St. Louis Spinal Cord Injury Attorney

At The Floyd Law Firm, our St. Louis spinal cord injury attorneys represent victims and their families as they seek justice and financial compensation for preventable accidents. We can help you hold one or more parties accountable for causing or contributing to a spinal cord injury. Contact us today for a free case consultation in St. Louis.

If you suffer a spinal cord injury, your life may never be the same. These injuries can impact the way you move, feel, and function.

Why Choose Us for Your Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers in St. Louis?

For a serious injury, you deserve serious representation. The father/son legal team at The Floyd Law Firm has successfully secured large settlements and jury verdicts for injury victims in St. Louis for decades in a law firm with local roots dating back to 1959. We offer many advantages to advance your case to the best possible resolution including the following:

• A free case evaluation and no attorney’s fees paid until after you recover compensation
• A legal team with a powerful local reputation for success, including a recent jury award for $7 million in a car accident case and a $2.25 million settlement in a defective product case
• A 90-percent referral rate from satisfied clients
• Open communication and availability throughout all stages of the claim process
• A resolution-based approach to maximize your chances for an out-of-court settlement
• Powerful litigators who won’t hesitate to take your case to court if required to recover full compensation for your losses

Attorney Mark L. Floyd has a 98-percent success rate and was the youngest attorney to receive an A rating for ability from the Martindale Hubbell Law Directory. His father, Attorney Walter Floyd, has decades of experience in personal injury law in Missouri and is ranked in the country’s top one percent by the National Association of Distinguished Counsel.

What Compensation is Available for a Spinal Injury?

At The Floyd Law Firm, our St. Louis personal injury lawyers understand that no amount of money can make up for a spinal cord injury that may affect you for the rest of your life. However, we also recognize the peace of mind that can come with greater financial stability as you plan for the future. Our St. Louis spinal cord injury lawyers can fight for compensation for the following losses, and more:

• Past and future medical costs: surgeries, emergency care, physical therapy, rehabilitation, prescription medications, mobility-assistive devices, and around-the-clock care.
• Lost wages: reimbursement for wages lost from the date of the accident to the date that you file an injury claim, as well as lost future capacity to earn due to a long-term disability or paralysis.
• Pain and suffering: intangible losses from the injury, such as loss of enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

We can seek compensation for all of your accident-related losses, which may include property damage, travel and transportation costs, and other out-of-pocket expenses. Our St. Louis spinal cord injury attorneys know how to negotiate insurance settlements as well as when to go to court on a client’s behalf. You can trust us to seek maximum financial compensation for you.

Types of Spinal Cord Injuries

The spinal cord is a critical part of the body. A spine injury can have significant consequences for a victim. Even an injury that is classified as minor could lead to chronic pain, loss of mobility, and other long-term effects. The various types of spinal cord injuries include:

• Spinal concussion
• Vertebrae fracture
• Disc herniation
• Nerve damage
• Soft-tissue injury
• Cervical spine injury
• Thoracic spine injury
• Lumbar spine injury
• Sacral spine injury
• Complete spinal cord injury
• Incomplete spinal cord injury
• Paralysis (paraplegia, quadriplegia, etc.)

A severe spinal cord injury could result in a total loss of feeling (sensation) and motor function from the point of injury down, known as paralysis. It can also impact the function of the bowel, bladder, and sexual organs, as well as the respiratory system and ability to breathe. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for paralysis.

The Effects of a Spinal Cord Injury

Spinal cord injury effects vary in severity depending on the height of the injury in the spinal column. Injuries in the sacral and lumbar spine have milder effects in which injury victims may retain some function and movement, sometimes including bladder and bowel control. Individuals with injuries low on the spine may be able to walk with assistive equipment.

Those suffering spinal cord injuries to the thoracic region of the spine, or mid to upper back, retain movement and function in their upper body and arms but require a wheelchair and bladder and bowel assistance.

Spinal cord injuries in the cervical spine or neck region have the greatest impact with loss of movement and ability below the neck, requiring assistive equipment and full-time care.

Spinal cord injuries cause disability ranging from mild and severe, to total disability. The life-altering effects also cause a high risk of related medical conditions such as:

• Pressure sores
• Respiratory problems
• Osteoporosis/fragile bones
• Depression, anxiety, and PTSD

Many spinal cord injury victims achieve a level of independence but require rehabilitation, ongoing medical care, and assistive equipment.

