The long-term effects of a spinal cord injury extend far beyond the initial physical trauma, creating a lifetime of medical, financial, and personal challenges.
These include recurring health complications like urinary tract infections and pressure ulcers, the need for ongoing physical therapy, and significant home and vehicle modifications. You also face a diminished ability to work and earn a living, creating immense financial strain.
The path to securing your future involves holding the at-fault party accountable through a personal injury claim. This legal process is designed to provide the financial resources necessary to cover a lifetime of care and restore a measure of stability to your life.
If you have a question about how a spinal cord injury from a truck or car crash has affected your family, call us at (210) 941-1301.
Key Takeaways for Spinal Cord Injury Claims
- The lifetime costs of a spinal cord injury regularly exceed millions of dollars. A successful legal claim must account for all future expenses, including ongoing medical care, assistive technology, home modifications, and lost earning capacity.
- Proving negligence is the foundation of your case. We must demonstrate that another party's failure to act with reasonable care directly caused the injury, which requires a deep investigation into evidence like driver logs, vehicle maintenance records, and accident reconstruction data.
- Strict deadlines apply, so you must act promptly. Texas law generally allows only two years to file a lawsuit, and claims against government entities have even shorter notice periods, making it imperative to start the legal process immediately.
How a Spinal Cord Injury Rewrites Daily Life
The focus is typically on the immediate medical crisis, but the long-term adjustments to daily living are where the true challenges begin.
Your Physical Health Is a Constant Concern
Beyond paralysis, you face a host of secondary health issues. Chronic pain, respiratory complications, and pressure sores are common and persistent problems for individuals living with spinal cord injuries.
According to the National Institutes of Health, diseases of the genitourinary and skin systems are the leading causes of re-hospitalization for SCI patients. Simple activities now require careful planning and assistance, and the risk of these health issues is always present.
Your Home Becomes a Source of Obstacles
What was once a comfortable, familiar space becomes a daily challenge. Stairs, narrow doorways, and standard bathrooms are inaccessible overnight. Life now requires ramps, wider hallways, and specialized equipment to perform tasks that were once second nature. These modifications are necessary for maintaining a degree of independence.
Your Relationships and Mental Well-Being Are Tested
The physical changes are paralleled by deep emotional and psychological shifts. The shift in roles and the new reality of dependency strain relationships with family and friends. It is a difficult adjustment for everyone involved. Coping with a permanent disability frequently leads to challenges with mental health, including depression and anxiety, as you learn to adapt to a new way of life.
he goal of a legal claim is to provide the resources needed to manage these daily realities—from funding home modifications to ensuring access to mental health support.
Calculating the True Lifetime Cost of a Spinal Cord Injury
The lifetime costs of a spinal cord injury run into the millions of dollars, a figure that insurance companies may not fully disclose. These costs depend on the severity of the injury and the age at which it occurred, but they are consistently substantial.
A Breakdown of Lifelong Expenses
These costs fall into two main categories:
- Direct Medical Costs: The average rehabilitation length of stay for SCI patients is around 30 days. From there, the costs continue with ongoing care, including prescription medications, routine doctor visits, and the high price of durable medical equipment like customized wheelchairs, hospital beds, and ventilators. Furthermore, secondary complications, such as the respiratory diseases that are a leading cause of death for SCI patients, require extensive and costly treatment.
- Indirect and Hidden Costs: These expenses are less obvious but are just as financially draining. How do you replace a lifetime of lost wages if you are unable to return to your previous job or work only in a limited capacity? Home and vehicle modifications, such as ramps, accessible bathrooms, and specially equipped vans, cost tens of thousands of dollars. Many individuals also require in-home care and assistance, which ranges from a few hours a day to 24/7 support.
Imagine having a financial plan that accounts for all of these future needs, not just the immediate bills. A comprehensive legal settlement or verdict is designed to provide exactly that—a fund to secure your care, your home, and your family’s financial stability for decades to come.
You must work with a legal team that understands how to build a case that reflects the total financial impact of your injury. At Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, we work with life care planners and economists to project these costs accurately.
What’s the Difference Between a Complete and Incomplete Spinal Cord Injury, and Why Does It Matter for Your Case?
Not all spinal cord injuries affect the body in the same way. Some people lose movement in their legs but retain sensation. Others are left unable to breathe without assistance. These differences will shape nearly every aspect of a legal claim, from the types of experts needed to the amount of compensation that must be pursued.
What Do “Complete” and “Incomplete” Mean?
- Complete spinal cord injury means there is no sensory or motor function below the point of injury. The spinal cord has been fully disrupted.
- Incomplete spinal cord injury means some function is preserved. You might still feel touch, experience pain, or move part of your body below the injury site, even if only slightly.
Doctors determine this using the ASIA Impairment Scale, a standardized test that grades spinal cord injuries from A (complete) to E (normal function). Most injuries fall somewhere in the middle.
How This Affects the Legal Strategy
The severity of the injury changes what the case needs to prove and what kind of future we must account for.
1. Medical Costs Look Very Different
- Complete injuries typically require round-the-clock care, ventilators, and more frequent hospitalization. Your life care plan must account for decades of high medical costs.
