New Orleans Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer

Did you suffer a spinal cord injury in New Orleans?

At Kiefer & Kiefer, we are trial-tested spinal cord injury lawyers committed to thorough preparation in every matter.

If you sustained a spinal cord injury because of someone else’s negligence, an attorney can pursue compensation that accounts for decades of care rather than months. Attendant care, home modifications, equipment replacement, and lost earning capacity all belong in that calculation. Our New Orleans, LA spinal cord injury lawyer has handled matters involving paralysis, amputation, and permanent disability from work. Contact us for a case review at no charge.

Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer New Orleans, LA

A spinal cord injury lawyer builds the proof that a permanent injury requires. That means liability evidence, medical causation, and a documented projection of what the rest of a person’s life will cost.

Research summarized by the Administration for Community Living found roughly 5.4 million Americans living with paralysis, about 1.7 percent of the population, and identified spinal cord injury as a leading cause. Close to three-quarters of them are under 65. In a city where much of the workforce is in construction, hospitality, maritime, and industrial trades, that age profile matters. Most of our clients were working when they were hurt. That fact shapes the entire claim, because lost earning capacity across a full career usually dwarfs the medical bills.

Types of Spinal Cord Injury Cases We Handle in New Orleans

Severity changes the entire structure of a claim. The injuries and case types listed below make up the bulk of the spinal cord matters our New Orleans attorneys handle.

• Cervical, thoracic, and lumbar injuries. Complete and incomplete injuries produce very different prognoses, and the difference drives valuation. We work with treating physicians to document function rather than diagnosis alone.
• Paralysis. Paraplegia and quadriplegia require lifelong care planning, home and vehicle modification, and permanent accommodations at work. We document what independence has been lost rather than the diagnosis alone.
• Serious injuries. Spinal cord damage frequently occurs alongside fractures and head trauma. Those additional injuries affect the treatment plan and the value of the claim, and each has to be documented separately.
• Slip and fall accidents. Falls remain one of the leading causes of spinal cord injury, and a fall onto a hard surface can damage the cord without any external sign of trauma.
• Truck accidents. A loaded commercial vehicle striking a passenger car produces the injury patterns that fill this practice area. Federal record-keeping rules give us access to driver and maintenance histories.
• Car accidents. High-speed collisions cause cervical and lumbar injuries requiring fusion. We’ve resolved claims involving multiple surgeries and permanent restrictions.
• Premises liability. Falls from height, structural failures, and unsafe conditions on commercial property. We retain safety engineers who inspect the site and address code compliance directly.
• Motorcycle accidents. Riders sustain spinal and orthopedic injuries at rates vehicle occupants do not, and adjusters assign fault before reviewing evidence.
• Jones Act. Seamen injured aboard vessels have remedies under federal maritime law that operate differently from state negligence claims.
• Wrongful death. When a catastrophic injury proves fatal, both a survival action and a wrongful death claim may arise from the same event.

Why Choose Kiefer & Kiefer as my Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in New Orleans, LA?

Proving Damages in Catastrophic Injury Cases

Establishing liability is frequently the more straightforward part of a catastrophic case. Documenting what a lifetime of care will cost is considerably harder, and it determines what the claim is ultimately worth. We retain life care planners to itemize future medical needs, forensic economists to reduce those costs to present value, and vocational professionals to assess disability and lost earning capacity. Megan Kiefer was named to The Best Lawyers in America in 2023 and inducted into the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum. Chris Short graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University Law School, holds a degree from the California State University Maritime Academy, and is licensed in Louisiana and Florida. If you are in need of a personal injury lawyer in New Orleans, LA for a permanent injury, we are here to help you.

Results and Fee Structure

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for catastrophically injured Louisiana clients. Representative outcomes include:

• $5 million for paralysis following a shallow-water diving accident
• $4.2 million for catastrophic injuries in a workplace accident
• $2.3 million for a work-related collision requiring neck and back surgeries
• $1 million for severe spinal injuries after a two-story fall

There is no retainer. We advance the cost of life care planners, economists, and other professionals required to prove the claim, and no attorney fee is owed unless we recover.