Facing the financial impacts of a spinal cord injury in addition to the life-altering physical effects quickly becomes overwhelming. A successful claim for damages relieves financial hardship so you can focus on achieving the maximum medical improvement in your case.

Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries in St. Louis

Negligence, or the failure to act with ordinary care, causes many spinal cord injuries in Missouri. At The Floyd Law Firm, our St. Louis spinal cord injury attorneys can help our clients go up against negligent parties after the following types of accidents result in spine injuries:

• Motor vehicle accidents
• Truck accidents
• Bicycle and pedestrian collisions
• Workplace accidents
• Repetitive motions at work
• Slip and Fall accidents
• Medical malpractice
• Birth injuries
• Sports injuries
• Diving accidents
• Acts of violence

Our St. Louis personal injury lawyers have years of experience handling many types of accident claims. We know how to navigate both catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases in St. Louis involving spinal cord injuries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who Can I Hold Liable for My Spinal Cord Injury?

If your spinal cord injury directly resulted from the careless, reckless, or wrongful actions of another person or business, they are liable for your damages. This typically comes through an insurance policy. Many spinal cord injury victims file claims against multiple parties to recover the maximum amount of compensation. Because spinal cord injuries cause a lifetime of expenses, the damages typically far exceed the maximum insurance coverage from one liable party. For example, a spinal cord injury claim with multiple defendants could include a truck driver for drowsy driving, the trucking company for failure to enforce driving hour limitations, and a negligent road maintenance company for a poorly designed intersection.

What If I Am Partly Responsible for My Injury?

Missouri has pure comparative negligence insurance laws that allow injury victims to recover a portion of their damages after an injury, even if they were partly at fault. This provision is under Missouri statute 537.765:

“The defendant may plead and prove the fault of the plaintiff as an affirmative defense. Any fault chargeable to the plaintiff shall diminish proportionately the amount awarded as compensatory damages but shall not bar recovery.”

In other words, if you contributed to the injury’s occurrence—for instance because you came to a sudden stop for an animal in the road, but a distracted driver hit you from behind at full speed—you could be found 25 percent at fault. This means you’d still recover 75 percent of your total damages, or $750,000 in a $1 million claim.

Will I Have to Go to Court for My Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

The vast majority of cases settle out of court, especially when a skilled attorney establishes strong evidence of the at-fault party or parties’ liability. We take a case to court only when an insurance company wrongfully denies a valid claim, undervalues the amount of the claim in their settlement offer, or if your damages far exceed the limits of the insurance coverage.

If your case goes to trial, the experienced attorneys at The Floyd Law firm will aggressively defend your rights, carefully prepare evidence and witness testimony, and guide you through the process with he goal of seeking the highest possible award for your damages. Although the court process takes longer than a settlement, jury verdicts are often much larger than the amount you’d recover in a settlement.

How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit?

The timing of your claim is important. Rather than accepting a fast settlement offer which is almost always much less than what’s available to you, it’s best to wait to file a claim until after you have a full understanding of the scope of damages you’re facing, including your future expenses.

Missouri has a generous five-year statute of limitations on personal injury claims, including spinal cord injury claims according to state statute 516.120. This means you have time to negotiate the largest possible settlement but if the case requires court litigation, you have to file a lawsuit within the five-year time limit.

How Do I Prove Future Damages in a Spinal Cord Injury Claim?

Your attorney from The Floyd Law Firm has connections and resources such as medical experts who provide important testimony about the impacts of a spinal cord injury and paralysis on all aspects of the victim’s life. This effectively disputes an insurance company’s common attempts to undervalue a claim for damages. Medical doctors and vocational therapists are helpful expert witnesses in spinal cord injury claims.

Contact Our St. Louis Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Today

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a back, neck, or spinal cord injury after any type of accident in St. Louis, contact a spinal cord injury lawyer at The Floyd Law Firm for legal advice. We will review your case for free and determine whether it has merit.

If so, we can advocate for your rights and best interests during claim negotiations. Call (314) 863-4114 or send us a message online today and we will get back to you as soon as possible.