Southfield Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Spinal cord injuries are always serious and typically lead to periods of convalescence that may be long-term. In some cases, victims of these injuries face permanent consequences that they must learn to live with for the rest of their lives. The financial and emotional impacts can be overwhelming. Fortunately, some spinal cord injury victims can recover compensation for their losses with the help of an experienced Southfield spinal cord injury lawyer.

Why Choose Goodman Acker to Represent You?

A Track Record of Excellence

Our firm’s track record of client wins demonstrates our dedication to getting results for our clients. After years of quality and passionate service, we are proud to say that we have put millions of dollars into the hands of our clients.

From the outset, Goodman Acker has always championed the rights of injury victims. At an early age, firm founder Barry J. Goodman decided he would dedicate his life to helping injury victims receive just compensation. His father, a postal employee, was injured in an on-the-job car accident and did not receive a fair compensation award.

Since starting the firm, Attorney Goodman has tirelessly led his team of seasoned professionals in the fight to secure the funds that their clients need.

It takes more than knowledge to successfully and regularly recover the highest compensation available for clients — it takes passion. If you have experienced a spinal cord injury, you’ll want to be represented by a firm that:

• Offers 24/7 availability for client concerns
• Has an extensive track record of wins for clients
• Has a passion for fighting for justice for injury victims
• Boasts industry-recognized attorneys ready to fight for you
• Regularly contributes to national and local news broadcasts on legal topics
• Has the experience and knowledge to represent clients all the way to trial if necessary.

Compensation for Your Losses

Spinal cord injury victims incur substantial losses. Many are forced out of the workplace for extended periods. With no income coming in, they face financial ruin. However, suppose you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury, you may be entitled to significant compensation if your spinal cord injury attorney can prove that someone else’s negligence played a role in your injury.

Compensation for Economic Losses

Mounting medical bills and expenses related to domestic homecare services are common with spinal cord injuries. Add on the lost income victims typically experience, and you have got a perfect storm of financial ruin. Sadly, many spinal cord injury victims face long-term or lifelong paralysis, which leads to the need for permanent, expensive medical and domestic care.

With a Southfield spinal cord injury attorney from our firm representing you, you can be sure that every penny of your verifiable financial losses will be part of your claim.

Compensation for Non-Economic Losses

Michigan law also allows injury victims to recoup compensation for certain losses that are not tangible but just as real. These non-economic losses include:

• Pain and suffering
• Physical impairment
• Physical disfigurement
• Loss of society and companionship.

Often, insurance companies object to awarding victims full compensation for their non-economic losses. However, every spinal cord injury lawyer fights hard to hold insurance companies accountable for the full compensation they must pay.

Accountability for Your Spinal Injury

Accountability, or liability, is one of the first things your spinal injury attorney will seek to prove when they take your case.

Various contexts exist in which spinal cord injuries may occur. Establishing liability in your situation requires your spinal cord injury lawyer to identify and analyze the actions of your injurer to determine whether they fell below a required standard of care. Standard of care refers to a level of safe behavior that one must maintain in a particular situation.

Traffic Situations

Vehicles can become deadly weapons when operated incorrectly. For this reason, all motorists must maintain certain standards of care or be deemed negligent.

Some of the behaviors that drivers must engage in to be considered safe motorists include:

• Keeping their eyes on the road
• Staying cognizant of blind spots
• Obeying traffic signs and signals
• Driving at or below the speed limit
• Signaling and yielding when appropriate.

Sadly, motorists are often negligent and cause serious injuries, including spinal cord injuries. Many of the forces that victims experience in traffic lend themselves to spinal cord injuries.

Whipping motions, for example, are common in all types of crashes. Rapid whipping does not only lead to soft tissue damage of the neck (whiplash), but it can also cause spinal column damage as well as damage to the spine. Twisting forces are also common in traffic accidents and can cause the spinal cord to snap.

Whatever the cause of your accident, your Southfield spinal cord injury attorney must identify it and determine whether it can be blamed on negligence or recklessness.

Violence

Violence is one of the leading causes of spinal injuries in Michigan and across the nation. According to the Mayo Clinic, approximately 12% of spinal cord injuries can be directly attributed to violent behavior, most notably the use of guns and knives.

In these cases, criminal charges are likely to run parallel to any civil claim for compensation, which can significantly benefit the victim. For example, if the criminal case against an injurer yields a plea of guilty or a guilty verdict, the claim for compensation will be much easier to prove.

Falls

Those aged 65 and above are more likely to suffer a spinal cord injury from a fall than from any other cause.

Although falls occur in various situations, the following scenarios are most common:

• Slipping, tripping, and falling, which is the most common situation
• Falling down steps or stairs
• Falling from a building
• Falling off a ladder.

