Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Delaware County and Philadelphia: Claims Built Around a Lifetime of Care

What a spinal cord injury lawyer does

A spinal cord injury lawyer proves who caused the injury, documents every cost it will create over your lifetime, and pursues every insurance policy and responsible party that can pay for it. Because these injuries often last for life, the central task is measuring the future, not just the bills already paid.

Warren I. Siegel has practiced in Pennsylvania since 1992 and handles injury claims arising from car crashes, falls and other accidents from our office at 8000 West Chester Pike in Upper Darby. He knows the Philadelphia court system from the inside, having served as a Settlement Master for the Court of Common Pleas and as a Discovery Master in medical malpractice matters.

Herniated disc or spinal cord injury: why the difference matters

People use "back injury" to cover very different things. The spinal column is the stack of bones (vertebrae) and cushioning discs that protect the spinal cord, the bundle of nerves carrying signals between your brain and body. An injury can affect the column, the nerves branching off it, or the cord itself.

A herniated or bulging disc happens when the soft center of a disc pushes out through its outer layer. If it presses on a nerve root, you can feel pain, numbness or weakness down an arm or leg. These injuries can be serious and sometimes need injections or surgery, but they are usually not a spinal cord injury.

A spinal cord injury is damage to the cord itself, from a fracture, dislocation, bleeding or swelling inside the spinal canal. It can interrupt signals below the injury and affect movement, sensation, bladder and bowel control, breathing and sexual function. The distinction changes how the case is proven and valued, and insurers treat the two very differently.

Complete and incomplete injuries, paraplegia and quadriplegia

Doctors describe a spinal cord injury by where it happened and how much function remains below that level. A complete injury means no feeling or voluntary movement below the injury. An incomplete injury means some signals still get through, and the amount of recovery varies widely.

Paraplegia is paralysis affecting the legs and lower body, usually from an injury in the mid or lower back. Quadriplegia, also called tetraplegia, affects the arms, hands, trunk and legs and usually comes from an injury in the neck. A higher injury in the neck can also affect breathing.

Common causes we see

Spinal injuries in our area come from many of the same events that bring people to our office for other injuries:

• Car and truck crashes, including rollovers and high-speed collisions on I-476, US-1 and the Schuylkill Expressway, and side impacts at busy intersections on West Chester Pike and Baltimore Pike.
• Pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle crashes, where the rider or walker has no protection.
• Falls down stairs or from a height at a store, rental property or worksite.
• Construction accidents, such as falls from scaffolds, ladders and roofs.
• SEPTA accidents, including passengers thrown by a sudden stop and falls on station stairways or platforms.

Lifetime costs: what a spinal cord injury claim has to account for

The first-year medical bills for a serious spinal cord injury are only the beginning. A complete claim looks at the care a person will need for the rest of their life, and the cost of that care depends heavily on the level of injury, age and health.

That is why serious spinal cases usually involve a life care plan: a written projection, prepared by a qualified professional working with your doctors, of future medical care, therapy, equipment, medication and personal assistance. An economist can then convert the plan and your lost earning capacity into present-day figures that a jury or insurer can evaluate.

Items a life care plan often covers include:

• Hospital stays, surgery, inpatient rehabilitation and follow-up specialty visits.
• Physical and occupational therapy over time.
• Wheelchairs, mobility aids and their replacement as they wear out.
• Home modifications such as ramps, widened doorways and accessible bathrooms, and an accessible vehicle.
• Home health aides or attendant care.
• Treatment of complications, such as pressure sores, infections and chronic pain.
• Lost earnings and the loss of future earning capacity.

Proving the injury and its cause

The case starts with liability: who was at fault, and what proof shows it. That means the crash report, photos, video, witness statements, and for falls, the condition of the stairway or floor and who was responsible for it. Evidence disappears fast, so we send preservation letters early.

Then comes causation. Insurers often argue a disc herniation is degenerative, caused by age rather than the accident. Imaging taken soon after the event, comparisons with any earlier scans, and your treating doctors' opinions tie the injury to what happened. Be open about any earlier back problems. When an accident makes an existing condition worse, the claim focuses on the added harm, and the medical proof has to separate old symptoms from new ones.

Limited tort, serious injury and your auto policy

In a car crash case, your tort election matters. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705, a person bound by limited tort can recover medical bills and lost wages but not pain and suffering unless the injury is a serious injury, defined in § 1702 as death, serious impairment of body function, or permanent serious disfigurement.

Paralysis clearly meets that test. Herniated disc cases are where the fight happens: insurers regularly argue that a disc injury treated with therapy and injections is not a serious impairment. The outcome turns on how the injury affects your daily life and work, and on how well the medical records show it. Section 1705(d) also lists exceptions that restore full tort rights, including a DUI conviction or ARD for the at-fault driver in that crash, an out-of-state at-fault vehicle, an uninsured at-fault driver, and riding in a vehicle other than a private passenger vehicle.

Your own policy's first-party medical benefits pay early bills regardless of fault, at least $5,000 on every Pennsylvania policy (75 Pa.C.S. § 1711). When the at-fault driver's liability limits are too small for a catastrophic injury, your underinsured motorist coverage may be the next source.

Deadlines and fault

Pennsylvania generally allows two years from the injury to file a personal injury lawsuit (42 Pa.C.S. § 5524), with exceptions such as the pause for minors until age 18. Claims against SEPTA or another government unit generally need written notice within six months (42 Pa.C.S. § 5522). A work injury also triggers workers' compensation notice rules with your employer.

If you were partly at fault, Pennsylvania's modified comparative negligence rule reduces your recovery by your share of fault and bars it if your share is greater than the combined fault of the defendants (42 Pa.C.S. § 7102).

How we charge and how to reach us

Our fee is 100% contingency. There is no attorney fee unless we recover. The firm advances all case costs, and those costs are repaid only from a recovery. If there is no recovery, you owe nothing.

If someone in the hospital cannot come to us, we can arrange to talk with the family first. Call (267) 412-4601, answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or send the free case review form. The review is free and confidential.