The spinal cord is a bundle of nerves that proceeds out of the brain, down the back, and then breaks out into individual nerves that serve every part of the body. A spinal cord injury is an injury to that bundle of nerves coming down through your back. Spinal cord injuries warrant legal pursuit when they are caused by someone else’s dangerous behavior. If someone causes a spinal cord injury to another individual, then the party who caused the injury can be held liable, giving rise to a lawsuit or to a legal claim with the help of a skilled injury attorney. If you wish to pursue compensation for your injuries, do not hesitate to reach out to a professional Chattanooga spinal cord injury lawyer as soon as possible for assistance.
Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries
Types of Spinal Cord Injuries
Complete spinal cord injuries result in total loss of sensation and motor function below the injury site. These injuries typically cause permanent paralysis, with tetraplegia (affecting all limbs) occurring with higher-placed injuries and paraplegia (affecting the lower limbs) with lower-placed injuries.
Incomplete spinal cord injuries allow some signals to pass through the damaged area. With these injuries, you may retain some function below the injury site, though the extent varies widely among individuals.
Long-Term Effects
Spinal cord injuries often cause:
- Paralysis (paraplegia or tetraplegia)
- Loss of sensation
- Chronic pain
- Respiratory difficulties
- Bowel and bladder dysfunction
- Sexual dysfunction
- Increased risk of secondary conditions
- Mental health challenges
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
- Car Accidents: Vehicle crashes are a leading cause of spinal cord injuries. The violent impact of a crash can fracture or dislocate vertebrae, damaging the delicate spinal cord tissue within.
- Slips and Falls: Falls—particularly among older adults and construction workers on a jobsite—are another common cause. Whether falling from a ladder or roof or because of unsafe property conditions, these accidents can result in devastating spinal damage.
- Other Workplace Accidents: Heavy machinery, falling objects, and unsafe working conditions put workers at risk for spinal cord injuries, particularly in construction, manufacturing, and industrial settings.
- Medical Malpractice: Surgical errors, missed diagnoses, and improper treatment can sometimes lead to preventable spinal cord damage.
Your Legal Rights After a Spinal Cord Injury
A spinal cord injury can result in millions of dollars in lifetime expenses. You may be entitled to compensation for:
- Emergency medical treatment
- Ongoing medical care
- Rehabilitation services
- Assistive technology and home modifications for disability accommodation
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Tennessee Personal Injury Laws Impact Your Case
Tennessee follows comparative negligence rules, which can affect your compensation if you were found to be partly at fault for your accident. Tennessee also has a short, one-year statute of limitations, making it critical to consult an attorney quickly after your injury.
Why Time Is Critical
Evidence disappears, witnesses’ memories fade, and legal deadlines approach with each passing day. The sooner you contact us, the better we can protect your rights and build your case.
Treatment Methods
A spinal cord injury frequently includes surgery which is usually followed by intense rehabilitation and physical therapy that may include managing the patient’s nutrition. Sometimes individuals have to relearn to walk or to use their hands, which means a great deal of occupational therapy. Others will need psychological treatment to deal with the frustration, the fear, or the worry that results from this type of loss.
There will often be ongoing doctor’s appointments, therapy appointments, and medication for a long period of time. These treatment options are always very expensive and can cost thousands of dollars. The more treatment that is needed, the higher the expense will be. For this reason, it can be very important to retain the help of an experienced Chattanooga spinal cord injury lawyer who can fight for an individual’s medical coverage.
Long-Term Consequences
Some common causes of spinal cord injuries include trauma to the neck and the lower back. They often result from car wrecks, from people falling, or from someone being yanked in a certain direction. They can also result from lifting injuries and other things of that nature. Unfortunately, families are often turned upside-down by spinal cord injuries. When a family member is not able to live their normal life, it changes the lives of everyone else they live with and love. It ultimately will change where everyone goes and what everyone does on many occasions. It also affects how someone feels.
When an individual is suffering from fear, worry, and physical pain, there are a lot of negative emotions and negative feelings that can impact other members of the family. Those members of the family are also experiencing worry, frustration, and fear of their own. These things can really damage how a family functions, and are not forgotten when advocating for injury compensation. Know that a skilled Chattanooga spinal cord injury lawyer could help an individual fight for compensation for their loss of enjoyment of life, mental anguish, and suffering as well.
