Manhattan Quadriplegia Injury

While working for American Airlines, Vito Saladino was seriously injured when a baggage tractor's hood flew up, hitting Saladino in the head. Saladino's spine was fractured. As a result, Saladino was rendered a quadriplegic. Saladino v. Stewart & Stevenson Servs. Inc., 2011 NY Slip Op 32531 (N.Y. Sup. Ct., 2011). Quadriplegia is a disabling injury that immobilizes the victim from the neck down, and desensitizes all the limbs. The lack of sensation is caused by spinal injury where the nerve endings that have been damaged by compressed or smashed vertebrae. Whether a spinal injury results from a car accident, a construction accident, a slip and fall, or some other type of accident, the victim's life will be forever changed, as will the lives of the victim's family members. The victim will have to cope with being confined to a wheelchair and will face a lifetime medical costs associated the injury. Such cases will undoubtedly be enormous. If you or a family member has been in an accident and suffered spinal cord injury, it is important that you immediately contact an experienced Manhattan quadriplegia lawyer as you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and losses.

Common causes of quadriplegia

Vehicle accidents are the leading causes of all types of paralysis, including quadriplegia. Other common causes include:

• Car and motorcycle accidents: Car accidents, whether they involve multiple vehicles or one vehicle are traumatic to the body. Victims often suffer head, back and neck injuries that leave the victims with severe damage to the spinal cord. Such damage can lead to permanent paralysis.
• Falls: Falls from heights, can cause severe neck and back injuries that lead to spinal cord injuries. Such falls typically occur at construction sites. For example, if proper safety rules are not followed, then a worker may fall from a scaffold, landing on his neck.
• Violence: Criminal assaults that involve gunshot or knife wounds to the spinal cord. Acts of violence, just like are car, construction, and slip and all accident, can be the basis of personal injury lawsuits.
• Recreational accidents: Traumatic injuries to the spinal cord have left for too many athletes quadriplegics. Diving accidents are one of the leading types of recreational sporting activities that resulting broken necks and quadriplegia.

Pursuing a claim for a quadriplegia injury

Whether your quadriplegia was caused in an SUV rollover accident, scaffold accident, or any other type of accident because another person was negligent, you have the right to demand that the person who negligently caused the accident compensate you for the losses you suffered. In the case of an injury that leaves you a quadriplegic the compensable losses would include your medical care, lost income, and pain and suffering.

• Medical expenses: All past and future expenses related to treating the injury that led to your quadriplegia. The initial hospital stay after an injury that results in quadriplegia is generally 3 months. Treatment may involve surgery, followed by years of physical therapy. In the first year alone medical expenses will be well over $100,000. Of a quadriplegic's lifetime, medical expenses will be over $1,000,000. Keep in mind that quadriplegic face a number of medical challenges and complications that add to the already significant medical expenses.
• Lost wages: An injury that is so severe that it leaves you completely paralyzed from the neck down will make it very challenging you for you to ever return to work and earn a living to help support your family. You can demand that the defendant that caused your injury either due to negligence or an intentional act compensate you for your lost wages, benefits, and loss of future earning capacity.
• Pain and suffering. The psychological trauma of suddenly being unable to move on your own, breathe, on your own, or take care of yourself is substantial. You can demand compensation for not only physical trauma, but also your emotional pain.

If the injury that caused your quadriplegia happened in an accident that was work-related, under New York's workers' compensation rules you may be entitled to workers' compensation benefits. Such benefits include medical care, cash payments equal to a portion of your weekly wages, and vocational counseling.

Contact the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident that resulted in quadriplegia contact an experienced attorney who understands both the legal issues associated with personal injury cases as well as the medical issues associated with catastrophic injuries such as quadriplegia. The staff at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates is experienced in successfully representing clients who have been seriously injured in auto, truck, motorcycle, boat, slip and fall and construction accidents. Contact us at 800.696.9529 to schedule a free, no obligation consultation regarding your case. We represent clients in the following locations: the Bronx, Brooklyn, Long Island, Manhattan, Nassau County, Queens, Staten Island, Suffolk County and Westchester County.