What Is the Average Spinal Cord Injury Settlement Amount in New York?

Settlements may range from thousands to millions of dollars. However, there is no way to know what the average spinal cord injury settlement amount is in New York because many settlements are kept confidential.

Fortunately, you do not have to know the average payout for a spinal injury to get a just settlement based on the extent of your injuries and losses. The New York spinal cord injury lawyers at Oresky & Associates, PLLC, will determine what damages to pursue.

What Does a Spinal Cord Injury Settlement Cover?

Your personal injury claim should demand reimbursement for all past, present, and future losses connected with the accident. This amount varies from case to case. As the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) explains, the severity of your spinal cord injury (SCI) depends on factors like:

• Whether the injury resulted in paralysis, total or partial
• What area of the spine was affected
• If you develop any other health conditions as a result of the SCI

You could be entitled to the following non-economic and economic damages:

• Past and future pain and suffering
• Loss of independence or quality of life
• Partial or total disability
• Lost wages and job benefits, such as union benefits
• Medical bills
• Property damage
• Out-of-pocket expenses

Whether your SCI occurred because of a construction accident, a car accident, or another event, our spinal cord injury attorneys are prepared to fight for just compensation for this life-altering injury. SCIs are among the most catastrophic back injuries an accident victim can suffer. You deserve a settlement that covers all of your losses so you no longer have to worry about whether or not you can afford to rebuild your life.

Factors That Affect Your Spinal Cord Injury Payout Amount in New York

How much compensation you will get for a spinal injury depends on more than just the severity of the SCI itself. This is another reason why the average settlement for a spinal cord injury is both difficult to determine and irrelevant: everyone’s injury is unique and affects them in different ways.

Here are a few factors that often influence NY personal injury settlement amounts:

The Cost of Treating the Spinal Cord Injury

The cost of necessary therapies and other medical treatments is different for everyone. For example, someone who is totally paralyzed from the waist down will need money for wheelchairs and occupational therapy that helps them adapt to life with a permanent disability. Someone with a less severe injury may need money for treatments, such as surgery and physical therapy, designed to help them recover as much as possible.

SCI treatment often lasts a lifetime. It is vital to calculate as accurately as possible the total future value of your medical treatments in addition to pursuing compensation for past care. Our attorneys can review documentary evidence and recruit medical experts to arrive at a reasonable estimate.

How the Spinal Cord Injury Affects Your Income

An SCI settlement should include all professional losses, not just income and benefits but also lost opportunities for advancement and bonuses. The extent of your injury’s impact on your career and finances depends on:

• Whether you are capable of continuing to perform the same tasks at the same level of performance as prior to your injury
• How close you are to retirement age
• To what extent your job can accommodate your disability
• Whether there is other work that you are capable of performing even if you can not return to your pre-injury occupation

Some patients require vocational rehabilitation to qualify for a new job, which is yet another expense that could increase your settlement amount.

As with medical care, we must thoroughly review the evidence to estimate the total, lifelong value of your lost income.

Your Share of Liability for the New York Accident

New York State law allows injury victims to file a legal action even if the victim themselves contributed to the accident. However, the greater your share of liability, the less money you may recover. The liable party’s insurance company may use this law to try to reduce what they owe you by blaming you for the accident. However, our legal team will take appropriate steps to mitigate the impact of your actions.

If the Spinal Cord Injury Is Fatal

If an SCI is severe enough, the accident victim may not survive. The victim’s surviving relatives have the right to recover compensation for their loved one’s suffering and for their own economic losses. The amount you recover for such damages depends on whether your loved one passed away immediately or if they received extensive medical care first.

Wrongful death cases are often difficult and confusing for families to deal with, especially if their loved one started a personal injury action prior to their passing. A back injury lawyer from our firm would be honored to provide you with grounded legal advice.

Call Now for a Free Consultation

Contact Oresky & Associates, PLLC, at (718) 993-9999 for a free, confidential consultation today. Our attorneys are ready to start protecting your rights.

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How to Maximize Your Spinal Cord Injury Payout in New York

The first and most important action you can take after an accident is to get medical care. If you experience any symptoms of an SCI — including loss of movement or sensation, breathing problems, trouble walking, or muscle weakness — go to the hospital immediately.

Not only does prompt medical treatment protect your health, it also affects how much compensation you get for a spinal injury by:

• Creating evidence (in the form of a medical record) of your diagnosis, prognosis, and prescribed treatments
• Establishing a connection between the accident and your spinal cord injury
• Proving that you require all of the treatments you have undergone and that you are taking your treatment regimen seriously

After seeing a medical professional, it is a good idea to talk to our New York personal injury lawyers. We will help you pursue maximum compensation by:

• Collecting all available evidence
• Advising you of what to say (and what not to say) to the insurance company
• Evaluating the insurer’s settlement offers and refusing offers that do not reflect your losses
• Negotiating aggressively for a settlement amount that will allow you to pay for your care and support your family for as long as your injury continues to affect your life

Our Lawyers Pursue Just Compensation for Spinal Cord Injuries

Do not worry about the average spinal cord injury settlement amount. Our New York attorneys will fight for the settlement you and your family need. During our 30+ years in personal injury law, we have recovered over $500 million in settlements and verdicts for our clients. That includes money won for undocumented immigrants: at Oresky & Associates, PLLC, we only care about pursuing justice, not your status.

Call (718) 993-9999 to learn more for free.