Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers in Colorado Springs

A spinal cord injury can cause paralysis below the level of the injury, complete or partial, along with loss of sensation, bladder and bowel function, and breathing in the highest injuries. The higher on the spine and the more complete the injury, the greater the loss. Vehicle crashes, falls, and diving and sports accidents cause most of them.

What a spinal cord injury claim has to cover

These claims are about the future. The costs of a spinal cord injury continue for life and change over time:

• Acute hospital care and surgery, then inpatient rehabilitation.
• Wheelchairs and other equipment, which wear out and must be replaced.
• Home and vehicle modifications.
• Attendant care, sometimes around the clock.
• Medication and treatment of complications such as pressure sores, infections, and respiratory problems.
• Lost earnings, and lost earning capacity over a working life.

A life care plan prepared by rehabilitation and medical professionals sets out those needs year by year, and an economist calculates their present value. A settlement reached without that work almost always falls short.

Damages Colorado doesn’t cap

Colorado caps noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, at $1.5 million for claims arising on or after January 1, 2025. Economic damages are not capped, and neither are damages for physical impairment. Paralysis is the clearest example of physical impairment there is, and that element of the claim should be proved and presented on its own.

Incomplete injuries and recovery

With an incomplete injury, some function below the injury remains, and some people recover further over months. That uncertainty is a reason not to settle early. The medical picture usually takes time to settle.

Who pays

Serious spinal injuries exceed most individual insurance policies. Finding every responsible party (the driver, an employer, a trucking company, a property owner, a vehicle or equipment manufacturer) and every applicable policy, including your own underinsured motorist coverage, often determines what can actually be recovered.

How we handle spinal cord injury claims

We work with the treating physicians and bring in life care planners and economists, identify every source of recovery, and account for public benefits and health insurance liens that affect what you keep. The claim is built around the life you’ll be living, not the bills to date.