When landing after a fall, individuals can experience a few types of force that can damage their spinal cord, including twisting, whipping, and bending. Additionally, blunt force trauma to the spinal column can easily send bone shards into the spinal cord like tiny daggers.

If you were involved in a fall, your spinal cord injury lawyer will determine the cause of the fall and build a liability case. In many cases, premises liability comes into play, which deals with a property owner’s responsibility to keep their property reasonably safe for the public.

Consider a staircase with a faulty step or a slippery landing. In either case, the property owner or tenant may be held liable for injuries that happen due to these dangerous conditions. However, if someone falls off a defective ladder, the liability could potentially rest with the ladder designer or manufacturer.

Sports

Numerous sports-related activities can lead to spinal cord injuries because of the impacts players often experience. High-level protection exists for many games, but few, if any, provide significant protection against spinal cord damage.

Some of the sports that produce many of the spinal cord injuries victims experience include:

• Skiing
• Rugby
• Boxing
• Cycling
• Football
• Wrestling
• Snowboarding
• Aquatic sports and games.

Although it might be hard to believe, aquatic sports account for the most spinal cord injuries in the sports category, and cycling accounts for the most overall spinal injuries in general, which include both spinal cord and spinal column injuries.

Although many sports are inherently risky and participants are deemed to assume some of the risks involved, injury victims retain their rights to sue for negligent, reckless, or intentional actions that cause them harm.

In some cases, the focus of sports injury lawsuits is on other players. However, other parties are also typically held to answer for negligence, including:

• Coaches
• Officials and referees
• Facility owners for negligent upkeep of facilities and equipment.

Whoever is at fault for your spinal cord injury, a Southfield spinal injury lawyer from our firm can find out and help you hold them accountable.

How Our Southfield Spinal Injury Lawyers Can Help

You Get to Take Care of You While We Handle Your Case

Spinal cord injury cases are complex, and victims typically need a substantial period of time and energy to recover when possible. That’s why hiring an experienced Southfield spinal cord injury attorney is essential not only to your claim for compensation but also for your peace of mind while you recover.

Collecting compensation is not automatic, nor is it accomplished by simply filling out some paperwork. In every case, there are forces at work pushing to get accident victims to accept less than their cases deserve.

At Goodman Acker, we counter unreasonable insurance companies at every turn and build the strongest case possible for each one of our clients. Being successful requires strict attention to detail as well as working endlessly to achieve the results we want.

When you hire a spinal cord injury lawyer from our firm, they will handle all aspects of your case, including:

• Hiring relevant experts, including medical and accident recreation experts
• Negotiating with adjusters for maximum compensation
• Managing paperwork and documents
• Going all the way to trial if necessary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Spinal cord injury cases can be confusing on many levels. Please review the frequently asked questions listed below. We hope they provide information that is helpful to you.

What is the time limit for filing a spinal injury lawsuit?

In Michigan, spinal cord injury victims have a three-year window to file a lawsuit for their injuries. After three years, there is no incentive for insurance companies to pay victims a proper amount since victims can no longer sue. Sadly, many spinal cord victims wait too long to take action and find themselves with stale claims and substantial losses with no avenue for recourse. For this reason, it is important to take swift legal action when seeking compensation.

Can I afford a Southfield spinal injury attorney?

Yes. Your only financial obligation to your spinal injury lawyer comes at the end of your case when you pay a percentage of your compensation for your spinal injury attorney’s fees and expenses. But before this happens, you owe nothing. For spinal injury victims with limited resources, paying at the end helps them conserve their resources during the claims process.

How long can I expect my spinal injury claim to take?

It depends on many factors. Generally speaking, relatively simple claims (where liability is clearly established) can be resolved less than a few months after the claim is filed. However, if difficult or complex legal issues are part of your claim, the case could take over a year or more, especially if it must go to trial.

Should I accept an insurance company’s settlement offer?

You should not accept any offer from an insurance company if you have not first consulted with an experienced spinal cord injury lawyer. Before saying yes to any insurance company’s offer, you need to know if their offer is worth of your losses. The professional most qualified to accurately evaluate your offer with your best interests in mind is a spinal cord injury attorney. Once you hire a spinal cord injury lawyer, they have the ethical responsibility to advise you and work toward your best interests.

Contact Goodman Acker Today

A Southfield Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer Is Ready to Help

A Southfield spinal cord injury lawyer is ready to evaluate your case for no charge and help you explore your options for compensation.

LEGALLY REVIEWED BY BARRY J. GOODMAN

Barry J. Goodman has devoted his professional life to keeping courthouse doors open for victims seeking justice. Always a tireless advocate for his own clients, Goodman sees his responsibility as a Detroit personal injury attorney in a broader sense as well. [ Attorney Bio ]