Spine & Spinal Cord Injury

Top rated Accident Lawyer Joe Griffith has a wealth of experience in the legal fields of personal injury and wrongful death litigation. Located in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, Attorney Griffith devotes 100% of his practice to litigation. Serious and catastrophic spine and spinal cord injury cases are a major focus of his practice. A former federal prosecutor Joseph P. Griffith, Jr., is designated as an AV rated lawyer by the prestigious Martindale-Hubbell® attorney rating company, signifying the highest possible ranking for legal ability and ethics as judged by peers in the legal profession. The Joe Griffith Law Firm is dedicated to providing outstanding legal service to each of its clients and will fight to obtain all of the compensation due clients under the law. Client satisfaction is JGLF's number one goal.

A spinal cord injury, paralysis injury, and/or quadriplegia injury all may cause severe economic loss, personal loss, mental anguish, physical pain and suffering, income loss and medical expenses. A spinal cord injury, sometimes referenced as “SCI,” is most devastating to the victim and the victim’s family because they frequently result in partial or complete paralysis. A complete injury is one in which the victim has no sensation or voluntary motor movement on either side of the body below the level of the injury. If the victim has some feeling or partial movement, it is generally called a partial or incomplete injury. Generally, the injury is described in terms of the location at the spine, such as a cervical injury, thoracic injury, lumbar injury and sacral injury.

Causes of Spinal Cord or Spine Injury

A spinal cord injury, spine injury, paralysis injury, and/or quadriplegia injury oftentimes occur because of accidents due to the negligence of others, including, but not limited to:

It is estimated that approximately 200,000 people each year suffer a spine or spinal cord injury in the United States, and the primary cause of these injuries is a car or truck accident. While a spinal cord injury may sometimes cause only temporary paralysis, even in these cases the victim rarely returns to a pre-injury level of function. It is extremely important to immediately contact spinal cord personal injury attorney Joe Griffith if you or a loved one has sustained this type of injury. The Joe Griffith Law Firm will promptly make sure the evidence in your case is properly gathered and preserved and that the victim is referred to the best health care professionals available. The Joe Griffith Law Firm will retain experts to help prosecute your case, including, but not limited to, accident reconstruction experts, health care experts and life care planning experts.

Treatment

Treatment for a spine or spinal cord injury generally consists of stabilizing any broken vertebrae, maintaining the patient, eliminating or minimizing movement in the injured area, and reducing swelling. As for a spinal cord injury, there is no known cure. However, stem cell researchers are hopeful of potential future spinal cord treatment. You should scrupulously follow your health care provider’s medical advice should you or your loved one suffer a spine or spinal cord injury.

Statute of Limitations

There are time limits on bringing a personal injury lawsuit in the state of South Carolina known as statutes of limitations. See S.C. Code §§ 15-3-530(5); 15-3-535. While a personal injury suit is generally subject to a three year statute of limitations, there may be exceptions depending on the circumstances, such as a medical malpractice case where the negligent conduct may be covered by a concept known as the “discovery rule.” See S.C. Code § 15-3-545. The statutes of limitations are different for negligence suits against a South Carolina state government agency pursuant to the South Carolina Tort Claims Act (“TCA”) and the federal government pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (“FTCA”). Under the TCA, a suit must generally be filed within two years, unless a verified claim is filed within a year of the injury, then the statute of limitations is three years. S.C. Code § 15-78-110. Under the FTCA, an administrative tort claim must generally be presented to the subject federal agency within two years. Once a timely administrative tort claim has been filed, there is no statute of limitations on bringing a suit unless the federal agency denies the claim, in which case a suit must be brought in federal court within six months after the denial. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1346(b), 1402, 2401, 2675.

The Joe Griffith Law Firm is a Charleston County, South Carolina (SC) law firm that concentrates on personal injury and wrongful death claims, and handles spine injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis and quadriplegia cases. JGLF's will investigate the facts, assess your claim, determine which parties and insurance companies are to be held responsible, organize all of the details of your case and pursue it vigorously in settlement negotiations or at trial. If you believe that you or a loved one may have a personal injury or wrongful death case, please contact the Joe Griffith Law Firm.

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