Spinal Cord Injury Lawyer in Miami

If you or someone you love suffered a spinal cord injury in a crash, a fall, or on someone else's unsafe property, the case has to be built for decades, not months. Dennis Gonzalez Law, P.A. handles these cases in English and Spanish, and our office answers 24 hours a day.

What a spinal cord injury does to a life

The spinal cord carries signals between the brain and the rest of the body. When it is damaged, those signals can be weakened or cut off below the injury. Depending on where and how badly the cord is hurt, a person may lose the ability to walk, to use their hands, to control bladder and bowel, or to breathe without help. Sexual function, skin health, blood pressure, and chronic pain can all be affected.

Life changes around the injury: home modifications, a wheelchair and a vehicle that can carry it, attendant care, therapy, medical supplies, and often the loss of a career. Families change too. A spouse or parent may become a full-time caregiver.

The medicine, in plain English

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) explains the basics:

• Complete vs. incomplete. An incomplete injury means the spinal cord can still send some messages to or from the brain, so the person keeps some feeling, function, and muscle control below the injury. A complete injury means there is no nerve communication below the injury site.
• Level matters. Injuries higher on the spinal cord affect more of the body. A high injury can cause paralysis in most of the body and affect all four limbs (tetraplegia, also called quadriplegia). A lower injury may affect only the lower body and legs (paraplegia).
• Damage can grow. Paralysis can happen at the moment of injury, or develop over time from bleeding, swelling, and cell death in the spinal cord. That is why early emergency care matters, and why the full picture may not be clear for weeks.
• Symptoms include numbness, tingling, or changes in sensation in the hands and feet; weakness or paralysis; pain or pressure in the neck or back; loss of bladder and bowel control; problems walking; and difficulty breathing.

Rehabilitation is a team. NINDS describes rehabilitation as usually led by a doctor who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation (a physiatrist), with physical and occupational therapists, rehabilitation nurses and psychologists, social workers, vocational counselors, nutritionists, and case workers. Each of those services has a cost, and each belongs in the claim.

What to do now, and what we preserve

1. Focus on medical care. Your family should keep a simple notebook: dates, doctors, symptoms, and changes.
2. Do not talk to insurers or sign anything. Early settlement offers in spinal cases come before anyone knows what the future holds.
3. Preserve the evidence: vehicles, vehicle data, scene photos, video, the police or incident report, witness names, and anything involved in a fall (ladders, railings, flooring).
4. Keep every bill, receipt, and record, including mileage to appointments and equipment you buy.
5. Call us. In a truck crash, we send preservation demands for black-box and log data at once. In a property case, we demand surveillance video before it is recorded over.

Proving the full cost: the life care plan

A spinal cord injury claim lives or dies on proof of future needs. We work with treating doctors and qualified life care planners to document, item by item, the care a person will need over a lifetime (surgeries, therapy, equipment replacement, medications, home care, and complications) and with economists to put a present value on it. Read more on our life care plans page.

Since HB 837, Florida law sets out the evidence that may be offered to prove future medical costs, including what health coverage would pay or, for people without coverage or on Medicare or Medicaid, a formula tied to Medicare rates, along with evidence of reasonable future amounts to be billed (Florida Statutes § 768.0427). A life care plan has to be built with that rule in mind.

The deadline

For most Florida injury claims based on negligence, you have two years to file a lawsuit (Florida Statutes § 95.11(5)(a)). That two-year rule applies to claims that accrued after March 24, 2023, the day HB 837 became law (Chapter 2023-15, Laws of Florida, § 28). For most injuries, a claim accrues on the day of the crash or fall. If yours happened on or before March 24, 2023, the older four-year rule may still apply. Wrongful death claims also carry a two-year limit, and claims against a government agency or involving medical care follow their own rules. Some websites still say four years. For new injuries, that is wrong.

If they say it was partly your fault

Florida uses modified comparative fault (Florida Statutes § 768.81). If you share some of the blame, your award is reduced by your percentage of fault. If a jury finds you more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm, you recover nothing. In a lifetime-damages case, even a few percentage points of fault mean real money, so we fight the fault question as hard as the damages.

Insurance, in plain terms

In a car or truck case: your own PIP pays first, up to $10,000 in medical and disability benefits, with medical benefits paid only if you get initial care within 14 days (§ 627.736); then the at-fault party's liability coverage; then your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, if you bought it. Commercial trucks must carry higher minimum coverage based on weight (§ 627.7415). In a property case: the owner's general liability and any excess policies. Health insurers, Medicare, and Medicaid may claim repayment from the recovery, and those liens must be resolved before money reaches you. A catastrophic injury usually exceeds a single policy. Finding every source is part of the job.

How a case runs

1. Preservation and investigation in the first days.
2. Medical stabilization and rehab, while we collect records.
3. Experts: treating physicians, physiatrist, life care planner, economist, and liability experts.
4. Demand, then lawsuit if needed, always inside the deadline.
5. Discovery and depositions, including the defense's medical examination.
6. Mediation, and trial if the insurer will not pay what a lifetime of care costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a complete and incomplete spinal cord injury?

NINDS explains that with an incomplete injury, the cord can still send some signals, so the person keeps some feeling, function, or muscle control below the injury. A complete injury means no nerve communication below the injury site. Your doctors decide which applies; it shapes both treatment and the claim.

How long do I have to file a spinal cord injury lawsuit in Florida?

For most negligence claims that accrued after March 24, 2023, two years (§ 95.11(5)(a)). Older claims may fall under the prior four-year rule. Wrongful death is also two years. These cases need experts and a life care plan, which take months to build, so start early.

How are future medical costs proven?

Through treating doctors, a life care plan that lists each future need and its cost, and an economist who calculates present value. Florida law now specifies evidence that can be offered for future medical expenses, including what health coverage would pay (§ 768.0427). The plan has to be built for that rule.

Should I accept an early settlement offer?

Rarely. The full effect of a spinal cord injury often is not known for months, and complications can arise for years. Once you sign a release, you generally cannot reopen the claim. Never settle a spinal cord injury case before the future care needs are documented.

Can I recover if I was partly at fault?

Usually, yes. Under Florida's modified comparative fault law, your award is reduced by your share of fault. If you are found more than 50 percent at fault for your own harm, you recover nothing (§ 768.81(6)). In lifetime-damages cases, every percentage point matters.

What if Medicare, Medicaid, or my health insurer paid my bills?

They may have a right to be repaid from your recovery. Those liens must be identified and resolved before the case closes. Handling them correctly can protect benefits you rely on and leave more of the recovery for your care. We address liens as part of every catastrophic case.

Can a family member call for me?

Yes. After a spinal cord injury, the first call often comes from a spouse, parent, or child. We can talk with your family, in English or Spanish, and arrange to meet at the hospital, rehab center, or home.

Talk to us today

You need to focus on recovery. Let us build the case for the life ahead. Call (305) 209-0384 or message us on WhatsApp. Our office answers 24 hours a day, and we can come to you.

Former Miami-Dade prosecutor · Since 2012 · Super Lawyers Rising Stars · Avvo Rating 10.0