- Incomplete injuries might still allow some independence, which can reduce (but not eliminate) ongoing care costs. These cases require close collaboration with doctors and physical therapists to project the true scope of future treatment.
2. Mobility and Employment Potential Change the Damages Model
- With an incomplete injury, some clients can return to work, especially with assistive devices and retraining. In a complete injury, you may not return to work at all, depending on the level of injury.
- We work with vocational experts who evaluate your pre-injury job, physical limitations, and realistic retraining options to estimate lost earning capacity.
3. The Defense May Argue Your Injury Is “Less Serious” Than It Is
- Insurance companies often focus on what you can do with an incomplete injury rather than what you lost. That’s why these claims require clear documentation, such as medical records, day-in-the-life videos, and testimony from treating physicians and family members, to show how even partial injuries disrupt daily life.
- In contrast, complete injuries are harder to downplay, but they also attract greater scrutiny. Expect more pushback on long-term cost estimates and life expectancy projections.
Why the Level of the Injury Also Matters
The spinal cord is divided into sections: cervical, thoracic, lumbar, sacral. The higher the injury, the more body systems it affects.
For example:
- A C4 complete injury usually means quadriplegia—no use of your arms or legs, and possible reliance on a ventilator.
- A T12 incomplete injury might result in partial paraplegia, where you retain core strength and some leg movement.
These distinctions matter when calculating:
- The cost of wheelchairs, hoists, and home modifications
- Your life expectancy (which affects future care projections)
- Whether in-home care is needed 24/7 or only part-time
How Do You Prove Who Was Responsible for the Injury?
In Texas, the person or company that caused your injury is legally responsible for the consequences. But how is that proven?
The legal concept at the heart of these cases is negligence. Simply put, we must show that another party failed to act with reasonable care, and that this failure led directly to your injury.
This involves four key elements: duty, breach, causation, and damages.
In crashes involving commercial trucks, the investigation is more involved. We do not just look at the driver; we examine the entire chain of command. A collision with a massive semi-truck usually has multiple contributing factors.
- Trucking Company Liability: Did the company, such as UPS, FedEx, or an Amazon delivery contractor, pressure the driver to violate hours-of-service rules? Was the truck properly maintained? These companies have a duty to ensure their operations are safe, and cutting corners leads to tragic results.
- Driver Error: Was the driver distracted, fatigued, or under the influence? We analyze logbooks, data from the truck's "black box" or Electronic Control Module, and driver qualification files to uncover any evidence of recklessness or carelessness.
- Third-Party Fault: In some cases, a maintenance company that performed shoddy repairs or a cargo loader that created an unbalanced load could share the blame.
Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of spinal cord injuries nationwide. In Texas alone, there were 18,880 people who sustained a serious injury in a crash in one recent year.
Our role is to launch an immediate and thorough investigation. We gather evidence, consult with accident reconstructionists, and identify every party that shares liability. By building a strong foundation of evidence, we demonstrate exactly how the negligence of others changed your life.
Your Rights and Resources as a San Antonio Resident
Living with a spinal cord injury means adapting to a new reality, but you are not without support.
Legal Protections for a Life With a Disability
Two key federal laws are in place to protect your rights:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination and ensures people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else. This applies to employment, access to public and private buildings, and transportation.
- Similarly, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 requires equal access and prohibits discrimination in programs run by federal agencies or those receiving federal funding.
State and Local Support Systems
Texas provides specific resources to aid residents with these injuries:
- Texas has a Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Advisory Council dedicated to coordinating care and resources across the state.
- For veterans in the San Antonio area, the VA offers a specialized Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders System of Care, providing comprehensive medical treatment and support.
We help you connect with the right organizations while we manage the legal aspects of your case.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spinal Cord Injury Claims in San Antonio
How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit in Texas?
In Texas, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally two years from the date of the injury. However, there are exceptions, such as when the injured party is a minor or in claims against government entities, which have much shorter notice deadlines. Discuss the specific deadline for your case with an attorney.
What if I was partially at fault for the accident?
Texas follows a rule of modified comparative fault, sometimes called the "51% bar" rule. This means you recover damages as long as you are not found to be 51% or more responsible for the accident. Your recovery is reduced by your percentage of fault.
Will I have to go to court?
Most personal injury cases are settled out of court through negotiations. However, at Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock, we prepare every case as if it will go to trial. This approach ensures we are ready to fight for the maximum compensation available if the insurance company is unwilling to make a fair offer. It sends a clear message that we are serious about securing the resources you need.
How much does it cost to hire your firm?
We handle spinal cord injury cases on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay no upfront costs or attorney’s fees. We only receive a fee if we win your case and recover money for you. This arrangement allows you to pursue justice without adding to your financial burdens.
Securing the Resources for Your Future
We regularly help families in San Antonio and the surrounding communities. We’re familiar with the roads, the courts, and the challenges people here face after a serious crash involving a commercial truck or other vehicle.
You did not ask for this, but you do not have to manage the legal and financial fallout by yourself. The long-term effects of spinal cord injuries in San Antonio require a legal team that understands the stakes. The sooner we begin gathering evidence, the stronger your case will be.
If you’re ready to discuss your situation, call Cowen | Rodriguez | Peacock for a free consultation at (210) 941-1301.