Recent data shows that about 18,000 new traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) cases occur each year in the United States, with vehicle crashes and falls as the leading causes. If you or a loved one suffered a spinal cord injury in Arlington, Texas, because of someone else’s negligence, you need an Arlington spinal cord injury attorney who understands both the devastating impact of these injuries and the complex legal process for pursuing compensation.
A spinal cord injury can permanently change the way a person moves, works, and lives. Daily activities can become difficult or impossible without extensive medical care, rehabilitation, and support.
At Branch & Dhillon, we stand up for spinal cord injury victims across Tarrant County, fighting for the full compensation needed to address the lifelong impact of these injuries. Call (817) 533-3430 today for a free consultation about your spinal cord injury case.
How Branch & Dhillon Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Help Arlington Victims
Spinal cord injuries bring medical complexities and lifelong consequences that far exceed those of typical personal injury cases. Branch & Dhillon’s exclusive focus on personal injury law gives our team the experience and knowledge to handle these cases effectively.
Arlington Spinal Cord Injury Attorney Committed to Your Recovery
Attorney Amar Dhillon personally manages every spinal cord injury case in our Arlington office. We understand the unique challenges victims face, including high medical costs, lifestyle changes, and the need for specialized equipment or home modifications. Our goal is to secure compensation that covers both immediate needs and long-term care.
Comprehensive Legal Services for Arlington Spinal Cord Injury Claims
Our team works with neurologists, spinal cord specialists, and life care planners to document the full extent of your injuries and estimate future care needs. We conduct thorough investigations to identify all responsible parties and negotiate with insurance companies to ensure your claim reflects the true cost of your recovery.
Affordable Legal Representation for Arlington Spinal Cord Injury Victims
Spinal cord injury treatment can cost millions over a lifetime. We operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing unless we win your case. This allows you to access experienced legal representation without adding to your financial burden during recovery.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries in Arlington
Understanding how spinal cord injuries occur helps establish liability and identify all parties responsible for compensation. Our Arlington spinal cord injury attorneys see these life-changing injuries result from various preventable incidents throughout the DFW area.
Motor Vehicle Accidents Causing Spinal Cord Injuries in Arlington
Car and motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries in Arlington, with crashes on I-20, I-30, and busy surface streets frequently causing severe spinal damage. High-speed impacts can fracture vertebrae or herniate discs, rear-end collisions can cause whiplash injuries to the cervical spine, rollovers can crush the spine, and motorcycle crashes leave riders unprotected from impact. When negligent drivers cause these injuries, they and their insurers are responsible for the lifetime of care victims need.
Falls Causing Spinal Cord Damage to Arlington Residents
Slips and falls are another leading cause of spinal cord injuries, especially for construction workers on Arlington job sites and elderly residents in nursing homes. Property owners can be liable when unsafe conditions cause these accidents, such as falls from scaffolding or ladders, slips on wet floors in local stores, poorly maintained stairs in apartment complexes, or inadequate supervision in care facilities.
Violence-Related Spinal Cord Injuries Requiring Legal Action
According to a study published in the Asian Spine Journal, gunshot wounds and other assaults make up approximately 13.5% of spinal cord injuries nationwide. These cases can involve both criminal charges and civil claims. Property owners in high-crime areas may share liability when inadequate security allows assaults to occur, especially in parking lots, apartment complexes, and commercial properties with a history of violent incidents.
Types and Severity of Spinal Cord Injuries in Arlington
The location and completeness of a spinal cord injury determine the extent of paralysis, loss of function, and long-term care needs. These factors play a major role in determining the compensation you may be entitled to receive. Arlington spinal cord injury lawyers work with medical experts to document injury severity and its impact on a victim’s life.
Complete and Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries Explained
A complete injury results in total loss of movement and sensation below the injury site, requiring extensive care and accommodations. Incomplete injuries preserve some function but often still involve long-term rehabilitation and permanent limitations.
How the Level of a Spinal Cord Injury Affects Compensation
Higher injuries generally cause more extensive paralysis. Cervical injuries can result in quadriplegia, thoracic injuries often cause paraplegia, and lumbar or sacral injuries may allow partial leg movement but still affect mobility and bodily functions. Each injury level presents unique challenges that must be addressed in compensation claims.
Common Complications from Spinal Cord Injuries That Increase Costs
Spinal cord injuries often lead to costly secondary conditions such as pressure sores, respiratory problems, autonomic dysreflexia, chronic pain, blood clots, and other serious health issues. These complications significantly increase lifetime medical expenses and must be factored into comprehensive damage claims.
Medical Treatment and Rehabilitation for Spinal Cord Injuries in Arlington
Spinal cord injury victims have immediate and long-term medical needs that far exceed typical accident injuries. Specialized care is required from the moment of injury through the rest of a victim’s life. Understanding these treatment requirements allows Arlington spinal cord injury attorneys to pursue the full compensation victims deserve.
Emergency Spinal Cord Injury Treatment in Arlington Hospitals
The first hours after a spinal cord injury are critical for minimizing damage and improving recovery chances. Emergency treatment at hospitals such as Medical City Arlington or specialized trauma centers focuses on stabilizing the spine, controlling swelling, and performing surgery to decompress the spinal cord or repair fractures.
Prompt treatment within the first 24 to 48 hours can greatly affect long-term outcomes. Records from this phase provide essential evidence for establishing the extent and cause of the injury.
