Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
After a spinal cord injury, you may be able to recover economic damages, like lifetime medical care and lost wages, and non-economic damages, like pain and suffering. If the injury came from a car crash, you’ll also need to meet the state’s serious injury threshold before you can sue. A spinal cord injury often meets that bar.
At Shulman & Hill Injury Lawyers, we help families understand the damages they can recover for a spinal cord injury in NYC and how to prove each one.
Below, we cover what each type of damages includes and the rules that can affect your claim. You can also learn how our spinal cord injury lawyers in New York handle these cases.
Economic Damages You Can Recover for a Spinal Cord Injury in NYC
Economic damages repay the money a spinal cord injury costs you, now and in the future. These losses can be measured with bills, pay stubs, and cost estimates. In a spinal cord case, the future costs are often far larger than the costs so far.
Economic damages may include:
- Emergency care, surgery, and hospital stays
- Rehabilitation, physical therapy, and occupational therapy
- Home health aides and long-term nursing care
- Wheelchairs, lifts, and other medical equipment
- Changes to your home and vehicle for accessibility
- Medication and future surgeries
These costs add up fast. A national spinal cord injury research center estimates that first-year costs for high tetraplegia average about $1.37 million, with about $238,000 for each year after. For a person injured at age 25, the estimated lifetime cost tops $6 million, and that figure doesn’t count lost wages.
Lost Wages and Lost Earning Power
A spinal cord injury can keep you out of work for months or end your career. You may recover the pay you’ve already lost. You may also recover the money you would have earned over the rest of your working life.
Lost earning power looks at your age, job, and skills, and at what the injury stops you from doing. A construction worker who can no longer climb or lift may lose decades of income, even if they can do some other kind of work. Lost benefits, like health insurance and pension contributions, can count too.
Proving these losses usually takes more than a pay stub. Shulman & Hill works with life care planners, economists, and job counselors to show the full damages you can recover for a spinal cord injury in NYC. That work turns future needs into numbers a jury or insurer can weigh.
Non-Economic Damages for Pain and Loss
Non-economic damages cover losses that don’t come with a receipt. They’re often a large part of a spinal cord injury claim. The injury changes daily life in ways money can’t fully fix.
Non-economic damages may include:
- Physical pain, now and in the future
- Emotional distress, anxiety, and depression
- Loss of enjoyment of life, such as hobbies and time with family
- Loss of independence and the need for daily help
- Scarring and disfigurement
Your spouse may also bring a claim for loss of consortium. This covers the loss of companionship, support, and help around the home that a spouse suffers after your injury.
The Serious Injury Threshold for Car Crash Cases
Car crash claims follow no-fault rules in New York. Your own no-fault coverage pays first for medical bills and part of your lost wages, up to its limit. To sue the at-fault driver for pain and suffering, your injury must meet the state’s serious injury threshold.
The law lists several types of serious injury. A spinal cord injury may qualify as a permanent loss of use of a body function, a permanent or significant limitation of use, or a fracture. Medical records and imaging, like MRIs, are usually the key proof.
The threshold applies only to motor vehicle cases. If you were hurt on a construction site or from a fall on someone’s property, it doesn’t apply. Shulman & Hill reviews which rules fit your case before building the claim.
How to Document Your Damages
Strong records make damages easier to prove. Keep every medical bill, receipt, and insurance statement in one place. Save mileage logs for trips to doctors and therapy.
A simple daily journal can help show pain and loss that bills can’t. Write down your pain level, what you couldn’t do that day, and how you felt. Ask family members to note how the injury has changed your routines.
Follow your treatment plan and go to every appointment. Gaps in care give insurers a reason to argue your injury isn’t as serious as you say. Your doctors’ notes on your limits and future needs often carry great weight.
Factors That Can Affect Your Claim’s Value
Several things can raise or lower what you may recover. Under state law, your award can be reduced by your share of fault, but you can still recover even if you were partly to blame. The at-fault party’s insurance limits also matter, since a small policy may not cover a large loss.
Some cases involve more than one responsible party. A construction fall may bring claims against the owner and general contractor, and a crash may involve a driver and their employer. Finding every responsible party can add more sources of payment.
Founding partner J.J. Hill focuses on brain and spinal cord injury cases, and Shulman & Hill runs its own investigations in-house. Since 2013, we have recovered more than $1 billion for clients, though every case is different and past results do not predict future outcomes.
Get Help Valuing Your Spinal Cord Injury Claim
The damages you can recover for a spinal cord injury in NYC may cover a lifetime of care, lost income, and the ways the injury has changed your life. Getting the full value starts with knowing what your future needs will cost.
Shulman & Hill works on a contingency fee, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you. Reach out today for a free case review and learn what your claim may be worth.