A crash on the highway, a ladder that gives way, or a fall on a wet floor can end with someone unable to feel their legs or move their arms. There is no easing into a spinal cord injury. It arrives whole, in a single second, and the life a family expected to be living that evening is not the life waiting for them when they leave the hospital.
Erik A. Bromson represents people across Nevada who are living with the aftermath of this kind of injury caused by someone else’s negligence. A fast settlement rarely serves anyone in this position. What matters is a claim built around what a lifetime of care will actually cost, handled by a legal team that knows the difference between a quick payout and a full recovery. Call (702) 213-0100 to talk through your situation.
Understanding Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord is the pathway that carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body. When it is damaged, whether from a direct blow to the spine or from broken or dislocated vertebrae compressing the cord itself, some or all of those signals stop getting through. According to Mayo Clinic, a spinal cord injury often causes permanent changes in strength, sensation, and other body functions below the site of the injury, and the extent of those changes depends on exactly where the injury occurred and how severe it is.
Complete vs. Incomplete Spinal Cord Injuries
A spinal cord injury is classified as complete or incomplete based on how much function remains below the site of the damage. A complete spinal cord injury means all feeling and all ability to control movement below the injury site are lost. An incomplete spinal cord injury means some feeling or some muscle control remains, though the degree varies widely from one person to the next. That distinction matters for your claim, because the degree of function you retain is what every later projection of cost and care is measured against.
Paraplegia
Paraplegia is paralysis that affects the trunk, legs, and pelvic organs while leaving the arms unaffected. It typically results from damage to the spinal cord in the chest or lower back region, and it can alter how a person moves, works, and lives independently.
Quadriplegia (Tetraplegia)
Quadriplegia, also called tetraplegia, is paralysis that affects the arms, hands, trunk, legs, and pelvic organs. It results from damage higher on the spinal cord, usually in the neck, and injuries at that level can also affect the muscles used to breathe and cough.
Common Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries
Motor vehicle and motorcycle crashes cause a large share of spinal cord injuries every year, according to Mayo Clinic, and falls are the leading cause among people over 65. Acts of violence, sports and recreation injuries such as diving into shallow water, and certain medical conditions that weaken the spine can all lead to a spinal cord injury as well. How the injury occurred determines who can be held responsible for it. When a collision is the cause, the claim proceeds through our Las Vegas car accident lawyer practice. When the cause is a hazard on someone else’s property, the claim turns instead on premises liability, and the evidence needed to prove it looks very different.
Why Are Spinal Cord Injury Claims Different?
An ordinary injury claim usually has an end point. A bone sets, a course of physical therapy finishes, and life goes back to something close to normal. A spinal cord injury rarely offers that closure. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke describes rehabilitation after a spinal cord injury as an ongoing program that can combine physical therapy, occupational therapy, and vocational rehabilitation, often supported by braces, wheelchairs, or other assistive devices. That is care measured in years and decades, not in appointments remaining.
That uncertainty and permanence change how these claims are handled. An insurer looking at decades of liability has far more at stake than in an ordinary case, and the pushback tends to grow with the size of the exposure. Adjusters often question how much of your disability actually stems from the accident, or push for an early settlement before the full scope of your injury has even been documented. Meeting that resistance takes a claim built on thorough, well-supported evidence from the start, not one built on urgency.
How We Build the Full Value of a Spinal Cord Injury Claim
A spinal cord injury claim starts with establishing what happened and who is responsible, which means investigating the accident itself and identifying every party whose negligence may have contributed to it. Proving liability, though, is only half the work. The other half is establishing what the injury will require for the rest of your life.
That second half draws on several professionals at once. Treating physicians provide the medical prognosis, life care planners map out the future equipment, therapy, and personal assistance you will need, and economists and vocational experts calculate what the injury costs in lost earning capacity. Much of this evidence is time-sensitive, since records and witness accounts are easiest to gather while they are still fresh, and a claim assembled early tends to be a stronger one. The aim is a settlement or verdict that reflects the real weight of the loss rather than an early guess at it.
Damages Available in a Spinal Cord Injury Case
Compensation in a spinal cord injury case generally falls into two categories. Economic damages cover measurable costs such as emergency and ongoing medical treatment, rehabilitation, assistive equipment, home and vehicle modifications, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity when you can no longer work as you once did. The future portion of these costs typically dwarfs the bills already received, which is why a tally of current expenses understates the claim so badly.
