New York City Spinal Cord Injury

An injury to the spinal cord is one of the most serious injuries that a victim can suffer. Damage to the spinal cord can mean that the victim's mobility is compromised. Such an injury can also leave the victim with permanent paralysis, making it difficult for the victim to work and earn money to pay medical bills and take care of everyday expenses. Most spinal cord injuries happen due to negligent acts of others that lead to auto accidents and slip and fall accidents. Other spinal cord injuries are the result of acts of violence such as stabbings, gunshots, and assaults with other weapons. The New York City spinal cord injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates have spent over two decades representing victims suffering catastrophic injuries in serious accidents. We understand the challenges facing spinal cord injury victims and are committed to helping victims hold the responsible parties accountable.

Spinal cord injuries are most often the result of a negligent act. If another person's negligent act led to your spinal cord injury, you may have a valid personal injury claim. However, in order to successfully sue a defendant, there are 4 factors that must be present. You must show that the defendant owed you a duty of care, that he (or she) breached that duty of care, as a result you were injured, and that you suffered a monetary loss.

For example, drivers have a duty to other drivers to operate their vehicles with care. If a driver drives recklessly, he breached that duty. If the reckless driving caused an accident that left you with a damaged spinal cord, then the breach directly caused your injuries.

In the case of premises liability incidents, property owners have the duty to those who enter the property to make sure the property is safe and free of hazards. If a property owner fails to clean up a spill, he beached that duty. If you slipped and fell on the spill, and as a result you suffered a spinal cord injury, then the breach directly caused your injuries.

If you accumulated medical bills and lost wages, then you have a monetary loss. Evidence of your monetary loss would be records from the healthcare facility that treated you, medical bills, doctor's notes with your diagnosis and plan of treatment, bills from other medical professionals such as your physical therapist, and receipts from medications.

In the case of an injury to the spinal cord, as a spinal cord injury attorney in New York City will explain, it is important that you demand compensation not just for your past medial expense for which you have bills and receipts. You should also demand compensation for future medical expenses as serious spinal cord injuries that leave the victim with quadriplegia, paraplegia or other types of permanent paralysis require lifelong treatment.

Joy was walking on the sidewalk on the way home from the store when a car driven by Lenny jumped the sidewalk and struck Joy. Joy flew through the air and smashed through the window of a store. Joy was rushed to the hospital where she remained for nearly 3 months. Following her hospital stay, Joy was transferred to a rehabilitation facility where she remained for 1 month. As a result of the accident Joy suffered spinal cord trauma near c-4 that left her with a type of paralysis called hemiplegia. Hemiplegia is paralysis on one side of the body.

As a result of her injuries, Joy was not able to return to her promising career as a high school physical education teacher and basketball coach. Although Lenny admitted that he was texting while driving and took full responsibility for the accident, his insurance company tried to shift blame to joy and offered her a very minimal settlement. Frustrated with the insurance company, Joy contacted an experienced spinal cord injury attorney serving clients in New York to help her get a fair settlement.

If you or a loved one was injured in an accident that resulted in paraplegia, quadriplegia, or some other type of spinal cord injury, contact an experienced attorney who understands both the legal issues associated with personal injury cases as well as the medical challenges associated with injuries to the spine. The Law Offices of Stephen Bilkis & Associates is experienced in handling personal injury and wrongful death cases stemming from auto, truck, motorcycle, boat, 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.