knows risks are always there. Other times, it is the responsibility of a boater to keep you safe.
A friend of yours might take you out on a boat, only to have it capsize or collide with another boat. Another accident scenario is a boat excursion on a lake or in the ocean hitting another boat by accident. The impact could easily throw you from the deck, creating irreversible spinal damage.
ATV Accidents
All-terrain vehicles also have the potential to throw you from the driver’s seat and onto the ground. Your ATV was perhaps in Woodbury’s mountainous areas where the vehicle hit a rock, throwing you off without protection.
The impact of being thrown from an ATV is always devastating. Making it more challenging is finding quick medical help if you have sustained spinal cord damage in a remote area.
Motorcycle Accidents
Many people here in Woodbury appreciate riding motorcycles. With that comes the risk of someone crashing their motorcycle, or being thrown off one. We see far too many motorcycle accidents here in Woodbury every year. Statistics show motorcycle accidents continue to go up exponentially in just the last year.
If you are lucky to survive your motorcycle accident, it may mean living in a wheelchair for the rest of your life. It may also mean never being able to work or ride motorcycles again due to your paralysis.
Snowmobile Accidents
Woodbury has some hilly areas in Washington County where many like to go snowboarding or skiing. Accidents on skis or boards are still prevalent during the winter, but so are snowmobile accidents. We work on snowmobile injury cases because we know about what they can do to the human body.
Snow lovers still take snowmobiles into the mountains and face the possibility of being thrown off the vehicle. Those who experience this rarely come out of it being able to function normally again.
Being thrown off a snowmobile is as bad as a motorcycle, likely severing your spinal cord. Complete paralysis is more than possible.
Slip and Fall Accidents
Some might think a spinal cord injury cannot happen from a slip and fall accident. It certainly can, depending on how hard you fall. An overly slippery floor might have you falling on more than ground level.
We have seen more than a few slips and falls that have people fall multiple stories, or even down long flights of steps. When this happens, a spinal injury is more likely. It perhaps happened to you recently while walking in a public business.
All it takes is a slightly damp floor to make it happen. Snow and ice, though, are the biggest causes here in Woodbury. All Minnesota residents know we cannot go through winter without icy conditions.
Every business is responsible for keeping its walkways clear of snow or ice for the safety of its customers. Many of our spinal cord cases come from individuals who slip on those icy spots.
What to Do After Experiencing a Spinal Cord Injury
Your first step is to make sure you take care of yourself. Go to a hospital immediately if you realize your spine is injured after an accident.
Once you seek medical treatment, chances are good you will be there for quite a while. This means medical bills are going to start piling up. In the meantime, you probably wonder what comes next in your life. You realize your life is changed forever, no matter the spinal damage severity.
Pondering the future is often a scary prospect when lying in a hospital bed, unable to move your legs or arms. It is time to think about your legal rights and realize those responsible for your accident are negligent. You deserve to pursue a settlement from them or their insurance companies to help pay your bills.
Take a moment to consider calling us at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers right away so we can discuss the prospect of representing you. Being able to call for legal representation is likely not easy after a spinal cord injury. Let someone you know well on your behalf contact us if you cannot.
After your approval, we quickly go to work examining your case without charging you for legal fees upfront.
Gather The Evidence
What is the evidence behind your spinal cord injury in Woodbury? Whatever that entails, we can go find it and put it in safekeeping. Our first typical step is to visit the site where your spinal injury occurred.
Did it happen in a business, or maybe a private home? As seen above, it could also happen from the vehicles you operate. This could mean the vehicle manufacturer could be found negligent due to malfunctioning parts.
In accident scenarios, a negligent driver of another vehicle is potentially to blame. Proving things like this all comes down to what physical remnants are available.
We typically interview any witnesses who saw what happened. They can be very valuable in the event your case goes to trial. The same applies to any physical pieces from the accident scene proving negligence by another person.
If physical pieces of evidence are not available, we take photographs. And if that is not possible, we also check for security camera footage. It is possible to send out subpoenas to companies to obtain their security camera videos. Doing this is not necessary if your accident occurred on public property.
Thanks to Woodbury having numerous traffic cams, we could gain footage easily if your spinal cord accident occurred on a local roadway within a reasonable time.
Negotiate with The Insurance Company
The next step in your legal journey is to pursue the settlement you deserve from the negligent party. We have gone up against various major companies with their insurance companies in tow. While negotiations are sometimes challenging, we have still won many large settlements for our clients.
Never negotiate with an insurance company on your own. They may attempt to contact you while you are in a vulnerable state. After all, with a spinal cord injury, you are likely very worried about your finances. Taking the first settlement offer you hear is probably more than tempting.
Do not talk with them or take the first offer. You may deserve much more than they will initially propose. Do not say anything to them. They can twist your words in court later about your spinal cord injuries.
Let us take care of all negotiations. We have dealt with big companies like this, and you can rest easy with our representation.
Bear in mind, negotiating does take time. Still, we work tirelessly to get the settlement amount you need to treat your spinal injury in the future.
Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today to discuss your legal options.
What Kind of Settlement Might You Receive?
Never expect a certain settlement amount, because all cases are different. Nevertheless, we invite you to look at our case results page to see our continually updated testimonials.
One particular case of someone who was hurt in a slip and fall accident landed a $200,000 settlement recently. We secured this after other Woodbury spinal cord injury attorneys turned them away.
It is an example of our tenacious attitude in pursuing the justice our clients deserve. We also treat our clients like real people and not just another case number. Just remember that all evidence is different and settlement outcomes differ in exact amounts.
You might receive more or less than your projected estimate. It is all the more reason you need a spinal cord injury lawyer in Woodbury who can gather tangible and intangible evidence proving liability for your spinal cord injuries and ensuing mental suffering.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we are ready to get started. Contact us today for more information.
Places in Woodbury Where Spinal Cord Injuries Happen
We have mentioned some locales where spinal injuries often occur. What other local areas pose dangers and possibly the source of your spinal cord injury?
Car accidents in intersections are often the biggest culprit in causing spinal issues. The city of Woodbury does use its 2040 Comprehensive Plan to continually find ways to protect pedestrians and vehicles in intersections.
Despite these safety efforts, it does not always work out. Accidents still happen, and even Woodbury often gives second thoughts about creating new crosswalks since they create a false sense of security.
Unfortunately, spinal cord accidents still happen in these locations, often pedestrians getting hit by speeding drivers. Even more concerning is when children get hit by speeding drivers in school zones, leading those children to suffer spinal issues for the rest of their lives.
A few other areas in Woodbury that could cause spinal injuries:
- Fitness Centers: With fitness a big part of Woodbury, a spinal injury could easily happen in a local gym with malfunctioning equipment.
- Health Care Facilities: A negligent medical practice could cause you serious spinal injuries if a surgical procedure goes wrong.
- Industrial Sites: Working in the industrial arena could easily cause a spinal injury from a bad fall or falling off heavy equipment.
Get Legal Help Now
Contact us immediately at (651) 358-2531 if you suffered a spinal cord injury in your workplace, a business, a private residence, or while driving. Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers are ready to stand in your corner with the work ethic to seek out settlements for those like you suffering through life-altering injuries to the spine.