Fargo Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers
Automobile collisions, semi collisions, motorcycle collisions, ATV/UTV rollovers, and bicycle accidents can all result in spinal cord injuries. Being told you have suffered a spinal cord injury is one of the most terrifying diagnoses that can be given to a patient. What follows often involves surgical interventions, medical flights to specialized rehabilitative centers such as Craig in Denver, Colorado, months of rehabilitation, securing adaptive equipment, and modification of the home prior to your return. The loss of independence is profound.
That medical reality comes with an immediate financial reality. Many families carry high deductible policies that kick in after the medical coverage on a motor vehicle is exhausted. Spouses take time off work to care for the injured person and to accompany them to specialized medical facilities that may be located out of state, resulting in the loss of wages from not just the injured party, but from their spouse as well. While this is occurring, the at-fault person’s insurance carrier and defense attorney will be working to limit their exposure to lessen or eliminate the money they legally owe for the profound injury they caused. Money that may be necessary for a client to meet their basic medical and financial needs.
Spinal cord injuries are catastrophic losses that have the potential of generating nuclear verdicts in favor of the injured party. This provides insurance carriers with the incentive to attempt early and insufficient settlements with the injured party whenever possible. The long-term damages resulting from a spinal cord injury are impossible to determine early, and Vogel’s spinal cord injury attorneys work to ensure that you receive full and fair compensation for the personal and financial losses you have suffered to date and for those you will reasonably suffer in the future.
Our Fargo spinal cord injury lawyers at Vogel Law Firm represent catastrophically injured clients across North Dakota and Minnesota and surrounding regions. We understand how to work up the liability claim and understand the medical complexity these cases demand. We provide you with free consultations at a location convenient to you. We will meet with you in our office, at your home, or at the hospital if requested to do so. Contact us today to discuss your situation.
Why Vogel Law Firm Handles Spinal Cord Injury Cases Across North Dakota and Minnesota
Catastrophic injury claims require more than general personal injury knowledge. They require attorneys who understand the medical evidence, the lifetime cost projections for medical care, and loss of earning capacity. We have successfully handled many cases involving paralysis throughout North Dakota, Minnesota, and surrounding regions. We work with treating physicians, independent medical consultants, and life care planners to document your current condition and to determine what you need as compensation to ensure you are well taken care of for the balance of your lifetime.
From the day you retain us, we will handle all contact with insurance adjusters so you can focus on your medical treatment while we manage the legal process. We take spinal cord injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means you pay no attorney fees for our time and effort unless we recover compensation on your behalf.
The Obstacles Spinal Cord Injury Claims Present and How We Work Through Them
Pursuing a legal claim while recovering from a spinal cord injury is nearly impossible to handle without the assistance of one of our attorneys. Each obstacle below directly affects the value of your case if left unaddressed.
- Early settlement pressure: Insurers may present a settlement offer shortly after the accident, before your full prognosis is established. Accepting an early settlement means you cannot go back when the full scope of your losses are learned and what will be offered will almost surely fall far short of your lifetime costs and needs. We advise our clients on what is in their best interest as you continue your medical care and recovery.
- Shared fault arguments: In most cases, a defense attorney or liability carrier will try to dispute they are entirely at fault for causing your injury. This is a money argument intended to lower the amount of damages they will pay you for your losses. They will try to say you are substantially at fault for causing your injuries. In order to see you receive full and fair compensation for all your losses, the Vogel Law Firm spinal injury attorneys investigate crash scene evidence, obtain evidence from the eyewitnesses and equipment used, videos, collision reconstruction, and we will establish fault accurately.
- Underestimated lifetime costs: A first-year medical bill does not reflect what a spinal cord injury costs over a lifetime. Assistive devices, home modifications, personal care assistance, modified vehicles, ongoing therapy, and lost future income can total several million dollars. We work with life care planners and economic analysts to build projections that reflect the actual long-term needs of our clients.
- Rural accident documentation challenges: Accidents on remote highways or oil field access roads often involve delayed emergency response, limited witness availability, and degraded physical evidence. Once retained, the Vogel Law Firm spinal injury attorneys will act quickly to preserve accident scene data, vehicle data and recorded information, and will seek all available surveillance or dashcam footage before it is lost.
Addressing these challenges from the earliest stages of a case is what separates an inadequate outcome from one that fully and fairly compensates an injured party for the losses incurred over a lifetime. It is important that we be involved in your case as quickly as possible.
What Compensation Looks Like in a Spinal Cord Injury Case
Spinal cord injury cases affect every dimension of a person’s life.
- Emergency and acute medical care: Emergency transport, surgical intervention, intensive care, and acute rehabilitation represent immediate and often enormous costs that are the starting point of any spinal cord injury claim.
- Lifetime medical and care costs: Ongoing physical therapy, specialist visits, prescription medications, adaptive equipment, home health aides, and potential future surgeries are projected using life care planning and medical experts and are included in the full damages calculation.