Rehabilitation Programs for Spinal Cord Injury Victims in the DFW Area
Once the injury is stabilized, rehabilitation begins to help victims adapt to life with paralysis. Comprehensive programs may include:
- Physical therapy to maintain strength and prevent complications
- Occupational therapy to relearn daily activities
- Counseling to address emotional challenges
- Vocational training for adapted work options
- Instruction in wheelchair use and adaptive equipment
Rehabilitation can require months of inpatient treatment followed by years of outpatient therapy, creating significant costs that must be factored into legal claims.
Lifetime Medical Care for Arlington Spinal Cord Injury Patients
Long-term care needs often exceed initial treatment costs. Ongoing expenses may include doctor visits, medications, wound care supplies, and hospitalizations for complications.
Victims may also require adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, home modifications like ramps and lifts, and vehicle modifications to maintain independence. These lifetime needs must be considered when calculating fair compensation.
Legal Rights of Spinal Cord Injury Victims in Texas
Texas law provides multiple avenues for spinal cord injury victims to seek compensation, recognizing the catastrophic nature of these injuries and their lifelong impact. Understanding these legal frameworks helps victims pursue maximum recovery from all responsible parties.
Texas Negligence Claims for Arlington Spinal Cord Injuries
Most spinal cord injury cases result from another party’s failure to exercise reasonable care, creating liability under Texas negligence law. To prove negligence, a plaintiff must show that the defendant owed a duty of care, breached that duty through careless actions or omissions, directly caused the injury, and caused measurable damages.
In Texas, there are no damage caps on economic losses such as medical expenses and lost income in personal injury cases. However, non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, may be capped in certain situations, including cases against government entities and medical malpractice claims under state law.
Product Liability Claims When Defects Cause Spinal Cord Injuries
When defective products cause spinal cord injuries, manufacturers face strict liability regardless of negligence under Texas product liability law.
Common product defects leading to spinal injuries include vehicle roof crush in rollovers due to inadequate strength, seatback failures allowing occupants to be ejected or crushed, defective safety equipment failing to prevent falls, and medical devices causing complications during spinal procedures. These cases can result in significant compensation because manufacturers have substantial resources and clear legal responsibility for dangerous products.
Premises Liability for Spinal Injuries on Arlington Properties
Property owners in Arlington must maintain safe conditions for visitors, and violations of this duty that cause spinal cord injuries create premises liability. Texas Property Code Chapter 95 outlines property owners’ duties, which vary based on the visitor’s status but generally require addressing known hazards that could cause serious injuries like spinal trauma.
Compensation for Arlington Spinal Cord Injury Victims
The catastrophic nature of spinal cord injuries justifies substantial compensation addressing both economic losses and profound life changes these injuries cause. Experienced Arlington spinal cord injury lawyers pursue comprehensive damages reflecting the true cost of paralysis.
Economic Damages for Spinal Cord Injury Victims in Arlington
Spinal cord injuries create economic losses far exceeding typical accident cases, often totaling millions of dollars over victims’ lifetimes. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation reports that first-year costs alone range from $375,000 to over $1.1 million depending on injury severity. Major economic damages include:
- Past and future medical expenses covering decades of specialized care
- Lost wages from the date of injury through expected retirement
- Lost earning capacity when paralysis prevents return to previous work
- Costs of modifying homes and vehicles for wheelchair accessibility
- Expenses for attendant care when victims need daily assistance
Life care planning experts help calculate these future costs accurately, accounting for inflation and changing medical needs over time, which often reveals total lifetime costs exceeding $5 million for high-level injuries.
Non-Economic Damages in Texas Spinal Cord Injury Cases
In addition to financial losses, spinal cord injuries cause profound and lasting human suffering that Texas law recognizes through non-economic damages. These damages compensate for physical pain and suffering enduring throughout life, mental anguish and emotional trauma from paralysis, loss of enjoyment in activities once central to life, disfigurement and physical impairment affecting self-image, and damage to marital relationships including loss of consortium.
While no amount truly compensates for paralysis, substantial non-economic damages acknowledge the profound impact on quality of life.
Punitive Damages for Gross Negligence Causing Spinal Injuries
When a spinal cord injury is caused by especially reckless conduct, Texas law permits courts to award punitive damages. These damages are intended to punish wrongdoers and deter similar behavior in the future.
Examples include drunk drivers causing paralyzing crashes, employers who knowingly disregard safety regulations leading to falls, manufacturers that conceal known defects resulting in spinal injuries, and property owners who ignore repeated warnings about hazardous conditions. Although Texas law places caps on punitive damages, these awards serve as a strong reminder of the importance of protecting public safety.
Time Limits for Filing Spinal Cord Injury Claims in Arlington
Texas law imposes strict deadlines for filing spinal cord injury lawsuits, making prompt legal consultation vital for protecting your rights. The statute of limitations generally provides two years from the injury date to file personal injury claims, though exceptions may apply for injuries discovered later or cases involving minors.
Government claims require even faster action, with notice requirements as short as six months for certain entities. Missing these deadlines eliminates your right to compensation regardless of injury severity or clear liability, making immediate legal consultation important after any accident causing spinal trauma.
Take Action Now with an Arlington Spinal Cord Injury Attorney
A spinal cord injury can change every part of your life, from your ability to work to your independence at home. Whether caused by a car crash, fall, or act of violence in Arlington, you face a lifetime of medical care, rehabilitation, and support needs.
At Branch & Dhillon, we fight to secure the compensation necessary for your recovery and long-term quality of life. Our contingency fee structure means you pay nothing unless we win.
Do not let insurance companies pressure you into a quick settlement that leaves you without the resources you need. Call (817) 533-3430 today for a free consultation with an Arlington spinal cord injury attorney who will protect your future.