Spinal Cord Injuries After Bicycle Accidents

Yes. An incomplete spinal cord injury can leave some function below the level of the injury, and the amount of preserved function varies considerably from person to person. From a legal standpoint, the important question is what neurological function was lost and what limitations are expected to remain.

A pre-existing spinal condition does not automatically prevent an injured cyclist from bringing a claim. Someone who managed occasional neck pain before the accident may face a very different life after traumatic spinal cord damage. Prior MRIs and treatment records can actually become useful because they provide a medical baseline against which the post-accident condition can be compared.

Yes. When a spinal cord injury creates lasting mobility limitations, the cost of reasonably necessary accommodations can become part of the damages analysis.

Future equipment costs should not necessarily be treated as a one-time purchase. Someone expected to depend on equipment for decades may require multiple replacements. In a catastrophic injury case, a lawyer should consider lifetime costs, including the ways that inflation and new technology can make future medical devices and equipment more expensive.

The investigation should determine the applicable insurance rather than assume that the first policy identified is the only potential source of recovery. Depending on the circumstances, other defendants, policies, or forms of coverage may need to be examined.

Potentially. New York law recognizes a spouse’s derivative claim for loss of consortium in appropriate personal injury cases. A catastrophic injury can fundamentally change companionship, intimacy, and the roles two people occupied in a marriage. It is a separate claim belonging to the spouse, although it arises from the injuries suffered by the accident victim.

Memory loss does not make a claim impossible. A cyclist with a serious head injury in addition to spinal trauma may have no recollection of the collision, and someone rendered unconscious may never have perceived the critical moments at all. In that situation, the case has to be reconstructed from evidence outside the injured person’s memory. A person without a memory of their injury can still have a strong case.

Early uncertainty is common. For the legal case, the problem is that damages involving future care and lost capacity need a medically supportable foundation. A prognosis that is still changing may not provide that foundation yet. The goal is to understand what the medical evidence can reasonably support before a permanent resolution of the claim.

Returning to work does not necessarily mean there is no economic loss. A spinal cord injury may allow someone to resume employment while narrowing what that person can realistically do over an entire career. Lost earning capacity looks at the economic path affected by the injury, and seeks to recover damages for lost earning potential.

When those benefits are exhausted, DFS advises that Additional PIP may be available if applicable coverage is in place. Health insurance may also become a source of medical payment, while recoverable losses beyond No-Fault can become part of a liability claim against the responsible party.

An insurer may require an examination in connection with a claim. In fact, your own carrier may be sending you to one of these exams as quickly as a month after your accident. Insurance companies benefit if the orthopedist or other specialist notes in their report that treatment is not warranted or necessary. Always remember that these medical exams are not independent. The insurer is asking for this exam, the doctor is typically not familiar with your medical history, and the “exam” is usually very brief. An unfortunate result in many cases is that an insurance company will use the medical exam to push medical costs onto their own insureds, even if those insureds have been paying premiums for decades without a claim.

If an insurance company is asking you for a medical examination, consult with an attorney so you are prepared. While attendance at these medical examinations is mandatory, the first such exam can be postponed. This is because if you do not have a fracture, disfigurement, dismemberment, or other “permanent injury”, the only other way to meet the “serious injury” threshold is to have enough treatment to qualify under the catchall significant limitation of a body part or member or “permanent consequential limitation.” The are nebulous terms that are interpreted differently by the four appellate divisions in New York.

You must appear at the required medical exams, get regular treatment two to three times a week from a physical therapist, chiropractor, pain management practitioner and get a follow-up with the insurance-recommended orthopedist or neurologist every two months. Missing appointments or telling the doctor that the treatment is not helping at all can mean insurance stops covering care.

Yes. A catastrophic physical injury can have psychological consequences, and legitimate treatment for those consequences should be treated as something important and as recoverable. The strongest evidence is treatment evidence: what symptoms developed, what care was recommended and how those problems affected the person’s functioning. New York’s definition of basic economic loss also expressly includes qualifying psychiatric services among covered necessary health-service expenses.

Transportation can become a genuine expense after spinal cord trauma, particularly when the injured cyclist can no longer drive or cannot transfer into an ordinary vehicle. New York No-Fault benefits include certain reasonable and necessary expenses in addition to medical bills and wage loss. DFS has specifically recognized qualifying transportation expenses to and from medical providers within that category. Keep records of transportation and all injury-related costs so your attorney can help you seek appropriate compensation.

Potentially, and this is an issue to address before settlement proceeds are distributed. Eligibility rules differ among public and private benefit programs, and the structure of a substantial settlement can matter depending on the benefits involved. A person facing lifelong disability may need advice before a settlement is finalized. A lawyer can help you avoid long-term problems related to benefit clawbacks.