Understanding Spinal Cord Injury Cases

Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Spinal Cord Injury Cases

Liability begins with Civil Code Article 2315, which obligates a person whose fault causes damage to repair it. In a catastrophic case, more than one party is usually responsible, and each may carry separate coverage.

Recoverable losses include:

• Past and future medical care, including surgery, therapy, medication, and durable equipment
• Attendant and custodial care, frequently the largest line item in a permanent injury case
• Lost wages and lost earning capacity across a full working life
• Home and vehicle modifications needed for accessibility
• Pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life

A life care plan is what makes those projections credible. It itemizes each anticipated surgery, medication, therapy course, and piece of equipment, along with how often each will be needed across a normal life expectancy. Vague estimates get discounted heavily by adjusters and juries alike. Carefully sourced ones anchor the demand.

How Louisiana handles future medical expenses is a technical question that carries real financial consequences for the client. Comparative fault matters too. Article 2323 changed on January 1, 2026, and a claimant found 51 percent or more at fault now recovers nothing. Below that threshold, the award is reduced proportionally. Accidents before that date remain under the previous pure comparative rule.

What Are Important Aspects of a Spinal Cord Injury Case?

The defense will hire its own physicians, and their reports will focus on gaps and inconsistencies.

• Preserving equipment, vehicles, and scene conditions before repairs or cleanup
• Identifying every liable party, including employers, contractors, and manufacturers
• Locating excess and umbrella coverage beyond the primary policy
• A treating physician who can speak to permanence, not just diagnosis
• Testimony from family about what daily life now requires, which no medical record captures

Juries respond to specific detail rather than to general phrases like reduced quality of life. Testimony that a client who framed houses for twenty years now needs assistance getting out of a chair carries far more weight. Preparing that testimony takes time with the family, and knowing what to ask.

Maximizing compensation in these cases depends more on preparation than on argument.

Available coverage often determines the ceiling. A catastrophic claim can easily exceed the primary policy, which is why we look for umbrella layers, employer policies, contractor coverage, and underinsured motorist benefits early rather than after a demand has already gone out. Finding a second policy in month two is worth considerably more than finding it in month ten.

What Is The Spinal Cord Injury Case Timeline?

These claims run longer than ordinary injury cases, mostly because the medicine takes longer to stabilize.

• Investigation and preservation demands during the first weeks
• Treatment continuing until a physician can address long-term prognosis
• Life care plan and economic analysis prepared
• Demand presented to every carrier identified
• Suit, discovery, and depositions if the response does not reflect the harm
• Mediation, trial, or settlement, followed by lien resolution and structuring

We generally do not place a value on the claim until a treating physician can speak to the long-term picture. While that develops, the liability side of the case gets built, so nothing is waiting on us when the medicine finally stabilizes.

Louisiana allows two years from the date of injury under Civil Code Article 3493.1 for injuries sustained on or after July 1, 2024. Earlier injuries remain subject to the former one-year period.

What Should You Bring to Your Spinal Cord Injury Consultation?

If the injured person cannot attend, a spouse, parent, or authorized representative can meet with us instead.

• Medical records, imaging, and discharge summaries
• Employment and income documentation, including tax returns
• The accident or incident report
• Every insurance policy that might apply, including employer coverage
• A list of what the injured person can no longer do without help

We’ll walk through how the claim would be built, who we would retain, and what the realistic range looks like. We will also tell you plainly if the available insurance appears to limit the outcome, since that is better understood at the outset. The consultation is free.

Reach Out to Kiefer & Kiefer to Schedule a Consultation

A permanent injury deserves a claim built to cover a lifetime. A New Orleans spinal cord injury attorney at our firm can begin preserving evidence, identify every policy that may respond, and retain the professionals who quantify long-term care. The consultation is free, and we work on contingency. Contact us to talk about what happened.