Paraplegia spinal cord injury attorney

Paraplegia is loss of function in the lower body following injury to the spinal cord at the chest, lower back or sacral level. The immediate medical facts are usually clear. What is not clear at the outset, and what determines whether a claim is adequate, is the cost of the decades that follow — equipment, attendant care, housing, and the medical complications that accompany paralysis. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles catastrophic injury claims in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York.

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What the imaging and records show

CT identifies fractures and displacement; MRI shows the cord itself, including compression, oedema, haemorrhage and transection. The level and completeness of the injury are documented through standardised neurological examination, which grades motor and sensory function at each level and classifies the injury as complete or incomplete. That classification matters enormously for prognosis and therefore for the life care plan, and it should be performed by clinicians experienced in it and repeated as the picture evolves.

Why this injury meets the legal threshold

Paralysis is objective injury of the highest order and severity is never seriously contested. The entire contest is about the future: life expectancy, the level of attendant care required, the equipment and housing needed, and the medical complications reasonably anticipated. Every one of those is a battle of qualified opinion, and every one has to be built with evidence rather than asserted.

Typical treatment course and prognosis

Acute management addresses the injury and stabilises the spine, followed by inpatient rehabilitation and then a lifetime of management. The recurring medical issues are well documented and predictable: pressure injuries, urinary tract infections and bladder management, bowel management, spasticity, neuropathic pain, autonomic dysreflexia in higher injuries, respiratory complications, and shoulder problems from years of wheelchair propulsion. Each is a foreseeable future cost and each belongs in the life care plan.

How these claims are contested

Not on liability for the paralysis but on the cost of it. Expect a defense life care planner projecting less attendant care, cheaper equipment with longer replacement intervals, and a shorter life expectancy. Expect the argument that family will provide care without charge. Expect scrutiny of every housing and vehicle modification as betterment rather than necessity. Each is answered by treating-physician opinion, by documented functional assessment, and by evidence of actual market cost rather than assumption.

Building the claim properly

Establish the neurological level and completeness through standardised examination. Obtain treating-physician opinions on prognosis and on anticipated complications. Commission a life care plan once the picture has stabilised, built item by item from those opinions. Obtain vocational and economic evidence on earning capacity. Identify every layer of available insurance early, because a lifetime of care exhausts a single policy quickly. And do not resolve the claim before all of that exists, because a settlement is final.

Available insurance coverage

What can be recovered is limited by what coverage exists. The at-fault party’s policy is the starting point, but it is frequently not the only source: the injured person’s own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, household policies, employer coverage where a vehicle was used for work, umbrella and excess layers, and the coverage of any additional responsible party can all apply. Underinsured coverage typically requires notice and consent before any settlement with the at-fault party — settling first can forfeit it. Identifying every available layer is early work, not closing work.

How damages are categorised and proven

Damages are not a single number that gets negotiated. They are separate categories, each proven by different evidence. Past medical expense is proven by billing records and the reasonableness of the charges. Future medical expense requires a physician’s opinion that the care is reasonably certain to be needed. Lost income is proven by employment and tax records; lost earning capacity is a different and larger question requiring vocational and economic analysis. Non-economic loss — pain, limitation, and the effect on daily life — is proven through the medical record and through testimony from people who can describe specific changes rather than general decline. No one can responsibly tell you what a case is worth before that evidence exists, and any figure offered at the outset is a guess.

Filing deadlines

Every injury claim is governed by a statute of limitations, and the periods differ by state and by claim type. For personal injury actions the period is two years in Virginia under Va. Code § 8.01-243(A), accruing at the date of injury; three years in Maryland under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-101; three years in the District of Columbia under D.C. Code § 12-301(8); two years in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2; and three years in New York under N.Y. C.P.L.R. § 214(5). These are general periods. Discovery rules, tolling for minors and incapacity, claims against government entities — the District imposes a six-month notice-of-claim requirement for claims against the District government — and claim-specific statutes can shorten or extend them. Do not rely on a general period for your own case; have the deadline confirmed on your facts.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between complete and incomplete injury?

A complete injury means no motor or sensory function is preserved below the level of injury; an incomplete injury means some function remains. The distinction is made on standardised neurological examination and it substantially affects prognosis, the care required and the life care plan. It should be assessed by experienced clinicians and re-assessed as recovery evolves.

Why does the level of injury matter so much?

Because it determines what function is preserved and therefore what independence is possible. An injury lower in the spine may preserve trunk control and independent transfers; a higher injury may not. Those differences translate directly into the hours of attendant care required, which is typically the largest single item in the life care plan.

My family wants to provide my care. Does that reduce the claim?

It should not. The reasonable value of attendant care is generally recoverable whether it is provided by an agency or by a family member, because the need exists regardless of who meets it. It does require documentation — hours, tasks and a professional assessment of the level of care needed — kept contemporaneously rather than reconstructed.

What about my house and vehicle?

Housing and vehicle modification are standard components of a catastrophic claim: ramps, doorway widening, accessible bathrooms, lifts, hand controls and accessible vehicles. Vehicles and equipment also have replacement cycles across a lifetime, which the plan must account for. Expect these items to be challenged as betterment, and expect that argument to be answered with functional assessment.

Will the insurer dispute my life expectancy?

Commonly, yes, because a shorter projected lifespan reduces every future cost. This is answered with treating-physician opinion informed by your actual clinical situation rather than by general assumptions. It is one of the more contested areas in these claims and it should be prepared for rather than reacted to.

How soon should the life care plan be prepared?

Not immediately — it requires the clinical picture to have stabilised enough for reliable opinions about long-term needs, which usually takes a substantial period after injury. That is a principal reason not to resolve these claims early, and a principal reason early offers are made early.

What complications should the plan anticipate?

The recognized ones: pressure injuries, urinary and bowel management, infections, spasticity, neuropathic pain, respiratory issues in higher injuries, and shoulder problems from years of wheelchair use. These are foreseeable rather than speculative, and a plan that omits them leaves you funding them personally.

How long do I have to bring a claim?

Two years in Virginia and New Jersey, three years in Maryland, the District of Columbia and New York for personal injury actions, subject to tolling and to much shorter notice requirements where a government entity is involved. Given the scale of these claims and the coverage investigation required, act early rather than near the deadline.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris is the owner and founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., which has practiced since 1997. He is a former prosecutor and is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey and New York. Of Counsel attorneys contract directly with the firm and handle matters alongside him. In 2019 Mr. Sris testified before the Virginia House Courts of Justice Committee on House Bill 635.

Speak with Mr. Sris

Injury claims are governed by filing deadlines that vary by state and by claim type, and evidence degrades quickly. Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Consultations are by appointment.

Last reviewed: August 22, 2026.

Attorney Advertising. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., principal office: 4008 Williamsburg Court, Fairfax, VA 22032. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule.

The information on this page is general and is not legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is created by reading it or by contacting the firm. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

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