At Callahan & Blaine, PC, we represent seriously injured people in Glendale and throughout Southern California who are fighting for the recovery they need after a life-altering spinal cord injury. As a firm with more than 40 years of litigation experience and a team of 29 senior trial attorneys, we have secured some of the most significant personal injury results in California history, including a $50 million personal injury settlement recognized as the largest of its kind in United States history. Our Glendale catastrophic injury lawyers are ready to stand with you.
What Causes Spinal Cord Injuries?
Spinal cord injuries are among the most devastating outcomes of any traumatic accident. According to the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center, approximately 18,421 new traumatic spinal cord injury cases occur in the United States every year, and roughly 308,000 Americans are currently living with such an injury.
How These Injuries Happen
Vehicle accidents are among the leading causes of spinal cord injuries in California, though these injuries also arise from a wide range of other incidents. The most common causes we see in our Glendale personal injury cases include motor vehicle and truck collisions, falls from significant heights, pedestrian accidents, motorcycle crashes, and workplace incidents involving heavy equipment or falls. In each of these situations, the force of impact can fracture vertebrae, compress the spinal cord, or sever nerve pathways entirely.
Complete vs. Incomplete Injuries
Not all spinal cord injuries result in total paralysis. A complete injury involves a total loss of sensation and motor function below the injury site, while an incomplete injury means some function is preserved. Both categories, however, can result in permanent disabilities requiring lifelong medical support, rehabilitation, and home modifications. Understanding the nature and severity of the injury is critical to building an accurate damages claim.
The Financial Impact of a Spinal Cord Injury
The costs associated with a serious spinal cord injury extend well beyond initial emergency care. Rehabilitation, ongoing medical treatment, adaptive equipment, home modifications, attendant care, and lost earning capacity can add up to millions of dollars over a lifetime. Victims and their families should not bear these costs when someone else’s negligence caused the harm.
We work to recover every available category of compensation, which may include medical expenses, both past and future; lost income and diminished earning capacity; pain and suffering; emotional distress; and loss of enjoyment of life. To better understand the long-term consequences that courts and juries recognize in these cases, our attorneys also draw on our understanding of how spinal cord injuries can cause paralysis and the full range of secondary complications that follow.
Establishing Liability in a Glendale Spinal Cord Injury Case
Proving who is responsible for a spinal cord injury requires thorough investigation and aggressive legal advocacy. California operates under a comparative fault system, meaning that insurance companies and opposing counsel often attempt to shift blame onto the injured party to reduce what they owe.
Gathering the Evidence That Matters
Our team works quickly to preserve evidence before it is lost or destroyed. That process typically involves obtaining accident reconstruction analysis, police reports, surveillance footage, witness testimony, and medical records documenting the mechanism of injury. When a Glendale car accident or another traumatic incident causes injury, we also investigate whether multiple parties, including employers, vehicle manufacturers, or insurers, share liability.
Taking on Well-Funded Opponents
Insurance companies have significant resources and legal teams dedicated to minimizing payouts. Callahan & Blaine, PC is one of California’s most respected litigation firms, and we go to trial when it is in our clients’ best interests. Managing Partner Edward Susolik has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Southern California every year since 2009, and our trial record speaks for itself. Our spinal cord injury attorneys are not afraid to take on large corporations and their insurers.
Contact Callahan & Blaine, PC to Discuss Your Glendale Spinal Cord Injury Case
When the stakes are this high, the law firm you choose matters enormously. Callahan & Blaine, PC has been representing catastrophically injured clients since 1984, and our attorneys have an average of 15 to 30 years of litigation experience. We have delivered record-breaking results for clients across Southern California, and we bring that same commitment to every spinal cord injury case we accept in Glendale.
If you or a loved one has suffered a spinal cord injury due to someone else’s negligence, we encourage you to reach out to our team and tell us what happened. Use our contact form to submit your potential case, and a member of our team will be in touch to discuss your options.