Non-economic damages address losses that do not come with a receipt, including physical pain, emotional distress, and the loss of the ability to do things that once defined your daily life. These losses also reach beyond you. A spouse or parent may take on a caregiving role without warning. Nevada recognizes a loss of consortium claim in this situation, though the Nevada Supreme Court has limited it to spouses and registered domestic partners rather than extending it to children or parents of an injured adult. If a spinal cord injury proves fatal, surviving family members may instead pursue a Las Vegas wrongful death claim on the person’s behalf. Every claim depends on its own facts and no outcome is ever guaranteed, but a full accounting of these losses is what a fair recovery is built on.
Nevada Law That Shapes Spinal Cord Injury Claims
Two Nevada statutes do most of the work here. Under NRS 41.141, Nevada follows a modified comparative negligence rule, which means you can still recover compensation as long as your own share of fault is 50 percent or less, with the final award reduced by that percentage. Insurers sometimes push to assign you a larger share of blame than the facts support, since every percentage point they can shift lowers what they owe. Independent evidence of how the injury occurred is often what holds that pressure back.
Under NRS 11.190, most personal injury claims in Nevada must be filed within two years of the date of the injury. Because the medical picture can take months to stabilize, that window closes sooner than most people expect. Speaking with an attorney early keeps your options open while the record is still being built.
Working With Bromson Law
As an experienced spinal cord injury lawyer, Erik A. Bromson has spent more than 15 years representing injured people across Nevada, and he handles each case he takes on personally rather than passing it to an associate. In a case of this magnitude, that direct involvement matters. You work with Erik himself, and the strategy behind your case is set by the attorney who carries it through to settlement or trial, not by someone reviewing the file for the first time months in.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spinal Cord Injury Claims
What qualifies as a spinal cord injury in a personal injury claim?
Any damage to the spinal cord that causes a measurable change in sensation, movement, or bodily function can support a claim, whether the injury is complete or incomplete. There is no fixed checklist. Medical records, imaging, and your treating physician’s assessment of the injury’s severity and permanence are what establish the strength and value of your claim.
What if my symptoms did not appear right away?
That does not weaken your claim. Mayo Clinic notes that numbness or paralysis after a spinal injury can appear immediately or come on gradually, and that a serious spinal injury is not always obvious at first. Delayed symptoms make prompt medical documentation more important, not less, because the records created in those early weeks connect what you are experiencing to the accident that caused it.
Can I still bring a claim if my spinal cord injury happened at work?
Possibly, though the path is different. Workers’ compensation typically covers on-the-job injuries regardless of fault, but it does not pay for pain and suffering. If someone other than your employer contributed to the injury, such as a negligent driver or the manufacturer of defective equipment, a separate third-party claim may be available alongside your workers’ compensation benefits. Nevada also treats general contractors as statutory employers in some circumstances, so who can actually be sued on a jobsite is worth reviewing case by case.
Will my spinal cord injury claim have to go to trial?
Not necessarily. Many spinal cord injury claims resolve through settlement once the injury has been thoroughly documented and the responsible parties see what the record actually shows. That said, with this much at stake, preparing every claim as though it may go before a jury is what protects your position whether it settles or proceeds to court.
What happens if I miss the filing deadline?
In most cases the claim is lost for good. Nevada courts treat the filing deadline as firm, and once it passes, the strength of the evidence and the size of the damages no longer matter. A small number of narrow exceptions exist for specific circumstances, which is worth asking an attorney about directly rather than assuming your situation qualifies.
What does it cost to hire a spinal cord injury lawyer?
Erik A. Bromson handles these claims on a contingency fee basis, which means there is no upfront cost to begin. Fees are collected only if the case results in a settlement or verdict, so you and your family can pursue help without adding to the financial pressure you are already carrying.
Talk With Our Las Vegas Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer
A spinal cord injury does not just change one part of your life. It touches medical decisions, finances, relationships, and the shape of the years ahead, often all at once, and none of it has to be sorted out today or alone.
We take time to listen, review the details with you, and explain in plain terms how Nevada law may apply to your situation. Our work here follows the same standards as the rest of our Las Vegas personal injury practice, with the added investigation and documentation that an injury of this severity requires.
From there, we help you decide what comes next at a pace that respects what you and your family are dealing with.
If you or someone you love suffered a spinal cord injury in Las Vegas, Henderson, Laughlin, or Mesquite, call or text (702) 213-0100 and we will talk it through with you.