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity: A spinal cord injury that prevents return to work, limits future earning potential and employment options, or requires reduced hours, all carry economic values calculated from the date of the injury forward through a lifetime using experts such as life care planners and expert economists.
- Home and vehicle modifications: Wheelchair-accessible home modifications, vehicle adaptive equipment, and relocation costs are concrete financial losses that may be part of your claim.
- Pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment: Non-economic damages for physical pain, emotional distress, and the loss of activities, loss of relationships, and loss of quality of life are recoverable and represent a significant portion of total damages.
- Loss of consortium: Spouses and close family members may recover for the loss of companionship, support, and the relationship changes that follow a catastrophic injury.
Understanding the legal framework in the state where your accident occurred is critical in order to receive full and fair compensation for your losses. The location of your accident will determine which state’s law governs your claim. Each state carries its own limitations and times within which to commence a claim, which are too numerous to list here. It is important you contact one of our attorneys as soon as possible to protect your rights.
The Vogel Law Firm spinal cord injury lawyers offer a free consultation during which we will happily go through the various factors of your potential case and will advise you of what we believe to be your best course of action.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spinal Cord Injury Claims in North Dakota and Minnesota
How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit?
Both North Dakota and Minnesota generally allow six years from the date of injury to file a personal injury lawsuit based on negligence. However, some personal injury cases have much shorter times for you to file a claim. We offer free consultations in all spinal cord injury cases, so you should not hesitate to contact us immediately to learn how much time you are allowed to file a lawsuit. Failure to learn this deadline may result in your potential case being barred by law.
In all cases, the longer you delay hiring one of our spinal cord injury attorneys, the more difficult it becomes to gather evidence to prosecute the case on your behalf. Physical evidence from the accident scene deteriorates, witnesses’ memories fade, electronic data from vehicles, traffic cameras, and cell phones may become unavailable. Acting early helps preserve legal options that may no longer be available if you delay.
What if I was partly at fault for the accident that caused my spinal cord injury?
Partial fault does not automatically bar recovery in North Dakota or Minnesota, but it may affect the amount of damages you are legally entitled to recover. Our attorneys can assist you in recovering a full and fair award intended to fully compensate you for your losses, regardless of how the incident occurred.
What is the difference between a complete and incomplete spinal cord injury for a legal claim?
Medical classification affects prognosis, expected recovery, and lifetime care costs, all of which directly affect the damages calculation in a spinal cord injury claim. A complete spinal injury involves total loss of motor and sensory function below the level where the injury occurred. An incomplete spinal injury means the client will retain some function and may carry a different long-term outlook. Life care planners use these classifications to project future costs, and the legal value of your claim depends significantly on accurate medical documentation and prognosis from your treating physicians. While these medical classifications mean different things, both are catastrophic losses for our clients and family, and the Vogel Law Firm will treat them with the gravity they deserve.
Can I pursue a claim if my spinal cord injury happened in a North Dakota oil field accident?
Yes. You may be able to recover if a third party’s negligence caused your injury, such as defective equipment from an outside manufacturer, a subcontractor’s careless conduct, or a vehicle accident on an oil field access road involving a separate company’s driver. In such examples, a personal injury claim against that third party may be available. A free consultation with our attorneys clarifies whether a third-party liability claim would apply to your situation.
What if the driver who caused my accident did not have enough insurance?
When liability coverage falls short of compensating for the actual losses suffered, in cases involving a motor vehicle, the underinsured motorist coverage carried on your own auto policy may provide additional recovery. Both North Dakota and Minnesota require this coverage.
Additional liable parties, such as a trucking company, an employer, or a property owner, may also carry separate coverage. Identifying every available source of recovery is one of the first priorities in our case evaluation, and it often produces options that are not apparent from the immediate facts of the accident and it is not something that would be commonly shared with you by an insurance carrier or defense attorney.
How much does it cost to hire a spinal cord injury attorney at Vogel Law Firm?
We take spinal cord injury cases on a contingency fee basis. You pay no attorney fees upfront and will pay no fees at all unless we recover compensation on your behalf. The initial consultation is free.
Reach Out to Our Fargo Spinal Cord Injury Attorneys Today
A spinal cord injury reshapes every aspect of life going forward, and the legal decisions made in the months following the accident determine whether you have the financial foundation to meet those long-term needs. Lifetime care, lost income, and the broader human cost of a catastrophic injury all belong in a fully developed claim, and building that claim takes time.
Our attorneys at Vogel Law Firm represent spinal cord injury victims across North Dakota and Minnesota and surrounding regions. We understand the regional accident conditions, the medical complexity of catastrophic injury cases, and the way insurance companies approach high-value claims. We work on a contingency fee basis so that the cost of retaining an attorney to represent your interests won’t cause you to delay getting the legal help you need.
Contact the Vogel Law Firm’s spinal cord injury attorneys for a free consultation.
