Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Slidell

Everyone assumes the driver who rear-ended you is automatically at fault. Usually, that’s true—but proving that a rear-end collision caused your spinal cord injury requires more than assumptions. You need our Slidell spinal cord injury lawyers to help you with your case.

At Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers, we fight for the win by meeting every legal standard and burden of proof required to hold negligent drivers accountable for the spinal cord damage they cause.

As your Slidell personal injury lawyer, we understand exactly what Louisiana law requires to prove a motor vehicle accident caused your catastrophic spinal injury. We provide exceptional, proactive client service because your success is our mission.

What Louisiana Law Requires You to Prove

Winning a spinal cord injury case in Louisiana requires proving four specific elements.

Duty of Care

First, you must show that the other driver owed you a duty of care. This element is usually straightforward—every driver has a legal duty to operate their vehicle safely and follow traffic laws. The duty exists the moment two vehicles share the road.

Breach of Duty

Second, you must prove the other driver breached that duty through negligent conduct. Running a red light, speeding, following too closely, driving while distracted, or operating a vehicle while impaired all constitute breaches of the duty of care. A spinal cord injury attorney in Slidell gathers evidence of exactly how the other driver’s conduct violated their legal obligations.

Causation

Third, you must establish causation—proof that the driver’s negligence directly caused the motor vehicle accident. This element addresses questions like whether the collision would have occurred if the driver had been paying attention or following the speed limit.

Damages

Fourth, you must prove the accident caused your specific spinal cord injury and resulting damages. This is where insurance companies fight hardest in catastrophic injury cases.

They claim your spine was already damaged before the collision. They argue the accident wasn’t severe enough to cause spinal cord damage. They question whether something else injured your spine after the motor vehicle accident. We can help you overcome their objections.

Proving the Collision’s Force Was Sufficient

Insurance companies commonly argue that a motor vehicle accident wasn’t violent enough to cause spinal cord damage. They point to minor vehicle damage and claim a “low-speed” collision couldn’t have injured your spine. You need a spinal cord injury lawyer near you to counter this defense with biomechanical evidence and accident reconstruction testimony.

Accident Mechanics

The mechanics of your specific collision matter when proving causation. Rear-end collisions cause hyperextension injuries as your head snaps backward, then forward. Side-impact crashes cause lateral compression and rotation injuries. Head-on collisions produce compression fractures from the sudden deceleration.

A spinal cord injury lawyer explains to judges and juries exactly how the collision’s mechanics produced your specific injury pattern.

Bracing

Pre-impact bracing affects injury severity in ways that help prove causation. If you never saw the other vehicle coming, your body remained relaxed at impact. This lack of bracing actually increases injury risk because your muscles weren’t tensed to protect your spine.

Safety Features

Vehicle safety features document impact severity. Airbag deployment indicates substantial force. Seatbelt pretensioners activate only above certain deceleration thresholds. Damage to the vehicle’s structural components proves high-energy impacts.

Spinal cord injury attorneys in Slidell use this vehicle evidence to prove the collision generated enough force to damage your spine.

Overcoming the Pre-Existing Condition Defense

Medical records can contradict claims that pre-existing spine problems caused your current paralysis. Your spinal cord injury attorney gathers employment records, activity evidence, and prior medical notes showing you functioned normally before the collision.

Immediate post-accident symptoms establish the connection between the collision and your spinal cord injury. If you had full sensation and movement before the crash but experienced immediate paralysis, numbness, or weakness afterward, this timeline proves causation.

Comparing pre-accident and post-accident imaging demonstrates exactly what the collision did to your spine. MRI scans from before the motor vehicle accident might show disc degeneration but an intact spinal cord. Post-accident imaging shows new fractures, cord compression, or cord damage that didn’t exist in prior studies.

How Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers Prove Catastrophic Injury Cases

We build every spinal cord injury claim with trial preparation in mind. Insurance companies pay maximum compensation when they face overwhelming evidence and attorneys willing to present that evidence to a jury. Our firm has recovered over $100 million for injured Louisianians by meeting every burden of proof these cases require.

Your success is our mission, which drives our investment in expert testimony, accident reconstruction, and comprehensive medical evidence. We advance all case development costs without requiring payment from you. Spinal cord injury cases demand this level of proof—cutting corners produces inferior results.

Scott Vicknair Injury Lawyers serves Slidell clients from our New Orleans, Cut Off, and Covington offices with the same exceptional, proactive service. When you need a spinal cord injury lawyer in Slidell, we’re the team to call. Contact us for a free consultation.