San Antonio Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Q: How do I know if my spinal injury qualifies for a lawsuit?

A claim may be available when another person's negligence caused the injury, including a reckless driver, an unsafe property owner, or a careless employer. The firm offers a free consultation to evaluate the circumstances and explain the available legal options.

Q: What is the average value of a spinal injury case?

There is no standard value for a spinal injury case. The amount depends on the severity of the injury, current and future medical expenses, lost income, reduced earning capacity, and the effect of the injury on daily life.

Q: Can I file a claim if my spinal injury symptoms appeared days or weeks after the accident?

Yes. Spinal injury symptoms can develop gradually after an accident. Delayed symptoms do not automatically prevent a claim, but prompt medical attention and legal advice can help document the connection between the accident and the injury.

Q: Will I need surgery for my spinal injury, and who pays for it?

Whether surgery is required depends on the severity and type of injury. Some spinal injuries require surgery, while others may be treated with physical therapy and rehabilitation. When another party's negligence caused the injury, compensation may include surgery, rehabilitation, and ongoing medical treatment.

The cost tables the insurer uses leave out your wages. Our San Antonio spinal cord injury lawyers build the number that includes them.

Next Steps

Documenting a San Antonio Spinal Cord Injury

Ask the hospital for the ASIA classification. It is the standard scale for spinal cord injury, it records level and completeness, and it will anchor every valuation argument in your case. Keep the imaging, not only the reports. Photograph the vehicle or the scene if anyone can. Write down what you could do the week before, in plain detail, because that baseline disappears from memory faster than families expect. Do not give a recorded statement, and do not let anyone characterize this as a back injury before a specialist has classified it. Bring all of it to a spinal cord injury lawyer in San Antonio before the first settlement conversation.

Local Expertise

Why Spinal Cord Injury Claims Are Different

Insurers value most injuries on a curve that assumes recovery. Spinal cord injury does not follow that curve, which is the first thing a San Antonio spinal cord injury lawyer has to prove, and the national data says so plainly. Life expectancy after the first year has not improved since the early 1980s and remains substantially below the general population. That single sentence, from the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, refutes the argument every defense expert eventually makes about advances in care. Roughly 30 percent of people are rehospitalized within the first year. Pressure injuries, urinary tract infections, and respiratory complications are ordinary parts of this diagnosis, and each one is a cost the insurer would rather treat as speculative. About 68 percent of people were working when they were hurt. The published lifetime cost tables exclude wages, benefits, and productivity entirely, and NSCISC puts those indirect losses at roughly $95,000 a year on average. A San Antonio spinal cord injury lawyer who works from the cost table alone leaves that entire category on the table.

How We Help

A Team that fights for you

We deal with insurance

Carriers reframe cord injuries as soft tissue or blame a degenerative disc seen on an old film. Your San Antonio spinal cord injury lawyer puts treating physicians and objective imaging in front of that argument early.

We collect evidence

Life care planner, physiatrist, vocational expert, and economist. Equipment replacement cycles, attendant care hours, home and vehicle modification, and the rehospitalizations the data predicts.

We get you medical care

Our San Antonio spinal cord injury lawyers arrange treatment with rehabilitation specialists whether or not you have coverage, and we manage the liens and subrogation that quietly consume settlements.

Your compensation

What You Can Recover

Testimonials

Hear from our clients

"I've had a very positive experience with Kristi and the rest of the team at Ornelas Law. Everyone is very informative a nd helpful an d all my questions and concerns get answered in a timely manner."

Josh L.

Case type

"First time using this attorney and to be honest they are one of the best people I ever spoked to through messages and don't get me started our case manager Kristi is one of the most fun loving and so caring person I ever met through calls and messages she gets things done when we ask her to do so also she will not give up on trying to bug people for answers."

Kim G.

Case type

"I chose Mr. Ornelas because is the greatest law firm, he has helped me every step of the way. And has helped me through the process of getting my settlement and he is the nicest person ever always answers his calls and always answering my questions. He is always on the ball of making sure I got my settlement. Thank goodness for him."

Josie G.

Car Accident

Why Us

Experienced Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers Serving San Antonio and Texas

South Texas carries more of this diagnosis than most regions its size. The Audie L. Murphy VA Hospital operates a 30-bed Spinal Cord Injury Center, one of a limited number in the VA system, drawing veterans from across South Texas. Add the region’s trauma volume, its highway and oilfield injuries, and the sheer number of people here who live with cord injury is larger than the population would suggest. That matters for a practical reason. A spinal cord injury lawyer in San Antonio should already know the rehabilitation providers, the equipment vendors, and the life care planners who work in this market, because a plan built by someone unfamiliar with local costs gets picked apart. Our results include a $31 million commercial vehicle death recovery, against a firm total above $1 billion.

Your Case

Your Spinal Cord Injury Case Explained

Two words drive the value of these claims more than any others: complete and incomplete. A complete injury means no motor or sensory function below the level of injury. An incomplete injury means some function remains. The ASIA Impairment Scale grades this from A through E, and the level of injury, cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral, sets what function is affected. Expect the classification to be contested. An incomplete injury invites the argument that you will keep improving, which shrinks the future care projection and the lost earning capacity number at the same time. Preserved sensation gets characterized as meaningful recovery when the functional reality is unchanged. The counter is documentation over time rather than a single snapshot. Serial examinations, functional capacity evaluations, and treating physician testimony about what the grade means for daily living carry far more weight than the initial chart entry, which is often made in an emergency department within hours of the injury. This is the work a spinal cord injury lawyer in San Antonio should be organizing from the first month.

FAQs

Read All FAQs

Common spinal injury Questions

What types of accidents commonly cause spinal injuries?

Spinal injuries frequently result from car accidents, trucking collisions, falls at work or on someone else’s property, construction site accidents, and sports-related incidents. Any event that causes sudden impact or trauma to the back or neck can lead to a serious spinal injury.

How do I know if my spinal injury qualifies for a lawsuit?

If your injury was caused by another person’s negligence, whether that’s a reckless driver, an unsafe property owner, or a careless employer, you likely have a case. Our San Antonio spinal injury lawyers can evaluate your situation during a free consultation and help you understand your legal options.

What is the average value of a spinal injury case?

There is no one-size-fits-all number. The value of your case depends on the severity of the injury, the cost of current and future medical care, lost income, and how the injury impacts your daily life. Our attorneys work with medical and financial experts to calculate the full value of your claim.

Can I file a claim if my spinal injury symptoms appeared days or weeks after the accident?

Yes. It is common for spinal injury symptoms to develop gradually after an accident. Delayed symptoms do not disqualify you from filing a claim, but it is important to seek medical attention and contact a lawyer as soon as symptoms appear so the connection to the accident can be documented.

Will I need surgery for my spinal injury, and who pays for it?

That depends on the severity of your injury. Some spinal injuries require surgery while others can be treated with physical therapy and rehabilitation. If your injury was caused by someone else’s negligence, the at-fault party should be responsible for covering all medical costs, including surgery and ongoing treatment.

Describe Your Case

A spinal cord injury can change everything in an instant. If you or someone you love is facing this reality, our team is ready to step in, handle the legal burden, and pursue the compensation you need to move forward. Reach out today for a free consultation.

Email:

[email protected]

Phone:

(866) 377-9855

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