How Gary Massey Injury Lawyers Can Help
Spinal cord injuries change lives in an instant, and the legal process that follows can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re trying to focus on recovery, rehabilitation, and day-to-day life here in Chattanooga.
At Gary Massey Injury Lawyers, we guide clients and their families through some of the most challenging moments of their lives with clear communication, local experience, and a commitment to fighting for the full value of their futures. Here’s how our team supports spinal cord injury victims across the Scenic City and Hamilton County.
Insider Knowledge of Insurance Companies
Before founding Gary Massey Injury Lawyers, Gary Massey worked for insurance companies. This experience gives our firm unique insight into how insurance adjusters evaluate claims and the tactics they use to minimize payouts.
Because we’ve handled spinal cord injury claims involving crashes on I-24, construction-related falls in downtown Chattanooga, and serious collisions on Amnicola Highway or Highway 153, we know exactly how local insurers operate in Hamilton County. Their playbook is familiar to us—and we know how to counter every page of it.
Building Strong Cases With Expert Testimony
Spinal cord injury cases require sophisticated medical and economic evidence, especially when the injury requires long-term treatment at facilities like Erlanger and Siskin Hospital for Physical Rehabilitation here in Chattanooga.
We work with neurologists, life-care planners, vocational experts, rehabilitation specialists from the Tennessee Valley region, and other professionals who can clearly explain the full scope of your injuries, limitations, and lifetime needs.
Whether your treatment involves ongoing therapy at a local clinic or major surgical intervention, we make sure your damages reflect the reality of living with an SCI in the Chattanooga area.
Skilled Negotiation and Litigation
While we resolve many cases through negotiation, we prepare every case as if it will go to trial. Insurance companies in Chattanooga know our firm’s reputation and understand we’re fully prepared to take your case to Hamilton County Court, or anywhere your case is set, if that’s what it takes to secure justice.
Whether the case involves a crash on the Ridgecut or a fall on a property near North Shore or Hixson, we’re ready to take it to court when insurers refuse to offer a fair settlement.
Our litigation-ready approach often leads to stronger results. That’s because the other side knows we won’t back down from a challenge, and we do whatever it takes to help our clients get the money they deserve.
The Massey Promise
Choosing Gary Massey Injury Lawyers means partnering with a firm that puts your interests above all else:
- Our Core Commitment: We fight for your rights with a rare combination of tenacity, truthfulness, and empathy.
- Risk-Free Representation: If you are dissatisfied with our service in the first 30 days, you can end our relationship without paying a single expense.
- Transparent Counsel: We provide straightforward assessments of your case – never sugarcoating reality or distorting facts.
- Highly Selective Practice: We deliberately accept fewer than 1 in 10 potential cases, ensuring we fully commit to clients whose causes we believe in.
- Your Success Is Our Metric: Every recommendation and strategy we develop is guided by one principle: maximizing your ultimate benefit.
The Role of a Chattanooga Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
A compassionate Chattanooga spinal cord injury lawyer needs to help the patient receive the best medical treatment they can. They can help them navigate the difficult waters of health insurance and other types of insurance that may be involved. A devoted attorney can assist them in understanding that they can still have a good life in spite of their injury while easing the difficulty and the frustration of going through the process of a legal claim.
In order to win their case, a qualified Chattanooga spinal cord injury lawyer will have to convince the insurance company to pay a fair amount or take the case to trial to convince a jury to award their desired compensation. The attorney plays an extremely large role in the process, and ultimately wants to help their plaintiff as much as possible after such a serious loss. If you wish to fight for your deserved compensation, schedule an initial consultation with a knowledgeable Chattanooga spinal cord injury lawyer today.
Contact Gary Massey Injury Lawyers Today
Getting maximum compensation after a spinal cord injury requires working with a team who knows how to get results. If you or a loved one has suffered a catastrophic injury because of someone else’s negligence, Gary Massey Injury Lawyers is here to help.
Whether you need legal advice, have a question about your case, or want to schedule a consultation, we’re ready with the support you need. Contact us today to get started.
